Not surprisingly, the menu at Bouli Bar is focused on their prized wood oven, and they’ve got the pizza list to prove it. Pizzas run the gamut from a simple za’atar topped bianca to elaborately topped creations like Turkish-spiced lamb or figs, lard, and proscuitto. On this particular Wednesday, we took advantage of late-season produce and ordered the Fiori with summer vegetable compote, capers, squash blossoms, and buffalo burrata ($18.50). (Who, pray tell, can say no to burrata, the silky queen of fresh cheeses?)

Bouli Bar’s Fiori pizza is topped with summer vegetable compote, capers, squash blossoms, and buffalo burrata ($18.50). Photo: Kate Williams

Bouli Bar’s pizza is a particular breed of California pie. It is nothing like Anthony Magieri’s obsessively authentic pizzas at Una Pizza Napoletana or even the twee thin-crusts found at Delfina. No, the pizza coming out of Bouli’s oven is a wood-fired flatbread with elaborate and carefully sourced toppings. Some, like the lola sempre, Bouli Bar’s take on a margarita, look like traditional pizza. The Fiori, on the other hand, was of a different breed.

Behind the scenes in the Bouli Bar kitchen, with the wood hearth glowing in the background. Photo: Kate Williams

That’s not to say that this breed is bad. In fact, the salty and sweet tapenade-esque compote was the perfect match for the voluptuous burrata, and the zucchini blossoms added a light, pretty touch. The hefty crust easily carried the weight of the heavy toppings; it was distinctly salty, but in the way that good French fries keep you coming back for more. If only the smoke from the oven was a bit more present in order to unite the blistered cornicione to with the toppings.

Even better than the pizza was the warm mushroom salad ($20)—in it, roasted pioppini, trumpet, and chanterelles were amplified by the heat and smoke of the oven to become more intense versions of themselves. A generous spritz of sherry vinegar and a shower of fresh herbs brightened the earthy fungi, and the crisp lavosh crackers add height, interest, and crunch.

The warm funghi salad is a masterful assemblage of roasted wild mushrooms, sherry vinegar, and fresh herbs served with crisp lavosh crackers. Photo: Kate Williams

Rounding out the menu are lettuce-based salads, a mezze spread, and an array of both plated desserts and pastries. Each of these items is visually stunning, plated with sensible, grounded artistry—avant-garde foams and bubbles have no place at these tables. The expansion has also included the addition of a fully stocked bar, so a small selection of cocktails are included on the drink menu alongside the fairly extensive wine list.

Bouli Bar’s dessert menu includes cookies sold at the Larder. Options include cashew sesame shortbread and chocolate dipped coconut macaroons. Photo: Kate Williams

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Bouli Bar: Inconsistent Service Mars Otherwise Excellent Offshoot of Boulette’s Larder