Bucatini is a simple-looking pasta with a story. The noodle — which could be confused with spaghetti on the outside, but is hollow in the middle — has grown on restaurant menus in recent years as its stock was restored on U.S. shelves after importation issues in 2020.
With the help of TikTok, curious consumers, and long-time bucatini lovers, the pasta is on the plates of a growing number of restaurant goers. It helps, too, that the noodle’s hollow design allows for extra sauce to be slurped up in each bite, a feature that’s creating new fans every day.
According to market research firm Datassential, bucatini is found on 2% of U.S. menus, representing 38% growth over the past four years.
Click through the gallery to learn more about this pasta, and to see how one restaurant with locations in Staten Island and Brooklyn, N.Y., is using it on its menu.