Buona Vita in Hermosa Beach is perfectly suited for raucous celebrations. Party tunes like Celebrate by Kool & the Gang and ABBA's Dancing Queen blare at times. This is NOT the place for a soothing, romantic dinner on a Saturday night. However, you will likely have fun if you and yours pick Buona Vita for dinner on a birthday, reunion, or girls/guys night out.
I visited recently for a bachelorette/girls weekend away dinner. (Further names and pictures withheld to protect the guilty those present). We ate pasta, pizza, and other Italian fare washed down with wine purchased from a nearby liquor store. The only mishap that seemed to happen was when our server, a charming, feisty, and sometimes rushed (she appeared to be the only server for the whole place) Italian gal, sent and served a bottle of our store bought bubbly to another table. That bubbly was going to be part of a toast to the bride-to-be, but we made do. Our server offered to make up for it by replacing the bottle with one of Buona Vita's. It wasn't bubbly, but we kept the party going by drinking the red wine with desserts of cannoli and tiramisu.
Yes, we drank out of and adorned ourselves with penis straws. The straws seem to be a popular item for bachelorette parties in California, Tahoe, and Vegas. I have seen them used a handful of times among my friends, as well as when I am out and about on a Saturday night. The bride-to-be wore a shirt that read 'I Heart Sausages,' which can definitely be interpreted in more ways than one. Some of us danced on chairs and stood up to clap and sing along (off-key, in my case) to the music. Lights flashed and there was of course a disco ball in the center of the room.
I fully understood why the maid of honor picked the restaurant when the bill arrived. Yes, it's a bit of a hassle to buy and bring your own wine (especially if Hermosa Beach is not your home base), but the savings definitely add up. We each owed a mere twenty two dollars, which covered the cost of Ms. Bridey's dinner, too. That can be considered a bargain for such filling, tasty food in a semi-crazed, all-fun environment.
Cheers to Buona Vita, for making Ms. Bridey and all her friends full, tipsy, and happy. We'd need the starchy energy for guzzling shots, taking rides on a mechanical bull and playing "Pin the Penis on the Hottie" -- think adult "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"-- game, much later in the evening/early morning hours.
Buona Vita Trattoria & Pizzeria (other locations in Park City and Puerta Vallarta)
439 Pier Avenue
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
Telephone: 310-379-7626, Fax: 310-362-8487
Email: [email protected]
Sounds like you all had fun!
Posted by: Sherman | October 04, 2006 at 10:44 AM
Sherman, we sure did!
Posted by: Mary | October 05, 2006 at 02:41 PM