Steak Salmoriglio at Trattoria Bugatti
Samantha Marie Photography
After spending 40 years as a fixture of Italian dining in Farmers Branch, Bugatti Ristorante is expanding its footprint in its original digs.
The Bugatti family opened Bugatti Ristorante on Bachman Lake in the 1980s, building its reputation on attentive, old-school service and classic dishes. It closed its original location in 2023 and relocated to Farmers Branch in 2024.
The new concept, Trattoria Bugatti, is opening just steps away from the restaurant’s original location off Northwest Highway near Lemmon Avenue and Marsh Lane.
The New Chef & Local Suppliers
Trattoria Bugatti has hired chef Erin Willis, a James Beard Award nominee and former owner and executive chef of RM 12:20 Bistro, a French bistro in Lake Highlands that closed in 2023. Willis’ background spans Italian, French, Mediterranean and American cuisines, but she will draw on her time studying cooking and food culture in Italy for her culinary philosophy at the trattoria.
Willis is leaning into local partnerships to source ingredients around North Texas: Lubbies Bagels is supplying sourdough pizza and focaccia dough; Botolino Gelato is supplying the gelato; and fresh pasta is from Fresh Pasta Delights, a family-owned, artisan pasta maker in Plano founded in 1984.
The Mains
These core ingredients will build Trattoria Bugatti’s apertivo, lunch, dinner and dessert menus. We can expect classic Italian dishes with seasonal ingredients and contemporary touches. In a release we received, cacio e pepe wings, house focaccia with calabrian butter and basil olive oil were highlights from the “starters” section.
Pasta e Fagiolo
Samantha Marie Photography
Gnocchi Bolognese
Samantha Marie Photography
The Trattoria Focaccia Sandwich
Samantha Marie Photography
Pan Roasted Salmon
Chef Erin Willis
Samantha Marie Photography
Willis learned how to make alfredo the true Italian way and will feature the dish made with fettuccine, butter, garlic and parmesan (no cream) on the menu. More call outs for entrees were the sachetti shrimp scampi and Lasagna “Rotta,” Willis’ modern take on lasagna with housemade meatballs, ricotta, pecorino and broken sheet noodle.
Lunch will feature similar pasta dishes, but will play with the sourdough pizza dough and focaccia for pizzas and sandwiches. Their signature trattoria focaccia sandwich is layered with ricotta, giardiniera, arugula, mortadella, pepperoni, salami and red wine vinaigrette, and costs $14 before tax and tip.
Alongside these offerings are drinks from mixologist Chris Henley of Betty Cocktail, a Dallas-based mixology consultancy group. He is also the general manager at Bowen House, an Uptown favorite for cocktails.
Dallas will look to the Italian margarita first. It’s made with tequila, amaretto and orange liqueur. Much of the menu is Italian-inspired favorites, but there are refined classics like espresso martinis as well.
Exclusively at the bar is a dedicated apertivo menu with a curated selection of cocktails, wines and beers that go with small bites perfect for grazing. The bar-only options include fried gnocchi and grilled shrimp skewers.
Trattoria Bugatti opened Monday, April 20, at 3850 W. Northwest Highway in the Midway Hollow area.
Dining and Cooking