Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)
Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)
Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)
Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)
Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)
Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)
Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)
Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)
J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)
Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)
Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)
Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)
Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)
AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)
Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)
Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)
Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)
FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)
Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)
Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)
Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)
Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)
Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)
Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)
Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)
Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)
Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)
Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)
Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)
Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)
Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)
S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)
Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)
Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)
Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)
Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)
Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)
Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)
Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)
I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)
Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)
Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)
Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)
Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)
Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)
Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)
David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)
Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)
Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)
Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)
Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)
C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)
Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)
Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)
Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)
Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)
Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)
Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)
Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)
David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)
Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)
Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)
Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)
Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)
Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)
Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
(1)
Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)
Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)
Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)
Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)
Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)
Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)
Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)
Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)
Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)
Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)
Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)
Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)
Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)
Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)
Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)
Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)
Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)
Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)
Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)
Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
(1)
Eric O.
Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)
Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)
Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)
Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)
Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)
Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)
David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)
Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)
Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)
Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)
Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)
Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)
Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)
Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)
Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)
Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)
AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)
Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)
Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)
Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)
Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)
Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)
FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)
Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)
Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)
Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)
Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)
Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)
Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)
Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)
Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)
Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)
Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)
Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)
Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)
Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)
Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)
Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)
Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)
I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)
Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)
Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)
Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)
Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)
Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)
David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)
Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)
Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)
Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)
Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)
Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)
Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)
Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)
Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)
S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)
Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)
Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)
C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)
Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)
Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)
Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)
Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)
Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)
J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)
Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)
Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)
Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)
Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)
Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)
Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)
Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)
Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)
Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)
Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)
Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)
Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)
Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)
Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)
Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)
Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)
Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)
David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)
Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)
Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)
Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)
Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)
Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)
Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)
Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)
Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)
Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)
AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)
Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)
Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)
Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)
FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)
Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)
Eric O.
Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)
Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)
Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)
Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)
Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)
Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)
Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)
Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)
Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)
Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)
Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)
Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)
Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)
Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)
Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)
I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)
Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)
Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)
Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)
Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)
Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)
Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)
Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)
Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)
S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)
Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)
Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)
C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)
Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)
Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)
Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)
Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)
Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)
Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)
J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)
Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)
Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)
Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)
Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)
Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)
David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)
Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)
Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)
Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)
Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Pizza
Pizza is a famous Italian dish savored around the world. The entire credit for the popularity of Pizza in the United States goes to the chain of pizzerias all over the country. While the base and the texture of Pizza remains same across the globe, it's the toppings that differs from country to country. In the United States, you will find the top pizzerias serving pizzas with the toppings of mainly beef, bacon, chicken, ham, and sausage for the non-vegetarians. Other than these famous meat options, Pizzas with veg toppings such as mushrooms, pepperonis, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, etc. are also famous in most restaurants in the United States.
Irrespective of your locality, you will find a variety of different restaurants in your cities offering pizzas of all different types. Pizza is hot favorite among people of all ages in the United States. A large size pizza is enough to feed a family of 3 or 4 at large. Pizza is also the most preferred food whenever a group of friends is hanging out together. Pizza gained popularity in the United States after the American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II.
Over the years, different pizzerias in the United States have developed their own respective regional variations. Pizza gained popularity as the iconic dish in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. Whether you prefer thin or thick crust pizza, you can find a pizza of your preference at the best pizza restaurants in your city.
Eric O.
Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
(1)Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
(1)Eric O.
Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)Paul C.
Very expensive for basic Napolitan Italian dishes. I did enjoy all the photos that adorn their walls, etc., but to my discerning Italian palate this is no better than Olive Garden but costs more than twice as much. Food regardless is just OK for me. Service was good, and entire restaurant looked very clean.
(2)Ben C.
Still not sure how everything is sooo expensive. Their portions do not reflect what you'll spend.
(3)Eugene P.
Peter hit it right on the nose. This place is expensive and for the quantity and quality, I prefer to go to Maggianos (another expensive restaurant). I love eggplant parmigana but it just didn't taste right at Bucca. Parmigana that I like, should be saucy and have lots of cheese. They skimped on both. The family portions were not as impressive as you would think unless you get the pasta dishes (even then it was ok). So, rule of thumb: order pasta, everything else you can skip and go to Benitos. Decor is fun to look at.... menu has a decent amount of food listed. Food was decent but portions average. Service was just ok (then again, I think the server was new). So overall... just ok.
(3)Mark P.
Buca di what? First off, it's not your classic Italian restaurant so get that out of your head. The place is cluttered with tacky pictures and decorations that made the place look cheap and were not very pleasing to the eye. I'm pretty sure our waitress was stoned and did a terrible job. Well, I won't really dwell on that because I'm sure you all know what it's like the have bad service. Moving on to the important part, the food, well it's all served family style which is fine with me. First, they brought out bread and offered oil, and vinegar, typical I guess but hold the vinegar please. I'm really not sure how you could mess that up but they kinda did. Something was wrong with the olive oil. It really tased cheap, I mean I'm cool with olive oil from Publix but something was wrong with this dip. My date and I split a Cesar salad and a rigatoni dish which was more than enough for the both of us. It wasn't bad, nor was it expensive but I can see how it might add up if you are having a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Overall, Buca was good but nothing to write home about. I'd give them at 3 stars but have to bring them down to 2 stars because of the service. I put Buca di Beppo on the level of a tacky Olive Garden and won't be back.
(2)Yuto T.
Not good. My chair stuck to the floor because it was so dirty and sticky. They brought us cold plates, then had an attitude about it telling us they were backup salad plates from the refrigerator and it wasn't their problem we didn't want to put our hot food on cold plates. The vegetable lasagna - does it actually have any vegetables? When they brought it, I actually said, "We didn't order that" because it was unrecognizable as vegetable lasagna. Took what we didn't eat home and threw it out. Grossest lasagna I've ever had. The pizza was meh... overpriced and little on it but at least not as bad as that lasagna. My plastic cup had a huge chip out of it - they were lucky I didn't slice my lip. The entrance smelled very weird, like musty sewage sort of smell. My father smelled it too. The a/c wasn't working right because it was far too cold inside on a day it was cold outside. I think that's enough. You get the idea why I would say we had a fairy lousy meal here. I told my family - "Never again." We came here 2 years ago and had a bad experience. It hasn't changed. Enough is enough. Oh yeah. They also ran out of one of the house wines and we were there at noon. How can a chain restaurant run out of a standard menu item?
(2)Jessica S.
Great food, but still pricey even if its family style. Wasn't a fan of the service though, hostess was a snob and my waitress was overbearing
(4)Peter O.
I have been to the Buca Di Beppo in Scotsdale, AZ. Same food and same experience. Bottomline: VERY EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, the food is good, but then so are many of your local Italian neighborhood restaurants. Buca tried to pass it's self off as a "family" portion restaurant....$18.99 for 3 small chicken breasts, no salad, no pasta is EXPENSIVE. We ordered the Chicken Santibuco (sp?) and green beans ($5.99). Two people with tip....no drinks, no cofffee, no desert, no pasta......$30.00. If you want a good chain restaurant alternative, consider Macroni Grill (still not real cheap) or Marconie's. Still, your best bet is a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Service was OK, but the waiter becomes disenchanted when you don't order drinks and desert.
(2)Amari Y.
One of my favorite Italian restaurant. It might be pricy but it is worth every penny for the quality of the food and excellent services. Our favorite are Veal and Seafood.
(4)Kaye B.
I love Buca di Beppo. It's big strength is take-out. I can order on the phone and it will be ready in less than half an hour. I order the family size and almost always use a coupon. We have a family of four and we can eat it for days.
(5)Mike P.
Why Only 3 Stars? Well my family of four had a good meal here but a single person left us wondering why he had such attitude at work? The food was delicious, our server Austin did fabulous, and you will leave with plenty of great left overs! If it wasn't for a single host, David, our experience would of been better. He couldn't be bothered to even look up from his computer when we walked in as we told him we had four for dinner, he asked if we had a reservation, we said no. He responded with a 15-20 min wait (which is responsible). He seemed extremely aggravated at just our arrival but as we waited other patrons entered and were treated the same way. We had made eye contact with a few of these people and exchanged the universal "what's his problem" looks and smirked to one another. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day? Again I reiterate that the food and service was excellent otherwise.
(3)Aron D.
This is the WORST service I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I made the reservation on MONDAY and they couldn't figure out a way to get my party of 30 drinks for 40 mins. The waiters and, indeed, the manager had no idea what the banquet menu was or consisted of. Food took a ridiculous amount of time. Got to restaurant at 8 and food wasn't at the table till near closing (10). Complete garbage management and service. Don't waste your time. Pathetic
(1)Jeff R.
We are returning customers. Although, we had not been here for about 8 months. I did read the reviews, and I have to agree with most of the comments. The food was ok, but has gone down hill a little. Pastas were dry and looked like they were reheated, just before bringing to the table. We also noticed the size of the family portion has gotten smaller. The small size is supposed to feed up to 4. It looks like the size is about 30% smaller than it used to be. The big difference is the service. Even though the place was almost empty, we had to ask for everything, from silverware to napkins. It seemed like the wait staff was not very experienced. Overall, we could see a definite slide in service and food. But the prices were still high. There will need to be some improvement before we return again. There are just too many other restaurants to choose from that are doing things better.
(3)Sandy S.
We had a large party and all of the staff was friendly and efficient. The restaurant seemed clean and the food was delicious- especially the salad!! I had a white sangria and it was my first time have sangria (ever) and I will definitely try it again.
(4)Melissa G.
My husband and I went there the other night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly!!
(4)Christopher S.
Not great for couples and I think the food was way off. I am from jersey and the food can't touch it. Not worth the money I spent.
(1)David L.
Rude host. Great waitress. Food was tasty. Pope room a little creepy. Price is decent.
(2)Ted T.
Made a reservation online this morning. Showed up on time and we were told there was a problem with their online ordering and they overbooked and couldn't seat us. Told us they could make an order to go. Thanks for turning away families with reservations on Christmas day. Also, the manager told us they had to shut down online orders. Unfortunately he lied to us. 5 minutes after we walked out we visited the website and we were still able to make a reservation.
(1)Monica F.
NEVER ! AGAIN! My friends and I keep trying this restaurant and have always had an almost fair to a terrible experience. We return each time (8 X) thinking its got to be better than the last, after all we do love the salads!! One time our chicken dish was raw!! Management did very little to redeem our experience. This past Friday night was the worst. What a rip off!! I don't know what you can do to make this up to us..but you have lost 4 great people as customers. Your wait staff needs work. Your front liners are killing your business.
(1)Elizabeth M.
I went here for a fun Italian family dinner. The food was just okay. It was very expensive. The tiramisu was tasty and big enough to take some home for later.
(3)Steve C.
Absolutely terrible. Made reservations for Christmas and then when we arrived they said they couldn't honor our reservation. No other explanation other than they couldn't handle the crowd. Very disappointed and won't be back.
(1)Michael J.
Nice people that work there. Food is trash. They can't even make Alfredo half way decent.
(1)Lisa S.
Definitely not an inexpensive night out if you are going for dinner, but you can be assured of getting great tasting food and large portions. I am a fan of the lasagna, it really is the best you will find anywhere. The chicken and seafood dishes will also not disappoint. Service can be a little hit or miss, but the food is good so we keep going back for more.
(4)Amanda N.
Not impressed. Went for a work xmas lunch and right away when u walk in there's a funky smell. I instantly wanted to walk out but thought I'm not paying I can at least try it. It seemed the waiter was not excited to b there. It was family style but several of our tables were left waiting w no food for awhile. I think we begged for bread like Oliver twist 4 times at my table. The chicken w capers was boring. I don't salt my food but I had to w what we were served. The zitti was ok but nothing to write home about. The only thing that was tasty was raspberry cheesecake. U can definitely find better Italian elsewhere.
(1)Lori G.
Great food in a great atmosphere. If your looking for a unique eating experience look no further. This place will fill your senses with great art work, sculptures and friendly wait staff. We were seated at a fairly timely manner, we scanned the menu online so we had an idea of what we wanted. For 2 people I suggest the small. If you have 3+ I suggest a large. We got the Caprese salad for the 3 of us. My father in law got a Cesar salad. Small was plenty for him, even my hubby had some. Hubby and I ordered bake ziti. Sausages and onions for him and 1 huge meatball also for him. The meat ball looked steamed which is good because it retains moisture. All the food was excellent. The waiter was extremely helpful in choosing our items and he made sure everything was to our liking. The folks next to us , one gent had a birthday and the staff came in and sang happy birthday to him which was fun. Prices a bit steep, but for the taste , atmosphere and unique experience its well worth it. Make sure to sign up for their e-club for specials and coupons.
(5)Marie F.
Working lunches are awesome! We could have gotten lunch catered in - but it wouldn't be the same. Take a few selfies outside. Maybe one or two group shots. Once you're seatted take your time to look up and around. The decor in this place is unspeakable (I think it's cute at least). Cannoli drivilled with chocolate sauce. Diabetes perfect death. Service, wine, and dessert is awesome. They could refine the menu more. Dishes were okay but ... to be perfect, once it's placed it front of me I feel I shouldn't have to add anything else to be satisfied. Chicken Cannelloni - MY FAVORITE Chicken Marsala - perfect Eggplant Parmigiana - kinda plain Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - not that spicy (and I can barely handle spicy meals) Baked Ziti - I've had better Red and white sangria is a must! Load up with bread, pasta, a glass of wine, then come back to the office and play who can hold out on napping. Carb overload is real. This would be a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
(4)AJ A.
They tour us thru the restaurant and thru the kitchen. Friendly service and the food was delicious taste of true Italian home cooking.
(4)Rory D.
Hungry? Bucca's fame is their family style portion sizes. Lotsa pasta or anything else, this is absolutely a good value for very large groups; albeit a little pricier to negotiate for only 1 or 2 people. However, the lunch specials on weekdays definitely help. Soup & salad starting at $6.99, all the lunch specials are a little smaller than their normal colossal dinner portions. No matter how many you come with, come hungry. Some items are average, others are quite good. Nice bar, good drink specials as well.
(4)Mariana B.
We went for a big family dinner and it was terrible..I had been there before and it as good..the food really went downhill.
(1)Mrs. Marisol R.
Do I think they have the best food in the world? No. Do I think they bend over backwards to please their customers. You bet your ass they do. We had a large office party here and they did everything they could to help us make it a success. Such a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The ambiance can't be beat. A quirky The dishes came out perfectly timed and we didn't feel rushed at all. I informed them we had a birthday in the party and they actually gave her a card signed by about 8 employees... in addition to singing a very ...uh, interesting, song to go with it. I was impressed...and if you read my other reviews, I am not easily impressed. Great job Buca di Beppo, especially Katia our server and Shannon the Group coordinator.
(5)FiddyFo F.
Bad service. Really bad. Like, bring your spicy ass pasta and no drinks... And never checked back. 90 minutes for a couple of pasta dishes... The place was not at all busy. Buca di Beppo in Italian means "don't bring a coupon"
(1)Susan S.
the Tuesday Ladies Lunch group met here this week and lets just say..i may not ever return.. I had never been to Buca but had always heard positive things from others so i didnt think thered be any disappointment possible..I was first to arrive, and wasnt approached by a staff member for quite some time..the hostess wasnt in the front of the restaurant..When she did come out, she was pleasant, and i informed her i was waiting..everyone arrived and we were shown to a table..the tables have a leaf portion that is able to be pulled out to make the table larger and rounder, but when not used, it kind of seems like a knee guard..we shouldve moved to a booth..and then..there we sat..waiting..and waiting..it was lunch time, and we were the only party in the entire place..what could be the holdup? we flagged down the hostess who said "oh i forgot to tell your server you were in here, hold on" we waited a little while longer and were greeted quite underwhelmingly by Chris, our server who seemed to hate his life, his job, and possibly us.. We placed drink orders, he brought them out and then took meal orders..the food came out quickly, and it all looked great..but then i started eating..I got the chicken parmigiana with fettucini alfredo..the chicken was chewy in some parts, the pasta was bland bland bland, and had a consistency of paste..like it was made and then just sat around waiting for some poor soul to order it..i tried to put salt and pepper and it just didnt do anything..it wasnt an enjoyable meal..no one else at the table really complained about their meals, but when we eat good food, we rave to each other, we pass things around for a taste..we did like the sangria, and so we sipped on that happily.. the only real saving grace here is the atmosphere youre in..all the decor and the music, and the different rooms..im told theres a booth in the kitchen and that seems fun..i felt like i should go home and watch Goodfellas! also we were walked out at the end of our meal, and thanked for coming..thats always a nice touch to have a nice gentleman hold the door open and tell you to have a nice afternoon.. if i do come back, i will choose meals differently, as maybe alfredo isnt thier forte..the only thing i would come back for is to try the family style eating and see more of the lovely rooms they have..
(2)Eric O.
Had lunch with a group of 6. Only one waiter , doing his best , over worked . Light lunch crowd. Food was fair. Not bad . But not better than a frozen dinner .
(1)Ben P.
Great atmosphere excellent food. We have come here several times and of course sometimes are better than others as with most places overall a great experience.
(5)Skyla A.
Amazing food. Very ethnic and great for families and you can definitely enjoy the photos on the walls.
(5)Justin M.
The food is very good. Apple Gorgonzola salad is the best. But without fail every time I eat hear i have to run to the bathroom. They must be adding MSG as my body does not react well to MSG. I have time and time again nicknamed this place "Puka Di Butthole" I keep returning because the food is good but each time I know I'm in for a punishment. Love/hate here
(3)Chris B.
We had an issue with our reservation, which was initially made through the Buca website and handled by a regional sales representative, who insisted that we use a group menu for our dinner, rather than order off the menu a la carte. I tweeted to Buca about the issue and was overwhelmed by the response from their team, who had multiple representatives from the regional and corporate level reach out to me to apologize and correct the situation. We wound up with our reservation made by the regional director out of Orlando and confirmed by the manager of the Jacksonville Restaurant. My advice would be to call the restaurant directly for making large reservations, rather than going through the national website contact information. Manny (the manager) and Dolphy (the Executive Chef) went out of their way to make sure we had a positive experience at their restaurant. Everyone on my team, parents and players, were very happy with the quality of the food, as well as the quantity and value. Several players and parents raved about the Eggplant Parmesan, the flatbreads were crispy and loaded with quality toppings, and the pasta dishes were tasty and could feed an army (even a small could probably feed two adults and a child). Oh, and make sure to get a meatball. They were enormous and absolutely delicious. Great selection of wine at fair prices, and a full bar for the parents as well. If you're looking for a great place for a sports team dinner, I can definitely recommend Buca. Lots of choices on the menu, and very affordable for parents and players to split entrees.
(4)Kelly N.
I came here on a Friday night (2 weeks ago) before a road race to load up on carbs. The experience and food was disappointing enough to not want to return. (Our waitress told us nothing on the menu was made fresh so we wouldn't be able to exclude certain ingredients). I received an email from Buca to fill out a survey and leave a review. At the end of the survey it asked if I would like to be contacted by management, I selected no. At that point there's nothing management could say or do to persuade us into a 2nd visit. Since the review I have received 4 phone calls and voicemails from the manager asking to speak with me. It's just a little annoying considering I specifically asked for no contact. My review was thorough enough that no questions would arise and there's nothing I want from them. The food and service sucked so I won't come back, plain and simple.
(1)Cristina G.
Went here on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. No doubt I'm sure it was because of the night we went. I'm not from the area, and the bucca by my house closed, so it had been a while since I've had it. Our waiter was very friendly. Pretty good service. We ordered the bruschetta which was enough tomatoes for easily 5-6 people. The bread not so much. It was d-freaking-licious. We ordered the chicken parm and since it had been a while since we've been here, we forgot it didn't include pasta. Our waiter also forgot to remind us. When our three pieces of chicken came out we were like WTF are we suppose to do with these? Luckily, our waiter quickly brought us some pasta. Chicken was really good and tasty. It's a little pricey. The 3 pieces of chicken were $20 and the bowl of pasta around $10. The bruschetta was about $13-15. Not sure exactly.
(4)Jason S.
Unfortunately our company decided to have our Christmas party here..... You would think that spending several thousand dollars you would get more servers than two teenagers that didn't even know how to take a drink order. We paid close to a thousand dollars extra for the bar service and drinks for everyone, after the first round everyone ended up going to the bar themselves and paying for drinks. It took 20 minutes to get a drink at the table, and when they brought them they had near zero alcohol!! I'm not just talking a "weak drink" I'm talking NO alcohol. The food was so, so, I've been before with a couple friends and felt like it was an OK place to go with a small group for dinner. I think because it was a large group, the food was luke warm and the veggies and such were very under cooked. Unfortunately what is done, is done. We will have to plan better next year.. Sooo.. to wrap things up, if a couple people want to go for dinner, i give 3 stars.. anything over 8-10 people, be very careful, its a lot of money and a Christmas party you will never get back til next year! Zero Stars
(1)Dl N.
I have to tell you, not impressed this time and no hurry to go back. We arrived at 5ish on Saturday. hardly anyone there but had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. Gal behind the podium assigning seats not friendly and rather curt to be honest. Brought into the bar room which smelled of old antiques and we were sat under an air condition vent that nearly froze us. Two other couples there discussing the same thing we were...never asked if this was our first time there and no offer of a tour. Ordered gnocchi and asked for no meat (vegetarian) and asked if eggplant could be substituted as we were offered before at another visit. Delivered was gnocchi filled with pancetta..waitress insisted there was no meat in the dish..I picked up the meat and she went "ohhh" took it back and brought out new dishes but eggplant soggy and gnocchi inedible as if it had been "washed" to be used in another dish...unable to eat it. Basically spent 77.00 before tip to get a worst than McDonalds meal. Probably wont go back. Where the hell is management to watch what these folks are doing!
(2)Elena G.
Pricey food for its quality. The waiter was kind and professional. Not recommended to take anyone on a date, it is more geared to big groups.
(1)Jennifer P.
Terrible. We had a long wait for no reason (when we sat down, we had one couple in the entire room. All the tables were empty). The decor is gross. Christmas lights all over, red checkered tablecloths, dirty looking carpet, flickering lights. Our silverware was all dirty with crusts of food on them. The food was ridiculously expensive. They try to make it sound like it's such a good deal because you're sharing. But they must think people can't do Math. We ordered Quattro Formaggio, Chicken Parmesan and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was advertised as being on Garlic Crostini... It was a bowl of diced tomatoes with whole slices of bread lining the outside that you made your own with. The Quattro platter was ok - but if you can mess up boiling some ravioli, that's another problem. There were hard parts on the noodles like it sat under a light. The platter pretty much included a couple ravioli, a couple stuffed shells, a couple manicotti, etc. The chicken Parmesan, which came out cold, was ok as well. We spent $120 for four of us... We each had a piece of cold chicken, some make-your-own bruschetta and a couple ravioli. For $120! We will not go back. Go to Maggianos where it's cheaper, better quality, cleaner, AND it's all you can eat.
(1)Renee W.
Wait staff absent, food temp lukewarm, took an hour to get our food. Took two hours for the entire meal from start to finish. Had to remind our waitress to get our food. Will not be back.
(1)Stephanie I.
My first time here. I was invited my a dear friend for Valentine's dinner. We walked through the kitchen where there was a booth for adventurous diners. We was sitted in the wine room. It was fine us and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend had been here several times with his son and co workers. The food was dine in and take home to eat later size portions. Meaning you will not be able to eat it all in one sitting. He ordered the Shrimp Alfredo....is was quite good. ..just the right amount of sauce. I ordered the Lasagna. .small size but was pretty large. I cut in thirds....so now I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. The head chef came and talk to us. Since I'm studying Culinary Art Mgmt. ..hope to be interning there. I recommend going. ..I wasn't disappointed.
(4)Brian H.
This place has been going downhill for quite some time and this visit will prove to be my last. Listing the issues with the current visit: Came at noon, not even given lunch menus; Brought a basket of bread with what looked like the leftovers of several other customers bread baskets; Food takes oddly long to come out even though it doesn't really seem busy, waitress says the kitchen is backed up; My order of spicy chicken rigatoni comes out tasting horrible as it is obviously not the same dish I always order and has a big fatty half breaded piece of chicken in it which was obviously meant for another dish. It also has so much tomato sauce in it that the dish was absolutely ruined; Upon returning it to the waitress she let me know that they were training a new cook and that the head chef after just looking at for just a second immediately knew it was prepared wrong. Seems like something you would have maybe looked at in the kitchen before sending it out; To top it off, it took over 15 minutes just to get somebody to remove it from the bill and then it was wrong still. What is with this place? It used to be so good as I've been coming here for years. I've given them the benefit of the doubt many times before but this is it. My wife and I are done.
(1)Deirdre H.
I'd give it zero stars if I could. The place is nasty and smells like mildew. Very strong odor to the point that I could still smell it a few days afterwards. The food is horrible. The service was horrible. And the place was empty at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. I will never, ever, ever go to this place again. Unfortunately, I'll never go to any of them across the country either because I can't seem to forget this disgusting place.
(1)I-ee T.
Came here for lunch and got ice cold pasta seriously like it had been near frozen topped with warm sauce put in an oven till the cheese on top melted then given to me with a hope I'd like ice cold pasta, I didn't and when my friend said there's was like warm as well we asked them to reheat it but it never got to a point of tasting fresh and at these prices that's just crap.
(1)Jeanne M.
I have only been to this restaurant 2-3 times. We stopped here with the kids for a quick bite. The restaurant was not crowded. Service was friendly and time was average. It took 30 minutes to get one glass of wine. After we reminded them about the wine, they apologized and gave us a larger glass. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Portions are very big so plan to share and take some home.
(3)Chung K.
I've heard and read a variety of reviews of this location/restaurant ranging from great to poor. I went today with five co-workers for a group/team lunch. The last time I came here was over a month ago. My prior visit was actually good. Today it was not. Our server was courteous, but very slow. He did not check back frequently from my perspective. Four of us ordered the same menu item (spicy chicken rigatoni). Four of us requested it be made extra spicy. The order took a significant amount of time for it to arrive (a little over 30 minutes). Everyone's dish arrived cold/luke warm at best; moreover, the pasta tasted as if it was not thoroughly cooked. We informed our server of the issue. He kind of side stepped the issue and compensated everyone with no charge for our beverages considering half of us ordered water. He took his time getting back to us with our checks to pay for the meal. No there was interaction or availability from a manager. When we arrived back to work, I called the location and requested to speak with the manager and was told that no manager is available and there was no timeframe on when a manager would be available. Suffice to say, I or my co-workers will ever be coming back to this location after today's excuse of so-called quality food & service.
(1)Kirsten M.
Was delicious, and fun as always. Sat in the kitchen, and was a very good experience. Definitely going again.
(4)Julie A.
This place is overpriced and overrated. The food is a hit or miss. We ordered ziti when we ate here in late June. Sorry, I get a better baked ziti when I head to Sbarros. Yeah. My son asked for spicy and it was too spicy and dry. Also, I was pleased with the Penne Sanremo but not the price ($18.95). It was good, but not that good. Probably 3 or 4 notches above Michelinas microwave food. On a good note, I LOVEEE their Bistro Waldorf Salad. The best attraction is the Pope room, which a friend of mine introduced me to. 360 degrees all around you are pics of the pope and in the center of the table is a creepy Pope bust that turns all the way around to stare at whoever has the unfortunate seat in front of it. Haha. There are a lot of nude art, so be aware of that. The kids were making a fuss over it. Crazy decor, but foodwise, save your money folks. There are better eats at La Fontana near Parental Home Rd. or La Cena in Downtown.
(3)Heather K.
Food is horrible! Typical chain-restaurant. They must use MSG in their dishes because I'm always bloated & sick after leaving this place:(
(1)Johanna T.
Waited 30 mins with reservations, waited 45 min for food, they use microwaves. They forgot my sons b day which I reminded them of in resevations, and at the restaurant. Salad was blah , dinner was blah. Overpriced for boxed nuked pasta. Won't be back pass .
(1)Jon T.
The food was great. It's family style, so we shared the lasagna. So much better than Olive Garden. The service is a little suspect, but I will definitely be coming back.
(4)Ed F.
My elderly dad and I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago. Long story short, there was an issue with what we ordered and what we got. It was a slow night and the waitress could have handled things better. That being said, the regional V.P. for this store called me, not an email, but called, after I left comments on their website. He took care of the situation very courteously and professionally. The chicken parmesan was excellent, the marinara sauce was only so so. Next time in Jacksonville we will be back.
(5)S K.
Went for my daughters college graduation this past Saturday. We had the veal marsala. The sauce was good but the veal was low quality from other Italian restaurants. Pasta dishes came out luke warm we had to send one back to get reheated. Meatballs while huge were not tender had to cut with a knife. The pizza was under cooked, tasted raw. We did like the eggplant however main dishes do not come with pasta. Service was good. Would not go back!
(1)Melissa G.
I was a little apprehensive about going here after reading the review from 10/5/2013. Going in we knew the ac wasn't working in the whole restaurant....but we figured let's just see how bad it is, it was hotter than he-double hockey sticks, But! Only in the area where the ac wasn't working! (For the record, it's not their fault- someone stole the darn ac units...give them a break) They had a good portion of the restaurant very chilled! We were celebrating my Grandfathers 90th bday! From the moment we arrived at our table, Alissa (our waitress ) had a smile on her face! She was very friendly & polite. She was also very efficient with her job. She handled the 9 of us with ease. Making sure we were satisfied, our drinks will filled, warm bread on the table & wine was topped off! I have to say- my Grandmas spaghetti sauce is way better.... Maybe work on a different seasoning to help give it better flavor. The rest of the food was just fine! Alissa deserves to be recognized for her outstanding job performance! Also a thank you to the "security guard" who I think was a manager...thanks for singing happy birthday to him! :o) to the hostess who greeted us along with the other couple of ladies who helped us get situated, thank you for your sweetness. Thank you for helping my Grandpa celebrate his 90th birthday! (We went on October 6, 2013 - post didn't upload on date)
(4)Mar J D.
Came here 3 times. 2006,07 and January 08. Fun and cheesy decor , you can spend the whole night just looking at pictures all over the walls and even in the restrooms. Food here was very good. Menu is very extensive and you can choose from small to family style portions and small and larges pizzas there is also a big kids menu . Service was excellent and they even gave us a trip to the kitchen. Desserts were great ..I recommend Gellato de lla casa. We were a group of 10 with kids included on my last trip here and we left full and happy.
(4)C N.
This place a is a museum!!!! Take the tour .....the food is great and you will love the size of the portions they serve. You should be taking home a doggy bag. Had them cater a meal and the service and delivery was spectacular. They give you so much for your parties or events that you can't go wrong.
(5)Amanda J.
There's currently a coupon for $20 off two pastas, entrees or baked pastas, small or large and any combo of the two..try the mini meatballs app and get smalls or take the rest home. Great American Italian food!!
(4)Hillie K.
We went there for my daughters graduation. The food came out Luke warm and not good. One family had to take back pasta to get reheated. Totally not good. We won't go back at all.
(1)Jered P.
Have been several times with friends and family. The good: Food is of high quality in general Portions are huge The Bad: The restaurant shows it's age. It has a moldy basement kind of smell. Service is unremarkable.
(3)Jillian H.
Great food, huge portions, but we had bad service. I would go back but hopefully we would get a different waiter.
(4)Daisy D.
When a big group of your friends want to go out for dinner, Buca di Beppo is a good option. It's served family style, so if you're going as a family of four - unless you all like the same thing - you might be going home with a lot of leftovers. My boss put together an end of year - albeit delayed - celebration to thank us for all the hard work we did last year. The menu was preplanned before we got there, but there was plenty to satisfy everyone. 2 different salads, 2 pastas, and 2 chicken entrees. 2 bowls of each type & 3 platters of each chicken. Oh...can't forget the chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say we had a lot of food for the twelve of us. Three of us even got to take home leftovers to our husbands. The food isn't anything especially exceptional, but it was centrally located for all of us and wasn't horrible. Our waitress, Christy, was great. We were seated in the Pope room and had a good time spinning the Pope on the oversized lazy susan.
(3)Eric F.
Disaster. Went for Christmas night dinner. The services tried, but the place was terribly understaffed for the night. We had a reservation, but still had to wait an hour to sit. Took a half an hour after that for drinks to arrive. One entre hadn't even shown up by the time we were leaving. The manager probably handled it as poorly as I've ever experienced. A series of excuses.
(1)J D.
Well...I have been here before and had excellent times. This time was the wet blanket of going out to eat. We ordered the stuffed chicken and it was served way under cooked/raw. We switched up for another menu item and were given the small menu item, which was not enough food. We barely saw the waiter after the incident and were the manager said he was buying our dinner. That was false they only took off the raw food and the replacement. I would return if they had stuck to their word.
(1)Noyb U.
We ate at this location while on vacation. First, as an Italian-American, I found the decor and theme to be patronizing -- in an over-the-top Disney theme attraction-like manner. Just tacky and corny, like the rotund, mustached cartoon characters on pizza boxes. Thanks, Buca, for reinforcing an ignorant stereotype embedded in the psyche of non-Italian patrons. We had a spinach, prosciutto and tomato salad that was so salty that it was hard to finish. I feel combining dried prosciutto with feta cheese is a mistake, as both are salty, and it was completely saturated with dressing. Our chicken dish entree had unimpressive breast portions. Overall, the portions in relation to price is not a good value, despite the fact they really emphasize the portions because they intentionally overprice the food. I am not compelled to visit any location again.
(2)Karen H.
Office Christmas party was held at Buca Friday, Dec 9. This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I had read the reviews prior to going, and was hoping I would not be disappointed in the food, as some others had said, but I am afraid they are right ---- it is just so, so. It is ridiculously over priced. At $23 a plate, and pasta being a fairly cheap dish to make, I expected there to be a little more for everyone. House bread with oil & herbs was served first and continued through the meal. Two salads; Mixed Greens, and Apple Gorgonzola, the Apple was the best. Our pasta dish was cheese manicotti (one manicotti with no sauce per person), our entree was chicken parmigiana (again one piece with no sauce). Our dessert was a cannoli with chocolate chip cream. Neither of the hot entrees was even close to being warm. The decor was fun, pictures were silly and overwhelming, I am just glad where I was seated I did not have to look at the two girls picking their noses while I tried to eat, I did have a man's backside to look at, but at least it was covered! :) Our group of 20 was too many for our area of the restaurant. We were in a room with one long table / booth and three smaller booths. Our tables were set when we arrived and I guess they were expecting children, there was no way to get 3 adults comfortably into the smaller booths on each side, luckily two people were not able to attend. When I arrived I was a little bit behind my group, and there was no hostess in the lobby. And, this is definitely a restaurant where you need assistance in getting around, it is almost a maze like design with twists and turns and one way in and out. I was surprised to have to walk through the kitchen in order to get to our tables. Our wait staff was very professional and extremely polite and efficient. After we finished eating, dishes were picked up very fast (almost too fast). It was obvious that we were not to take our time "partying" even though our reservations were at 2:00 so we would be avoiding the regular lunch crowd times. Our boss was making a quick "thanks for all your hard work during the year"... speech and the lights were turned off in our area. How rude! And, we were really not taking too much time, even so, we had paid for that time and should have been allowed it without being made to feel we needed to leave, time to unwind after eating and socializing just a wee bit should be expected. I was hoping to find a new place to take my family for a new eating experience, but sadly this will not be on our soon to go to list. I
(2)Wava P.
Not very authentic. Stingy on the bread. Had to ask for olive oil and it was dipping quality olive oil. The waitress never refilled out water glasses. Lasagna came cold and extra sauce for spaghetti was cold. Asked for a to go box and never received it. We will never go back. Poor poor excuse for an Italian restaurant.
(1)Sharfin S.
Going down hill quick. Its sad that the ac units were gutted and cost $12,000 apiece to replace, however they should not get cheap on the food to pay for it. The anitpasta salad no longer has prosciutto in it, they replaced it with pepperoni but of course the price is the same. The cappuccino machine is broke. You only get dipping sauce with the bread if you ask for it. Theres a new chef that has changed the cream sauce, it tastes like a watered down mess. The meatballs had WAY to much garlic and were overcooked so you had to actually cut them with a steak knife. We had salad, shells, spaghetti and meatballs, mannicoti, our bill was $160 with tip, for a party of 4, wouldnt mind if the food was as good as it was a year ago. Also good luck if you need a togo container, they only have the real small ones. Apparently the owners have " spent all they can on togo containers untill next year". WOW. And what kind of italian place that charges these prices doesnt have cappuccino for after the meal? Guess they think a big cup of folgers is just as good, yuck!
(2)Richard M.
Food is always great. Family style dining is not always great for couples. This place is a great place to bring a group. We fed 10 people the works, salad entrees and pasta for about 189.00 before the tip. Large groups are billed the tip at 18 percent. Fun and frisky atmosphere. The art decorating the walls is a bit PG-13, to say the least.
(4)David F.
Although the prices on the menu can get high, as others have noted, the italian food there is quite good and never lets me down. You can sign up for their customer appreciation emails and get coupons. The restaurant is decorated to the T and you can even sit in the kitchen.
(4)Jacob G.
Bad Experience. My pizza tasted like cardboard and was cold. Had to wait for about 1 hour for food to come out. Bread was ok. This place is overrated and overpriced. Around $50 for 3 people.Save your hard-earned money
(1)Hugh P.
Food and our server Ciara was great!
(4)Johnny C.
A group of four of us had dinner here after work. We order the Mozzarella Caprese, a small order of spicy chicken rigatoni, and a small order of Lasagna. This was just enough food for the four of us. Cost was a bit over about $56 before tip. Taste wise it was okay. I though, the dishes were just good, but didn't blow my mind. I probably could have made better for much less. You would think that a family style restaurant would be a bit cheaper, but not so in this case. The sauce on the Rigatoni had the right amount of spice and tasted good and the lasagna had a good flavor. I do wish the lasagna noodle were maybe a bit more aldente. Truthfully the Caprese was kinda flavorless. The Tomates were not that fresh and the mozzarella needed a bit for saltiness. I don't suggest this. The service and atmosphere was good. We were greeted quickly and they took us through the kitchen and down some of the halls with crazy amounts of pictures and I guess some might not be appropriate for kids. The waitress was nice and courteous. All in all It was okay. Food was good but not really worth the price. Big groups would like this place since you could order a bunch of things and share if you like trying lots of different things. (oh yeah, one more thing - There was an odd smell that came out with the food that I think I only noticed when the food was brought out. It was a bit like your wet dishrag smell. It was very light, and only I noticed it, but it was a little off putting for me. I didn't smell it on the food directly so I still ate the food, but this was probably attached to the plate. Just going to mention this.)
(3)Kevin C.
Never got in to eat, the people at the host station were rude and inept. That includes a manager that walked up while we were trying to check in.
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