Trattoria Bugatti is a casual twist on Bugatti Ristorante

Guests stepping inside Trattoria Bugatti are greeted by green walls, dark wood finishes and tan leather seats that create a dining room designed to feel both polished and familiar. Vintage artwork hangs throughout the space, conversations drift between tables and servers weave through the restaurant carrying bowls of handmade pasta and wood-fired pizzas fresh from the kitchen. The atmosphere is lively without feeling rushed, inviting guests to gather.

The scene is a twist from the formal image many longtime Dallas diners associate with the Bugatti name.

For more than four decades, Bugatti Ristorante built a reputation for classic Italian dining, white tablecloth service and family hospitality. After relocating from its longtime home near Bachman Lake to Farmers Branch, the restaurant left behind a neighborhood where generations of diners had celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and weeknight dinners.

Trattoria Bugatti opened April 20 in the Shops at Bluffview through a partnership between the Bugatti family and the Odeh Restaurant Group.

“We really wanted to come back with something that felt more modern, more neighborhood and more casual,” says Ashley Odeh, president of the Odeh Restaurant Group. “We still wanted to deliver the hospitality that Bugatti was so popular for, but in an environment that feels more approachable.”

The partnership itself grew from a relationship years in the making.

Bassam Odeh, founder of the Odeh Restaurant Group, first met Michael and Zee Bugatti through their restaurant operations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where both families operate businesses. While the Bugatti family had relocated its flagship restaurant to Farmers Branch, conversations continued about someday bringing the Bugatti name back to the neighborhood.

When a landlord approached the Bugatti family about returning to the Bluffview area, the two families saw an opportunity to do more than simply reopen an old favorite.

“We didn’t want to open the restaurant again there,” Ashley says. “We wanted to come back in with something that felt more modern.”

That decision shaped nearly every aspect of Trattoria Bugatti, from its design and service style to its menu and operating hours.

For the Odeh family, creating that kind of environment reflects a philosophy that has guided its business for decades.

After immigrating to the United States, Bassam began working at Jack in the Box before saving enough money to purchase his first restaurant. Over the years, the family expanded into airport locations and multiple restaurant concepts.

Ashley said today’s diners expect more than a memorable meal.

“They want the whole package,” she says. “They want a beautiful restaurant. They want good service. They want good food.”

“I wanted it to feel lived in,” Ashley says. “I wanted it to feel approachable.”

To soften the sound of a busy dining room, Ashley selected commercial flooring designed to absorb noise and incorporated cork along portions of the bar and accent walls. She partnered with local curator, Kaitlyn Coffee of Harris Vintage, to source artwork that would make the restaurant feel collected over time instead of too carefully staged.

“I didn’t want it to feel too perfect,” she says. “I wanted it to feel familiar.”

Ashley believes that feeling is what defines a true neighborhood restaurant.

“I wanted people to feel like they could come after church or after a soccer game,” Ashley says. “However your day brought you here, you’re welcome.”

That philosophy also influenced the restaurant’s operating hours, giving neighbors multiple opportunities to make the restaurant part of their weekly routines.

A private dining room further expands that vision. Although currently used as overflow seating during busy dinner services, the space is already hosting private events and celebrations, another way the owners hope to strengthen their relationship with the surrounding community.

While the Bugatti and Odeh families had established the restaurant’s vision of creating a casual neighborhood gathering place, they still needed someone who could bring authenticity to the menu without losing sight of that welcoming atmosphere.

They found that person in Chef Erin Willis.

The Bugatti family had known Willis for years. Long before she joined the project, she and her family were regular guests at the original Bugatti Ristorante.

Before joining the restaurant, she owned RM 12:20 Bistro in Lake Highlands and was nominated for a James Beard Award. She later founded EatMoreDFW, a catering and consulting company that allowed her to continue developing menus and mentoring restaurant teams.

Yet the foundation for Trattoria Bugatti’s menu had been built long before either business existed.

More than 30 years ago, Willis traveled to Italy with a group of friends. Instead, she found herself staying behind to spend six weeks shadowing an Italian chef, traveling throughout Florence, Tuscany, Rome and Cinque Terre while learning techniques that differed dramatically from the American Italian food she had grown up with.

During those weeks, Willis filled notebooks with recipes, cooking techniques and observations about regional Italian cuisine. She watched chefs prepare meals with only a handful of ingredients, allowing fresh vegetables, handmade pasta and carefully selected cheeses to become the focus of each dish instead of masking flavors beneath heavy sauces. The experience transformed the way she thought about cooking.

“Everything there is organic without having an organic sticker,” Willis says.

Those journals were tucked away for years as Willis built her career, opened restaurants and developed new concepts of her own.

When she accepted the opportunity to lead Trattoria Bugatti’s kitchen, she returned to those notebooks for the first time in decades.

The result is a menu built around simplicity, allowing a handful of fresh ingredients to shine through.

“Everything on our menu is not something you’re going to get at your traditional American Italian restaurant,” she says.

One of the clearest examples is the restaurant’s lasagna.

Instead of layering wide sheets of pasta into the towering casserole many Americans expect, Willis prepares a Northern Italian-style “broken” lasagna ($25). Pieces of fresh pasta are folded throughout the dish and finished with meatballs and house-made ricotta, creating a lighter presentation that allows each ingredient to stand on its own.

The restaurant’s fettuccine alfredo ($18) is another dish that surprises people. Willis prepares the dish using the traditional combination of butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano and pasta water.

“I think the great thing about our alfredo is you can eat the whole bowl, and you don’t feel heavy,” she says. “It’s really delicious.”

Even familiar dishes continue to surprise guests. Shrimp scampi ($28) arrives with handmade sacchetti, small ricotta-filled pasta purses rather than strands of pasta, while the restaurant’s limoncello tiramisu ($12) takes inspiration from the pudding-like desserts.

For Willis, introducing diners to these dishes is just as rewarding as preparing them.

“I love when people look at the menu and say they’ve never heard of testaroli or sacchetti,” she says. “It’s fun to expand people’s horizons.”

Fresh pasta is supplied by Fresh Pasta Delights, while Lubbies Bagels prepares the restaurant’s focaccia and sourdough pizza dough. Desserts are complemented by gelato from Botolino Gelato, and the beverage menu mirrors the menu with a wine list focused on Italian producers.

The beverages include classic Italian cocktails and liqueurs with an aperol spritz ($17), sbagliato ($16) and espresso martini ($17). The wine list features many Italian wines, and Willis collaborated with Italian wine specialist Leo Pisani and Derek Rogers of Serendipity Wines.

Willis describes Trattoria Bugatti as a teaching kitchen, where many members of her staff are learning Italian cooking techniques for the first time. Willis aims to mentor younger cooks, encouraging them to master recipes while gradually taking ownership of the restaurant’s standards.

She says that dedication to mentoring employees was one of the qualities that convinced the ownership group Willis was the right chef for the restaurant.

“When she talks about her team, you can tell she really cares about every single person,” Ashley says. “She treats them like extensions of her own family.”

Hospitality, Ashley says, isn’t limited to the guests seated in the dining room. It also includes creating opportunities for employees to grow, supporting neighboring businesses and building lasting relationships within the community.

For the Bugatti and Odeh families, Trattoria Bugatti represents more than the return of a familiar name to the Bluffview neighborhood.

“We wanted the whole package,” Ashley says. “Beautiful food, beautiful service and a beautiful restaurant, but one that still feels like it’s part of the neighborhood.”

Trattoria Bugatti, trattoriabugatti.com, 214. 217.3889, 3850 W. Northwest Highway