I saw another review this place as great, so I had to weigh in. It's crap. I wish I liked it, but I can't imagine have any worse Italian food. I would rather just have a bowl or cereal at home. If you want food without flavor, this is your place. I guess the building is cool looking from the outside...just don't venture in! I hate being such a downer, but we all need fair warning.
(1)
Jeanie H.
I recently visited this location attending a business mixer event. WOW these portions are HUGE. They have small and large sizes - I hope you are really hungry when you come here. I really enjoyed the interior - old nostalgic photos, italian music in the background and the family style of service. I wanna say that I felt like I was at home sharing my meal with family - after all when you are dining with me - you WILL be sharing your food. =0) The restaurant is separated by different areas but still open concept so its great for group events - there was a birthday party going on in the next area too.
(4)
Amber E.
I saw another review this place as great, so I had to weigh in. It's crap. I wish I liked it, but I can't imagine have any worse Italian food. I would rather just have a bowl or cereal at home. If you want food without flavor, this is your place. I guess the building is cool looking from the outside...just don't venture in! I hate being such a downer, but we all need fair warning.
(1)
Sanford R.
I generally enjoy Buca di Beppo! I am fascinated by how this place is decorated. All the walls and various trinkets make this a fun dining experience or interesting at the very least. One thing to note is that it can be kind of expensive to eat here, although I am always finding coupons for this restaurant so that helps. I am sad to report that they can be fairly stingy with coupons here though. They wouldn't take a coupon that had only been expired for like a week, which disappointed me. Aside from that the food is awesome! I go with my wife and we love the calamari and the garlic bread, which we sometimes get as appetizers. We switch up the main course when we go, but each time has had pretty good results. We had dessert here once or twice too and that was also good! We usually end up with leftovers, because they give huge portions. The portion size is truly gigantic, so you definitely want to share an entree here with others.
(4)
Terry H.
Not bad. The portions are huge, which isn't a bad thing. There's only a few menu items I like though. Could do without the kitchen tour every time I go in though. We mostly only go when we have a coupon. Service is good, no complaints there.
(3)
Lanette H.
Went with my husband and kids for the first time and loved this place. The food was amazing. We had the stuffed shells, stuffed chicken and lemon chicken scampi type dish with capers (forgot name). So good! I will definitely have my company Christmas party here this year.
(5)
S C.
Great food, huge portions (well, I feel like the eggplant parmigiana has been shrinking) but always a good meal and it's fun looking around.
(4)
Lindsay M.
If you are looking for a place to host a private party look no further - Anthony and his team are stellar! I booked a dinner presentation event at this restaurant and being located in Florida and flying in for the event makes event planning a bit more difficult. But Bucca Di Beppo here in Peoria made it a breeze. From the planning to the execution everything was very well done! Anthony delivered as promised and the professional staff members, Tiffany and Amanda, who were assigned to our dinner event were great! They were not only professional, very efficient, but also took great care in handling everything quietly as possible as they had to deliver food, etc during our presentation. Anthony, thank you for everything! Tiffany and Amanda, a HUGE thank you to you both, you were awesome!!!! Anthony, both Tiffany and Amanda are a huge asset to your restaurant! Thanks again for everything! All my best, Lindsay :)
(5)
Lis L.
Our first dining experience at Bucca was awful. The service sucked and food was awful. A few months later decided to try again. Service was good and salad was good, however, the baked rigatoni we ordered took some time to be served to us and when we did get it, it was lukewarm. The serving bowl was hot but the food was not which told us it was microwaved. We shall not frequent this restaurant again. The manager did not find it necessary to come our table to apologize but had the waitress tell us it would be taken off the bill. No further compensation offered. The waitress did suggest we take the food home but we declined. Why would we take home what we didn't enjoy there. No recommendations from us to visit this establishment. We could write a book from the other horrific experience but why bother?
(1)
Matthew M.
I already have low expectations for cookie cutter restaurants, but this particular dining experience failed to meet even minimum expectations. We ordered salad, pizza, and rigatoni. The pizza arrived first, then the salad about 10 minutes later. The bread arrived shortly after the salad. After 30 more minutes, we cancelled the rigatoni, since we had already eaten the pizza, salad, and bread. The waitress offered us the rigatoni to-go, but we declined. I won't be in a hurry to return to this or any Buca di Beppo.
(1)
Elizabeth P.
Came here with the 4 for $40 deal where 4 people can share a family style pasta, salad and bread. It's a pretty good deal, the catch is that none of the pasta dishes that you can choose from have meat, so it's pretty much a vegetarian meal.
(4)
Mike N.
I've been to multiple Buca di Beppo locations in several cities. They are a good place to go with a large group. We went to this location with a group of nine. The menu was typical. We ordered the seafood trio, which was nice, and the fried mozzarella, which was also good. The Caesar's salad was also good. We ordered pasta entree's and chicken, all of which were served up warm and in plentiful portions. We left with a fair amount of food. I would give the food four stars. However, I would give the service one star. Two in our party ordered cocktails. Five of us ordered wine with dinner. All drinks arrived together with our entrees. We did not get enough dinner plates. We did not get enough wine glasses, and had to wait for three more. Three entrees arrived together, and we had to wait about five minutes for the fourth to arrive. We had to ask three times for boxes to put our leftovers in. We were never asked if we wanted dessert. If the service were spot on, the rating would be much higher, but, I can't justify it.
(2)
Crystal G.
Not impressed by the food. Atmosphere is crowded. Maybe they will be on Restaurant Hoarders. Waiter was a jerk. I asked for another and got one but she was dumber than a box of rocks (i didnt mean to insult rocks) Too expensive to deal with waiters with attitude and mediocre food!
(1)
Eric S.
I first went to Buca in Scottsdale back in the day (no seriously, it was like... 8 years ago) and was suitably impressed with both the raucous atmosphere (naked people in the bathroom! How very European!) and delicious food. The chunks of garlic on the garlic bread were sinful and almost everything else was fabulous although I do recall never caring much for their marsala. So it was with a not insignificant amount of dismay that I watched, over the years, as Buca's quality declined, its food became less interesting, its service nonexistent and the atmosphere was ultimately no longer able to make up for its shortcomings. Eventually, I stopped going altogether, and I wouldn't have been back except that a family member's birthday was up and she wanted to go. Imagine my surprise to discover that Buca has revamped its menu and its attitude and I very much enjoyed my most recent experience there! Everyone agreed that the calamari appetizer was amazing as was the sampler appetizer (especially the mushrooms) - we cleaned them both up. The entrees fared well also, generous portions of delicious food with uniformly intense flavor... the sole exception being the salmon which was ridiculously dry. If you're like me and you've been avoiding Buca, you might want to give them another shot. We actually spoke to the manager about how pleased we were and he mentioned that they had indeed been bought out recently and the new owners had changed things up quite a bit.
(4)
Jeff H.
Compared to the one in Seattle, well, can't really compare it. Reviews for this chain are all over the map, so I guess it depends on the location and reviewer. Portions here are just as huge as they are at every other location, and for me, that isn't a plus. I'm not a fan of leftovers, and I know going in that no matter what I order, I'm taking some home. I came here with my grandma and her friend, who are in their 80's and don't eat much. I think we left with more food then we ordered. The layout of this location is insane. It's a seemingly never ending maze of rooms, hallways, and passageways. It was also loud and there was a baby crying somewhere near our table, but due to the layout, I was never able to pin down exactly where. Service wasn't anything great, and I got the impression that she was getting towards the end of her shift and wanted to go home. I'm glad I live near Seattle, so if I'm feeling the need for some huge portions of Italian food, I can hit the one downtown.
(2)
Katherine T.
I think Buca is actually a pretty great place as long as you follow the formula: Bring online $10 off coupon Bring a good group of friends who will share 4+ Be flexible Came here for a white elephant christmas lunch with 11 people. Ordered cheesy garlic bread, meaty salad, two types of rigatoni, eggplant parm, and proscuitto stuffed chicken. Only leftovers for one serving of pasta. Success! Everyone was happy, full, enjoyed making fun of the creepy rotating Pope head on the table for sharing, and were well catered to by multiple staff. My water was always 1/2 full :) Final tab under $20 a person with drinks and over 20% tip (they don't add gratuity too which I love!) Music was the perfect level too which I don't think should be undervalued. No shouting to be heard but not so quiet the whole restaurant could hear our conversation. Buca can be a good time as long as you come prepared!
(4)
Kolacka D.
Ohhhhhhh Bucca.....I had such HIGH expectations for you! Having attended several large parties at Buca di Beppo I didn't hesitate to book my fiance's birthday party for him and 20 of his closest friends. I was impressed with the banquet manager, Anthony, who helped set up our menu and made suggestions regarding serving size and what to order. He was super helpful and accommodating, calling to offer various seating options and confirming our party in advance. If ONLY he had set the tone for out evening!! The good: The food was good. Yes, it is a chain, and the food reflects that. But our caprese, fried cheese, stuffed mushrooms, etc, they were delicious. Everyone LOVED the chicken parm and the pasta was great....and the red wine sangria was fabu! Attention to mistakes was great. Our server noticed we had been delivered a small app when I ordered a large when I didnt actually realized that......she comp'd the small and sent the large out. The management was good. Yes, I got to meet management! Super duper....allow me to detail the BAD. The room we were in was ODD. Imagine a long table placed in a room that was literally only 2 feet wider than the actual table on 3 sides. It was like the bat cave of dining rooms. All of the food had to be served from one end, which was kind of an issue with the gigantic hot bowls of steaming pasta. Add to the fact that part of the room doubled as the drink station/serving computers and it was a pretty busy place. Speed. My sister arrived early to greet guests and had to hunt down a server to order her drink after waiting 20 minutes. Literally. Hunt. Down. I arrived with the birthday boy and ALSO waited 15 for drinks. Water, soft drinks etc all took empty glasses and special requests for refills. The wait between appetizers and dinner was tremendous (ly odd). They served our green beans 5 minutes after we finished our apps but then the meal came 20 minutes later. WTF? Service. I already mentioned this a bit but if you're still reading you might care about the details. Our server was clearly overworked. I'm not sure how many other tables she had in the restaurant but when you're serving a table of 14-20 I would assume they would be minimal....not in this case apparently. People at the end of our table (GUESTS) ended up busing our dishes. A bus boy eventually showed up to help clear and literally took a plate away from a guest with the fork half way to her mouth. Yes.....SHE WAS STILL EATING! Our waitress brought out dishes for the cake which I appreciated since I hadnt purchases Buca's B-day cake and sometimes restaurants get weird about that. She left for a few minutes and shortly thereafter one of my guests overheard her complaining about how horrible our table was!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY??????? I pretty much lost my temper at that point and ended our meal prematurely. While waiting for management I overheard not one, but TWO other servers complain about their tables (as I mentioned we were seated in the drink station area.....so I guess they were breakin' it down in there). Management was extremely apologetic and polite although he obviously had doubts about my complaints. I'm going to choose to believe his doubts were related to his staff having an 'off' night as they are usually totally awesome? And to be honest I was soooooo angry by this point I wasnt able to detail the majority of my issues. There were certainly moments of greatness (ie the appetizer issue) when they demonstrated an understanding of good service. They took care of a large percentage of our check (which I wasn't expecting) but I completely appreciated since I had set up a cash bar and in our rush to depart ended up being an 'open bar' on me :-( I wouldn't recommend this Buca unless you knew the server or management and were ensured a good time. As a former server I understand the stress of waiting on large parties, but still expect the style of service afforded to smaller tables. I really did appreciate the effort management made to appease our complaints but simply wish we could have skipped the entire drama. And as I mentioned, the food was delicious!
(2)
Darlene P.
EDIT: 7/14/2012 -- I was contacted by a restaurant representative through Yelp regarding this review. The message included an apology for my experience and said they wanted me to contact their customer service by email so they could "reach out" to me. I sent off an email over a week and a half ago and they still have not "reached out" to me. My review: Usually a disappointing experience when I go, and I'll likely not go back. Food is okay. It's why they get a grudging 2 stars. It's family-style so they bring a big platter or bowl of what you order and everyone serves themselves. I don't mind that. Though one thing that's kind of annoying is that you have to order side dishes as an extra with your entree. For example, if you order a platter of chicken parmesan, you just get a platter of chicken pieces and nothing else. If you want some pasta or potatoes to go with it, you have to make sure you add it on as an extra dish. Would it be so hard for them to put a combo-type offering on the menu so you get an entree platter with a side dish? Even if we pay the same amount as ordering it separately, it's still a perceived value and wouldn't make customers feel like they're paying "extra' for something that seems like it should be included with a meal. Service is either very poor or just okay. Servers seem to all be rushed and busy, like they're too overloaded to do a good job. Each time I've gone, I've had messed up orders. Once, we ordered cappuccinos before the meal, and the server went and came four times before he brought them during the middle of our meal...and only after I reminded him the first three times he had come back and kept forgetting the coffees. When he finally brought them he made an excuse, saying he was busy and the coffee machine was very far away from our table. Yeah. Last time, I was with a party of 5. After we ordered our meals, one of them got to the table very quickly (turned out he brought it to the wrong table and it was supposed to go to the table next to us), while the next three meals came out 30 minutes later, and the last meal, my meal, actually never came out!! He seemed to forget mine and when asked about it, hardly seemed apologetic at all, just a tad embarrassed, and just said that the kitchen didn't have any of the dish I wanted. Seriously!?! He couldn't tell me that earlier? I ordered another dish to-go since my party was nearly finished eating. But then he came back a minute later and said he checked with the kitchen and they actually did have my original dish. Ugh. What a nightmare of a server. So after all that, I did get my dish to-go. Nothing was taken off my ticket, though they gave us one dessert for free for the 5 of us to share. Pretty lame. Bottom line: Poor service. Food is okay, but not good enough to overlook the service. If you're craving good pasta, spend your hard-earned money at a different Italian restaurant that appreciates their customers.
(2)
Edward D.
I was really surprised by all of the low ratings! Until I started reading them, and most of the negative is based on their service! We also have a problem with the service! The Family! Only came here because another restaurant next door was going to be a long wait. So, while we were walking back to our truck. Daughter mentioned, lets try Buca! Since non of us have ever ate here, and we always like to try something new. We decided to try Buca!!!!! Now this was a totally different experience. When we first walked in, we noticed all of the pictures hanging up. If you have little ones, you might have to explain a few things to them about some of the pictures! We were met by a couple of hostesses, after a few seconds of trying to determine where they want to seat us. One finally grabbed a few menu's and introduced herself to us. After a little tour through the kitchen, and surprisingly noticed they also have a table for customers in the kitchen! We were seated up stairs! Kind of feel sorry for them going up and down the stairs all day. Especially the food servers!! We were warned about the servings, since a small feeds two-three. Now this rating is based on three things! 1) Service! Not very good! There were times we were waiting for our waiter. We received our salad before our appetizer! For the price of our bill, service needs to get better 2-STARS 2) Taste! We ordered and expected to bring home left overs! Pepperoni Pizza, Actually I loved this pizza! One of the best! Next time I will asked them to cook it well done, for that crispier crust. We also had their chicken Parmesan, Daughter loved this one, Mommy and myself agreed with her also! Then the girls of course wanted a cheese cake, this was also very good. 4-STARS 3) Price! Now, when you come here. You are going to spend some money. Just the three of us, our bill was over one hundred dollars!! I don't mind laying down a hundred for a meal. But the service needs to be better. 2-STARS Overall we had a great time, and we will be coming back.
(3)
Michelle A.
I really should have known better-being that I was spoiled in NJ with such fantastic italian food. Once again, another restaurant (chain or family owned) that does not offer chicken francaise! What do I have to do to find some chicken francaise in AZ?! Anyway..food was bland-you have to order pasta seperately? really??? It's not included? what italian place doesn't give you a smidge of pasta? Even olive garden gives you some pasta! Oh well..server was great, so I gave the extra star for the super waiter and I actually love all the kitchy stuff on the walls.
(2)
Kyle F.
fun atmosphere and good food. Really liked the bread and the meatballs
(4)
Marc B.
I love this Restaurant! the food is great, service is awsome and the drinks are stout! this place has a great feel to it.
(5)
Naresh R.
It's Buca Di Beppo. Its not great its not bad. What else can you say about the place? The place is great for groups but food is just so so. Disappointed that not even a small happy bday dessert given to a 11 year old birthday girl after they sing happy birthday.
(3)
K'ana Heik S.
Huge servings, excellent friendly service, our waiter Ben gave incredibly spot on recommendations, and is a major reason I will come back to Buca!
(5)
Kim S.
Although we visited on a Saturday evening, we arrived around six, we were seated within 10 minutes because the restaurant was not very busy. We were taken to a table which was not yet cleaned. After waiting a while for a waiter to take our drink order finally the manager took the order. A nearby waiter recognized that we had been sitting for a long time without drinks or a waiter. Because of him our waiter arrived a short time later and took our order. We would have enjoyed our mozzarella garlic bread while we waited for our entrees, but it all arrived all together. The food, with the exception of the bread, was lukewarm at best. While several tables around us cleared out, I never saw a busboy clear the tables. We were disappointed by the discombobulated staff and disorganization in every step of our dining experience. I honestly doubt I will returned this location.
(2)
Rebecca S.
Went earlier this evening with 2 people who have never been. Giving a 2/5 because the food was good, when we eventually got it. Otherwise, poor service! We sat down at 4, the bartender took our drink order and while my friend was ordering an appetizer, the bartender walked off. Strike 1. When she came back a couple of minutes later, we placed our order, and we received the bread at about 415. We then received our garlic bread order at 430. At 445, the bartender came over, told us that the kitchen had been taking longer than usual (we were one of only 2 groups of people on that side of the room except for 3 people at the bar, otherwise the whole place was pretty empty), and that our food would be ready in a few minutes, and she took my drink to refill it. At 5, we still had not received our dinner order, the bread on the table had gone cold, and I still had not received my refilled drink back yet. Strike 2. At 515, over an hour since we were seated, we finally received our food, and she asked us if we needed anything else. I told her she still had not brought my refilled drink back, and she gave me a blank look like I was retarded. I told her she took my drink earlier to refill it, and never brought it back. She then realized that I wasn't nuts, and brought me a new glass. I was upset (I didn't say anything to her) but it was obvious on my face and she told me she realized that she did forget to bring my drink back, so apologized for that. but it wasn't her fault that the kitchen staff got our food out slow. Strike 3. I like the Mesa location a lot, but this one definitely did not leave a good impression on my friends, and myself - will not be bringing them back to this one.
(2)
Daren C.
I have been here 4 times since it opened, so you know it isn't the best ever but it is not bad. Most recently we went for a wedding rehearsal dinner. 35 plus people. We were served wine, beer, pop, tea, water, salad, garlic bread, spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, chicken parm and cheesecake. The meatballs were a little mushy and lacked a presence other then the size. The pasta was good, cooked perfectly and tasted good with the sauce. The chicken parm was fantastic. Simple yet tender and plenty of flavor. The salad was bitter....? The bread was great, the cheesecake was excellent. We have always enjoyed our dinners here but will only order ceaser salad from now on.
(4)
Tracilynn H.
Excellent food and large family style portions, my favorite is the veal parmesan. Been here numerous times and they get really busy, not always the best service and is pretty pricey.
(3)
Jennifer W.
The antipasto salad was AWESOME. The lasagna and chicken pomodora was---eeehhhhh. And the restaurant was FULL of dust. They had obviously not cleaned the millions of knick-knacks in a year. I don't care to go back--it wasn't that great.
(2)
Debby B.
Always ask if you want the tour or would you like to go directly to your table. I have always been asked may we seat you in the bar? Do not just seat someone into a very NOISY BAR. Never have I ever been to a Family type serving restaurant them did NOT have an option of just a single serving. Veal is free range veal that was bland, dry somewhat tough and tasteless. Lasagna dried out, the edges were spongy as if the lasagna is precooked frozen and the reheated. Nope not going back eeewww yucky.
(1)
Iris L.
After reading some of the previous reviews, I didn't think I need to write anymore, but why not... The $10 off $20 ticket coupon lured me in. I talked my husband into going there even though the last experience wasn't the best one. So, that said, it was not that good this time either. First of all, they got rid of personal portion. So we had to choose something we both would eat. Now, my husband and I have very different taste buds. That's why we go to a restaurant!! So I don't have to make 2 different meals for the evening. Also it seems like they have raised the price when they made fancy-new-menu which had more ad by us-air or something that had nothing to do with their food... like Cheese cake factory's menu... (is that just to cover up the fact that they have no variety to choose from...?) We finally decided and ordered garlic bread and seafood pasta. $9 for garlic bread and $20 for a bowl of pasta... Hmmm why do I get the feeling I'm getting ripped off? So anyways... food was descent, but I don't like to be forced to get meal for 3 when I just want something for me
(2)
Ryan C.
Reviews are all over the scale for this demi-Italian joint, but my experience here puts it on my Mediocre List. Remember Leftover Night as a kid? You'd ask your mom what's for dinner and she'd open the fridge and say, "Whatever you want -- we have spaghetti, salad, bread, there's a piece of fish, and some kind of meat. Go to town." Buca is kind of like that. The selection and portion sizes available to you are just wierd. Plain and simple, I like getting what I want, not choosing from among the things that THEY want me to have. I know all places have their menu's, but any illusion of getting something the way you want it is gone at Buca. That makes me change my mind. Buca is more like "Leftover Night" at a friend's house, choosing from among that other mom's dishes, which while familiar to you, were prepared in a way that just "isn't like my mom makes it". The food is pretty good: hovering around average, but hearty. The service is the standard fake-friendly. I can't be sure if the extra touch of douchebag that our server exhibited was a personal trait or something they train. The restaurant itself is oh so very annoying, with enough distracting wall decorations to paralyze a hard ADD case. The layout is a bunch of ridiculous rooms, with doorways and stairways like a maze, and they march you through the kitchen to get to your seats -- an obnoxious bit of pretention that should be saved for an establishment that deserves it.
(3)
JEANNE C.
Love the food and service. Had spicy chicken rigatoni and stuffed chicken prosciutto. We sat upstairs in a section by ourselves. The service was good, but the restaurant was not busy. I have been to other locations in the past and they were very busy. Don't know if that would have affected the service. We had a great experience here.
(4)
Albert H.
$10 coupon and FREE spaghetti coupon brought me back here recently, and things haven't changed. This is some of the most ordinary Italian fare that I've ever had and they give you huge portions that you cannot avoid. Well, you can, but it is silly when you consider the price difference between the full size order and the half order. Eggplant isn't bad, and I'm upset that they axed a few appetizer menu options from the menu. It's cool that they have an Italian beer on tap but they need more beer options. Not all of us splurge on restaurant wine, especially if you're trying to lure customers via coupons.
(2)
Jake D.
I was going to pass on reviewing this place, but I left behind a "You've been Yelped" card and didn't want to be proven to be a liar... My parents were in town and it was my brother's birthday. The only Buca in Omaha had closed so they wanted to come here while they were in town. It started soon after we sat down with a kid screaming bloody murder at a booth beside us. Maybe the parents would take him outside to calm him down? No such luck. We ordered a few items, with my parents ordering a salad in which a special cheese was a key ingredient. After halfway through the salad we realize some thing is off. There is no cheese. So we bring this to our waiter's attention and he goes to the kitchen and comes back saying they ran out of that cheese. So.........instead of informing us of that they just throw out an incomplete salad and hoped we wouldn't notice? The rest of the food was ok, when we thought we tell them it was my brother's b-day to get the piece of cake and b-day gift certificate deal, they were, you guessed it, out of cake. So they substituted a piece of cheesecake. For that and for taking the salad off the bill, I can give them 2 stars.
(2)
Jennifer L.
I have to start this review by saying I've been in love with Buca for years and years. Back before they got bought out, I used to go all the time, but once they took my favorite dish (macaroni rosa) off the menu I got sad and now I don't go as often. However, they sent me an email a week ago saying they'd brought back some old favorites. Guess what was on that list? Yep, you guessed it, Macaroni Rosa!! Needless to say I have been twice in the last 2 weeks. It's almost as good as I remember it... although it does seem to have more garlic now. They also brought back their best salad - the 1893 salad. It has meats and cheeses in it and it's awesome. My list of Buca favorites (besides the macaroni rosa) includes the chicken limone, chicken parm, ravioli with meat sauce, and green beans. Go with a large group or expect lots of leftovers because everything is served family style. Although, they do have a lunch menu now with individual portions and they are never busy at lunch time. Join their eclub - they'll send you coupons, which make the bill easier to stomach. Bottom line - their food is fantastic. If money grew on trees I could eat here every day.
(5)
Willy T.
I used to work here and served table. Now I'm enjoying myself having a dinner at Buca. Linguine frutti de mar still the best and my fav dish so far.
(4)
Stef Y.
Haha at Buca. Yeah, you have an array of typical dishes to choose from, but considering these are quite, SIMPLE, Buca still cannot master them. Thought the chopped salad would be awesome...but, I should have known, they used machetes to chop this dish, and then served us the bottom of the bulk, which means, sweaty, liquefied salad. Also, I don't mind having to order a 'side' of pasta, but I'm just so flummoxed by the choices: spaghetti with marinara? or fettucine alfredo?...choices, choices, choices! I mean, these two just pair so well with the porchetta rustica :(sarcasm): Apple crostata= standard apple pie. No warm apples, flaky crust, as falsely advertised on the menu. I should have learned from my first experience here. Good as a soup line!
(1)
Mark T.
Buca Di Beppo is literally, italian restaurant hell. You know how all big box chain restaurants throw junk up on the walls in an attempt to make the space feel vintage? Buca Di Beppo throws junk, and knick knacks and statues and anything else 'italian' they could find in the chinese warehouse where they loaded up these goods. It's a terrible horrible mess and you end up sitting in a yardsale of italian paraphenalia while eating your very bland pasta. It's embarassing how truly flavorless the food is here. Thin, flavorless alfredo sauce. Thick slabs of lasagna with less taste than what I can get out of the frozen section at Publix. I went with a large group and across the table, bland food. When they seat your party, they guide you through the kitchen area where the cooks play along and say a welcoming hello. Deep down you know they hate this. Why are we in the kitchen? Sure it's nice, but I'd rather have them concentrating on making the food, and making it good. Of course, the food at Buca Di Beppo seems to be far beyond any point of return to tasting good. It's just dead. Dead food. No life, no flavor, not emotion. I get more flavor from the $.99 Michelina's frozen lunch package. Far from claiming anything authentic Italian, Buca Di Beppo even pumps out bread with no taste. Eating at Buca is like eating food from an assisted living facility. No salt, no sugar, no butter, no fat, it's all gone along with anything resembling taste. Sure, Buca has huge portions, and the setup is nice for large parties and families - but they might as well just buy the family-size pasta packs from the frozen section and bake it at home, even that would be better, and they wouldn't have to the mandatory gratuity. Say what you will about other italian chains like Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden - at least their food taste like something.
(1)
Kris L.
Went here for lunch yesterday with a party of 10. All of us were disappointed. Three of us shared a ravioli dish, it was cold. Other dishes were scalding hot. We were never offered grated cheese. When we were finished eating the waitress showed up to ask how everything WAS...when we told her about the cold food and cheese she couldn't have cared less. They do add 18 percent tip which she mentioned as she dropped the check on the table.
(1)
Nikki S.
Sooooo... where to begin.... Disappointment. That's a good beginning. It had been a few years since last eating here. We had talked about it in passing, but never seemed to make it back. One of the biggest reasons was mainly because of the large division of what we liked versus what the other person liked. Since they are a family style restaurant, that alone made it difficult trying to decide on something we would both eat. Now we find ourselves on date night trying to pick a place to eat. We were going to the movies and Buca was convenient. We made a reservation to avoid waiting. We arrived and waited about 15 minutes for the reservation. It was the weekend, so this isn't all that uncommon. While being seated I noticed that everything was very corporate kitschy. The hostess seating us took us on the "tour" and droned on in a monotone voice about the place before seating us. The restaurant was fairly busy, with several large parties. It took our server a good 5-10 minutes to greet us. We gave her our drink order Water & soda). As I had been very ill the previous week, no alcohol was ordered and this seemed to disappoint the server. There was a marginal wait again for the drinks. She droppped them off and then said she would be back to take our order. By this point we have been sitting here for 20 minutes and I am hungry! She finally comes back and we give her our order. Bruschetta and Chicken Marsala. I asked for a small side of plain pasta to go with the chicken. She said ok and off she went. A food runner brought out the bruschetta. It was a quarter loaf of sliced, toasted bread with fresh tomatoes and basil. Not the best I have ever had, but the tomatoes were very fresh and they were plentiful. Our entree arrived about 10 minutes later. The chicken looked very good with a small scattering of large plump mushrooms and they had not forgotten the plain pasta. It was accompanied by a huge bowl of marsala sauce. I dished up some chicken and pasta for our plates and we got started. I'd like to say it was as good as it looked, but sadly that is not the case. The Marsala sauce was so horribly sweet, it was more like a syrup and made the entree completely inedible. The mushrooms tasted as if they had been candied. The side of pasta was stone cold. I got the servers attention and let her know. She seemed completely unphased by it and informed me that she "heard that alot" and it was almost always returned. Ok. So I asked " why didn't you tell me this when I ordered it? " She gave me a shoulder shrug and asked if I wanted her to take it back. Umm yes. I'm not eating that. She asked if we would like something else. At this point, I'm not feeling very positve about the experience and hesitant to get anything else. We asked about the lemon chicken and said we would give that a try. As soon as she left, a table next to us leaned over and advised us against ordering that as well. He told us the only safe bet there was to just eat pasta. He said the only reason he was even there was because the kids liked it otherwise he would never eat there. We flagged someone down and told them to cancel our order and to just bring us the check. The check arrived for the full amount. I got our server and asked why we were being charged for the chicken. She was noncommittal and simply picked the check up and walked away. At this point I would like to point out that the side of plain pasta had been rung up as a side of spaghetti marinara and was $6. WHAT? She returned with an updated check and I pointed out to her that not only had I not ordered a side of spaghetti marinara, the side we had ordered was not eaten because the chicken was not eaten. She gave a "put upon" huff and said she would be back. She returned with another updated check and we gave her the card for the 1 drink and a coupon for the appetizer. Not once did a manager come by or was there ever a real "I'm sorry you didn't like your meal". While I have no problem paying for what I order, most restaurants would have just nulled the bill instead of running a debit for 1 soda, this place was more assembly line. I can honestly say that was my LAST visit to this establishment. I don't really know how you can screw up Italian food, but they seem to be doing a damn good job of it.
(1)
Paul B.
This restaurant serves excellent Italian food. I can't recommend it enough. It's fun place to eat, right smack in the middle of Arrowhead's restaurant row. I was pretty much sticking to low carb meals, and that pretty much rules out most Italian dishes. Buca di Beppo's Eggplant Parmesian is low carb enough for restaurant fare, and they even got me eating pizza again! I just tasted it, and pizza was back on my menu after a 10 year respite. I am still very picky about my pizza, but I will never say no to Buca di Beppo pizza.
(5)
Laura M.
I didn't expect much - and Buca Di Beppo was exactly what I expected. Ridiculous, obesity-causing portions (we got the small, which appeared to still be enough to feed a family of four), moderately tasty food, and an atmosphere that screams "CHAIN!". If it weren't for the $25 gift card, I wouldn't have bothered going... but I'm not one to turn down a free meal! So, for a free dinner, it was A-OK. I certainly wouldn't bother going back if I was actually paying though... there are way too many local gems serving up genuinely delicious pasta to devote my money to.
(3)
Michael S.
For me, this is a chain that really does a good job delivering a mass-produced experience. What is most amazing to me is how fresh and tasty the tomatoes and tomato sauce are for a chain the couple of times I've gone to a Buca. It makes even simple dishes like eggplant parmesan really good. I've also had fine experiences with the wine and tiramasu they have that can make a family or friendly gathering at a suburban chain a good time. Or you can just go with a date and start a bottle of wine and sneak the rest into to the Harkins theatre thats right by there. The comfy booths and attentive service has always helped as well. This location also features a seemingly long lost Wilson brother waiter. You'd swear working at a suburban Phoenix Buca was part of Owen's rehab program. He's got some pretty good indie movie recommendations too.
(4)
Jennifer S.
UPDATE: Because I reviewed our recent experience at Buca Di Beppo in Peoria, AZ here on Yelp.... I was contacted (practically immediately) with a request for more information detailing our bad experience - which I supplied. They gave us a generous amount of gift cards for us to go back again them!! I live in a different city than where the event took place, but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there at the big chain restaurants that really, really do care about your unique experience. I plan to sent half of the gift cards to the others that were with us (that was their first experience dining there) so they can give it another shot! I only posted that bad review because I was so upset about the experience...just to vent... I NEVER expected to be contacted - let alone given an apology letter with gift cards to try again! Thank you Buca di Beppo!! I am still a fan!
(4)
Christine J.
I was out in AZ for business about 2 weeks ago for a whopping 24 hours... maybe less. My co-worker and I decided to hit this Italian place after settling into the hotel. I guess this stretch CAN be busy, since there's a whole training facility across the street, but that night, it was DEAD empty. Actually, there was nobody standing at the front of the restaurant to greet us! The place is overflowing with pictures upon pictures upon pictures, all of Italian families and kids and famous people, religious figure and so on. They had a special area called the Pope's Table (or something similar) with a bust of John Paul II in the center of a Lazy Susan. Tacky? Absolutely. Interesting... sorta. The main dining area is upstairs. The server was very pleasant though, but I wish the food was better. They serve buffet style, so they have their menu set up as "small" and "large", with small serving 2 and large serving 3-4 people. We settled on something simple, tortelloni. But it just wasn't good. It was kinda blah and that was disappointing considering we passed a grill and a steakhouse before deciding on this place. The wine, however, was very good! But that's the wine. The riesling was damned tasty. And then the kicker. So the fire alarm goes off and you know, I'm from NY, we don't screw around when it comes to alarms. The server just kinda looks at us and is like, "oh that went off 3 times today, its no big deal", and goes about his business. We were half out the door! I said enough is enough, paid for the bill and left. Crazy Arizona.
(2)
Steven B.
The worst food ever. Waitress brought our bottle if wine with cork already removed. If I could I would score it a negative two stars!
(1)
Brandon S.
The food was really great!! Servers are happy and joyful, but the food takes soooo long!!! Family style be prepared for a lot of food!
(3)
Ron P.
Very interesting kitchen tour when you are taken to your table. Great food and interesting place with all the Italian pictures on the wall and music playing. I reserved the Pope romm a few years ago when I had family in town. I think you need about 12 or more to get that private romm but worth it if you have a large group.
(4)
Valerie B.
It was my first time going to this place and I was pleasantly surprised!! From reading previous reviews I was a little nervous since I was planning to throw a surprise dinner party for my boyfriend. Right away, we were greeted and they lead us up stairs to a private room (the Pope room I believe). Since we had a large group we had two servers which was nice! The food was absolutely amazing! Large portions which was fun since we could share our dishes with each other. Overall, Buca is a great place with delicious food! I would definitely go back again.!
(5)
Nicholas A.
This was my 1st visit to Buca di Beppo, and it honestly was not that bad. When we arrived, there was nobody at 1st to greet us, but stood around looking at all the Italian themed pictures and memorabilia. After a couple minutes, we were greeted and had to go up 2 small flight of steps to get to our table. Shortly after we were greeted by our sever, who took our drink orders. They have Pepsi products. I was hoping for some sweetened tea, which they did not have, though had a type of syrup that could be added to the tea to make it sweet. I chose the pear syrup for tea, which wasn't that bad at all. Server also said this was a family style menu or something to that effect. Looking at the menu it shows S and L above the selections, meaning small and large. The small served 2 and more, while the large served 4 and more. Not having been here before, we both ordered a small item each. She ordered the Penne al Forno (baked pasta) and I ordered Chicken Satimbocca from the entree section. She took our order and came back with bread, and some type of oil and something else. She poured the oil into a saucer, followed by pouring some type of vinaigrette dressing on top. She didn't explain what it was, but said they had butter as well, which my lady asked for. Still not knowing what the oil/dressing was I dipped my bread into it and was pleasantly surprised. The butter that came was in small packages, and it was not soft. Since the dish I ordered took some time to make, I got up from my table to look around the place. It was cozy, and had A LOT of things to look at. The music was themed as well to the restaurant. Well, we were a bit stunned when our food came. We should have just ordered 1 thing and split it... like the menu said, haha. We had so much food, we ate it for dinner, and I am even taking the rest for lunch. The food was decent, I didn't care for the chicken dish (not a fan of their artichokes). But the pasta dish was good. All in all was not too bad of a place. I will revisit at a later date.
(4)
Steven K.
Why is their spaghetti so damn watery? Did they hire my old high school cafeteria lady to work in the kitchen? The waitress was awesome though. She had tons of personality and seemed like a hard worker. The meatballs are amazing, but wish the spaghetti was worth eating with them. Word of advice: if you are a Costco member, go across the street to Costco and buy a $100 Buca Di Beppo gift card for $80. And use a coupon on top of that. Easiest way to safe money here.....because my dinner for the wife and kids was like $130 and somehow it didn't seem worth it.
(3)
Michael F.
Very forced service. Dishes come preseason'd with whatever was left over from the group before smokey service service will out a smile will be sure to bring the flavor out in your food.
(2)
Lou C.
I'm a huge Bucca fan. It never takes long for us to be seated, the servers are always friendly, the food is always great, and the desserts are alway HUGE. The only complaint, which really isn't even a complaint, is that when we sit in the bar area, there are always flies. I grew up ghetto, so it isn't a big enough deal to remove a star. LOL
(5)
Deni G.
Go hungry Buca di Beppo is an old fashioned Italian style restaurant with a relaxed and homey feel. This was my first visit to this Buca Di Beppo location and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. On my first visit I decided to take advantage of the take out service rather then eating at the restruant. The small portions at Bucca Di Beppo are enough for at least two people if not three, so be guided accordingly. For large families, the pasta dishes looked like they would feed quite a few people, however, I tend to look for quality, not quantity. On this visit I ordered the baked rigatoni, chicken Parmesan , mini meatballs, mozzarella garlic bread, and chocolate covered cannolis. The meatballs were delicious, however the rest of the meal was average at best. The bread, pasta, and chicken dishes were soggy and not seasoned very well, maybe it's something you have to eat at the restaurant. It just wasn't very good. The Cannolis were okay, nothing special. I guess I was expecting more. It was disappointing at best, especially after spending 72+ dollars. I might give Bucca Di Beppo another try at some point.
(3)
Kathy B.
Came in post Cardinals game, looking for dessert & we found it!! Colossal Brownie Sundae! Perfect on an evening when the temp was still reading 110 degrees at 10 pm!! Jarrett was an excellent server even though we were just having dessert. Very fun restaurant and enjoyable atmosphere.
(4)
Geoff R.
Much better service this time around. Our sever was prompt and actually brought what we ordered to the table. I glad we have this place another shot the food was amazing and well prepared and my glass was always full.
(4)
Ester M.
Great place , highly recommend for either a fun date or for a family gathering. Family size portions. It's just like a typical Italian dining room themed. Tons of black & white pictures on the wall, ya get a quick tour of their kitchen , it's tw floors, great wine list....ohhh just go and check it out, you won't regret it. Enjoy when you do.
(5)
Chris I.
I just want to say that manager Todd really went above and beyond for us tonight! He is the example of every manger should be! We were lucky enough to dine at the kitchen table tonight and it sure was a great experience to see/eat behind the scenes. Our server Alyssa, was so mellow, personable and to the point. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread and baked ziti pasta! We left stuffed yet satisfied! Thank you so much Todd and Alyssa, A++++!
(5)
Steven N.
First time here. Having the Linguine Frutti di Mare. Scrimp, Baby Clams, Mussels and Calamari in Spicy Rosa Sauce. That's just the beginning!
(5)
Amanda V.
The best garlic bread, chopped antipasto salad and spaghetti and meatballs. Our favorite restaurant whenever we are in Phoenix or Anaheim.
(5)
Jana Y.
We ordered eggplant and chicken parmigiana. Plus Apple, Gorgonzola salad which is delicious. A small is more than enough for two ppl. So is a side of spajetti. The eggplant had two huge stacks which were delicious. My husband had three huge patties but something was sort of off. But he ate it. Then I tasted it and said this is veal. We asked the waitress to give us at least one chicken to take home. Well she made it right. Which was delicious , more so than the veal. My husband was very happy with that. . Anyway great customer service and wonderful meal. Of course we will be back. Then another customer on way out handed us a 10.00 off making the day sweeter. We have lots of leftovers. This is a place to share entrees that is if you can decide on the same thing. So happy they were open today.
(5)
Ateh W.
Environment: I went here on a lunch date with my boyfriend and we were literally the only ones in the restaurant, which wasn't bad but different. It was quiet and dimly lit and the walls were covered with some pretty beat photographs.... overall the environment was cozy. Service: our waitress was great, she was up beat and very attentive ( we were the only ones there so how could she not be?). Like all good servers she gave us our space but made sure all of our dining needs were met Food: awesome! The bruschetta was out of this world. I ate do much of it that I could only eat a bite of my rigatoni I would come back
(4)
Melyssa G.
I've been to several different locations and have never been disappointed. While the wait at another restaurant was about an hour, I spotted this place across the parking lot and immediately smiled. I love this place. This location gave a quick little tour of the kitchen. I've never been to a location that did that. It was cool and smelled oh so good. We had a pretty cool waiter. He had a sense of humor which is a plus for me. And of course, the food was amazing. Even tried something different and fell in love with it. Everyone left with full bellies.
(5)
Christal B.
Wonderful environment!!!! So much to look @, food comes in hearty portions, friendly service. Totally enjoyed my visit & dinner.
(5)
Jessica S.
Ah not really impressed with the meal at all or the dirty bath rooms with lack of potty protectors. Went for Baby shower and they were thoughtful giving us a huge room to ourselves. Our server however was absolutely a sweetheart and did a great job making sure we had everything we needed. The food wasn't too bad just what you pay for what you get they really need to spruce it up.
(2)
Isla B.
My family and I went to dinner here for my brothers birthday. He loves this place (for some reason) so we were all expecting a somewhat pleasant dining experience to celebrate his special day. For starters, this place is family style, so the portions and prices are designed to feed 2 or more. My parents both ordered drinks - when our server brought out my dad's beer she sloshed half of it on the table and walked away. I also couldn't help but feel this place is overpriced. We ordered the caprese and artichoke dip to start, both of which were around $15. The caprese was perfect and the artichoke dip was okay - rather small for the price. We ordered 2 chicken entrees and a pasta dish all of which were about $25 a piece. They were all alright but for what you're paying alright doesn't cut it. The service was slow, the room we were in was noisy, the tables around us weren't cleared for a good 30 minutes - it was a Monday night so there wasn't really a reason for any of this. Anyway, we had a nice time but personally I probably wouldn't eat here again. Step up the service and clean up the environment. Hopefully the management reads these reviews and improves in the areas everyone is complaining about. Cheers.
(1)
Blair H.
Dirty and horrible service. Every silverware roll we got was gross. The plates were just as bad. We had to ask to put in a drink order. We had to ask to get a set of silverware. We had to ask to get plates for our bowl of pasta, while it was sitting on the table getting cold. And best of all our server was cleaning the toilets and serving us at the same time.
(1)
Audrey E.
Yeah they have big portions but i didn't notice anything special about their food. I got food poisoning from the spaghetti and meatballs I had here. The atmosphere was cool but I was packed and the waiter looked so stressed I felt bad for him.
(2)
Paula E.
I am not a fan of family style dining (get your fork off my plate!) so it's not exactly what I would want to do. That being said the food was awesome. Price is on the high side and I didn't like that the young hostess didn't ask us before hand how we felt about eating upstairs or walking up steps when there was an elevator there. That is something that needs to be asked right away before seating anyone. My partner in crime didn't care for that either and service can be slow at times. I plan on going back due to the food and for that alone it gets 4 stars.
(4)
Huy K.
Great place to try Italian food. Nice decoration and good service. Their tomato sauce is unique and a must to try. They also have great menu of desert too. Definitely will be back.
(5)
Eric B.
I love my Italian food saucy and lot's of it. At Buca I get both and the Arrowhead location was no disappointment. I took my family on a Saturday night around 9pm. The restaurant was a little scarce and the hostess was a little "uppity". Other than that, the food, service, and time from ordering to receiving our dishes was great. We had the Cannelloni, Pizza, Calamari, and Buca Trio sampler. Everything tasted great and presented very well. I will be making another trip soon.
(4)
Ian D.
If someone brings 17 people "friends and family" into a FAMILY STYLE restaurant, I would assume the staff would be competent enough to at least fill and bring a glass of water. Waiting 40 minutes for a glass of water is absurd. Asking for a glass of water 4 times is even more absurd. I had to ask my friend who was seated at the end of the table for a drink. Did they run out of water? It all started going down hill from there. It was quite embarrassing to bring my mother in law here and watch everyone eating their meal except her. They forgot her meal! They didn't forget to bring her food, they forgot to cook it! What? We were all done with our food when they brought her meal. This is a restaurant, you specialize in 2 things, drinks and food, can I at least get a drink? Next the waiter brought our check minus the change, ??? Wait what? They ran out of change? This is what the waiter told us. Not sure what is going on with this joint? The only reason I am giving Buca 2 stars is because the food was exceptional. If you have a large group of more than 2 people I would not recommend this restaurant unless you want to make yourself look bad in front of your guests, I say this because I have been here on multiple occasions with just my wife. But the last 2 times I brought a group of people here it was a nightmare. Family style is not so family.
(2)
Michael V.
wife absolutely loves this place. I don't get it. it's good but certainly nothing special. however tommy lasorda yelling for everyone to say they love the dodgers was pretty epic!!! caesars salad is good but highly recommend the apple gorgonzola salad! garlic bread is strong enough to kill vampires. baked ziti was pretty bland. the stuffed chicken thing was pretty decent. meh. next.
(3)
Geoff R.
Make sure you are not in a hurry. The food is fair... All is family style. Service is so slow, they must be undertsaffed. We came because someone in our party has a coupon. Not my favorite italian place.
(1)
Maira S.
The service is beyond slow despite it not being busy. Salad and bread are extra! If you don't like to eat garlic DO NOT order the garlic bread. It has a bunch of small chunks of garlic....so you are pretty much eating garlic with bread. The food was ok. In comparison to Olive Garden I would say it's about the same.
(2)
Jackson J.
This place has really gone down hill in the last few years. Stopped in tonight 1/17 and was told over a hour wait. So we waited and waited and waited some more. Then we finally got seated and waited some more! Then l finally got up and asked for a server. When she came to the table she was very pissy. She didn't refill the drinks and the food took FOREVER!!! We won't be back and it's a shame because this placr used to be awesome!
(2)
Marian F.
We sat at the bar, the bartender was very busy but had s terrible attitude & not into customer service. He was irritated that we wanted to try a couple of wines prior to purchasing a bottle. The co-workers were good to each other but not into the customers. Even the manager brought food out but let it sit rather than figure out who should get it. We spent $100 for two people and we won't go back. Very disappointing!
(2)
Elijah Jr. H.
Ok, I've never been a fan of this place. I've visited 3 different locations nationally. I came here tonight for my brother in laws birthday. We waited forever to be seated. They were, by no means, busy. Then, they did not have place settings out for us. A young man eventually came and took our drink orders and we explained how we wanted the checks to be split "that side of the table and the couple over here are separate." Then another server came and did the same thing. They young man went to tell her what we ordered and she just said "I'll do it, again, myself." We re-gave the orders and waited about 20 minutes for drinks. The our order was screwed up. Again, never a fan of bland, over-priced Italian food. The food was as expected. We had to wait for oil and vinegar, wait for cutlery, wait for napkins, wait for bread plates. Then the checks came and we, the couple, were given another members check and were embarrassed to say, "this is with the other patrons." And then, my sister in-law reminded the server, again, that it was my brother in laws birthday. We were the only people on the second floor and they announce to all eight of us it was his birthday. They clapped and sang and no type of dessert was offered. We waited another 20 minutes for the dessert and they said, "oh, we don't do much for birthdays. If you sign up for our club you will get a brownie next year." There was no, "Have a good night, thanks for coming," nothing. Not getting the checks right,nor not getting anything right, especially when you spay $22 dollars for a bowl of pasta, is unacceptable. It was nice to spend time with family but I hope to God I never have to go to this place again and I would never recommend it. Olive Garden, overall, is way better.
(1)
Galina P.
We used to go here often , loved this place I wish they start to serve a gluten free menu so I could come back. Very nice place . Food is delicious .
(5)
Heather J.
We have been to the one in MN several times but this one is huge! Great food, service was a bit rushed but all in all a good place to be. Sign up for their email club before you go!
(4)
Jade N.
I love this place because of it's unique style. It's more of a home style feel than your uppity Italian restaurant. They serve in portions for 2 or more to share food like a traditional Italian household. The food is good and my waiter was great!
(4)
Bad L.
It has been about 14 years since I last visited BDB. It was the one on Ray Road in Chandler. We found a $10 off coupon on Amazon Local and they are now pushing much smaller lunch specials starting at 6.99. The person I was with had never been, so we stopped in at this location. The food is always delish here. The meatballs are so tasty and the sauce they use is so, so good. We decided to share a "regular" small salad and it was still too big. She ordered the chicken parm and added a meatball. I ordered the rigatoni with sausage and meat sauce. Much to my luck, the waitress mistakenly entered my order wrong and ordered me a regular dinner "small" rigatoni instead of the much smaller lunch portion. YAHTZEE! BDB is so good, and it's a great place for large parties with large portions and even larger appetites. After the ginormous salad, we had 5 take home containers and will have food for the next few days. BDB is definitely worth the trip but be sure you are hungry and have at least 3-4 people.
(4)
Michael T.
Went to Buca di Beppo because we were in the area and were starving for food, all the other local restaurants were in big box shopping centers and were crammed with people. We ordered salad, pizza, and baked rigatoni. The food came out in bizarre order.... Pizza first, then 10 minutes later, the salad arrived. 20 minutes after that we still didn't have our rigatoni and finally asked the server to remove it from our bill and we cut our losses. Food quality was meh. I've had much better. I'd say, if you have a whole family to feed, and you don't care about mediocre food, this is the place to go. Big portions, served family style. Don't expect ambiance, great service, quick kitchen, or well-prepared food. But for groups on the cheap, who aren't picky, it's not bad.
(2)
Lucky T.
Wonderful service, but the price for what you get is a rip. I ordered some chicken with lemon and capers dish and that is all you get: 3 pieces of small chicken breasts in a lemon sauce with some capers = $25. Granted, the chicken is cooked perfectly, but the sauce is certainly not like the wonderful chicken piccata they used to have (no more piccata there). Just too expensive to get 3 thin pieces of chicken breasts and NO sides for that amount of money. My friend got some pasta dish that was also overpriced and, for me, way too spiced with flakes of red chilis which was too hot. She liked it...but both of us left saying we would never go back because of the ridiculously overpriced meals there. Now if the chicken dish came with some sides maybe...but just the chicken only for that price: think not. We tipped the nice waiter very well, cause it isn't his fault. Sorry, Buca, you've gotten too pricey for me for what you serve. You aren't the Ritz Carlton, and I'm not coming back and either is my friend. UPDATE: Ate there again with another. Again, fantastic service and I mean fantastic! I didn't like what I ordered, so when a Manager came by and asked I told him (well, I've never been accused of being shy). He takes the plate and returns with something I had mentioned I loved. I mean, how can you beat that???? Now the food quality: Again, excellent! Had the antipasto salad which was a fresh and crisp and delicious as it could be. The entrees were cooked perfectly and don't start me on the tiramisu which is beyond great. Now for the price which was the main complaint I had before: Again, there was just two of us, but we went for lunch this time. The bill came to $60 for 2 entrees, the salad, the huge tiramisu and one lemonade--BUT for all we had--and we brought home probably more than half of it, so now we have a whole nother dinner--the food is definitely priced right now AND everything was fresh! FRESH! And authentically cooked (having spent some time in Italy I feel I have some idea). Where you could really make out with their food and pricing is if you have a party of 4 or more--and if you have 10 people in your party you could super makeout here. If nothing else, you always know the quality of the food and the service is just superior.
(5)
Melanee M.
We have been back to this location by the urging from corporate. We were not disappointed! The sauce was much better, service was really good, we were seated right away and served hot & tasty food. Whatever the issue previous, they must of worked it out.
(4)
Sarah G.
I see a lot of low rathings and I am shocked. The food is family style, so if you are not prepared to eat, don't go. The chicken marsala is different, I had tried it here since I never had before, and it is almost like sweet & sour chicken without the sour. The baked ziti, was fantastic tasting! We did not order a dessert, however, the sunday is bigger than the face of two people and has twelve pieces of brownie....the waiters have to hold it with two hands when they bring it out, so if you have a sugar attack, consider going for that - you will not be dissapointed. The atmosphere is stimulating, pictures, paintings and portraits everywhere!!
(4)
Michael C.
Herd the hype but it did not live up to it. Coming from an Italian the biggest complaint I have is DRY pasta which is what we got. There was not taste, not enough sauce and for the price it is over rated. The bowl was to feed 4 yet you get 3 sausage's, HUH! The salad was good but the main dish was a bust. Were they having an off day maybe but will I return more than likely no. Maybe the other locations are better?
(1)
Luciana L.
The tiramisu deserves 5 stars. It was define. The ambience 4 stars. Very Italian-esque and at-home feel. Pictures everywhere. Some nude or partially nude, if that bothers you. The food 3 stars. I've been to at least 3 other Bucca's in my life and this one just don't compare to the others. It was good. The pasta was al dente like it should be and the meatball nice and soft but the rest of the food I thought was just OK. The green beans were way too crunchy for my taste. We also got some kind of pruscetto (sp?) stuffed chicken which I thought was way salty but I think that's what pruscetto is right? Salted meat? Service was OK. We got bumped around from waiter to waiter (actually, I think one of them was a bartender). I like continuity! He did hook us up with some extra bread so kudos for that. Overall, I think we come here mainly for the tiramisu. As far as meals go, we can probably get it elsewhere for cheaper (it's just 2.5 of us so family meals are much for us - both quantity and price) but every once in a while, we get that hankering for tiramisu. YUM.
(3)
Kelly R.
I have been coming to this Buca's a couple times a year for over 8 years, I like that there are 2 stories to this restaurant, with plenty of fun seating options. There's an elevator as well as a staircase. I still haven't sat in the kitchen though! The service is never exceptional, but it's always a-ok. Since I usually only come with my bf to this location, I've come to accept that a 2 person table isn't going to get the same attention as a group. At least the beverage glasses are large, and I usually only want one refill. The food is as good as any other Buca's I have been to. I love the margherita pizza, chicken parmigiana, spicy chicken rigatoni, chicken saltimboca, chicken limone, and spaghetti with meatballs. Also, the caesar salad is one of my favorites, especially with a side of anchovies! Buca's is also home to my favorite tiramisu. It's made fresh in house, and is worth every calorie. Moist cake without being soggy, and the mascarpone on top is so creamy without being too rich, topped off with the perfect dusting of cocoa powder. I'm really thinking about changing my dinner plans tonight so I can go get me some tiramisu!
I love Buca, but this specific location has a cowardly manager. Went here on Veterans Day with my parents, both Veterans, for dinner. When we walked in, the first thing we asked the hostess is if they had any specials for the holiday. She said "Yes, you get 10% off of your bill!" Delighted, we decided to make Buca our spot for the night. Spending over $140, we get our bill with no discount. When asking our very nice waitress about the 10% courtesy, she explained that the discount was only given if you presented a coupon sent through an email. We politely asked to speak to the manager to express our disappointment with the miscommunication and the waitress obliged. She returned 15 minutes later ALONE and informed us that the manager was busy and that he said there is "nothing he can do, no exceptions." Nice dude, reeeal nice. I guess losing long time customers is not a concern. 5% off or a simple apology would have been plenty sufficient but instead we received the cold shoulder. That's a nice thank you to the men and women who have served your country...
(1)
Kelli M.
I'm not sure what the bad service reviews are about. We come here a lot and our service is always wonderful. The servers are friendly and always suggest drinks and menu items and they're really great with our daughter. I highly suggest the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and the Chicken Parm and the Margherita Pizza... and..........the Fettucini Supremo. The portions are huge, so if we have a 4 or 5 people, we usually order 3 or 4 small dishes and still leave with left overs. I'm a huge fan of Buca and will always come back regardless of the location.
(4)
Taylor H.
My husband and I decided to eat out last night (which we don't do very often) I didn't write the review last night because I wanted to sleep on it and decide if I really wanted to write it..... This experience was the worst I have ever had in a restaurant, ever. We had originally wanted to go to Abuelo's next door, but they had a 45 minute wait. we walked over here to see if they had a wait, it was only 20 minutes so we stayed, unfortunately. We ended up only waiting 10 minutes, this was the highlight of the evening. We were seated upstairs in the back corner, which was nice and secluded, another plus. The hostess did not try to engage in any type of conversation, she showed us the table and started walking away, I had to stop her to ask for a high hair. I'm fairly sure our table had not been previously cleaned because we didn't have placemats or silverware like every other table did. Our waitress came by, asked if we wanted drinks and explained how their portions worked. We ordered our drinks, they arrived and then she disappeared for a good 10-15 minutes before coming to get the order. We ordered Mac & cheese for our son, a pasta dish (can't remember the name) and mozz garlic bread. About 10 minutes after we ordered our waitress dropped bread off at the table (which was stale and gross). There was another table that was seated near us a few minutes after we placed our order that also ordered garlic bread and they got theirs the same time we got ours....20 minutes after we ordered it? My sons Mac & cheese came before our bread, that's how long it took. Our waitress kept poking her head around to look at us but never actually said anything. This happened 6-7 times before she finally came over and said "sorry your entree is taking so long. I rang it in but when I went to the kitchen to check on it and I couldn't find the ticket for it, so they are making it on the fly right now." So we waited some more, 50 minutes total from he time we ordered until our entree hit the table. I've waited awhile for food before, it usually doesn't bother me but what really set me off was by the time it finally came it was lukewarm at best! I worked at Yard House so I understand how a busy kitchen works and a check that has been refired should come out extremely hot, not like its been in the window sitting....which is what ours tasted like. At this point I am furious and just want the check to come, I had like 2 bites of food before giving up on the whole experience. The manager came over and introduced herself and said "I'm sorry your dinner took so long, we took it off the check" and walked away. Didn't give us a chance to explain what happened from our point of view, but whatever we just said thank you. The waitress brought us boxes and could tell there was tension so she said "sorry about that, at least it makes for a cheap date night." I get she was trying to ease tension but it wasn't an appropriate thing to say. I'm pretty sure our waitress just completely forgot to put our order in so she grabbed a dish that had been sitting for a while, because if she truly ordered a new one on the fly it would have came out piping hot. We will never ever return here again. Such a disappointing date night.
(1)
Kathy G.
Food was excellent! Service was excellent. Bring a lot of family members. A lot of food to eat and then take home. You have to try everything. Stuff shells were superb.
(5)
Leslie J.
Really good food but service was not at all good! We waited so long, our waiter was not a people person, didn't tell us about portion sizes, and the place was pretty dirty. (Can't imagine how the kitchen looks)
(3)
Jon L.
I have been going to Buca since 1999 in Pasadena I have always enjoyed the food and service However Peoria Arizona location had horrible service and the restaurant was not clean it was ran by High School kids our server Jessica was rude and the busboy was cussing and complaining about his job to us while we ate, when we left I asked for a after dinner mint and the hostess was talking to other employees ignoring me a said there over there if we have any ! Very Rude and not like Buca in Ca as I been to Pasadena, Huntington Beach , Santa Monica , Our Server Jessica forgot our dinner plates our drinks and simply did not care plus she did not get me a pitcher of Sangria when I asked for a pitcher but came back with a glass 20 minutes later she seemed bugged and we would of walked out but had hungry kids with us Never again in Peoria AZ I also will complain to Corporate as the food was good but the service and environment was horrible and not up to Buca Di beboo standard
(1)
Jen R.
I've only been dining out for 34 years, but our trip to Buca today (Christmas Day) was the WORST dining experience I have ever had. It started with us making our reservation online. That was seamless as there were plenty of reservations available. Once we got to Buca Arrowhead, while we were waiting to be seated, 4 different people were turned away because they did not have a reservation, even though there were reservations available online and plenty of empty tables. As business owners ourselves, we were shocked to see so much money walking out the door for no reason. However, after our experience, I'm thinking that those folks who were turned away were the lucky ones. We ordered salad. The lettuce was brown, but we decided to let that go. 30 minutes after we were seated, our 4 year old son's pizza was brought out. 30 minutes after that, we still did not have our food. Our son had long finished eating and was bored. Our waitress visited the tables around us 4 times but never checked on us, refilled our long emptied drinks or given us an update on the status of our food. But all that aside, our food had FINALLY arrived so we figured we'd dish up and eat fast. However I guess our food had sat in the back too long. Our baked ziti was cold and our daughter's chicken parm was rock hard and her noodles were cold. We had to get up to go find our waitress at which point she took our food back. Then a manager came to our table and said, "Sorry about that. We'll reheat that for you" and he walked away. REHEAT? Seriously? He didn't even pause long enough to give us a chance to say if we even wanted our food reheated...or I don't know...replaced. I had to chase him down to tell him that our 4 year old was not going to wait for us to get new food and then wait for us to eat it. He offered me no solution and did not ask what he could do to make it better. I finally said, that we would like our salad and our son's pizza comped and that we would be leaving. Not that I need to tell anyone how to do their job, but from our point of view, had we been given a little attention and concern and not had to come up with a solution on our own, we would have gladly paid for our whole meal. We left and our Christmas dinner ended having to be fast food. Thanks for nothing Buca Arrowhead.
(1)
Maci K.
Before going to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (which wasn't actually so incredible, save your money and wait for it to come out on Redbox) the BFF and I decided that we couldn't live without cheesy bread and figured this place would have it. When we walked in there were a few people waiting in the lobby and were told it would be a 35 minute wait for a table. We were starving at that point and really didn't care about a regular table so we just went to the bar and sat there. The bartender gave us our menus and explained that everything is served family style so when an item says "Small" it servers 2-3 people and "Large" serves 5-6. We decided on Spaghetti with meatballs (1/2 lb. ones at that!!!) and obviously a side of cheesy bread. A few minutes after ordering we were also brought a basket of fresh bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in. I didn't really like though that they just use a plate for the oil and vinegar and after the server pours it they take it away. Ummmm, sorry for my fat kid tendencies but I like to DUNK my bread in that goodness, not lightly dab at it. So obviously we ran out pretty quickly and had to ask for more. I wish they would have just left the bottles of the stuff with us so we had some control over it. Are oil and vinegar hot on the black market right now or something?? I feel so out of the loop! The cheesy bread came out next and was A-MAZ-ING! Perfectly crispy on the crust, soft and fluffy in the middle and covered with delicious melty cheese and garlic! We had asked for marinara sauce on the side too but the stuff was so good I actually preferred it sauceless. A few minutes after that the spaghetti came out with what looked like two round meatloaves on it, seriously these things were huge!! Beyond the size of the meatballs I wasn't impressed with the spaghetti at all though. The sauce was bland without any kick and the meatballs didn't have much seasoning at all and when you're an Italian restaurant you need to be able to do a good job even on the basics. I will go back just due to the cheesy bread and the fact that our server was great but I definitely won't be ordering the spaghetti again.
(3)
Doug H.
I know it's a restaurant targeted at large parties, so I'd imagine they'd hire waitstaff that know how to handle larger parties (or at least train 'em to). Our waitress consistently forgot about portions of our order, like a water for one of our 8 people (though everyone else had a water at that point). The kitchen staff actually brought the limes she requested out before the water arrived, probably 10 minutes after our drink order. The second pitcher of beer we ordered after appetizers didn't arrive until after we were finished with the dinner portion. I could go on, but you get the point. Service was really slow, and it was hot and musty in our section. For a party of 8, 2 hours on a Sunday evening is pretty rough. The kitchen wasn't behind, we just sat with empty plates for a good 30-45 minutes after our meal. Good food ruined by the lack of service. Too bad.
(2)
Christopher B.
I've been to Buca di Beppo before at other locations, but this branch made me remember why I am not a regular. They sat us in the rowdy bar area (where guys were getting drunk and shouting at the TV prior to noon!) even though we came for lunch and it was so cold that you could probably build a snowman. The management might want to save money during the winter but who wants to come into a restaurant that requires a jacket for warmth? Even after requesting more heat two different times, it never came. The bartender was the server and she didn't hide her ambivalent attitude toward her job. I'm not sure that I blame her for that. The pizza was also a complete rip off (go to Papa John's if you want pizza)! The crust was as thin as paper and the proportion of cheese to pizza sauce was about 1 to 5. The food echoed a desire of shareholders to up the profit margin. After all, for most of their items, there is a reason why they offer the big portions that they do - it obviously allows them to reduce expenses (staff, energy, itemized purchases) and increase profit by serving in bulk under the guise that it is an "Italian" thing to have large portions to share. If you've ever been to Italy, you know that they all don't eat according to such a model! The Mozzarella Caprese is good though, and can almost be a meal for two when coupled with the complimentary bread. The bread is nice and soft, but like a child, you are restricted to having the server pour the oil and vinegar. Aside from the yummy bread and Caprese, I do not find much of a reason to return.
(2)
Charity S.
Buca di Beppo is my favorite restaurant. I love going here. I love the food and I especially love the atmosphere. Unfortunately the reason I have to give just 4 stars is because the service is totally hit or miss. I've gone with large parties and had excellent service. I've gone with small parties and had lousy service. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. All the same, it is a must-try if you're in the Phoenix area. Someday I really want to eat in the pope room!
(4)
Chuck F.
Good food but pricey. No salad with entry, just cold bread. Very large portions
(3)
Cassandra B.
My parents and friends met my husband and I for my birthday dinner here tonight and I was pretty disappointed overall. Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait about 10 min to be seated. Not a big deal since there are so many fun things to look at on the wall, though. We started with some garlic cheese bread that was skimpy on the cheese but pretty good when dipped in the fresh marinara. The small salad was good and enough for feed all 6 of us easily. My parents ordered a pepperoni pizza, we ordered the steak Milanese and my friends ordered a Quattro formagio pasta dish. We were told several times that are food was only a couple of minutes away until we were finally told that the chef had burned the steak. The pizza came out right after and was very good, but the rest of us still didn't have our food. The pasta dish came out next and my friend's husband asked what was in the dish because he was a vegetarian and wanted to make sure he knew which items were meat free. The waitress said only one of the items had meat in it but that didn't end up being the case. He even asked again after he tasted sausage in the shells and she said it was only cheese and spinach. After a few minutes she came back to tell us there was chicken sausage in the shells. Too late. Eventually our steak Milanese came out and it looked delicious with the fresh tomatoes but didn't taste that way. I expected the breading to be crispy and instead it was very soggy. That taste drowned out everything else. I was very disappointed. The waitress was nice and took the steak off the bill because of the delay but I was overall unimpressed and won't be back anytime soon.
(2)
Had R.
Went there late one Saturday night, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Although I will say this place is on the expensive side... but you get a lot. Our server was great, in fact we were given a tour of the kitchen and got to say hello to the kitchen staff. The bulding inside is fantastic, there are so many pictures and things to see on all over the walls, and including the toilets. Some of the old photos are very funny!! I dont eat meat and cheese normally, but my server and I am sorry i forgot his name, actually suggested he create me a dish... which he did... and boy was it good. Great atmosphere, good food, made me feel like family for sure.
(4)
Jennifer O.
I went here tonight with the BF and his parents, as it was his Dad's birthday. The place is a chain, and so it feels like a chain... you know, that weird feeling that all the 'kitsch' on the wall is the same as the 'kitsch' on 500 other walls across the country.... The food was fine, nothing crazy awesome, but nothing that was bad. We had garlic bread, gnocchi, and manicotti. Everything was ok, nothing was too flavorful, but it was fine. We shared a pitcher, almost, of sangria, which was good. We also got the brownie sundae which was good... huge! Overall, the place was fine and not terribly expensive, so I would come back if the occasion was right. Oh, and it's awesome they're on open table cuz I got some points for making a reservation and I got to get seated without waiting without having to make an awkward phone call. So yay to that. Oh, and the waiter was also a friendly guy, so that was nice.
(3)
Everett J.
Good food and service. It is an absolutely horrible place to go if you are by yourself. Food is served family style, so take your sorry single self to a different establishment
(4)
Travis H.
I dont understand the bad reviews! Today was my first visit there. I went with my parents during off-hour lunch times, so maybe that was a big difference between other reviewers and myself. It was very dead, which was great. My parent's go there all the time usually during lunch. They request a certain section on the lower level by a bar toward the back right ( from the lobby). They always get a waitress named Helena, who was an absolute gem! She and my dad talked about the MLB ( baseball) for a good 5 minutes, and as a big baseball fan, I was impressed by how much she knew! I ordered the Chicken Parm. I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about. I got an awesomely seared chicken parm dish that came with spaghetti.. All for like 9$! My parents loved their food too! I loved all the Italian "schwagg" on the walls, it was fun to look at for a bit. Temperature inside was perfect. I guess some people just like to complain. And please, take your kids to McDonalds... not places like this. Seems to be an Arizona thing.... PS- If you come during a Friday/Sat night Primetime dinner hours, I am sure, like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD..... you can expect things to be a bit more bustling.
(5)
Tim M.
I've been here probably three times over the course of several years. Each time I've gotten something different and it's been hit or miss in terms of how I've liked it. The last time was a week or so ago. Ordered a chicken dish which I don't see on the online menu. It was three stuffed chicken breasts and was a bit over $20 with no sides. Then we ordered pasta with marinara for an additional $9 or so and garlic bread for another $8ish. For the amount of food you get, the prices are a bit high. The chicken was really good, the pasta and garlic bread were very so-so. Not much different than I would expect at an Olive Garden or the like. Service was excellent and our waitress was very nice and helpful.
(2)
David L.
Went here for dinner with the SO on a Saturday night. Wait was initially supposed to be ~40 minutes but only took about 25 to actually get a table. There seemed to be an excess of hostesses (5-6 up front talking to each other at any given time). After being seated, it took about 10 minutes to get a drink order taken. Waitress attributed to having to help with a birthday on the other side of the restaurant. We immediately ordered the mozzarella garlic bread for an appetizer as well as the spaghetti and meatballs for our entree (dishes are "family style" so they're intended to share; would not recommend if you can't count on each entree having a couple of diners to tag-team on or plan on everybody having a lot of leftovers). Took awhile before we had our drinks refilled and our entree arrived about five minutes before our appetizer did. We initially told the waitress we didn't want the appetizer anymore since it hadn't arrived and we already had our entree. She immediately talked it over with the manager who then came over and decided to not only comp the appetizer but offered to comp a dessert of our choice as well. Also, the waitress was incredibly attentive after. The mozzarella garlic bread: "Decent." The bread itself was firm and crisp on the outside, fairly moist and chewy on the inside. Adequate amount of cheese atop all of the bread. There was also actual garlic cloves tucked under the cheese instead of the usual garlic-butter you'll find at most places. This was a bit unexpected and took some getting accustomed to, but it actually tasted pretty good once I adjusted my expectations. Spaghetti and meatballs (small): "Decent." Pretty well-portioned to share between two diners. Noodles were typical, cooked properly. Sauce didn't taste overly sweet or ketchup-like, such as you'd find at Olive Garden, nor was it overly herby like some country-style sauce; it was a good intermediate. Entree could have used a bit more sauce. There were two large meatballs, one per diner. Outside was mildly crisp and inside was moist. Very creamy mouth feel. The flavor was a bit lacking. The meat definitely needed a bit more pepper and, perhaps, garlic thrown in and they would be excellent. Italian Creme Cake: Lemon cake was dense but tasty. Not overly lemony and not overly sweet. The mascarpone cheese filling was excellent. Ours didn't have much of the raspberry-hazelnut sauce, but what there was tasted decent. Conclusion: Initially, we were going to nix BdB as a place to return to based on the service, however, between the waitress and manager making sure we were well taken care of after the initial lengthy wait for a drink order and the kitchen mishap regarding the app, we felt they went above and beyond what was necessary to keep us happy. Food Overall: B; I've had better (Spaghetti Warehouse); I've had worse (Olive Garden, Old Spaghetti Factory, Carrabba's)
(4)
Valerie B.
It was my first time going to this place and I was pleasantly surprised!! From reading previous reviews I was a little nervous since I was planning to throw a surprise dinner party for my boyfriend. Right away, we were greeted and they lead us up stairs to a private room (the Pope room I believe). Since we had a large group we had two servers which was nice! The food was absolutely amazing! Large portions which was fun since we could share our dishes with each other. Overall, Buca is a great place with delicious food! I would definitely go back again.!
(5)
Mya T.
I love Buca, but this specific location has a cowardly manager. Went here on Veterans Day with my parents, both Veterans, for dinner. When we walked in, the first thing we asked the hostess is if they had any specials for the holiday. She said "Yes, you get 10% off of your bill!" Delighted, we decided to make Buca our spot for the night. Spending over $140, we get our bill with no discount. When asking our very nice waitress about the 10% courtesy, she explained that the discount was only given if you presented a coupon sent through an email. We politely asked to speak to the manager to express our disappointment with the miscommunication and the waitress obliged. She returned 15 minutes later ALONE and informed us that the manager was busy and that he said there is "nothing he can do, no exceptions." Nice dude, reeeal nice. I guess losing long time customers is not a concern. 5% off or a simple apology would have been plenty sufficient but instead we received the cold shoulder. That's a nice thank you to the men and women who have served your country...
(1)
Kelli M.
I'm not sure what the bad service reviews are about. We come here a lot and our service is always wonderful. The servers are friendly and always suggest drinks and menu items and they're really great with our daughter. I highly suggest the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and the Chicken Parm and the Margherita Pizza... and..........the Fettucini Supremo. The portions are huge, so if we have a 4 or 5 people, we usually order 3 or 4 small dishes and still leave with left overs. I'm a huge fan of Buca and will always come back regardless of the location.
(4)
Taylor H.
My husband and I decided to eat out last night (which we don't do very often) I didn't write the review last night because I wanted to sleep on it and decide if I really wanted to write it..... This experience was the worst I have ever had in a restaurant, ever. We had originally wanted to go to Abuelo's next door, but they had a 45 minute wait. we walked over here to see if they had a wait, it was only 20 minutes so we stayed, unfortunately. We ended up only waiting 10 minutes, this was the highlight of the evening. We were seated upstairs in the back corner, which was nice and secluded, another plus. The hostess did not try to engage in any type of conversation, she showed us the table and started walking away, I had to stop her to ask for a high hair. I'm fairly sure our table had not been previously cleaned because we didn't have placemats or silverware like every other table did. Our waitress came by, asked if we wanted drinks and explained how their portions worked. We ordered our drinks, they arrived and then she disappeared for a good 10-15 minutes before coming to get the order. We ordered Mac & cheese for our son, a pasta dish (can't remember the name) and mozz garlic bread. About 10 minutes after we ordered our waitress dropped bread off at the table (which was stale and gross). There was another table that was seated near us a few minutes after we placed our order that also ordered garlic bread and they got theirs the same time we got ours....20 minutes after we ordered it? My sons Mac & cheese came before our bread, that's how long it took. Our waitress kept poking her head around to look at us but never actually said anything. This happened 6-7 times before she finally came over and said "sorry your entree is taking so long. I rang it in but when I went to the kitchen to check on it and I couldn't find the ticket for it, so they are making it on the fly right now." So we waited some more, 50 minutes total from he time we ordered until our entree hit the table. I've waited awhile for food before, it usually doesn't bother me but what really set me off was by the time it finally came it was lukewarm at best! I worked at Yard House so I understand how a busy kitchen works and a check that has been refired should come out extremely hot, not like its been in the window sitting....which is what ours tasted like. At this point I am furious and just want the check to come, I had like 2 bites of food before giving up on the whole experience. The manager came over and introduced herself and said "I'm sorry your dinner took so long, we took it off the check" and walked away. Didn't give us a chance to explain what happened from our point of view, but whatever we just said thank you. The waitress brought us boxes and could tell there was tension so she said "sorry about that, at least it makes for a cheap date night." I get she was trying to ease tension but it wasn't an appropriate thing to say. I'm pretty sure our waitress just completely forgot to put our order in so she grabbed a dish that had been sitting for a while, because if she truly ordered a new one on the fly it would have came out piping hot. We will never ever return here again. Such a disappointing date night.
(1)
Kathy G.
Food was excellent! Service was excellent. Bring a lot of family members. A lot of food to eat and then take home. You have to try everything. Stuff shells were superb.
(5)
Leslie J.
Really good food but service was not at all good! We waited so long, our waiter was not a people person, didn't tell us about portion sizes, and the place was pretty dirty. (Can't imagine how the kitchen looks)
(3)
Jon L.
I have been going to Buca since 1999 in Pasadena I have always enjoyed the food and service However Peoria Arizona location had horrible service and the restaurant was not clean it was ran by High School kids our server Jessica was rude and the busboy was cussing and complaining about his job to us while we ate, when we left I asked for a after dinner mint and the hostess was talking to other employees ignoring me a said there over there if we have any ! Very Rude and not like Buca in Ca as I been to Pasadena, Huntington Beach , Santa Monica , Our Server Jessica forgot our dinner plates our drinks and simply did not care plus she did not get me a pitcher of Sangria when I asked for a pitcher but came back with a glass 20 minutes later she seemed bugged and we would of walked out but had hungry kids with us Never again in Peoria AZ I also will complain to Corporate as the food was good but the service and environment was horrible and not up to Buca Di beboo standard
(1)
Jen R.
I've only been dining out for 34 years, but our trip to Buca today (Christmas Day) was the WORST dining experience I have ever had. It started with us making our reservation online. That was seamless as there were plenty of reservations available. Once we got to Buca Arrowhead, while we were waiting to be seated, 4 different people were turned away because they did not have a reservation, even though there were reservations available online and plenty of empty tables. As business owners ourselves, we were shocked to see so much money walking out the door for no reason. However, after our experience, I'm thinking that those folks who were turned away were the lucky ones. We ordered salad. The lettuce was brown, but we decided to let that go. 30 minutes after we were seated, our 4 year old son's pizza was brought out. 30 minutes after that, we still did not have our food. Our son had long finished eating and was bored. Our waitress visited the tables around us 4 times but never checked on us, refilled our long emptied drinks or given us an update on the status of our food. But all that aside, our food had FINALLY arrived so we figured we'd dish up and eat fast. However I guess our food had sat in the back too long. Our baked ziti was cold and our daughter's chicken parm was rock hard and her noodles were cold. We had to get up to go find our waitress at which point she took our food back. Then a manager came to our table and said, "Sorry about that. We'll reheat that for you" and he walked away. REHEAT? Seriously? He didn't even pause long enough to give us a chance to say if we even wanted our food reheated...or I don't know...replaced. I had to chase him down to tell him that our 4 year old was not going to wait for us to get new food and then wait for us to eat it. He offered me no solution and did not ask what he could do to make it better. I finally said, that we would like our salad and our son's pizza comped and that we would be leaving. Not that I need to tell anyone how to do their job, but from our point of view, had we been given a little attention and concern and not had to come up with a solution on our own, we would have gladly paid for our whole meal. We left and our Christmas dinner ended having to be fast food. Thanks for nothing Buca Arrowhead.
(1)
Maci K.
Before going to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (which wasn't actually so incredible, save your money and wait for it to come out on Redbox) the BFF and I decided that we couldn't live without cheesy bread and figured this place would have it. When we walked in there were a few people waiting in the lobby and were told it would be a 35 minute wait for a table. We were starving at that point and really didn't care about a regular table so we just went to the bar and sat there. The bartender gave us our menus and explained that everything is served family style so when an item says "Small" it servers 2-3 people and "Large" serves 5-6. We decided on Spaghetti with meatballs (1/2 lb. ones at that!!!) and obviously a side of cheesy bread. A few minutes after ordering we were also brought a basket of fresh bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in. I didn't really like though that they just use a plate for the oil and vinegar and after the server pours it they take it away. Ummmm, sorry for my fat kid tendencies but I like to DUNK my bread in that goodness, not lightly dab at it. So obviously we ran out pretty quickly and had to ask for more. I wish they would have just left the bottles of the stuff with us so we had some control over it. Are oil and vinegar hot on the black market right now or something?? I feel so out of the loop! The cheesy bread came out next and was A-MAZ-ING! Perfectly crispy on the crust, soft and fluffy in the middle and covered with delicious melty cheese and garlic! We had asked for marinara sauce on the side too but the stuff was so good I actually preferred it sauceless. A few minutes after that the spaghetti came out with what looked like two round meatloaves on it, seriously these things were huge!! Beyond the size of the meatballs I wasn't impressed with the spaghetti at all though. The sauce was bland without any kick and the meatballs didn't have much seasoning at all and when you're an Italian restaurant you need to be able to do a good job even on the basics. I will go back just due to the cheesy bread and the fact that our server was great but I definitely won't be ordering the spaghetti again.
(3)
Doug H.
I know it's a restaurant targeted at large parties, so I'd imagine they'd hire waitstaff that know how to handle larger parties (or at least train 'em to). Our waitress consistently forgot about portions of our order, like a water for one of our 8 people (though everyone else had a water at that point). The kitchen staff actually brought the limes she requested out before the water arrived, probably 10 minutes after our drink order. The second pitcher of beer we ordered after appetizers didn't arrive until after we were finished with the dinner portion. I could go on, but you get the point. Service was really slow, and it was hot and musty in our section. For a party of 8, 2 hours on a Sunday evening is pretty rough. The kitchen wasn't behind, we just sat with empty plates for a good 30-45 minutes after our meal. Good food ruined by the lack of service. Too bad.
(2)
Christopher B.
I've been to Buca di Beppo before at other locations, but this branch made me remember why I am not a regular. They sat us in the rowdy bar area (where guys were getting drunk and shouting at the TV prior to noon!) even though we came for lunch and it was so cold that you could probably build a snowman. The management might want to save money during the winter but who wants to come into a restaurant that requires a jacket for warmth? Even after requesting more heat two different times, it never came. The bartender was the server and she didn't hide her ambivalent attitude toward her job. I'm not sure that I blame her for that. The pizza was also a complete rip off (go to Papa John's if you want pizza)! The crust was as thin as paper and the proportion of cheese to pizza sauce was about 1 to 5. The food echoed a desire of shareholders to up the profit margin. After all, for most of their items, there is a reason why they offer the big portions that they do - it obviously allows them to reduce expenses (staff, energy, itemized purchases) and increase profit by serving in bulk under the guise that it is an "Italian" thing to have large portions to share. If you've ever been to Italy, you know that they all don't eat according to such a model! The Mozzarella Caprese is good though, and can almost be a meal for two when coupled with the complimentary bread. The bread is nice and soft, but like a child, you are restricted to having the server pour the oil and vinegar. Aside from the yummy bread and Caprese, I do not find much of a reason to return.
(2)
Charity S.
Buca di Beppo is my favorite restaurant. I love going here. I love the food and I especially love the atmosphere. Unfortunately the reason I have to give just 4 stars is because the service is totally hit or miss. I've gone with large parties and had excellent service. I've gone with small parties and had lousy service. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. All the same, it is a must-try if you're in the Phoenix area. Someday I really want to eat in the pope room!
(4)
Chuck F.
Good food but pricey. No salad with entry, just cold bread. Very large portions
(3)
Cassandra B.
My parents and friends met my husband and I for my birthday dinner here tonight and I was pretty disappointed overall. Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait about 10 min to be seated. Not a big deal since there are so many fun things to look at on the wall, though. We started with some garlic cheese bread that was skimpy on the cheese but pretty good when dipped in the fresh marinara. The small salad was good and enough for feed all 6 of us easily. My parents ordered a pepperoni pizza, we ordered the steak Milanese and my friends ordered a Quattro formagio pasta dish. We were told several times that are food was only a couple of minutes away until we were finally told that the chef had burned the steak. The pizza came out right after and was very good, but the rest of us still didn't have our food. The pasta dish came out next and my friend's husband asked what was in the dish because he was a vegetarian and wanted to make sure he knew which items were meat free. The waitress said only one of the items had meat in it but that didn't end up being the case. He even asked again after he tasted sausage in the shells and she said it was only cheese and spinach. After a few minutes she came back to tell us there was chicken sausage in the shells. Too late. Eventually our steak Milanese came out and it looked delicious with the fresh tomatoes but didn't taste that way. I expected the breading to be crispy and instead it was very soggy. That taste drowned out everything else. I was very disappointed. The waitress was nice and took the steak off the bill because of the delay but I was overall unimpressed and won't be back anytime soon.
(2)
Had R.
Went there late one Saturday night, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Although I will say this place is on the expensive side... but you get a lot. Our server was great, in fact we were given a tour of the kitchen and got to say hello to the kitchen staff. The bulding inside is fantastic, there are so many pictures and things to see on all over the walls, and including the toilets. Some of the old photos are very funny!! I dont eat meat and cheese normally, but my server and I am sorry i forgot his name, actually suggested he create me a dish... which he did... and boy was it good. Great atmosphere, good food, made me feel like family for sure.
(4)
Jennifer O.
I went here tonight with the BF and his parents, as it was his Dad's birthday. The place is a chain, and so it feels like a chain... you know, that weird feeling that all the 'kitsch' on the wall is the same as the 'kitsch' on 500 other walls across the country.... The food was fine, nothing crazy awesome, but nothing that was bad. We had garlic bread, gnocchi, and manicotti. Everything was ok, nothing was too flavorful, but it was fine. We shared a pitcher, almost, of sangria, which was good. We also got the brownie sundae which was good... huge! Overall, the place was fine and not terribly expensive, so I would come back if the occasion was right. Oh, and it's awesome they're on open table cuz I got some points for making a reservation and I got to get seated without waiting without having to make an awkward phone call. So yay to that. Oh, and the waiter was also a friendly guy, so that was nice.
(3)
Everett J.
Good food and service. It is an absolutely horrible place to go if you are by yourself. Food is served family style, so take your sorry single self to a different establishment
(4)
Travis H.
I dont understand the bad reviews! Today was my first visit there. I went with my parents during off-hour lunch times, so maybe that was a big difference between other reviewers and myself. It was very dead, which was great. My parent's go there all the time usually during lunch. They request a certain section on the lower level by a bar toward the back right ( from the lobby). They always get a waitress named Helena, who was an absolute gem! She and my dad talked about the MLB ( baseball) for a good 5 minutes, and as a big baseball fan, I was impressed by how much she knew! I ordered the Chicken Parm. I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about. I got an awesomely seared chicken parm dish that came with spaghetti.. All for like 9$! My parents loved their food too! I loved all the Italian "schwagg" on the walls, it was fun to look at for a bit. Temperature inside was perfect. I guess some people just like to complain. And please, take your kids to McDonalds... not places like this. Seems to be an Arizona thing.... PS- If you come during a Friday/Sat night Primetime dinner hours, I am sure, like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD..... you can expect things to be a bit more bustling.
(5)
Tim M.
I've been here probably three times over the course of several years. Each time I've gotten something different and it's been hit or miss in terms of how I've liked it. The last time was a week or so ago. Ordered a chicken dish which I don't see on the online menu. It was three stuffed chicken breasts and was a bit over $20 with no sides. Then we ordered pasta with marinara for an additional $9 or so and garlic bread for another $8ish. For the amount of food you get, the prices are a bit high. The chicken was really good, the pasta and garlic bread were very so-so. Not much different than I would expect at an Olive Garden or the like. Service was excellent and our waitress was very nice and helpful.
(2)
Naresh R.
It's Buca Di Beppo. Its not great its not bad. What else can you say about the place? The place is great for groups but food is just so so. Disappointed that not even a small happy bday dessert given to a 11 year old birthday girl after they sing happy birthday.
(3)
Jeanie H.
I recently visited this location attending a business mixer event. WOW these portions are HUGE. They have small and large sizes - I hope you are really hungry when you come here. I really enjoyed the interior - old nostalgic photos, italian music in the background and the family style of service. I wanna say that I felt like I was at home sharing my meal with family - after all when you are dining with me - you WILL be sharing your food. =0) The restaurant is separated by different areas but still open concept so its great for group events - there was a birthday party going on in the next area too.
(4)
David L.
Went here for dinner with the SO on a Saturday night. Wait was initially supposed to be ~40 minutes but only took about 25 to actually get a table. There seemed to be an excess of hostesses (5-6 up front talking to each other at any given time). After being seated, it took about 10 minutes to get a drink order taken. Waitress attributed to having to help with a birthday on the other side of the restaurant. We immediately ordered the mozzarella garlic bread for an appetizer as well as the spaghetti and meatballs for our entree (dishes are "family style" so they're intended to share; would not recommend if you can't count on each entree having a couple of diners to tag-team on or plan on everybody having a lot of leftovers). Took awhile before we had our drinks refilled and our entree arrived about five minutes before our appetizer did. We initially told the waitress we didn't want the appetizer anymore since it hadn't arrived and we already had our entree. She immediately talked it over with the manager who then came over and decided to not only comp the appetizer but offered to comp a dessert of our choice as well. Also, the waitress was incredibly attentive after. The mozzarella garlic bread: "Decent." The bread itself was firm and crisp on the outside, fairly moist and chewy on the inside. Adequate amount of cheese atop all of the bread. There was also actual garlic cloves tucked under the cheese instead of the usual garlic-butter you'll find at most places. This was a bit unexpected and took some getting accustomed to, but it actually tasted pretty good once I adjusted my expectations. Spaghetti and meatballs (small): "Decent." Pretty well-portioned to share between two diners. Noodles were typical, cooked properly. Sauce didn't taste overly sweet or ketchup-like, such as you'd find at Olive Garden, nor was it overly herby like some country-style sauce; it was a good intermediate. Entree could have used a bit more sauce. There were two large meatballs, one per diner. Outside was mildly crisp and inside was moist. Very creamy mouth feel. The flavor was a bit lacking. The meat definitely needed a bit more pepper and, perhaps, garlic thrown in and they would be excellent. Italian Creme Cake: Lemon cake was dense but tasty. Not overly lemony and not overly sweet. The mascarpone cheese filling was excellent. Ours didn't have much of the raspberry-hazelnut sauce, but what there was tasted decent. Conclusion: Initially, we were going to nix BdB as a place to return to based on the service, however, between the waitress and manager making sure we were well taken care of after the initial lengthy wait for a drink order and the kitchen mishap regarding the app, we felt they went above and beyond what was necessary to keep us happy. Food Overall: B; I've had better (Spaghetti Warehouse); I've had worse (Olive Garden, Old Spaghetti Factory, Carrabba's)
(4)
Sanford R.
I generally enjoy Buca di Beppo! I am fascinated by how this place is decorated. All the walls and various trinkets make this a fun dining experience or interesting at the very least. One thing to note is that it can be kind of expensive to eat here, although I am always finding coupons for this restaurant so that helps. I am sad to report that they can be fairly stingy with coupons here though. They wouldn't take a coupon that had only been expired for like a week, which disappointed me. Aside from that the food is awesome! I go with my wife and we love the calamari and the garlic bread, which we sometimes get as appetizers. We switch up the main course when we go, but each time has had pretty good results. We had dessert here once or twice too and that was also good! We usually end up with leftovers, because they give huge portions. The portion size is truly gigantic, so you definitely want to share an entree here with others.
(4)
Terry H.
Not bad. The portions are huge, which isn't a bad thing. There's only a few menu items I like though. Could do without the kitchen tour every time I go in though. We mostly only go when we have a coupon. Service is good, no complaints there.
(3)
Lanette H.
Went with my husband and kids for the first time and loved this place. The food was amazing. We had the stuffed shells, stuffed chicken and lemon chicken scampi type dish with capers (forgot name). So good! I will definitely have my company Christmas party here this year.
(5)
S C.
Great food, huge portions (well, I feel like the eggplant parmigiana has been shrinking) but always a good meal and it's fun looking around.
(4)
Lindsay M.
If you are looking for a place to host a private party look no further - Anthony and his team are stellar! I booked a dinner presentation event at this restaurant and being located in Florida and flying in for the event makes event planning a bit more difficult. But Bucca Di Beppo here in Peoria made it a breeze. From the planning to the execution everything was very well done! Anthony delivered as promised and the professional staff members, Tiffany and Amanda, who were assigned to our dinner event were great! They were not only professional, very efficient, but also took great care in handling everything quietly as possible as they had to deliver food, etc during our presentation. Anthony, thank you for everything! Tiffany and Amanda, a HUGE thank you to you both, you were awesome!!!! Anthony, both Tiffany and Amanda are a huge asset to your restaurant! Thanks again for everything! All my best, Lindsay :)
(5)
Lis L.
Our first dining experience at Bucca was awful. The service sucked and food was awful. A few months later decided to try again. Service was good and salad was good, however, the baked rigatoni we ordered took some time to be served to us and when we did get it, it was lukewarm. The serving bowl was hot but the food was not which told us it was microwaved. We shall not frequent this restaurant again. The manager did not find it necessary to come our table to apologize but had the waitress tell us it would be taken off the bill. No further compensation offered. The waitress did suggest we take the food home but we declined. Why would we take home what we didn't enjoy there. No recommendations from us to visit this establishment. We could write a book from the other horrific experience but why bother?
(1)
Matthew M.
I already have low expectations for cookie cutter restaurants, but this particular dining experience failed to meet even minimum expectations. We ordered salad, pizza, and rigatoni. The pizza arrived first, then the salad about 10 minutes later. The bread arrived shortly after the salad. After 30 more minutes, we cancelled the rigatoni, since we had already eaten the pizza, salad, and bread. The waitress offered us the rigatoni to-go, but we declined. I won't be in a hurry to return to this or any Buca di Beppo.
(1)
Elizabeth P.
Came here with the 4 for $40 deal where 4 people can share a family style pasta, salad and bread. It's a pretty good deal, the catch is that none of the pasta dishes that you can choose from have meat, so it's pretty much a vegetarian meal.
(4)
Mike N.
I've been to multiple Buca di Beppo locations in several cities. They are a good place to go with a large group. We went to this location with a group of nine. The menu was typical. We ordered the seafood trio, which was nice, and the fried mozzarella, which was also good. The Caesar's salad was also good. We ordered pasta entree's and chicken, all of which were served up warm and in plentiful portions. We left with a fair amount of food. I would give the food four stars. However, I would give the service one star. Two in our party ordered cocktails. Five of us ordered wine with dinner. All drinks arrived together with our entrees. We did not get enough dinner plates. We did not get enough wine glasses, and had to wait for three more. Three entrees arrived together, and we had to wait about five minutes for the fourth to arrive. We had to ask three times for boxes to put our leftovers in. We were never asked if we wanted dessert. If the service were spot on, the rating would be much higher, but, I can't justify it.
(2)
Crystal G.
Not impressed by the food. Atmosphere is crowded. Maybe they will be on Restaurant Hoarders. Waiter was a jerk. I asked for another and got one but she was dumber than a box of rocks (i didnt mean to insult rocks) Too expensive to deal with waiters with attitude and mediocre food!
(1)
Eric S.
I first went to Buca in Scottsdale back in the day (no seriously, it was like... 8 years ago) and was suitably impressed with both the raucous atmosphere (naked people in the bathroom! How very European!) and delicious food. The chunks of garlic on the garlic bread were sinful and almost everything else was fabulous although I do recall never caring much for their marsala. So it was with a not insignificant amount of dismay that I watched, over the years, as Buca's quality declined, its food became less interesting, its service nonexistent and the atmosphere was ultimately no longer able to make up for its shortcomings. Eventually, I stopped going altogether, and I wouldn't have been back except that a family member's birthday was up and she wanted to go. Imagine my surprise to discover that Buca has revamped its menu and its attitude and I very much enjoyed my most recent experience there! Everyone agreed that the calamari appetizer was amazing as was the sampler appetizer (especially the mushrooms) - we cleaned them both up. The entrees fared well also, generous portions of delicious food with uniformly intense flavor... the sole exception being the salmon which was ridiculously dry. If you're like me and you've been avoiding Buca, you might want to give them another shot. We actually spoke to the manager about how pleased we were and he mentioned that they had indeed been bought out recently and the new owners had changed things up quite a bit.
(4)
Jeff H.
Compared to the one in Seattle, well, can't really compare it. Reviews for this chain are all over the map, so I guess it depends on the location and reviewer. Portions here are just as huge as they are at every other location, and for me, that isn't a plus. I'm not a fan of leftovers, and I know going in that no matter what I order, I'm taking some home. I came here with my grandma and her friend, who are in their 80's and don't eat much. I think we left with more food then we ordered. The layout of this location is insane. It's a seemingly never ending maze of rooms, hallways, and passageways. It was also loud and there was a baby crying somewhere near our table, but due to the layout, I was never able to pin down exactly where. Service wasn't anything great, and I got the impression that she was getting towards the end of her shift and wanted to go home. I'm glad I live near Seattle, so if I'm feeling the need for some huge portions of Italian food, I can hit the one downtown.
(2)
Katherine T.
I think Buca is actually a pretty great place as long as you follow the formula: Bring online $10 off coupon Bring a good group of friends who will share 4+ Be flexible Came here for a white elephant christmas lunch with 11 people. Ordered cheesy garlic bread, meaty salad, two types of rigatoni, eggplant parm, and proscuitto stuffed chicken. Only leftovers for one serving of pasta. Success! Everyone was happy, full, enjoyed making fun of the creepy rotating Pope head on the table for sharing, and were well catered to by multiple staff. My water was always 1/2 full :) Final tab under $20 a person with drinks and over 20% tip (they don't add gratuity too which I love!) Music was the perfect level too which I don't think should be undervalued. No shouting to be heard but not so quiet the whole restaurant could hear our conversation. Buca can be a good time as long as you come prepared!
(4)
Kolacka D.
Ohhhhhhh Bucca.....I had such HIGH expectations for you! Having attended several large parties at Buca di Beppo I didn't hesitate to book my fiance's birthday party for him and 20 of his closest friends. I was impressed with the banquet manager, Anthony, who helped set up our menu and made suggestions regarding serving size and what to order. He was super helpful and accommodating, calling to offer various seating options and confirming our party in advance. If ONLY he had set the tone for out evening!! The good: The food was good. Yes, it is a chain, and the food reflects that. But our caprese, fried cheese, stuffed mushrooms, etc, they were delicious. Everyone LOVED the chicken parm and the pasta was great....and the red wine sangria was fabu! Attention to mistakes was great. Our server noticed we had been delivered a small app when I ordered a large when I didnt actually realized that......she comp'd the small and sent the large out. The management was good. Yes, I got to meet management! Super duper....allow me to detail the BAD. The room we were in was ODD. Imagine a long table placed in a room that was literally only 2 feet wider than the actual table on 3 sides. It was like the bat cave of dining rooms. All of the food had to be served from one end, which was kind of an issue with the gigantic hot bowls of steaming pasta. Add to the fact that part of the room doubled as the drink station/serving computers and it was a pretty busy place. Speed. My sister arrived early to greet guests and had to hunt down a server to order her drink after waiting 20 minutes. Literally. Hunt. Down. I arrived with the birthday boy and ALSO waited 15 for drinks. Water, soft drinks etc all took empty glasses and special requests for refills. The wait between appetizers and dinner was tremendous (ly odd). They served our green beans 5 minutes after we finished our apps but then the meal came 20 minutes later. WTF? Service. I already mentioned this a bit but if you're still reading you might care about the details. Our server was clearly overworked. I'm not sure how many other tables she had in the restaurant but when you're serving a table of 14-20 I would assume they would be minimal....not in this case apparently. People at the end of our table (GUESTS) ended up busing our dishes. A bus boy eventually showed up to help clear and literally took a plate away from a guest with the fork half way to her mouth. Yes.....SHE WAS STILL EATING! Our waitress brought out dishes for the cake which I appreciated since I hadnt purchases Buca's B-day cake and sometimes restaurants get weird about that. She left for a few minutes and shortly thereafter one of my guests overheard her complaining about how horrible our table was!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY??????? I pretty much lost my temper at that point and ended our meal prematurely. While waiting for management I overheard not one, but TWO other servers complain about their tables (as I mentioned we were seated in the drink station area.....so I guess they were breakin' it down in there). Management was extremely apologetic and polite although he obviously had doubts about my complaints. I'm going to choose to believe his doubts were related to his staff having an 'off' night as they are usually totally awesome? And to be honest I was soooooo angry by this point I wasnt able to detail the majority of my issues. There were certainly moments of greatness (ie the appetizer issue) when they demonstrated an understanding of good service. They took care of a large percentage of our check (which I wasn't expecting) but I completely appreciated since I had set up a cash bar and in our rush to depart ended up being an 'open bar' on me :-( I wouldn't recommend this Buca unless you knew the server or management and were ensured a good time. As a former server I understand the stress of waiting on large parties, but still expect the style of service afforded to smaller tables. I really did appreciate the effort management made to appease our complaints but simply wish we could have skipped the entire drama. And as I mentioned, the food was delicious!
(2)
Darlene P.
EDIT: 7/14/2012 -- I was contacted by a restaurant representative through Yelp regarding this review. The message included an apology for my experience and said they wanted me to contact their customer service by email so they could "reach out" to me. I sent off an email over a week and a half ago and they still have not "reached out" to me. My review: Usually a disappointing experience when I go, and I'll likely not go back. Food is okay. It's why they get a grudging 2 stars. It's family-style so they bring a big platter or bowl of what you order and everyone serves themselves. I don't mind that. Though one thing that's kind of annoying is that you have to order side dishes as an extra with your entree. For example, if you order a platter of chicken parmesan, you just get a platter of chicken pieces and nothing else. If you want some pasta or potatoes to go with it, you have to make sure you add it on as an extra dish. Would it be so hard for them to put a combo-type offering on the menu so you get an entree platter with a side dish? Even if we pay the same amount as ordering it separately, it's still a perceived value and wouldn't make customers feel like they're paying "extra' for something that seems like it should be included with a meal. Service is either very poor or just okay. Servers seem to all be rushed and busy, like they're too overloaded to do a good job. Each time I've gone, I've had messed up orders. Once, we ordered cappuccinos before the meal, and the server went and came four times before he brought them during the middle of our meal...and only after I reminded him the first three times he had come back and kept forgetting the coffees. When he finally brought them he made an excuse, saying he was busy and the coffee machine was very far away from our table. Yeah. Last time, I was with a party of 5. After we ordered our meals, one of them got to the table very quickly (turned out he brought it to the wrong table and it was supposed to go to the table next to us), while the next three meals came out 30 minutes later, and the last meal, my meal, actually never came out!! He seemed to forget mine and when asked about it, hardly seemed apologetic at all, just a tad embarrassed, and just said that the kitchen didn't have any of the dish I wanted. Seriously!?! He couldn't tell me that earlier? I ordered another dish to-go since my party was nearly finished eating. But then he came back a minute later and said he checked with the kitchen and they actually did have my original dish. Ugh. What a nightmare of a server. So after all that, I did get my dish to-go. Nothing was taken off my ticket, though they gave us one dessert for free for the 5 of us to share. Pretty lame. Bottom line: Poor service. Food is okay, but not good enough to overlook the service. If you're craving good pasta, spend your hard-earned money at a different Italian restaurant that appreciates their customers.
(2)
Edward D.
I was really surprised by all of the low ratings! Until I started reading them, and most of the negative is based on their service! We also have a problem with the service! The Family! Only came here because another restaurant next door was going to be a long wait. So, while we were walking back to our truck. Daughter mentioned, lets try Buca! Since non of us have ever ate here, and we always like to try something new. We decided to try Buca!!!!! Now this was a totally different experience. When we first walked in, we noticed all of the pictures hanging up. If you have little ones, you might have to explain a few things to them about some of the pictures! We were met by a couple of hostesses, after a few seconds of trying to determine where they want to seat us. One finally grabbed a few menu's and introduced herself to us. After a little tour through the kitchen, and surprisingly noticed they also have a table for customers in the kitchen! We were seated up stairs! Kind of feel sorry for them going up and down the stairs all day. Especially the food servers!! We were warned about the servings, since a small feeds two-three. Now this rating is based on three things! 1) Service! Not very good! There were times we were waiting for our waiter. We received our salad before our appetizer! For the price of our bill, service needs to get better 2-STARS 2) Taste! We ordered and expected to bring home left overs! Pepperoni Pizza, Actually I loved this pizza! One of the best! Next time I will asked them to cook it well done, for that crispier crust. We also had their chicken Parmesan, Daughter loved this one, Mommy and myself agreed with her also! Then the girls of course wanted a cheese cake, this was also very good. 4-STARS 3) Price! Now, when you come here. You are going to spend some money. Just the three of us, our bill was over one hundred dollars!! I don't mind laying down a hundred for a meal. But the service needs to be better. 2-STARS Overall we had a great time, and we will be coming back.
(3)
Michelle A.
I really should have known better-being that I was spoiled in NJ with such fantastic italian food. Once again, another restaurant (chain or family owned) that does not offer chicken francaise! What do I have to do to find some chicken francaise in AZ?! Anyway..food was bland-you have to order pasta seperately? really??? It's not included? what italian place doesn't give you a smidge of pasta? Even olive garden gives you some pasta! Oh well..server was great, so I gave the extra star for the super waiter and I actually love all the kitchy stuff on the walls.
(2)
Kyle F.
fun atmosphere and good food. Really liked the bread and the meatballs
(4)
Marc B.
I love this Restaurant! the food is great, service is awsome and the drinks are stout! this place has a great feel to it.
(5)
K'ana Heik S.
Huge servings, excellent friendly service, our waiter Ben gave incredibly spot on recommendations, and is a major reason I will come back to Buca!
(5)
Kim S.
Although we visited on a Saturday evening, we arrived around six, we were seated within 10 minutes because the restaurant was not very busy. We were taken to a table which was not yet cleaned. After waiting a while for a waiter to take our drink order finally the manager took the order. A nearby waiter recognized that we had been sitting for a long time without drinks or a waiter. Because of him our waiter arrived a short time later and took our order. We would have enjoyed our mozzarella garlic bread while we waited for our entrees, but it all arrived all together. The food, with the exception of the bread, was lukewarm at best. While several tables around us cleared out, I never saw a busboy clear the tables. We were disappointed by the discombobulated staff and disorganization in every step of our dining experience. I honestly doubt I will returned this location.
(2)
Rebecca S.
Went earlier this evening with 2 people who have never been. Giving a 2/5 because the food was good, when we eventually got it. Otherwise, poor service! We sat down at 4, the bartender took our drink order and while my friend was ordering an appetizer, the bartender walked off. Strike 1. When she came back a couple of minutes later, we placed our order, and we received the bread at about 415. We then received our garlic bread order at 430. At 445, the bartender came over, told us that the kitchen had been taking longer than usual (we were one of only 2 groups of people on that side of the room except for 3 people at the bar, otherwise the whole place was pretty empty), and that our food would be ready in a few minutes, and she took my drink to refill it. At 5, we still had not received our dinner order, the bread on the table had gone cold, and I still had not received my refilled drink back yet. Strike 2. At 515, over an hour since we were seated, we finally received our food, and she asked us if we needed anything else. I told her she still had not brought my refilled drink back, and she gave me a blank look like I was retarded. I told her she took my drink earlier to refill it, and never brought it back. She then realized that I wasn't nuts, and brought me a new glass. I was upset (I didn't say anything to her) but it was obvious on my face and she told me she realized that she did forget to bring my drink back, so apologized for that. but it wasn't her fault that the kitchen staff got our food out slow. Strike 3. I like the Mesa location a lot, but this one definitely did not leave a good impression on my friends, and myself - will not be bringing them back to this one.
(2)
Daren C.
I have been here 4 times since it opened, so you know it isn't the best ever but it is not bad. Most recently we went for a wedding rehearsal dinner. 35 plus people. We were served wine, beer, pop, tea, water, salad, garlic bread, spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, chicken parm and cheesecake. The meatballs were a little mushy and lacked a presence other then the size. The pasta was good, cooked perfectly and tasted good with the sauce. The chicken parm was fantastic. Simple yet tender and plenty of flavor. The salad was bitter....? The bread was great, the cheesecake was excellent. We have always enjoyed our dinners here but will only order ceaser salad from now on.
(4)
Tracilynn H.
Excellent food and large family style portions, my favorite is the veal parmesan. Been here numerous times and they get really busy, not always the best service and is pretty pricey.
(3)
Jennifer W.
The antipasto salad was AWESOME. The lasagna and chicken pomodora was---eeehhhhh. And the restaurant was FULL of dust. They had obviously not cleaned the millions of knick-knacks in a year. I don't care to go back--it wasn't that great.
(2)
Debby B.
Always ask if you want the tour or would you like to go directly to your table. I have always been asked may we seat you in the bar? Do not just seat someone into a very NOISY BAR. Never have I ever been to a Family type serving restaurant them did NOT have an option of just a single serving. Veal is free range veal that was bland, dry somewhat tough and tasteless. Lasagna dried out, the edges were spongy as if the lasagna is precooked frozen and the reheated. Nope not going back eeewww yucky.
(1)
Iris L.
After reading some of the previous reviews, I didn't think I need to write anymore, but why not... The $10 off $20 ticket coupon lured me in. I talked my husband into going there even though the last experience wasn't the best one. So, that said, it was not that good this time either. First of all, they got rid of personal portion. So we had to choose something we both would eat. Now, my husband and I have very different taste buds. That's why we go to a restaurant!! So I don't have to make 2 different meals for the evening. Also it seems like they have raised the price when they made fancy-new-menu which had more ad by us-air or something that had nothing to do with their food... like Cheese cake factory's menu... (is that just to cover up the fact that they have no variety to choose from...?) We finally decided and ordered garlic bread and seafood pasta. $9 for garlic bread and $20 for a bowl of pasta... Hmmm why do I get the feeling I'm getting ripped off? So anyways... food was descent, but I don't like to be forced to get meal for 3 when I just want something for me
(2)
Ryan C.
Reviews are all over the scale for this demi-Italian joint, but my experience here puts it on my Mediocre List. Remember Leftover Night as a kid? You'd ask your mom what's for dinner and she'd open the fridge and say, "Whatever you want -- we have spaghetti, salad, bread, there's a piece of fish, and some kind of meat. Go to town." Buca is kind of like that. The selection and portion sizes available to you are just wierd. Plain and simple, I like getting what I want, not choosing from among the things that THEY want me to have. I know all places have their menu's, but any illusion of getting something the way you want it is gone at Buca. That makes me change my mind. Buca is more like "Leftover Night" at a friend's house, choosing from among that other mom's dishes, which while familiar to you, were prepared in a way that just "isn't like my mom makes it". The food is pretty good: hovering around average, but hearty. The service is the standard fake-friendly. I can't be sure if the extra touch of douchebag that our server exhibited was a personal trait or something they train. The restaurant itself is oh so very annoying, with enough distracting wall decorations to paralyze a hard ADD case. The layout is a bunch of ridiculous rooms, with doorways and stairways like a maze, and they march you through the kitchen to get to your seats -- an obnoxious bit of pretention that should be saved for an establishment that deserves it.
(3)
JEANNE C.
Love the food and service. Had spicy chicken rigatoni and stuffed chicken prosciutto. We sat upstairs in a section by ourselves. The service was good, but the restaurant was not busy. I have been to other locations in the past and they were very busy. Don't know if that would have affected the service. We had a great experience here.
(4)
Albert H.
$10 coupon and FREE spaghetti coupon brought me back here recently, and things haven't changed. This is some of the most ordinary Italian fare that I've ever had and they give you huge portions that you cannot avoid. Well, you can, but it is silly when you consider the price difference between the full size order and the half order. Eggplant isn't bad, and I'm upset that they axed a few appetizer menu options from the menu. It's cool that they have an Italian beer on tap but they need more beer options. Not all of us splurge on restaurant wine, especially if you're trying to lure customers via coupons.
(2)
Jake D.
I was going to pass on reviewing this place, but I left behind a "You've been Yelped" card and didn't want to be proven to be a liar... My parents were in town and it was my brother's birthday. The only Buca in Omaha had closed so they wanted to come here while they were in town. It started soon after we sat down with a kid screaming bloody murder at a booth beside us. Maybe the parents would take him outside to calm him down? No such luck. We ordered a few items, with my parents ordering a salad in which a special cheese was a key ingredient. After halfway through the salad we realize some thing is off. There is no cheese. So we bring this to our waiter's attention and he goes to the kitchen and comes back saying they ran out of that cheese. So.........instead of informing us of that they just throw out an incomplete salad and hoped we wouldn't notice? The rest of the food was ok, when we thought we tell them it was my brother's b-day to get the piece of cake and b-day gift certificate deal, they were, you guessed it, out of cake. So they substituted a piece of cheesecake. For that and for taking the salad off the bill, I can give them 2 stars.
(2)
Jennifer L.
I have to start this review by saying I've been in love with Buca for years and years. Back before they got bought out, I used to go all the time, but once they took my favorite dish (macaroni rosa) off the menu I got sad and now I don't go as often. However, they sent me an email a week ago saying they'd brought back some old favorites. Guess what was on that list? Yep, you guessed it, Macaroni Rosa!! Needless to say I have been twice in the last 2 weeks. It's almost as good as I remember it... although it does seem to have more garlic now. They also brought back their best salad - the 1893 salad. It has meats and cheeses in it and it's awesome. My list of Buca favorites (besides the macaroni rosa) includes the chicken limone, chicken parm, ravioli with meat sauce, and green beans. Go with a large group or expect lots of leftovers because everything is served family style. Although, they do have a lunch menu now with individual portions and they are never busy at lunch time. Join their eclub - they'll send you coupons, which make the bill easier to stomach. Bottom line - their food is fantastic. If money grew on trees I could eat here every day.
(5)
Willy T.
I used to work here and served table. Now I'm enjoying myself having a dinner at Buca. Linguine frutti de mar still the best and my fav dish so far.
(4)
Stef Y.
Haha at Buca. Yeah, you have an array of typical dishes to choose from, but considering these are quite, SIMPLE, Buca still cannot master them. Thought the chopped salad would be awesome...but, I should have known, they used machetes to chop this dish, and then served us the bottom of the bulk, which means, sweaty, liquefied salad. Also, I don't mind having to order a 'side' of pasta, but I'm just so flummoxed by the choices: spaghetti with marinara? or fettucine alfredo?...choices, choices, choices! I mean, these two just pair so well with the porchetta rustica :(sarcasm): Apple crostata= standard apple pie. No warm apples, flaky crust, as falsely advertised on the menu. I should have learned from my first experience here. Good as a soup line!
(1)
Mark T.
Buca Di Beppo is literally, italian restaurant hell. You know how all big box chain restaurants throw junk up on the walls in an attempt to make the space feel vintage? Buca Di Beppo throws junk, and knick knacks and statues and anything else 'italian' they could find in the chinese warehouse where they loaded up these goods. It's a terrible horrible mess and you end up sitting in a yardsale of italian paraphenalia while eating your very bland pasta. It's embarassing how truly flavorless the food is here. Thin, flavorless alfredo sauce. Thick slabs of lasagna with less taste than what I can get out of the frozen section at Publix. I went with a large group and across the table, bland food. When they seat your party, they guide you through the kitchen area where the cooks play along and say a welcoming hello. Deep down you know they hate this. Why are we in the kitchen? Sure it's nice, but I'd rather have them concentrating on making the food, and making it good. Of course, the food at Buca Di Beppo seems to be far beyond any point of return to tasting good. It's just dead. Dead food. No life, no flavor, not emotion. I get more flavor from the $.99 Michelina's frozen lunch package. Far from claiming anything authentic Italian, Buca Di Beppo even pumps out bread with no taste. Eating at Buca is like eating food from an assisted living facility. No salt, no sugar, no butter, no fat, it's all gone along with anything resembling taste. Sure, Buca has huge portions, and the setup is nice for large parties and families - but they might as well just buy the family-size pasta packs from the frozen section and bake it at home, even that would be better, and they wouldn't have to the mandatory gratuity. Say what you will about other italian chains like Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden - at least their food taste like something.
(1)
Kris L.
Went here for lunch yesterday with a party of 10. All of us were disappointed. Three of us shared a ravioli dish, it was cold. Other dishes were scalding hot. We were never offered grated cheese. When we were finished eating the waitress showed up to ask how everything WAS...when we told her about the cold food and cheese she couldn't have cared less. They do add 18 percent tip which she mentioned as she dropped the check on the table.
(1)
Nikki S.
Sooooo... where to begin.... Disappointment. That's a good beginning. It had been a few years since last eating here. We had talked about it in passing, but never seemed to make it back. One of the biggest reasons was mainly because of the large division of what we liked versus what the other person liked. Since they are a family style restaurant, that alone made it difficult trying to decide on something we would both eat. Now we find ourselves on date night trying to pick a place to eat. We were going to the movies and Buca was convenient. We made a reservation to avoid waiting. We arrived and waited about 15 minutes for the reservation. It was the weekend, so this isn't all that uncommon. While being seated I noticed that everything was very corporate kitschy. The hostess seating us took us on the "tour" and droned on in a monotone voice about the place before seating us. The restaurant was fairly busy, with several large parties. It took our server a good 5-10 minutes to greet us. We gave her our drink order Water & soda). As I had been very ill the previous week, no alcohol was ordered and this seemed to disappoint the server. There was a marginal wait again for the drinks. She droppped them off and then said she would be back to take our order. By this point we have been sitting here for 20 minutes and I am hungry! She finally comes back and we give her our order. Bruschetta and Chicken Marsala. I asked for a small side of plain pasta to go with the chicken. She said ok and off she went. A food runner brought out the bruschetta. It was a quarter loaf of sliced, toasted bread with fresh tomatoes and basil. Not the best I have ever had, but the tomatoes were very fresh and they were plentiful. Our entree arrived about 10 minutes later. The chicken looked very good with a small scattering of large plump mushrooms and they had not forgotten the plain pasta. It was accompanied by a huge bowl of marsala sauce. I dished up some chicken and pasta for our plates and we got started. I'd like to say it was as good as it looked, but sadly that is not the case. The Marsala sauce was so horribly sweet, it was more like a syrup and made the entree completely inedible. The mushrooms tasted as if they had been candied. The side of pasta was stone cold. I got the servers attention and let her know. She seemed completely unphased by it and informed me that she "heard that alot" and it was almost always returned. Ok. So I asked " why didn't you tell me this when I ordered it? " She gave me a shoulder shrug and asked if I wanted her to take it back. Umm yes. I'm not eating that. She asked if we would like something else. At this point, I'm not feeling very positve about the experience and hesitant to get anything else. We asked about the lemon chicken and said we would give that a try. As soon as she left, a table next to us leaned over and advised us against ordering that as well. He told us the only safe bet there was to just eat pasta. He said the only reason he was even there was because the kids liked it otherwise he would never eat there. We flagged someone down and told them to cancel our order and to just bring us the check. The check arrived for the full amount. I got our server and asked why we were being charged for the chicken. She was noncommittal and simply picked the check up and walked away. At this point I would like to point out that the side of plain pasta had been rung up as a side of spaghetti marinara and was $6. WHAT? She returned with an updated check and I pointed out to her that not only had I not ordered a side of spaghetti marinara, the side we had ordered was not eaten because the chicken was not eaten. She gave a "put upon" huff and said she would be back. She returned with another updated check and we gave her the card for the 1 drink and a coupon for the appetizer. Not once did a manager come by or was there ever a real "I'm sorry you didn't like your meal". While I have no problem paying for what I order, most restaurants would have just nulled the bill instead of running a debit for 1 soda, this place was more assembly line. I can honestly say that was my LAST visit to this establishment. I don't really know how you can screw up Italian food, but they seem to be doing a damn good job of it.
(1)
Paul B.
This restaurant serves excellent Italian food. I can't recommend it enough. It's fun place to eat, right smack in the middle of Arrowhead's restaurant row. I was pretty much sticking to low carb meals, and that pretty much rules out most Italian dishes. Buca di Beppo's Eggplant Parmesian is low carb enough for restaurant fare, and they even got me eating pizza again! I just tasted it, and pizza was back on my menu after a 10 year respite. I am still very picky about my pizza, but I will never say no to Buca di Beppo pizza.
(5)
Laura M.
I didn't expect much - and Buca Di Beppo was exactly what I expected. Ridiculous, obesity-causing portions (we got the small, which appeared to still be enough to feed a family of four), moderately tasty food, and an atmosphere that screams "CHAIN!". If it weren't for the $25 gift card, I wouldn't have bothered going... but I'm not one to turn down a free meal! So, for a free dinner, it was A-OK. I certainly wouldn't bother going back if I was actually paying though... there are way too many local gems serving up genuinely delicious pasta to devote my money to.
(3)
Michael S.
For me, this is a chain that really does a good job delivering a mass-produced experience. What is most amazing to me is how fresh and tasty the tomatoes and tomato sauce are for a chain the couple of times I've gone to a Buca. It makes even simple dishes like eggplant parmesan really good. I've also had fine experiences with the wine and tiramasu they have that can make a family or friendly gathering at a suburban chain a good time. Or you can just go with a date and start a bottle of wine and sneak the rest into to the Harkins theatre thats right by there. The comfy booths and attentive service has always helped as well. This location also features a seemingly long lost Wilson brother waiter. You'd swear working at a suburban Phoenix Buca was part of Owen's rehab program. He's got some pretty good indie movie recommendations too.
(4)
Jennifer S.
UPDATE: Because I reviewed our recent experience at Buca Di Beppo in Peoria, AZ here on Yelp.... I was contacted (practically immediately) with a request for more information detailing our bad experience - which I supplied. They gave us a generous amount of gift cards for us to go back again them!! I live in a different city than where the event took place, but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there at the big chain restaurants that really, really do care about your unique experience. I plan to sent half of the gift cards to the others that were with us (that was their first experience dining there) so they can give it another shot! I only posted that bad review because I was so upset about the experience...just to vent... I NEVER expected to be contacted - let alone given an apology letter with gift cards to try again! Thank you Buca di Beppo!! I am still a fan!
(4)
Christine J.
I was out in AZ for business about 2 weeks ago for a whopping 24 hours... maybe less. My co-worker and I decided to hit this Italian place after settling into the hotel. I guess this stretch CAN be busy, since there's a whole training facility across the street, but that night, it was DEAD empty. Actually, there was nobody standing at the front of the restaurant to greet us! The place is overflowing with pictures upon pictures upon pictures, all of Italian families and kids and famous people, religious figure and so on. They had a special area called the Pope's Table (or something similar) with a bust of John Paul II in the center of a Lazy Susan. Tacky? Absolutely. Interesting... sorta. The main dining area is upstairs. The server was very pleasant though, but I wish the food was better. They serve buffet style, so they have their menu set up as "small" and "large", with small serving 2 and large serving 3-4 people. We settled on something simple, tortelloni. But it just wasn't good. It was kinda blah and that was disappointing considering we passed a grill and a steakhouse before deciding on this place. The wine, however, was very good! But that's the wine. The riesling was damned tasty. And then the kicker. So the fire alarm goes off and you know, I'm from NY, we don't screw around when it comes to alarms. The server just kinda looks at us and is like, "oh that went off 3 times today, its no big deal", and goes about his business. We were half out the door! I said enough is enough, paid for the bill and left. Crazy Arizona.
(2)
Michael V.
wife absolutely loves this place. I don't get it. it's good but certainly nothing special. however tommy lasorda yelling for everyone to say they love the dodgers was pretty epic!!! caesars salad is good but highly recommend the apple gorgonzola salad! garlic bread is strong enough to kill vampires. baked ziti was pretty bland. the stuffed chicken thing was pretty decent. meh. next.
(3)
Geoff R.
Make sure you are not in a hurry. The food is fair... All is family style. Service is so slow, they must be undertsaffed. We came because someone in our party has a coupon. Not my favorite italian place.
(1)
Maira S.
The service is beyond slow despite it not being busy. Salad and bread are extra! If you don't like to eat garlic DO NOT order the garlic bread. It has a bunch of small chunks of garlic....so you are pretty much eating garlic with bread. The food was ok. In comparison to Olive Garden I would say it's about the same.
(2)
Jackson J.
This place has really gone down hill in the last few years. Stopped in tonight 1/17 and was told over a hour wait. So we waited and waited and waited some more. Then we finally got seated and waited some more! Then l finally got up and asked for a server. When she came to the table she was very pissy. She didn't refill the drinks and the food took FOREVER!!! We won't be back and it's a shame because this placr used to be awesome!
(2)
Marian F.
We sat at the bar, the bartender was very busy but had s terrible attitude & not into customer service. He was irritated that we wanted to try a couple of wines prior to purchasing a bottle. The co-workers were good to each other but not into the customers. Even the manager brought food out but let it sit rather than figure out who should get it. We spent $100 for two people and we won't go back. Very disappointing!
(2)
Steven B.
The worst food ever. Waitress brought our bottle if wine with cork already removed. If I could I would score it a negative two stars!
(1)
Elijah Jr. H.
Ok, I've never been a fan of this place. I've visited 3 different locations nationally. I came here tonight for my brother in laws birthday. We waited forever to be seated. They were, by no means, busy. Then, they did not have place settings out for us. A young man eventually came and took our drink orders and we explained how we wanted the checks to be split "that side of the table and the couple over here are separate." Then another server came and did the same thing. They young man went to tell her what we ordered and she just said "I'll do it, again, myself." We re-gave the orders and waited about 20 minutes for drinks. The our order was screwed up. Again, never a fan of bland, over-priced Italian food. The food was as expected. We had to wait for oil and vinegar, wait for cutlery, wait for napkins, wait for bread plates. Then the checks came and we, the couple, were given another members check and were embarrassed to say, "this is with the other patrons." And then, my sister in-law reminded the server, again, that it was my brother in laws birthday. We were the only people on the second floor and they announce to all eight of us it was his birthday. They clapped and sang and no type of dessert was offered. We waited another 20 minutes for the dessert and they said, "oh, we don't do much for birthdays. If you sign up for our club you will get a brownie next year." There was no, "Have a good night, thanks for coming," nothing. Not getting the checks right,nor not getting anything right, especially when you spay $22 dollars for a bowl of pasta, is unacceptable. It was nice to spend time with family but I hope to God I never have to go to this place again and I would never recommend it. Olive Garden, overall, is way better.
(1)
Galina P.
We used to go here often , loved this place I wish they start to serve a gluten free menu so I could come back. Very nice place . Food is delicious .
(5)
Heather J.
We have been to the one in MN several times but this one is huge! Great food, service was a bit rushed but all in all a good place to be. Sign up for their email club before you go!
(4)
Jade N.
I love this place because of it's unique style. It's more of a home style feel than your uppity Italian restaurant. They serve in portions for 2 or more to share food like a traditional Italian household. The food is good and my waiter was great!
(4)
Bad L.
It has been about 14 years since I last visited BDB. It was the one on Ray Road in Chandler. We found a $10 off coupon on Amazon Local and they are now pushing much smaller lunch specials starting at 6.99. The person I was with had never been, so we stopped in at this location. The food is always delish here. The meatballs are so tasty and the sauce they use is so, so good. We decided to share a "regular" small salad and it was still too big. She ordered the chicken parm and added a meatball. I ordered the rigatoni with sausage and meat sauce. Much to my luck, the waitress mistakenly entered my order wrong and ordered me a regular dinner "small" rigatoni instead of the much smaller lunch portion. YAHTZEE! BDB is so good, and it's a great place for large parties with large portions and even larger appetites. After the ginormous salad, we had 5 take home containers and will have food for the next few days. BDB is definitely worth the trip but be sure you are hungry and have at least 3-4 people.
(4)
Brandon S.
The food was really great!! Servers are happy and joyful, but the food takes soooo long!!! Family style be prepared for a lot of food!
(3)
Ron P.
Very interesting kitchen tour when you are taken to your table. Great food and interesting place with all the Italian pictures on the wall and music playing. I reserved the Pope romm a few years ago when I had family in town. I think you need about 12 or more to get that private romm but worth it if you have a large group.
(4)
Michael T.
Went to Buca di Beppo because we were in the area and were starving for food, all the other local restaurants were in big box shopping centers and were crammed with people. We ordered salad, pizza, and baked rigatoni. The food came out in bizarre order.... Pizza first, then 10 minutes later, the salad arrived. 20 minutes after that we still didn't have our rigatoni and finally asked the server to remove it from our bill and we cut our losses. Food quality was meh. I've had much better. I'd say, if you have a whole family to feed, and you don't care about mediocre food, this is the place to go. Big portions, served family style. Don't expect ambiance, great service, quick kitchen, or well-prepared food. But for groups on the cheap, who aren't picky, it's not bad.
(2)
Lucky T.
Wonderful service, but the price for what you get is a rip. I ordered some chicken with lemon and capers dish and that is all you get: 3 pieces of small chicken breasts in a lemon sauce with some capers = $25. Granted, the chicken is cooked perfectly, but the sauce is certainly not like the wonderful chicken piccata they used to have (no more piccata there). Just too expensive to get 3 thin pieces of chicken breasts and NO sides for that amount of money. My friend got some pasta dish that was also overpriced and, for me, way too spiced with flakes of red chilis which was too hot. She liked it...but both of us left saying we would never go back because of the ridiculously overpriced meals there. Now if the chicken dish came with some sides maybe...but just the chicken only for that price: think not. We tipped the nice waiter very well, cause it isn't his fault. Sorry, Buca, you've gotten too pricey for me for what you serve. You aren't the Ritz Carlton, and I'm not coming back and either is my friend. UPDATE: Ate there again with another. Again, fantastic service and I mean fantastic! I didn't like what I ordered, so when a Manager came by and asked I told him (well, I've never been accused of being shy). He takes the plate and returns with something I had mentioned I loved. I mean, how can you beat that???? Now the food quality: Again, excellent! Had the antipasto salad which was a fresh and crisp and delicious as it could be. The entrees were cooked perfectly and don't start me on the tiramisu which is beyond great. Now for the price which was the main complaint I had before: Again, there was just two of us, but we went for lunch this time. The bill came to $60 for 2 entrees, the salad, the huge tiramisu and one lemonade--BUT for all we had--and we brought home probably more than half of it, so now we have a whole nother dinner--the food is definitely priced right now AND everything was fresh! FRESH! And authentically cooked (having spent some time in Italy I feel I have some idea). Where you could really make out with their food and pricing is if you have a party of 4 or more--and if you have 10 people in your party you could super makeout here. If nothing else, you always know the quality of the food and the service is just superior.
(5)
Melanee M.
We have been back to this location by the urging from corporate. We were not disappointed! The sauce was much better, service was really good, we were seated right away and served hot & tasty food. Whatever the issue previous, they must of worked it out.
(4)
Michael C.
Herd the hype but it did not live up to it. Coming from an Italian the biggest complaint I have is DRY pasta which is what we got. There was not taste, not enough sauce and for the price it is over rated. The bowl was to feed 4 yet you get 3 sausage's, HUH! The salad was good but the main dish was a bust. Were they having an off day maybe but will I return more than likely no. Maybe the other locations are better?
(1)
Sarah G.
I see a lot of low rathings and I am shocked. The food is family style, so if you are not prepared to eat, don't go. The chicken marsala is different, I had tried it here since I never had before, and it is almost like sweet & sour chicken without the sour. The baked ziti, was fantastic tasting! We did not order a dessert, however, the sunday is bigger than the face of two people and has twelve pieces of brownie....the waiters have to hold it with two hands when they bring it out, so if you have a sugar attack, consider going for that - you will not be dissapointed. The atmosphere is stimulating, pictures, paintings and portraits everywhere!!
(4)
Luciana L.
The tiramisu deserves 5 stars. It was define. The ambience 4 stars. Very Italian-esque and at-home feel. Pictures everywhere. Some nude or partially nude, if that bothers you. The food 3 stars. I've been to at least 3 other Bucca's in my life and this one just don't compare to the others. It was good. The pasta was al dente like it should be and the meatball nice and soft but the rest of the food I thought was just OK. The green beans were way too crunchy for my taste. We also got some kind of pruscetto (sp?) stuffed chicken which I thought was way salty but I think that's what pruscetto is right? Salted meat? Service was OK. We got bumped around from waiter to waiter (actually, I think one of them was a bartender). I like continuity! He did hook us up with some extra bread so kudos for that. Overall, I think we come here mainly for the tiramisu. As far as meals go, we can probably get it elsewhere for cheaper (it's just 2.5 of us so family meals are much for us - both quantity and price) but every once in a while, we get that hankering for tiramisu. YUM.
(3)
Kelly R.
I have been coming to this Buca's a couple times a year for over 8 years, I like that there are 2 stories to this restaurant, with plenty of fun seating options. There's an elevator as well as a staircase. I still haven't sat in the kitchen though! The service is never exceptional, but it's always a-ok. Since I usually only come with my bf to this location, I've come to accept that a 2 person table isn't going to get the same attention as a group. At least the beverage glasses are large, and I usually only want one refill. The food is as good as any other Buca's I have been to. I love the margherita pizza, chicken parmigiana, spicy chicken rigatoni, chicken saltimboca, chicken limone, and spaghetti with meatballs. Also, the caesar salad is one of my favorites, especially with a side of anchovies! Buca's is also home to my favorite tiramisu. It's made fresh in house, and is worth every calorie. Moist cake without being soggy, and the mascarpone on top is so creamy without being too rich, topped off with the perfect dusting of cocoa powder. I'm really thinking about changing my dinner plans tonight so I can go get me some tiramisu!
This was my 1st visit to Buca di Beppo, and it honestly was not that bad. When we arrived, there was nobody at 1st to greet us, but stood around looking at all the Italian themed pictures and memorabilia. After a couple minutes, we were greeted and had to go up 2 small flight of steps to get to our table. Shortly after we were greeted by our sever, who took our drink orders. They have Pepsi products. I was hoping for some sweetened tea, which they did not have, though had a type of syrup that could be added to the tea to make it sweet. I chose the pear syrup for tea, which wasn't that bad at all. Server also said this was a family style menu or something to that effect. Looking at the menu it shows S and L above the selections, meaning small and large. The small served 2 and more, while the large served 4 and more. Not having been here before, we both ordered a small item each. She ordered the Penne al Forno (baked pasta) and I ordered Chicken Satimbocca from the entree section. She took our order and came back with bread, and some type of oil and something else. She poured the oil into a saucer, followed by pouring some type of vinaigrette dressing on top. She didn't explain what it was, but said they had butter as well, which my lady asked for. Still not knowing what the oil/dressing was I dipped my bread into it and was pleasantly surprised. The butter that came was in small packages, and it was not soft. Since the dish I ordered took some time to make, I got up from my table to look around the place. It was cozy, and had A LOT of things to look at. The music was themed as well to the restaurant. Well, we were a bit stunned when our food came. We should have just ordered 1 thing and split it... like the menu said, haha. We had so much food, we ate it for dinner, and I am even taking the rest for lunch. The food was decent, I didn't care for the chicken dish (not a fan of their artichokes). But the pasta dish was good. All in all was not too bad of a place. I will revisit at a later date.
(4)
Steven K.
Why is their spaghetti so damn watery? Did they hire my old high school cafeteria lady to work in the kitchen? The waitress was awesome though. She had tons of personality and seemed like a hard worker. The meatballs are amazing, but wish the spaghetti was worth eating with them. Word of advice: if you are a Costco member, go across the street to Costco and buy a $100 Buca Di Beppo gift card for $80. And use a coupon on top of that. Easiest way to safe money here.....because my dinner for the wife and kids was like $130 and somehow it didn't seem worth it.
(3)
Deni G.
Go hungry Buca di Beppo is an old fashioned Italian style restaurant with a relaxed and homey feel. This was my first visit to this Buca Di Beppo location and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. On my first visit I decided to take advantage of the take out service rather then eating at the restruant. The small portions at Bucca Di Beppo are enough for at least two people if not three, so be guided accordingly. For large families, the pasta dishes looked like they would feed quite a few people, however, I tend to look for quality, not quantity. On this visit I ordered the baked rigatoni, chicken Parmesan , mini meatballs, mozzarella garlic bread, and chocolate covered cannolis. The meatballs were delicious, however the rest of the meal was average at best. The bread, pasta, and chicken dishes were soggy and not seasoned very well, maybe it's something you have to eat at the restaurant. It just wasn't very good. The Cannolis were okay, nothing special. I guess I was expecting more. It was disappointing at best, especially after spending 72+ dollars. I might give Bucca Di Beppo another try at some point.
(3)
Kathy B.
Came in post Cardinals game, looking for dessert & we found it!! Colossal Brownie Sundae! Perfect on an evening when the temp was still reading 110 degrees at 10 pm!! Jarrett was an excellent server even though we were just having dessert. Very fun restaurant and enjoyable atmosphere.
(4)
Geoff R.
Much better service this time around. Our sever was prompt and actually brought what we ordered to the table. I glad we have this place another shot the food was amazing and well prepared and my glass was always full.
(4)
Ester M.
Great place , highly recommend for either a fun date or for a family gathering. Family size portions. It's just like a typical Italian dining room themed. Tons of black & white pictures on the wall, ya get a quick tour of their kitchen , it's tw floors, great wine list....ohhh just go and check it out, you won't regret it. Enjoy when you do.
(5)
Chris I.
I just want to say that manager Todd really went above and beyond for us tonight! He is the example of every manger should be! We were lucky enough to dine at the kitchen table tonight and it sure was a great experience to see/eat behind the scenes. Our server Alyssa, was so mellow, personable and to the point. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread and baked ziti pasta! We left stuffed yet satisfied! Thank you so much Todd and Alyssa, A++++!
(5)
Steven N.
First time here. Having the Linguine Frutti di Mare. Scrimp, Baby Clams, Mussels and Calamari in Spicy Rosa Sauce. That's just the beginning!
(5)
Amanda V.
The best garlic bread, chopped antipasto salad and spaghetti and meatballs. Our favorite restaurant whenever we are in Phoenix or Anaheim.
(5)
Jana Y.
We ordered eggplant and chicken parmigiana. Plus Apple, Gorgonzola salad which is delicious. A small is more than enough for two ppl. So is a side of spajetti. The eggplant had two huge stacks which were delicious. My husband had three huge patties but something was sort of off. But he ate it. Then I tasted it and said this is veal. We asked the waitress to give us at least one chicken to take home. Well she made it right. Which was delicious , more so than the veal. My husband was very happy with that. . Anyway great customer service and wonderful meal. Of course we will be back. Then another customer on way out handed us a 10.00 off making the day sweeter. We have lots of leftovers. This is a place to share entrees that is if you can decide on the same thing. So happy they were open today.
(5)
Ateh W.
Environment: I went here on a lunch date with my boyfriend and we were literally the only ones in the restaurant, which wasn't bad but different. It was quiet and dimly lit and the walls were covered with some pretty beat photographs.... overall the environment was cozy. Service: our waitress was great, she was up beat and very attentive ( we were the only ones there so how could she not be?). Like all good servers she gave us our space but made sure all of our dining needs were met Food: awesome! The bruschetta was out of this world. I ate do much of it that I could only eat a bite of my rigatoni I would come back
(4)
Melyssa G.
I've been to several different locations and have never been disappointed. While the wait at another restaurant was about an hour, I spotted this place across the parking lot and immediately smiled. I love this place. This location gave a quick little tour of the kitchen. I've never been to a location that did that. It was cool and smelled oh so good. We had a pretty cool waiter. He had a sense of humor which is a plus for me. And of course, the food was amazing. Even tried something different and fell in love with it. Everyone left with full bellies.
(5)
Christal B.
Wonderful environment!!!! So much to look @, food comes in hearty portions, friendly service. Totally enjoyed my visit & dinner.
(5)
Jessica S.
Ah not really impressed with the meal at all or the dirty bath rooms with lack of potty protectors. Went for Baby shower and they were thoughtful giving us a huge room to ourselves. Our server however was absolutely a sweetheart and did a great job making sure we had everything we needed. The food wasn't too bad just what you pay for what you get they really need to spruce it up.
(2)
Michael F.
Very forced service. Dishes come preseason'd with whatever was left over from the group before smokey service service will out a smile will be sure to bring the flavor out in your food.
(2)
Lou C.
I'm a huge Bucca fan. It never takes long for us to be seated, the servers are always friendly, the food is always great, and the desserts are alway HUGE. The only complaint, which really isn't even a complaint, is that when we sit in the bar area, there are always flies. I grew up ghetto, so it isn't a big enough deal to remove a star. LOL
(5)
Isla B.
My family and I went to dinner here for my brothers birthday. He loves this place (for some reason) so we were all expecting a somewhat pleasant dining experience to celebrate his special day. For starters, this place is family style, so the portions and prices are designed to feed 2 or more. My parents both ordered drinks - when our server brought out my dad's beer she sloshed half of it on the table and walked away. I also couldn't help but feel this place is overpriced. We ordered the caprese and artichoke dip to start, both of which were around $15. The caprese was perfect and the artichoke dip was okay - rather small for the price. We ordered 2 chicken entrees and a pasta dish all of which were about $25 a piece. They were all alright but for what you're paying alright doesn't cut it. The service was slow, the room we were in was noisy, the tables around us weren't cleared for a good 30 minutes - it was a Monday night so there wasn't really a reason for any of this. Anyway, we had a nice time but personally I probably wouldn't eat here again. Step up the service and clean up the environment. Hopefully the management reads these reviews and improves in the areas everyone is complaining about. Cheers.
(1)
Blair H.
Dirty and horrible service. Every silverware roll we got was gross. The plates were just as bad. We had to ask to put in a drink order. We had to ask to get a set of silverware. We had to ask to get plates for our bowl of pasta, while it was sitting on the table getting cold. And best of all our server was cleaning the toilets and serving us at the same time.
(1)
Audrey E.
Yeah they have big portions but i didn't notice anything special about their food. I got food poisoning from the spaghetti and meatballs I had here. The atmosphere was cool but I was packed and the waiter looked so stressed I felt bad for him.
(2)
Paula E.
I am not a fan of family style dining (get your fork off my plate!) so it's not exactly what I would want to do. That being said the food was awesome. Price is on the high side and I didn't like that the young hostess didn't ask us before hand how we felt about eating upstairs or walking up steps when there was an elevator there. That is something that needs to be asked right away before seating anyone. My partner in crime didn't care for that either and service can be slow at times. I plan on going back due to the food and for that alone it gets 4 stars.
(4)
Huy K.
Great place to try Italian food. Nice decoration and good service. Their tomato sauce is unique and a must to try. They also have great menu of desert too. Definitely will be back.
(5)
Eric B.
I love my Italian food saucy and lot's of it. At Buca I get both and the Arrowhead location was no disappointment. I took my family on a Saturday night around 9pm. The restaurant was a little scarce and the hostess was a little "uppity". Other than that, the food, service, and time from ordering to receiving our dishes was great. We had the Cannelloni, Pizza, Calamari, and Buca Trio sampler. Everything tasted great and presented very well. I will be making another trip soon.
(4)
Ian D.
If someone brings 17 people "friends and family" into a FAMILY STYLE restaurant, I would assume the staff would be competent enough to at least fill and bring a glass of water. Waiting 40 minutes for a glass of water is absurd. Asking for a glass of water 4 times is even more absurd. I had to ask my friend who was seated at the end of the table for a drink. Did they run out of water? It all started going down hill from there. It was quite embarrassing to bring my mother in law here and watch everyone eating their meal except her. They forgot her meal! They didn't forget to bring her food, they forgot to cook it! What? We were all done with our food when they brought her meal. This is a restaurant, you specialize in 2 things, drinks and food, can I at least get a drink? Next the waiter brought our check minus the change, ??? Wait what? They ran out of change? This is what the waiter told us. Not sure what is going on with this joint? The only reason I am giving Buca 2 stars is because the food was exceptional. If you have a large group of more than 2 people I would not recommend this restaurant unless you want to make yourself look bad in front of your guests, I say this because I have been here on multiple occasions with just my wife. But the last 2 times I brought a group of people here it was a nightmare. Family style is not so family.
(2)
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Address :16091 N Arrowhead Fountains Ctr Dr
Peoria, AZ, 85382
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes 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.
Amber E.
I saw another review this place as great, so I had to weigh in. It's crap. I wish I liked it, but I can't imagine have any worse Italian food. I would rather just have a bowl or cereal at home. If you want food without flavor, this is your place. I guess the building is cool looking from the outside...just don't venture in! I hate being such a downer, but we all need fair warning.
(1)Jeanie H.
I recently visited this location attending a business mixer event. WOW these portions are HUGE. They have small and large sizes - I hope you are really hungry when you come here. I really enjoyed the interior - old nostalgic photos, italian music in the background and the family style of service. I wanna say that I felt like I was at home sharing my meal with family - after all when you are dining with me - you WILL be sharing your food. =0) The restaurant is separated by different areas but still open concept so its great for group events - there was a birthday party going on in the next area too.
(4)Amber E.
I saw another review this place as great, so I had to weigh in. It's crap. I wish I liked it, but I can't imagine have any worse Italian food. I would rather just have a bowl or cereal at home. If you want food without flavor, this is your place. I guess the building is cool looking from the outside...just don't venture in! I hate being such a downer, but we all need fair warning.
(1)Sanford R.
I generally enjoy Buca di Beppo! I am fascinated by how this place is decorated. All the walls and various trinkets make this a fun dining experience or interesting at the very least. One thing to note is that it can be kind of expensive to eat here, although I am always finding coupons for this restaurant so that helps. I am sad to report that they can be fairly stingy with coupons here though. They wouldn't take a coupon that had only been expired for like a week, which disappointed me. Aside from that the food is awesome! I go with my wife and we love the calamari and the garlic bread, which we sometimes get as appetizers. We switch up the main course when we go, but each time has had pretty good results. We had dessert here once or twice too and that was also good! We usually end up with leftovers, because they give huge portions. The portion size is truly gigantic, so you definitely want to share an entree here with others.
(4)Terry H.
Not bad. The portions are huge, which isn't a bad thing. There's only a few menu items I like though. Could do without the kitchen tour every time I go in though. We mostly only go when we have a coupon. Service is good, no complaints there.
(3)Lanette H.
Went with my husband and kids for the first time and loved this place. The food was amazing. We had the stuffed shells, stuffed chicken and lemon chicken scampi type dish with capers (forgot name). So good! I will definitely have my company Christmas party here this year.
(5)S C.
Great food, huge portions (well, I feel like the eggplant parmigiana has been shrinking) but always a good meal and it's fun looking around.
(4)Lindsay M.
If you are looking for a place to host a private party look no further - Anthony and his team are stellar! I booked a dinner presentation event at this restaurant and being located in Florida and flying in for the event makes event planning a bit more difficult. But Bucca Di Beppo here in Peoria made it a breeze. From the planning to the execution everything was very well done! Anthony delivered as promised and the professional staff members, Tiffany and Amanda, who were assigned to our dinner event were great! They were not only professional, very efficient, but also took great care in handling everything quietly as possible as they had to deliver food, etc during our presentation. Anthony, thank you for everything! Tiffany and Amanda, a HUGE thank you to you both, you were awesome!!!! Anthony, both Tiffany and Amanda are a huge asset to your restaurant! Thanks again for everything! All my best, Lindsay :)
(5)Lis L.
Our first dining experience at Bucca was awful. The service sucked and food was awful. A few months later decided to try again. Service was good and salad was good, however, the baked rigatoni we ordered took some time to be served to us and when we did get it, it was lukewarm. The serving bowl was hot but the food was not which told us it was microwaved. We shall not frequent this restaurant again. The manager did not find it necessary to come our table to apologize but had the waitress tell us it would be taken off the bill. No further compensation offered. The waitress did suggest we take the food home but we declined. Why would we take home what we didn't enjoy there. No recommendations from us to visit this establishment. We could write a book from the other horrific experience but why bother?
(1)Matthew M.
I already have low expectations for cookie cutter restaurants, but this particular dining experience failed to meet even minimum expectations. We ordered salad, pizza, and rigatoni. The pizza arrived first, then the salad about 10 minutes later. The bread arrived shortly after the salad. After 30 more minutes, we cancelled the rigatoni, since we had already eaten the pizza, salad, and bread. The waitress offered us the rigatoni to-go, but we declined. I won't be in a hurry to return to this or any Buca di Beppo.
(1)Elizabeth P.
Came here with the 4 for $40 deal where 4 people can share a family style pasta, salad and bread. It's a pretty good deal, the catch is that none of the pasta dishes that you can choose from have meat, so it's pretty much a vegetarian meal.
(4)Mike N.
I've been to multiple Buca di Beppo locations in several cities. They are a good place to go with a large group. We went to this location with a group of nine. The menu was typical. We ordered the seafood trio, which was nice, and the fried mozzarella, which was also good. The Caesar's salad was also good. We ordered pasta entree's and chicken, all of which were served up warm and in plentiful portions. We left with a fair amount of food. I would give the food four stars. However, I would give the service one star. Two in our party ordered cocktails. Five of us ordered wine with dinner. All drinks arrived together with our entrees. We did not get enough dinner plates. We did not get enough wine glasses, and had to wait for three more. Three entrees arrived together, and we had to wait about five minutes for the fourth to arrive. We had to ask three times for boxes to put our leftovers in. We were never asked if we wanted dessert. If the service were spot on, the rating would be much higher, but, I can't justify it.
(2)Crystal G.
Not impressed by the food. Atmosphere is crowded. Maybe they will be on Restaurant Hoarders. Waiter was a jerk. I asked for another and got one but she was dumber than a box of rocks (i didnt mean to insult rocks) Too expensive to deal with waiters with attitude and mediocre food!
(1)Eric S.
I first went to Buca in Scottsdale back in the day (no seriously, it was like... 8 years ago) and was suitably impressed with both the raucous atmosphere (naked people in the bathroom! How very European!) and delicious food. The chunks of garlic on the garlic bread were sinful and almost everything else was fabulous although I do recall never caring much for their marsala. So it was with a not insignificant amount of dismay that I watched, over the years, as Buca's quality declined, its food became less interesting, its service nonexistent and the atmosphere was ultimately no longer able to make up for its shortcomings. Eventually, I stopped going altogether, and I wouldn't have been back except that a family member's birthday was up and she wanted to go. Imagine my surprise to discover that Buca has revamped its menu and its attitude and I very much enjoyed my most recent experience there! Everyone agreed that the calamari appetizer was amazing as was the sampler appetizer (especially the mushrooms) - we cleaned them both up. The entrees fared well also, generous portions of delicious food with uniformly intense flavor... the sole exception being the salmon which was ridiculously dry. If you're like me and you've been avoiding Buca, you might want to give them another shot. We actually spoke to the manager about how pleased we were and he mentioned that they had indeed been bought out recently and the new owners had changed things up quite a bit.
(4)Jeff H.
Compared to the one in Seattle, well, can't really compare it. Reviews for this chain are all over the map, so I guess it depends on the location and reviewer. Portions here are just as huge as they are at every other location, and for me, that isn't a plus. I'm not a fan of leftovers, and I know going in that no matter what I order, I'm taking some home. I came here with my grandma and her friend, who are in their 80's and don't eat much. I think we left with more food then we ordered. The layout of this location is insane. It's a seemingly never ending maze of rooms, hallways, and passageways. It was also loud and there was a baby crying somewhere near our table, but due to the layout, I was never able to pin down exactly where. Service wasn't anything great, and I got the impression that she was getting towards the end of her shift and wanted to go home. I'm glad I live near Seattle, so if I'm feeling the need for some huge portions of Italian food, I can hit the one downtown.
(2)Katherine T.
I think Buca is actually a pretty great place as long as you follow the formula: Bring online $10 off coupon Bring a good group of friends who will share 4+ Be flexible Came here for a white elephant christmas lunch with 11 people. Ordered cheesy garlic bread, meaty salad, two types of rigatoni, eggplant parm, and proscuitto stuffed chicken. Only leftovers for one serving of pasta. Success! Everyone was happy, full, enjoyed making fun of the creepy rotating Pope head on the table for sharing, and were well catered to by multiple staff. My water was always 1/2 full :) Final tab under $20 a person with drinks and over 20% tip (they don't add gratuity too which I love!) Music was the perfect level too which I don't think should be undervalued. No shouting to be heard but not so quiet the whole restaurant could hear our conversation. Buca can be a good time as long as you come prepared!
(4)Kolacka D.
Ohhhhhhh Bucca.....I had such HIGH expectations for you! Having attended several large parties at Buca di Beppo I didn't hesitate to book my fiance's birthday party for him and 20 of his closest friends. I was impressed with the banquet manager, Anthony, who helped set up our menu and made suggestions regarding serving size and what to order. He was super helpful and accommodating, calling to offer various seating options and confirming our party in advance. If ONLY he had set the tone for out evening!! The good: The food was good. Yes, it is a chain, and the food reflects that. But our caprese, fried cheese, stuffed mushrooms, etc, they were delicious. Everyone LOVED the chicken parm and the pasta was great....and the red wine sangria was fabu! Attention to mistakes was great. Our server noticed we had been delivered a small app when I ordered a large when I didnt actually realized that......she comp'd the small and sent the large out. The management was good. Yes, I got to meet management! Super duper....allow me to detail the BAD. The room we were in was ODD. Imagine a long table placed in a room that was literally only 2 feet wider than the actual table on 3 sides. It was like the bat cave of dining rooms. All of the food had to be served from one end, which was kind of an issue with the gigantic hot bowls of steaming pasta. Add to the fact that part of the room doubled as the drink station/serving computers and it was a pretty busy place. Speed. My sister arrived early to greet guests and had to hunt down a server to order her drink after waiting 20 minutes. Literally. Hunt. Down. I arrived with the birthday boy and ALSO waited 15 for drinks. Water, soft drinks etc all took empty glasses and special requests for refills. The wait between appetizers and dinner was tremendous (ly odd). They served our green beans 5 minutes after we finished our apps but then the meal came 20 minutes later. WTF? Service. I already mentioned this a bit but if you're still reading you might care about the details. Our server was clearly overworked. I'm not sure how many other tables she had in the restaurant but when you're serving a table of 14-20 I would assume they would be minimal....not in this case apparently. People at the end of our table (GUESTS) ended up busing our dishes. A bus boy eventually showed up to help clear and literally took a plate away from a guest with the fork half way to her mouth. Yes.....SHE WAS STILL EATING! Our waitress brought out dishes for the cake which I appreciated since I hadnt purchases Buca's B-day cake and sometimes restaurants get weird about that. She left for a few minutes and shortly thereafter one of my guests overheard her complaining about how horrible our table was!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY??????? I pretty much lost my temper at that point and ended our meal prematurely. While waiting for management I overheard not one, but TWO other servers complain about their tables (as I mentioned we were seated in the drink station area.....so I guess they were breakin' it down in there). Management was extremely apologetic and polite although he obviously had doubts about my complaints. I'm going to choose to believe his doubts were related to his staff having an 'off' night as they are usually totally awesome? And to be honest I was soooooo angry by this point I wasnt able to detail the majority of my issues. There were certainly moments of greatness (ie the appetizer issue) when they demonstrated an understanding of good service. They took care of a large percentage of our check (which I wasn't expecting) but I completely appreciated since I had set up a cash bar and in our rush to depart ended up being an 'open bar' on me :-( I wouldn't recommend this Buca unless you knew the server or management and were ensured a good time. As a former server I understand the stress of waiting on large parties, but still expect the style of service afforded to smaller tables. I really did appreciate the effort management made to appease our complaints but simply wish we could have skipped the entire drama. And as I mentioned, the food was delicious!
(2)Darlene P.
EDIT: 7/14/2012 -- I was contacted by a restaurant representative through Yelp regarding this review. The message included an apology for my experience and said they wanted me to contact their customer service by email so they could "reach out" to me. I sent off an email over a week and a half ago and they still have not "reached out" to me. My review: Usually a disappointing experience when I go, and I'll likely not go back. Food is okay. It's why they get a grudging 2 stars. It's family-style so they bring a big platter or bowl of what you order and everyone serves themselves. I don't mind that. Though one thing that's kind of annoying is that you have to order side dishes as an extra with your entree. For example, if you order a platter of chicken parmesan, you just get a platter of chicken pieces and nothing else. If you want some pasta or potatoes to go with it, you have to make sure you add it on as an extra dish. Would it be so hard for them to put a combo-type offering on the menu so you get an entree platter with a side dish? Even if we pay the same amount as ordering it separately, it's still a perceived value and wouldn't make customers feel like they're paying "extra' for something that seems like it should be included with a meal. Service is either very poor or just okay. Servers seem to all be rushed and busy, like they're too overloaded to do a good job. Each time I've gone, I've had messed up orders. Once, we ordered cappuccinos before the meal, and the server went and came four times before he brought them during the middle of our meal...and only after I reminded him the first three times he had come back and kept forgetting the coffees. When he finally brought them he made an excuse, saying he was busy and the coffee machine was very far away from our table. Yeah. Last time, I was with a party of 5. After we ordered our meals, one of them got to the table very quickly (turned out he brought it to the wrong table and it was supposed to go to the table next to us), while the next three meals came out 30 minutes later, and the last meal, my meal, actually never came out!! He seemed to forget mine and when asked about it, hardly seemed apologetic at all, just a tad embarrassed, and just said that the kitchen didn't have any of the dish I wanted. Seriously!?! He couldn't tell me that earlier? I ordered another dish to-go since my party was nearly finished eating. But then he came back a minute later and said he checked with the kitchen and they actually did have my original dish. Ugh. What a nightmare of a server. So after all that, I did get my dish to-go. Nothing was taken off my ticket, though they gave us one dessert for free for the 5 of us to share. Pretty lame. Bottom line: Poor service. Food is okay, but not good enough to overlook the service. If you're craving good pasta, spend your hard-earned money at a different Italian restaurant that appreciates their customers.
(2)Edward D.
I was really surprised by all of the low ratings! Until I started reading them, and most of the negative is based on their service! We also have a problem with the service! The Family! Only came here because another restaurant next door was going to be a long wait. So, while we were walking back to our truck. Daughter mentioned, lets try Buca! Since non of us have ever ate here, and we always like to try something new. We decided to try Buca!!!!! Now this was a totally different experience. When we first walked in, we noticed all of the pictures hanging up. If you have little ones, you might have to explain a few things to them about some of the pictures! We were met by a couple of hostesses, after a few seconds of trying to determine where they want to seat us. One finally grabbed a few menu's and introduced herself to us. After a little tour through the kitchen, and surprisingly noticed they also have a table for customers in the kitchen! We were seated up stairs! Kind of feel sorry for them going up and down the stairs all day. Especially the food servers!! We were warned about the servings, since a small feeds two-three. Now this rating is based on three things! 1) Service! Not very good! There were times we were waiting for our waiter. We received our salad before our appetizer! For the price of our bill, service needs to get better 2-STARS 2) Taste! We ordered and expected to bring home left overs! Pepperoni Pizza, Actually I loved this pizza! One of the best! Next time I will asked them to cook it well done, for that crispier crust. We also had their chicken Parmesan, Daughter loved this one, Mommy and myself agreed with her also! Then the girls of course wanted a cheese cake, this was also very good. 4-STARS 3) Price! Now, when you come here. You are going to spend some money. Just the three of us, our bill was over one hundred dollars!! I don't mind laying down a hundred for a meal. But the service needs to be better. 2-STARS Overall we had a great time, and we will be coming back.
(3)Michelle A.
I really should have known better-being that I was spoiled in NJ with such fantastic italian food. Once again, another restaurant (chain or family owned) that does not offer chicken francaise! What do I have to do to find some chicken francaise in AZ?! Anyway..food was bland-you have to order pasta seperately? really??? It's not included? what italian place doesn't give you a smidge of pasta? Even olive garden gives you some pasta! Oh well..server was great, so I gave the extra star for the super waiter and I actually love all the kitchy stuff on the walls.
(2)Kyle F.
fun atmosphere and good food. Really liked the bread and the meatballs
(4)Marc B.
I love this Restaurant! the food is great, service is awsome and the drinks are stout! this place has a great feel to it.
(5)Naresh R.
It's Buca Di Beppo. Its not great its not bad. What else can you say about the place? The place is great for groups but food is just so so. Disappointed that not even a small happy bday dessert given to a 11 year old birthday girl after they sing happy birthday.
(3)K'ana Heik S.
Huge servings, excellent friendly service, our waiter Ben gave incredibly spot on recommendations, and is a major reason I will come back to Buca!
(5)Kim S.
Although we visited on a Saturday evening, we arrived around six, we were seated within 10 minutes because the restaurant was not very busy. We were taken to a table which was not yet cleaned. After waiting a while for a waiter to take our drink order finally the manager took the order. A nearby waiter recognized that we had been sitting for a long time without drinks or a waiter. Because of him our waiter arrived a short time later and took our order. We would have enjoyed our mozzarella garlic bread while we waited for our entrees, but it all arrived all together. The food, with the exception of the bread, was lukewarm at best. While several tables around us cleared out, I never saw a busboy clear the tables. We were disappointed by the discombobulated staff and disorganization in every step of our dining experience. I honestly doubt I will returned this location.
(2)Rebecca S.
Went earlier this evening with 2 people who have never been. Giving a 2/5 because the food was good, when we eventually got it. Otherwise, poor service! We sat down at 4, the bartender took our drink order and while my friend was ordering an appetizer, the bartender walked off. Strike 1. When she came back a couple of minutes later, we placed our order, and we received the bread at about 415. We then received our garlic bread order at 430. At 445, the bartender came over, told us that the kitchen had been taking longer than usual (we were one of only 2 groups of people on that side of the room except for 3 people at the bar, otherwise the whole place was pretty empty), and that our food would be ready in a few minutes, and she took my drink to refill it. At 5, we still had not received our dinner order, the bread on the table had gone cold, and I still had not received my refilled drink back yet. Strike 2. At 515, over an hour since we were seated, we finally received our food, and she asked us if we needed anything else. I told her she still had not brought my refilled drink back, and she gave me a blank look like I was retarded. I told her she took my drink earlier to refill it, and never brought it back. She then realized that I wasn't nuts, and brought me a new glass. I was upset (I didn't say anything to her) but it was obvious on my face and she told me she realized that she did forget to bring my drink back, so apologized for that. but it wasn't her fault that the kitchen staff got our food out slow. Strike 3. I like the Mesa location a lot, but this one definitely did not leave a good impression on my friends, and myself - will not be bringing them back to this one.
(2)Daren C.
I have been here 4 times since it opened, so you know it isn't the best ever but it is not bad. Most recently we went for a wedding rehearsal dinner. 35 plus people. We were served wine, beer, pop, tea, water, salad, garlic bread, spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, chicken parm and cheesecake. The meatballs were a little mushy and lacked a presence other then the size. The pasta was good, cooked perfectly and tasted good with the sauce. The chicken parm was fantastic. Simple yet tender and plenty of flavor. The salad was bitter....? The bread was great, the cheesecake was excellent. We have always enjoyed our dinners here but will only order ceaser salad from now on.
(4)Tracilynn H.
Excellent food and large family style portions, my favorite is the veal parmesan. Been here numerous times and they get really busy, not always the best service and is pretty pricey.
(3)Jennifer W.
The antipasto salad was AWESOME. The lasagna and chicken pomodora was---eeehhhhh. And the restaurant was FULL of dust. They had obviously not cleaned the millions of knick-knacks in a year. I don't care to go back--it wasn't that great.
(2)Debby B.
Always ask if you want the tour or would you like to go directly to your table. I have always been asked may we seat you in the bar? Do not just seat someone into a very NOISY BAR. Never have I ever been to a Family type serving restaurant them did NOT have an option of just a single serving. Veal is free range veal that was bland, dry somewhat tough and tasteless. Lasagna dried out, the edges were spongy as if the lasagna is precooked frozen and the reheated. Nope not going back eeewww yucky.
(1)Iris L.
After reading some of the previous reviews, I didn't think I need to write anymore, but why not... The $10 off $20 ticket coupon lured me in. I talked my husband into going there even though the last experience wasn't the best one. So, that said, it was not that good this time either. First of all, they got rid of personal portion. So we had to choose something we both would eat. Now, my husband and I have very different taste buds. That's why we go to a restaurant!! So I don't have to make 2 different meals for the evening. Also it seems like they have raised the price when they made fancy-new-menu which had more ad by us-air or something that had nothing to do with their food... like Cheese cake factory's menu... (is that just to cover up the fact that they have no variety to choose from...?) We finally decided and ordered garlic bread and seafood pasta. $9 for garlic bread and $20 for a bowl of pasta... Hmmm why do I get the feeling I'm getting ripped off? So anyways... food was descent, but I don't like to be forced to get meal for 3 when I just want something for me
(2)Ryan C.
Reviews are all over the scale for this demi-Italian joint, but my experience here puts it on my Mediocre List. Remember Leftover Night as a kid? You'd ask your mom what's for dinner and she'd open the fridge and say, "Whatever you want -- we have spaghetti, salad, bread, there's a piece of fish, and some kind of meat. Go to town." Buca is kind of like that. The selection and portion sizes available to you are just wierd. Plain and simple, I like getting what I want, not choosing from among the things that THEY want me to have. I know all places have their menu's, but any illusion of getting something the way you want it is gone at Buca. That makes me change my mind. Buca is more like "Leftover Night" at a friend's house, choosing from among that other mom's dishes, which while familiar to you, were prepared in a way that just "isn't like my mom makes it". The food is pretty good: hovering around average, but hearty. The service is the standard fake-friendly. I can't be sure if the extra touch of douchebag that our server exhibited was a personal trait or something they train. The restaurant itself is oh so very annoying, with enough distracting wall decorations to paralyze a hard ADD case. The layout is a bunch of ridiculous rooms, with doorways and stairways like a maze, and they march you through the kitchen to get to your seats -- an obnoxious bit of pretention that should be saved for an establishment that deserves it.
(3)JEANNE C.
Love the food and service. Had spicy chicken rigatoni and stuffed chicken prosciutto. We sat upstairs in a section by ourselves. The service was good, but the restaurant was not busy. I have been to other locations in the past and they were very busy. Don't know if that would have affected the service. We had a great experience here.
(4)Albert H.
$10 coupon and FREE spaghetti coupon brought me back here recently, and things haven't changed. This is some of the most ordinary Italian fare that I've ever had and they give you huge portions that you cannot avoid. Well, you can, but it is silly when you consider the price difference between the full size order and the half order. Eggplant isn't bad, and I'm upset that they axed a few appetizer menu options from the menu. It's cool that they have an Italian beer on tap but they need more beer options. Not all of us splurge on restaurant wine, especially if you're trying to lure customers via coupons.
(2)Jake D.
I was going to pass on reviewing this place, but I left behind a "You've been Yelped" card and didn't want to be proven to be a liar... My parents were in town and it was my brother's birthday. The only Buca in Omaha had closed so they wanted to come here while they were in town. It started soon after we sat down with a kid screaming bloody murder at a booth beside us. Maybe the parents would take him outside to calm him down? No such luck. We ordered a few items, with my parents ordering a salad in which a special cheese was a key ingredient. After halfway through the salad we realize some thing is off. There is no cheese. So we bring this to our waiter's attention and he goes to the kitchen and comes back saying they ran out of that cheese. So.........instead of informing us of that they just throw out an incomplete salad and hoped we wouldn't notice? The rest of the food was ok, when we thought we tell them it was my brother's b-day to get the piece of cake and b-day gift certificate deal, they were, you guessed it, out of cake. So they substituted a piece of cheesecake. For that and for taking the salad off the bill, I can give them 2 stars.
(2)Jennifer L.
I have to start this review by saying I've been in love with Buca for years and years. Back before they got bought out, I used to go all the time, but once they took my favorite dish (macaroni rosa) off the menu I got sad and now I don't go as often. However, they sent me an email a week ago saying they'd brought back some old favorites. Guess what was on that list? Yep, you guessed it, Macaroni Rosa!! Needless to say I have been twice in the last 2 weeks. It's almost as good as I remember it... although it does seem to have more garlic now. They also brought back their best salad - the 1893 salad. It has meats and cheeses in it and it's awesome. My list of Buca favorites (besides the macaroni rosa) includes the chicken limone, chicken parm, ravioli with meat sauce, and green beans. Go with a large group or expect lots of leftovers because everything is served family style. Although, they do have a lunch menu now with individual portions and they are never busy at lunch time. Join their eclub - they'll send you coupons, which make the bill easier to stomach. Bottom line - their food is fantastic. If money grew on trees I could eat here every day.
(5)Willy T.
I used to work here and served table. Now I'm enjoying myself having a dinner at Buca. Linguine frutti de mar still the best and my fav dish so far.
(4)Stef Y.
Haha at Buca. Yeah, you have an array of typical dishes to choose from, but considering these are quite, SIMPLE, Buca still cannot master them. Thought the chopped salad would be awesome...but, I should have known, they used machetes to chop this dish, and then served us the bottom of the bulk, which means, sweaty, liquefied salad. Also, I don't mind having to order a 'side' of pasta, but I'm just so flummoxed by the choices: spaghetti with marinara? or fettucine alfredo?...choices, choices, choices! I mean, these two just pair so well with the porchetta rustica :(sarcasm): Apple crostata= standard apple pie. No warm apples, flaky crust, as falsely advertised on the menu. I should have learned from my first experience here. Good as a soup line!
(1)Mark T.
Buca Di Beppo is literally, italian restaurant hell. You know how all big box chain restaurants throw junk up on the walls in an attempt to make the space feel vintage? Buca Di Beppo throws junk, and knick knacks and statues and anything else 'italian' they could find in the chinese warehouse where they loaded up these goods. It's a terrible horrible mess and you end up sitting in a yardsale of italian paraphenalia while eating your very bland pasta. It's embarassing how truly flavorless the food is here. Thin, flavorless alfredo sauce. Thick slabs of lasagna with less taste than what I can get out of the frozen section at Publix. I went with a large group and across the table, bland food. When they seat your party, they guide you through the kitchen area where the cooks play along and say a welcoming hello. Deep down you know they hate this. Why are we in the kitchen? Sure it's nice, but I'd rather have them concentrating on making the food, and making it good. Of course, the food at Buca Di Beppo seems to be far beyond any point of return to tasting good. It's just dead. Dead food. No life, no flavor, not emotion. I get more flavor from the $.99 Michelina's frozen lunch package. Far from claiming anything authentic Italian, Buca Di Beppo even pumps out bread with no taste. Eating at Buca is like eating food from an assisted living facility. No salt, no sugar, no butter, no fat, it's all gone along with anything resembling taste. Sure, Buca has huge portions, and the setup is nice for large parties and families - but they might as well just buy the family-size pasta packs from the frozen section and bake it at home, even that would be better, and they wouldn't have to the mandatory gratuity. Say what you will about other italian chains like Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden - at least their food taste like something.
(1)Kris L.
Went here for lunch yesterday with a party of 10. All of us were disappointed. Three of us shared a ravioli dish, it was cold. Other dishes were scalding hot. We were never offered grated cheese. When we were finished eating the waitress showed up to ask how everything WAS...when we told her about the cold food and cheese she couldn't have cared less. They do add 18 percent tip which she mentioned as she dropped the check on the table.
(1)Nikki S.
Sooooo... where to begin.... Disappointment. That's a good beginning. It had been a few years since last eating here. We had talked about it in passing, but never seemed to make it back. One of the biggest reasons was mainly because of the large division of what we liked versus what the other person liked. Since they are a family style restaurant, that alone made it difficult trying to decide on something we would both eat. Now we find ourselves on date night trying to pick a place to eat. We were going to the movies and Buca was convenient. We made a reservation to avoid waiting. We arrived and waited about 15 minutes for the reservation. It was the weekend, so this isn't all that uncommon. While being seated I noticed that everything was very corporate kitschy. The hostess seating us took us on the "tour" and droned on in a monotone voice about the place before seating us. The restaurant was fairly busy, with several large parties. It took our server a good 5-10 minutes to greet us. We gave her our drink order Water & soda). As I had been very ill the previous week, no alcohol was ordered and this seemed to disappoint the server. There was a marginal wait again for the drinks. She droppped them off and then said she would be back to take our order. By this point we have been sitting here for 20 minutes and I am hungry! She finally comes back and we give her our order. Bruschetta and Chicken Marsala. I asked for a small side of plain pasta to go with the chicken. She said ok and off she went. A food runner brought out the bruschetta. It was a quarter loaf of sliced, toasted bread with fresh tomatoes and basil. Not the best I have ever had, but the tomatoes were very fresh and they were plentiful. Our entree arrived about 10 minutes later. The chicken looked very good with a small scattering of large plump mushrooms and they had not forgotten the plain pasta. It was accompanied by a huge bowl of marsala sauce. I dished up some chicken and pasta for our plates and we got started. I'd like to say it was as good as it looked, but sadly that is not the case. The Marsala sauce was so horribly sweet, it was more like a syrup and made the entree completely inedible. The mushrooms tasted as if they had been candied. The side of pasta was stone cold. I got the servers attention and let her know. She seemed completely unphased by it and informed me that she "heard that alot" and it was almost always returned. Ok. So I asked " why didn't you tell me this when I ordered it? " She gave me a shoulder shrug and asked if I wanted her to take it back. Umm yes. I'm not eating that. She asked if we would like something else. At this point, I'm not feeling very positve about the experience and hesitant to get anything else. We asked about the lemon chicken and said we would give that a try. As soon as she left, a table next to us leaned over and advised us against ordering that as well. He told us the only safe bet there was to just eat pasta. He said the only reason he was even there was because the kids liked it otherwise he would never eat there. We flagged someone down and told them to cancel our order and to just bring us the check. The check arrived for the full amount. I got our server and asked why we were being charged for the chicken. She was noncommittal and simply picked the check up and walked away. At this point I would like to point out that the side of plain pasta had been rung up as a side of spaghetti marinara and was $6. WHAT? She returned with an updated check and I pointed out to her that not only had I not ordered a side of spaghetti marinara, the side we had ordered was not eaten because the chicken was not eaten. She gave a "put upon" huff and said she would be back. She returned with another updated check and we gave her the card for the 1 drink and a coupon for the appetizer. Not once did a manager come by or was there ever a real "I'm sorry you didn't like your meal". While I have no problem paying for what I order, most restaurants would have just nulled the bill instead of running a debit for 1 soda, this place was more assembly line. I can honestly say that was my LAST visit to this establishment. I don't really know how you can screw up Italian food, but they seem to be doing a damn good job of it.
(1)Paul B.
This restaurant serves excellent Italian food. I can't recommend it enough. It's fun place to eat, right smack in the middle of Arrowhead's restaurant row. I was pretty much sticking to low carb meals, and that pretty much rules out most Italian dishes. Buca di Beppo's Eggplant Parmesian is low carb enough for restaurant fare, and they even got me eating pizza again! I just tasted it, and pizza was back on my menu after a 10 year respite. I am still very picky about my pizza, but I will never say no to Buca di Beppo pizza.
(5)Laura M.
I didn't expect much - and Buca Di Beppo was exactly what I expected. Ridiculous, obesity-causing portions (we got the small, which appeared to still be enough to feed a family of four), moderately tasty food, and an atmosphere that screams "CHAIN!". If it weren't for the $25 gift card, I wouldn't have bothered going... but I'm not one to turn down a free meal! So, for a free dinner, it was A-OK. I certainly wouldn't bother going back if I was actually paying though... there are way too many local gems serving up genuinely delicious pasta to devote my money to.
(3)Michael S.
For me, this is a chain that really does a good job delivering a mass-produced experience. What is most amazing to me is how fresh and tasty the tomatoes and tomato sauce are for a chain the couple of times I've gone to a Buca. It makes even simple dishes like eggplant parmesan really good. I've also had fine experiences with the wine and tiramasu they have that can make a family or friendly gathering at a suburban chain a good time. Or you can just go with a date and start a bottle of wine and sneak the rest into to the Harkins theatre thats right by there. The comfy booths and attentive service has always helped as well. This location also features a seemingly long lost Wilson brother waiter. You'd swear working at a suburban Phoenix Buca was part of Owen's rehab program. He's got some pretty good indie movie recommendations too.
(4)Jennifer S.
UPDATE: Because I reviewed our recent experience at Buca Di Beppo in Peoria, AZ here on Yelp.... I was contacted (practically immediately) with a request for more information detailing our bad experience - which I supplied. They gave us a generous amount of gift cards for us to go back again them!! I live in a different city than where the event took place, but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there at the big chain restaurants that really, really do care about your unique experience. I plan to sent half of the gift cards to the others that were with us (that was their first experience dining there) so they can give it another shot! I only posted that bad review because I was so upset about the experience...just to vent... I NEVER expected to be contacted - let alone given an apology letter with gift cards to try again! Thank you Buca di Beppo!! I am still a fan!
(4)Christine J.
I was out in AZ for business about 2 weeks ago for a whopping 24 hours... maybe less. My co-worker and I decided to hit this Italian place after settling into the hotel. I guess this stretch CAN be busy, since there's a whole training facility across the street, but that night, it was DEAD empty. Actually, there was nobody standing at the front of the restaurant to greet us! The place is overflowing with pictures upon pictures upon pictures, all of Italian families and kids and famous people, religious figure and so on. They had a special area called the Pope's Table (or something similar) with a bust of John Paul II in the center of a Lazy Susan. Tacky? Absolutely. Interesting... sorta. The main dining area is upstairs. The server was very pleasant though, but I wish the food was better. They serve buffet style, so they have their menu set up as "small" and "large", with small serving 2 and large serving 3-4 people. We settled on something simple, tortelloni. But it just wasn't good. It was kinda blah and that was disappointing considering we passed a grill and a steakhouse before deciding on this place. The wine, however, was very good! But that's the wine. The riesling was damned tasty. And then the kicker. So the fire alarm goes off and you know, I'm from NY, we don't screw around when it comes to alarms. The server just kinda looks at us and is like, "oh that went off 3 times today, its no big deal", and goes about his business. We were half out the door! I said enough is enough, paid for the bill and left. Crazy Arizona.
(2)Steven B.
The worst food ever. Waitress brought our bottle if wine with cork already removed. If I could I would score it a negative two stars!
(1)Brandon S.
The food was really great!! Servers are happy and joyful, but the food takes soooo long!!! Family style be prepared for a lot of food!
(3)Ron P.
Very interesting kitchen tour when you are taken to your table. Great food and interesting place with all the Italian pictures on the wall and music playing. I reserved the Pope romm a few years ago when I had family in town. I think you need about 12 or more to get that private romm but worth it if you have a large group.
(4)Valerie B.
It was my first time going to this place and I was pleasantly surprised!! From reading previous reviews I was a little nervous since I was planning to throw a surprise dinner party for my boyfriend. Right away, we were greeted and they lead us up stairs to a private room (the Pope room I believe). Since we had a large group we had two servers which was nice! The food was absolutely amazing! Large portions which was fun since we could share our dishes with each other. Overall, Buca is a great place with delicious food! I would definitely go back again.!
(5)Nicholas A.
This was my 1st visit to Buca di Beppo, and it honestly was not that bad. When we arrived, there was nobody at 1st to greet us, but stood around looking at all the Italian themed pictures and memorabilia. After a couple minutes, we were greeted and had to go up 2 small flight of steps to get to our table. Shortly after we were greeted by our sever, who took our drink orders. They have Pepsi products. I was hoping for some sweetened tea, which they did not have, though had a type of syrup that could be added to the tea to make it sweet. I chose the pear syrup for tea, which wasn't that bad at all. Server also said this was a family style menu or something to that effect. Looking at the menu it shows S and L above the selections, meaning small and large. The small served 2 and more, while the large served 4 and more. Not having been here before, we both ordered a small item each. She ordered the Penne al Forno (baked pasta) and I ordered Chicken Satimbocca from the entree section. She took our order and came back with bread, and some type of oil and something else. She poured the oil into a saucer, followed by pouring some type of vinaigrette dressing on top. She didn't explain what it was, but said they had butter as well, which my lady asked for. Still not knowing what the oil/dressing was I dipped my bread into it and was pleasantly surprised. The butter that came was in small packages, and it was not soft. Since the dish I ordered took some time to make, I got up from my table to look around the place. It was cozy, and had A LOT of things to look at. The music was themed as well to the restaurant. Well, we were a bit stunned when our food came. We should have just ordered 1 thing and split it... like the menu said, haha. We had so much food, we ate it for dinner, and I am even taking the rest for lunch. The food was decent, I didn't care for the chicken dish (not a fan of their artichokes). But the pasta dish was good. All in all was not too bad of a place. I will revisit at a later date.
(4)Steven K.
Why is their spaghetti so damn watery? Did they hire my old high school cafeteria lady to work in the kitchen? The waitress was awesome though. She had tons of personality and seemed like a hard worker. The meatballs are amazing, but wish the spaghetti was worth eating with them. Word of advice: if you are a Costco member, go across the street to Costco and buy a $100 Buca Di Beppo gift card for $80. And use a coupon on top of that. Easiest way to safe money here.....because my dinner for the wife and kids was like $130 and somehow it didn't seem worth it.
(3)Michael F.
Very forced service. Dishes come preseason'd with whatever was left over from the group before smokey service service will out a smile will be sure to bring the flavor out in your food.
(2)Lou C.
I'm a huge Bucca fan. It never takes long for us to be seated, the servers are always friendly, the food is always great, and the desserts are alway HUGE. The only complaint, which really isn't even a complaint, is that when we sit in the bar area, there are always flies. I grew up ghetto, so it isn't a big enough deal to remove a star. LOL
(5)Deni G.
Go hungry Buca di Beppo is an old fashioned Italian style restaurant with a relaxed and homey feel. This was my first visit to this Buca Di Beppo location and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. On my first visit I decided to take advantage of the take out service rather then eating at the restruant. The small portions at Bucca Di Beppo are enough for at least two people if not three, so be guided accordingly. For large families, the pasta dishes looked like they would feed quite a few people, however, I tend to look for quality, not quantity. On this visit I ordered the baked rigatoni, chicken Parmesan , mini meatballs, mozzarella garlic bread, and chocolate covered cannolis. The meatballs were delicious, however the rest of the meal was average at best. The bread, pasta, and chicken dishes were soggy and not seasoned very well, maybe it's something you have to eat at the restaurant. It just wasn't very good. The Cannolis were okay, nothing special. I guess I was expecting more. It was disappointing at best, especially after spending 72+ dollars. I might give Bucca Di Beppo another try at some point.
(3)Kathy B.
Came in post Cardinals game, looking for dessert & we found it!! Colossal Brownie Sundae! Perfect on an evening when the temp was still reading 110 degrees at 10 pm!! Jarrett was an excellent server even though we were just having dessert. Very fun restaurant and enjoyable atmosphere.
(4)Geoff R.
Much better service this time around. Our sever was prompt and actually brought what we ordered to the table. I glad we have this place another shot the food was amazing and well prepared and my glass was always full.
(4)Ester M.
Great place , highly recommend for either a fun date or for a family gathering. Family size portions. It's just like a typical Italian dining room themed. Tons of black & white pictures on the wall, ya get a quick tour of their kitchen , it's tw floors, great wine list....ohhh just go and check it out, you won't regret it. Enjoy when you do.
(5)Chris I.
I just want to say that manager Todd really went above and beyond for us tonight! He is the example of every manger should be! We were lucky enough to dine at the kitchen table tonight and it sure was a great experience to see/eat behind the scenes. Our server Alyssa, was so mellow, personable and to the point. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread and baked ziti pasta! We left stuffed yet satisfied! Thank you so much Todd and Alyssa, A++++!
(5)Steven N.
First time here. Having the Linguine Frutti di Mare. Scrimp, Baby Clams, Mussels and Calamari in Spicy Rosa Sauce. That's just the beginning!
(5)Amanda V.
The best garlic bread, chopped antipasto salad and spaghetti and meatballs. Our favorite restaurant whenever we are in Phoenix or Anaheim.
(5)Jana Y.
We ordered eggplant and chicken parmigiana. Plus Apple, Gorgonzola salad which is delicious. A small is more than enough for two ppl. So is a side of spajetti. The eggplant had two huge stacks which were delicious. My husband had three huge patties but something was sort of off. But he ate it. Then I tasted it and said this is veal. We asked the waitress to give us at least one chicken to take home. Well she made it right. Which was delicious , more so than the veal. My husband was very happy with that. . Anyway great customer service and wonderful meal. Of course we will be back. Then another customer on way out handed us a 10.00 off making the day sweeter. We have lots of leftovers. This is a place to share entrees that is if you can decide on the same thing. So happy they were open today.
(5)Ateh W.
Environment: I went here on a lunch date with my boyfriend and we were literally the only ones in the restaurant, which wasn't bad but different. It was quiet and dimly lit and the walls were covered with some pretty beat photographs.... overall the environment was cozy. Service: our waitress was great, she was up beat and very attentive ( we were the only ones there so how could she not be?). Like all good servers she gave us our space but made sure all of our dining needs were met Food: awesome! The bruschetta was out of this world. I ate do much of it that I could only eat a bite of my rigatoni I would come back
(4)Melyssa G.
I've been to several different locations and have never been disappointed. While the wait at another restaurant was about an hour, I spotted this place across the parking lot and immediately smiled. I love this place. This location gave a quick little tour of the kitchen. I've never been to a location that did that. It was cool and smelled oh so good. We had a pretty cool waiter. He had a sense of humor which is a plus for me. And of course, the food was amazing. Even tried something different and fell in love with it. Everyone left with full bellies.
(5)Christal B.
Wonderful environment!!!! So much to look @, food comes in hearty portions, friendly service. Totally enjoyed my visit & dinner.
(5)Jessica S.
Ah not really impressed with the meal at all or the dirty bath rooms with lack of potty protectors. Went for Baby shower and they were thoughtful giving us a huge room to ourselves. Our server however was absolutely a sweetheart and did a great job making sure we had everything we needed. The food wasn't too bad just what you pay for what you get they really need to spruce it up.
(2)Isla B.
My family and I went to dinner here for my brothers birthday. He loves this place (for some reason) so we were all expecting a somewhat pleasant dining experience to celebrate his special day. For starters, this place is family style, so the portions and prices are designed to feed 2 or more. My parents both ordered drinks - when our server brought out my dad's beer she sloshed half of it on the table and walked away. I also couldn't help but feel this place is overpriced. We ordered the caprese and artichoke dip to start, both of which were around $15. The caprese was perfect and the artichoke dip was okay - rather small for the price. We ordered 2 chicken entrees and a pasta dish all of which were about $25 a piece. They were all alright but for what you're paying alright doesn't cut it. The service was slow, the room we were in was noisy, the tables around us weren't cleared for a good 30 minutes - it was a Monday night so there wasn't really a reason for any of this. Anyway, we had a nice time but personally I probably wouldn't eat here again. Step up the service and clean up the environment. Hopefully the management reads these reviews and improves in the areas everyone is complaining about. Cheers.
(1)Blair H.
Dirty and horrible service. Every silverware roll we got was gross. The plates were just as bad. We had to ask to put in a drink order. We had to ask to get a set of silverware. We had to ask to get plates for our bowl of pasta, while it was sitting on the table getting cold. And best of all our server was cleaning the toilets and serving us at the same time.
(1)Audrey E.
Yeah they have big portions but i didn't notice anything special about their food. I got food poisoning from the spaghetti and meatballs I had here. The atmosphere was cool but I was packed and the waiter looked so stressed I felt bad for him.
(2)Paula E.
I am not a fan of family style dining (get your fork off my plate!) so it's not exactly what I would want to do. That being said the food was awesome. Price is on the high side and I didn't like that the young hostess didn't ask us before hand how we felt about eating upstairs or walking up steps when there was an elevator there. That is something that needs to be asked right away before seating anyone. My partner in crime didn't care for that either and service can be slow at times. I plan on going back due to the food and for that alone it gets 4 stars.
(4)Huy K.
Great place to try Italian food. Nice decoration and good service. Their tomato sauce is unique and a must to try. They also have great menu of desert too. Definitely will be back.
(5)Eric B.
I love my Italian food saucy and lot's of it. At Buca I get both and the Arrowhead location was no disappointment. I took my family on a Saturday night around 9pm. The restaurant was a little scarce and the hostess was a little "uppity". Other than that, the food, service, and time from ordering to receiving our dishes was great. We had the Cannelloni, Pizza, Calamari, and Buca Trio sampler. Everything tasted great and presented very well. I will be making another trip soon.
(4)Ian D.
If someone brings 17 people "friends and family" into a FAMILY STYLE restaurant, I would assume the staff would be competent enough to at least fill and bring a glass of water. Waiting 40 minutes for a glass of water is absurd. Asking for a glass of water 4 times is even more absurd. I had to ask my friend who was seated at the end of the table for a drink. Did they run out of water? It all started going down hill from there. It was quite embarrassing to bring my mother in law here and watch everyone eating their meal except her. They forgot her meal! They didn't forget to bring her food, they forgot to cook it! What? We were all done with our food when they brought her meal. This is a restaurant, you specialize in 2 things, drinks and food, can I at least get a drink? Next the waiter brought our check minus the change, ??? Wait what? They ran out of change? This is what the waiter told us. Not sure what is going on with this joint? The only reason I am giving Buca 2 stars is because the food was exceptional. If you have a large group of more than 2 people I would not recommend this restaurant unless you want to make yourself look bad in front of your guests, I say this because I have been here on multiple occasions with just my wife. But the last 2 times I brought a group of people here it was a nightmare. Family style is not so family.
(2)Michael V.
wife absolutely loves this place. I don't get it. it's good but certainly nothing special. however tommy lasorda yelling for everyone to say they love the dodgers was pretty epic!!! caesars salad is good but highly recommend the apple gorgonzola salad! garlic bread is strong enough to kill vampires. baked ziti was pretty bland. the stuffed chicken thing was pretty decent. meh. next.
(3)Geoff R.
Make sure you are not in a hurry. The food is fair... All is family style. Service is so slow, they must be undertsaffed. We came because someone in our party has a coupon. Not my favorite italian place.
(1)Maira S.
The service is beyond slow despite it not being busy. Salad and bread are extra! If you don't like to eat garlic DO NOT order the garlic bread. It has a bunch of small chunks of garlic....so you are pretty much eating garlic with bread. The food was ok. In comparison to Olive Garden I would say it's about the same.
(2)Jackson J.
This place has really gone down hill in the last few years. Stopped in tonight 1/17 and was told over a hour wait. So we waited and waited and waited some more. Then we finally got seated and waited some more! Then l finally got up and asked for a server. When she came to the table she was very pissy. She didn't refill the drinks and the food took FOREVER!!! We won't be back and it's a shame because this placr used to be awesome!
(2)Marian F.
We sat at the bar, the bartender was very busy but had s terrible attitude & not into customer service. He was irritated that we wanted to try a couple of wines prior to purchasing a bottle. The co-workers were good to each other but not into the customers. Even the manager brought food out but let it sit rather than figure out who should get it. We spent $100 for two people and we won't go back. Very disappointing!
(2)Elijah Jr. H.
Ok, I've never been a fan of this place. I've visited 3 different locations nationally. I came here tonight for my brother in laws birthday. We waited forever to be seated. They were, by no means, busy. Then, they did not have place settings out for us. A young man eventually came and took our drink orders and we explained how we wanted the checks to be split "that side of the table and the couple over here are separate." Then another server came and did the same thing. They young man went to tell her what we ordered and she just said "I'll do it, again, myself." We re-gave the orders and waited about 20 minutes for drinks. The our order was screwed up. Again, never a fan of bland, over-priced Italian food. The food was as expected. We had to wait for oil and vinegar, wait for cutlery, wait for napkins, wait for bread plates. Then the checks came and we, the couple, were given another members check and were embarrassed to say, "this is with the other patrons." And then, my sister in-law reminded the server, again, that it was my brother in laws birthday. We were the only people on the second floor and they announce to all eight of us it was his birthday. They clapped and sang and no type of dessert was offered. We waited another 20 minutes for the dessert and they said, "oh, we don't do much for birthdays. If you sign up for our club you will get a brownie next year." There was no, "Have a good night, thanks for coming," nothing. Not getting the checks right,nor not getting anything right, especially when you spay $22 dollars for a bowl of pasta, is unacceptable. It was nice to spend time with family but I hope to God I never have to go to this place again and I would never recommend it. Olive Garden, overall, is way better.
(1)Galina P.
We used to go here often , loved this place I wish they start to serve a gluten free menu so I could come back. Very nice place . Food is delicious .
(5)Heather J.
We have been to the one in MN several times but this one is huge! Great food, service was a bit rushed but all in all a good place to be. Sign up for their email club before you go!
(4)Jade N.
I love this place because of it's unique style. It's more of a home style feel than your uppity Italian restaurant. They serve in portions for 2 or more to share food like a traditional Italian household. The food is good and my waiter was great!
(4)Bad L.
It has been about 14 years since I last visited BDB. It was the one on Ray Road in Chandler. We found a $10 off coupon on Amazon Local and they are now pushing much smaller lunch specials starting at 6.99. The person I was with had never been, so we stopped in at this location. The food is always delish here. The meatballs are so tasty and the sauce they use is so, so good. We decided to share a "regular" small salad and it was still too big. She ordered the chicken parm and added a meatball. I ordered the rigatoni with sausage and meat sauce. Much to my luck, the waitress mistakenly entered my order wrong and ordered me a regular dinner "small" rigatoni instead of the much smaller lunch portion. YAHTZEE! BDB is so good, and it's a great place for large parties with large portions and even larger appetites. After the ginormous salad, we had 5 take home containers and will have food for the next few days. BDB is definitely worth the trip but be sure you are hungry and have at least 3-4 people.
(4)Michael T.
Went to Buca di Beppo because we were in the area and were starving for food, all the other local restaurants were in big box shopping centers and were crammed with people. We ordered salad, pizza, and baked rigatoni. The food came out in bizarre order.... Pizza first, then 10 minutes later, the salad arrived. 20 minutes after that we still didn't have our rigatoni and finally asked the server to remove it from our bill and we cut our losses. Food quality was meh. I've had much better. I'd say, if you have a whole family to feed, and you don't care about mediocre food, this is the place to go. Big portions, served family style. Don't expect ambiance, great service, quick kitchen, or well-prepared food. But for groups on the cheap, who aren't picky, it's not bad.
(2)Lucky T.
Wonderful service, but the price for what you get is a rip. I ordered some chicken with lemon and capers dish and that is all you get: 3 pieces of small chicken breasts in a lemon sauce with some capers = $25. Granted, the chicken is cooked perfectly, but the sauce is certainly not like the wonderful chicken piccata they used to have (no more piccata there). Just too expensive to get 3 thin pieces of chicken breasts and NO sides for that amount of money. My friend got some pasta dish that was also overpriced and, for me, way too spiced with flakes of red chilis which was too hot. She liked it...but both of us left saying we would never go back because of the ridiculously overpriced meals there. Now if the chicken dish came with some sides maybe...but just the chicken only for that price: think not. We tipped the nice waiter very well, cause it isn't his fault. Sorry, Buca, you've gotten too pricey for me for what you serve. You aren't the Ritz Carlton, and I'm not coming back and either is my friend. UPDATE: Ate there again with another. Again, fantastic service and I mean fantastic! I didn't like what I ordered, so when a Manager came by and asked I told him (well, I've never been accused of being shy). He takes the plate and returns with something I had mentioned I loved. I mean, how can you beat that???? Now the food quality: Again, excellent! Had the antipasto salad which was a fresh and crisp and delicious as it could be. The entrees were cooked perfectly and don't start me on the tiramisu which is beyond great. Now for the price which was the main complaint I had before: Again, there was just two of us, but we went for lunch this time. The bill came to $60 for 2 entrees, the salad, the huge tiramisu and one lemonade--BUT for all we had--and we brought home probably more than half of it, so now we have a whole nother dinner--the food is definitely priced right now AND everything was fresh! FRESH! And authentically cooked (having spent some time in Italy I feel I have some idea). Where you could really make out with their food and pricing is if you have a party of 4 or more--and if you have 10 people in your party you could super makeout here. If nothing else, you always know the quality of the food and the service is just superior.
(5)Melanee M.
We have been back to this location by the urging from corporate. We were not disappointed! The sauce was much better, service was really good, we were seated right away and served hot & tasty food. Whatever the issue previous, they must of worked it out.
(4)Sarah G.
I see a lot of low rathings and I am shocked. The food is family style, so if you are not prepared to eat, don't go. The chicken marsala is different, I had tried it here since I never had before, and it is almost like sweet & sour chicken without the sour. The baked ziti, was fantastic tasting! We did not order a dessert, however, the sunday is bigger than the face of two people and has twelve pieces of brownie....the waiters have to hold it with two hands when they bring it out, so if you have a sugar attack, consider going for that - you will not be dissapointed. The atmosphere is stimulating, pictures, paintings and portraits everywhere!!
(4)Michael C.
Herd the hype but it did not live up to it. Coming from an Italian the biggest complaint I have is DRY pasta which is what we got. There was not taste, not enough sauce and for the price it is over rated. The bowl was to feed 4 yet you get 3 sausage's, HUH! The salad was good but the main dish was a bust. Were they having an off day maybe but will I return more than likely no. Maybe the other locations are better?
(1)Luciana L.
The tiramisu deserves 5 stars. It was define. The ambience 4 stars. Very Italian-esque and at-home feel. Pictures everywhere. Some nude or partially nude, if that bothers you. The food 3 stars. I've been to at least 3 other Bucca's in my life and this one just don't compare to the others. It was good. The pasta was al dente like it should be and the meatball nice and soft but the rest of the food I thought was just OK. The green beans were way too crunchy for my taste. We also got some kind of pruscetto (sp?) stuffed chicken which I thought was way salty but I think that's what pruscetto is right? Salted meat? Service was OK. We got bumped around from waiter to waiter (actually, I think one of them was a bartender). I like continuity! He did hook us up with some extra bread so kudos for that. Overall, I think we come here mainly for the tiramisu. As far as meals go, we can probably get it elsewhere for cheaper (it's just 2.5 of us so family meals are much for us - both quantity and price) but every once in a while, we get that hankering for tiramisu. YUM.
(3)Kelly R.
I have been coming to this Buca's a couple times a year for over 8 years, I like that there are 2 stories to this restaurant, with plenty of fun seating options. There's an elevator as well as a staircase. I still haven't sat in the kitchen though! The service is never exceptional, but it's always a-ok. Since I usually only come with my bf to this location, I've come to accept that a 2 person table isn't going to get the same attention as a group. At least the beverage glasses are large, and I usually only want one refill. The food is as good as any other Buca's I have been to. I love the margherita pizza, chicken parmigiana, spicy chicken rigatoni, chicken saltimboca, chicken limone, and spaghetti with meatballs. Also, the caesar salad is one of my favorites, especially with a side of anchovies! Buca's is also home to my favorite tiramisu. It's made fresh in house, and is worth every calorie. Moist cake without being soggy, and the mascarpone on top is so creamy without being too rich, topped off with the perfect dusting of cocoa powder. I'm really thinking about changing my dinner plans tonight so I can go get me some tiramisu!
(4)Joe J.
My Fiancé and I have been here multiple times and it's good. The pizzas, pastas, salads, and desserts are good! I highly recommend the baked Ziti! The staff is friendly and helpful. The waiting room is very limited in space and can be frustrating. The dining space can feel small due to the dark depressing colors and the clutter all over the walls. Prices are a little high and portions are enormous. I can have enough left over food to last two days after the visit. Overall it is an ok place.
(3)Mya T.
I love Buca, but this specific location has a cowardly manager. Went here on Veterans Day with my parents, both Veterans, for dinner. When we walked in, the first thing we asked the hostess is if they had any specials for the holiday. She said "Yes, you get 10% off of your bill!" Delighted, we decided to make Buca our spot for the night. Spending over $140, we get our bill with no discount. When asking our very nice waitress about the 10% courtesy, she explained that the discount was only given if you presented a coupon sent through an email. We politely asked to speak to the manager to express our disappointment with the miscommunication and the waitress obliged. She returned 15 minutes later ALONE and informed us that the manager was busy and that he said there is "nothing he can do, no exceptions." Nice dude, reeeal nice. I guess losing long time customers is not a concern. 5% off or a simple apology would have been plenty sufficient but instead we received the cold shoulder. That's a nice thank you to the men and women who have served your country...
(1)Kelli M.
I'm not sure what the bad service reviews are about. We come here a lot and our service is always wonderful. The servers are friendly and always suggest drinks and menu items and they're really great with our daughter. I highly suggest the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and the Chicken Parm and the Margherita Pizza... and..........the Fettucini Supremo. The portions are huge, so if we have a 4 or 5 people, we usually order 3 or 4 small dishes and still leave with left overs. I'm a huge fan of Buca and will always come back regardless of the location.
(4)Taylor H.
My husband and I decided to eat out last night (which we don't do very often) I didn't write the review last night because I wanted to sleep on it and decide if I really wanted to write it..... This experience was the worst I have ever had in a restaurant, ever. We had originally wanted to go to Abuelo's next door, but they had a 45 minute wait. we walked over here to see if they had a wait, it was only 20 minutes so we stayed, unfortunately. We ended up only waiting 10 minutes, this was the highlight of the evening. We were seated upstairs in the back corner, which was nice and secluded, another plus. The hostess did not try to engage in any type of conversation, she showed us the table and started walking away, I had to stop her to ask for a high hair. I'm fairly sure our table had not been previously cleaned because we didn't have placemats or silverware like every other table did. Our waitress came by, asked if we wanted drinks and explained how their portions worked. We ordered our drinks, they arrived and then she disappeared for a good 10-15 minutes before coming to get the order. We ordered Mac & cheese for our son, a pasta dish (can't remember the name) and mozz garlic bread. About 10 minutes after we ordered our waitress dropped bread off at the table (which was stale and gross). There was another table that was seated near us a few minutes after we placed our order that also ordered garlic bread and they got theirs the same time we got ours....20 minutes after we ordered it? My sons Mac & cheese came before our bread, that's how long it took. Our waitress kept poking her head around to look at us but never actually said anything. This happened 6-7 times before she finally came over and said "sorry your entree is taking so long. I rang it in but when I went to the kitchen to check on it and I couldn't find the ticket for it, so they are making it on the fly right now." So we waited some more, 50 minutes total from he time we ordered until our entree hit the table. I've waited awhile for food before, it usually doesn't bother me but what really set me off was by the time it finally came it was lukewarm at best! I worked at Yard House so I understand how a busy kitchen works and a check that has been refired should come out extremely hot, not like its been in the window sitting....which is what ours tasted like. At this point I am furious and just want the check to come, I had like 2 bites of food before giving up on the whole experience. The manager came over and introduced herself and said "I'm sorry your dinner took so long, we took it off the check" and walked away. Didn't give us a chance to explain what happened from our point of view, but whatever we just said thank you. The waitress brought us boxes and could tell there was tension so she said "sorry about that, at least it makes for a cheap date night." I get she was trying to ease tension but it wasn't an appropriate thing to say. I'm pretty sure our waitress just completely forgot to put our order in so she grabbed a dish that had been sitting for a while, because if she truly ordered a new one on the fly it would have came out piping hot. We will never ever return here again. Such a disappointing date night.
(1)Kathy G.
Food was excellent! Service was excellent. Bring a lot of family members. A lot of food to eat and then take home. You have to try everything. Stuff shells were superb.
(5)Leslie J.
Really good food but service was not at all good! We waited so long, our waiter was not a people person, didn't tell us about portion sizes, and the place was pretty dirty. (Can't imagine how the kitchen looks)
(3)Jon L.
I have been going to Buca since 1999 in Pasadena I have always enjoyed the food and service However Peoria Arizona location had horrible service and the restaurant was not clean it was ran by High School kids our server Jessica was rude and the busboy was cussing and complaining about his job to us while we ate, when we left I asked for a after dinner mint and the hostess was talking to other employees ignoring me a said there over there if we have any ! Very Rude and not like Buca in Ca as I been to Pasadena, Huntington Beach , Santa Monica , Our Server Jessica forgot our dinner plates our drinks and simply did not care plus she did not get me a pitcher of Sangria when I asked for a pitcher but came back with a glass 20 minutes later she seemed bugged and we would of walked out but had hungry kids with us Never again in Peoria AZ I also will complain to Corporate as the food was good but the service and environment was horrible and not up to Buca Di beboo standard
(1)Jen R.
I've only been dining out for 34 years, but our trip to Buca today (Christmas Day) was the WORST dining experience I have ever had. It started with us making our reservation online. That was seamless as there were plenty of reservations available. Once we got to Buca Arrowhead, while we were waiting to be seated, 4 different people were turned away because they did not have a reservation, even though there were reservations available online and plenty of empty tables. As business owners ourselves, we were shocked to see so much money walking out the door for no reason. However, after our experience, I'm thinking that those folks who were turned away were the lucky ones. We ordered salad. The lettuce was brown, but we decided to let that go. 30 minutes after we were seated, our 4 year old son's pizza was brought out. 30 minutes after that, we still did not have our food. Our son had long finished eating and was bored. Our waitress visited the tables around us 4 times but never checked on us, refilled our long emptied drinks or given us an update on the status of our food. But all that aside, our food had FINALLY arrived so we figured we'd dish up and eat fast. However I guess our food had sat in the back too long. Our baked ziti was cold and our daughter's chicken parm was rock hard and her noodles were cold. We had to get up to go find our waitress at which point she took our food back. Then a manager came to our table and said, "Sorry about that. We'll reheat that for you" and he walked away. REHEAT? Seriously? He didn't even pause long enough to give us a chance to say if we even wanted our food reheated...or I don't know...replaced. I had to chase him down to tell him that our 4 year old was not going to wait for us to get new food and then wait for us to eat it. He offered me no solution and did not ask what he could do to make it better. I finally said, that we would like our salad and our son's pizza comped and that we would be leaving. Not that I need to tell anyone how to do their job, but from our point of view, had we been given a little attention and concern and not had to come up with a solution on our own, we would have gladly paid for our whole meal. We left and our Christmas dinner ended having to be fast food. Thanks for nothing Buca Arrowhead.
(1)Maci K.
Before going to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (which wasn't actually so incredible, save your money and wait for it to come out on Redbox) the BFF and I decided that we couldn't live without cheesy bread and figured this place would have it. When we walked in there were a few people waiting in the lobby and were told it would be a 35 minute wait for a table. We were starving at that point and really didn't care about a regular table so we just went to the bar and sat there. The bartender gave us our menus and explained that everything is served family style so when an item says "Small" it servers 2-3 people and "Large" serves 5-6. We decided on Spaghetti with meatballs (1/2 lb. ones at that!!!) and obviously a side of cheesy bread. A few minutes after ordering we were also brought a basket of fresh bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in. I didn't really like though that they just use a plate for the oil and vinegar and after the server pours it they take it away. Ummmm, sorry for my fat kid tendencies but I like to DUNK my bread in that goodness, not lightly dab at it. So obviously we ran out pretty quickly and had to ask for more. I wish they would have just left the bottles of the stuff with us so we had some control over it. Are oil and vinegar hot on the black market right now or something?? I feel so out of the loop! The cheesy bread came out next and was A-MAZ-ING! Perfectly crispy on the crust, soft and fluffy in the middle and covered with delicious melty cheese and garlic! We had asked for marinara sauce on the side too but the stuff was so good I actually preferred it sauceless. A few minutes after that the spaghetti came out with what looked like two round meatloaves on it, seriously these things were huge!! Beyond the size of the meatballs I wasn't impressed with the spaghetti at all though. The sauce was bland without any kick and the meatballs didn't have much seasoning at all and when you're an Italian restaurant you need to be able to do a good job even on the basics. I will go back just due to the cheesy bread and the fact that our server was great but I definitely won't be ordering the spaghetti again.
(3)Doug H.
I know it's a restaurant targeted at large parties, so I'd imagine they'd hire waitstaff that know how to handle larger parties (or at least train 'em to). Our waitress consistently forgot about portions of our order, like a water for one of our 8 people (though everyone else had a water at that point). The kitchen staff actually brought the limes she requested out before the water arrived, probably 10 minutes after our drink order. The second pitcher of beer we ordered after appetizers didn't arrive until after we were finished with the dinner portion. I could go on, but you get the point. Service was really slow, and it was hot and musty in our section. For a party of 8, 2 hours on a Sunday evening is pretty rough. The kitchen wasn't behind, we just sat with empty plates for a good 30-45 minutes after our meal. Good food ruined by the lack of service. Too bad.
(2)Christopher B.
I've been to Buca di Beppo before at other locations, but this branch made me remember why I am not a regular. They sat us in the rowdy bar area (where guys were getting drunk and shouting at the TV prior to noon!) even though we came for lunch and it was so cold that you could probably build a snowman. The management might want to save money during the winter but who wants to come into a restaurant that requires a jacket for warmth? Even after requesting more heat two different times, it never came. The bartender was the server and she didn't hide her ambivalent attitude toward her job. I'm not sure that I blame her for that. The pizza was also a complete rip off (go to Papa John's if you want pizza)! The crust was as thin as paper and the proportion of cheese to pizza sauce was about 1 to 5. The food echoed a desire of shareholders to up the profit margin. After all, for most of their items, there is a reason why they offer the big portions that they do - it obviously allows them to reduce expenses (staff, energy, itemized purchases) and increase profit by serving in bulk under the guise that it is an "Italian" thing to have large portions to share. If you've ever been to Italy, you know that they all don't eat according to such a model! The Mozzarella Caprese is good though, and can almost be a meal for two when coupled with the complimentary bread. The bread is nice and soft, but like a child, you are restricted to having the server pour the oil and vinegar. Aside from the yummy bread and Caprese, I do not find much of a reason to return.
(2)Charity S.
Buca di Beppo is my favorite restaurant. I love going here. I love the food and I especially love the atmosphere. Unfortunately the reason I have to give just 4 stars is because the service is totally hit or miss. I've gone with large parties and had excellent service. I've gone with small parties and had lousy service. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. All the same, it is a must-try if you're in the Phoenix area. Someday I really want to eat in the pope room!
(4)Chuck F.
Good food but pricey. No salad with entry, just cold bread. Very large portions
(3)Cassandra B.
My parents and friends met my husband and I for my birthday dinner here tonight and I was pretty disappointed overall. Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait about 10 min to be seated. Not a big deal since there are so many fun things to look at on the wall, though. We started with some garlic cheese bread that was skimpy on the cheese but pretty good when dipped in the fresh marinara. The small salad was good and enough for feed all 6 of us easily. My parents ordered a pepperoni pizza, we ordered the steak Milanese and my friends ordered a Quattro formagio pasta dish. We were told several times that are food was only a couple of minutes away until we were finally told that the chef had burned the steak. The pizza came out right after and was very good, but the rest of us still didn't have our food. The pasta dish came out next and my friend's husband asked what was in the dish because he was a vegetarian and wanted to make sure he knew which items were meat free. The waitress said only one of the items had meat in it but that didn't end up being the case. He even asked again after he tasted sausage in the shells and she said it was only cheese and spinach. After a few minutes she came back to tell us there was chicken sausage in the shells. Too late. Eventually our steak Milanese came out and it looked delicious with the fresh tomatoes but didn't taste that way. I expected the breading to be crispy and instead it was very soggy. That taste drowned out everything else. I was very disappointed. The waitress was nice and took the steak off the bill because of the delay but I was overall unimpressed and won't be back anytime soon.
(2)Had R.
Went there late one Saturday night, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Although I will say this place is on the expensive side... but you get a lot. Our server was great, in fact we were given a tour of the kitchen and got to say hello to the kitchen staff. The bulding inside is fantastic, there are so many pictures and things to see on all over the walls, and including the toilets. Some of the old photos are very funny!! I dont eat meat and cheese normally, but my server and I am sorry i forgot his name, actually suggested he create me a dish... which he did... and boy was it good. Great atmosphere, good food, made me feel like family for sure.
(4)Jennifer O.
I went here tonight with the BF and his parents, as it was his Dad's birthday. The place is a chain, and so it feels like a chain... you know, that weird feeling that all the 'kitsch' on the wall is the same as the 'kitsch' on 500 other walls across the country.... The food was fine, nothing crazy awesome, but nothing that was bad. We had garlic bread, gnocchi, and manicotti. Everything was ok, nothing was too flavorful, but it was fine. We shared a pitcher, almost, of sangria, which was good. We also got the brownie sundae which was good... huge! Overall, the place was fine and not terribly expensive, so I would come back if the occasion was right. Oh, and it's awesome they're on open table cuz I got some points for making a reservation and I got to get seated without waiting without having to make an awkward phone call. So yay to that. Oh, and the waiter was also a friendly guy, so that was nice.
(3)Everett J.
Good food and service. It is an absolutely horrible place to go if you are by yourself. Food is served family style, so take your sorry single self to a different establishment
(4)Travis H.
I dont understand the bad reviews! Today was my first visit there. I went with my parents during off-hour lunch times, so maybe that was a big difference between other reviewers and myself. It was very dead, which was great. My parent's go there all the time usually during lunch. They request a certain section on the lower level by a bar toward the back right ( from the lobby). They always get a waitress named Helena, who was an absolute gem! She and my dad talked about the MLB ( baseball) for a good 5 minutes, and as a big baseball fan, I was impressed by how much she knew! I ordered the Chicken Parm. I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about. I got an awesomely seared chicken parm dish that came with spaghetti.. All for like 9$! My parents loved their food too! I loved all the Italian "schwagg" on the walls, it was fun to look at for a bit. Temperature inside was perfect. I guess some people just like to complain. And please, take your kids to McDonalds... not places like this. Seems to be an Arizona thing.... PS- If you come during a Friday/Sat night Primetime dinner hours, I am sure, like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD..... you can expect things to be a bit more bustling.
(5)Tim M.
I've been here probably three times over the course of several years. Each time I've gotten something different and it's been hit or miss in terms of how I've liked it. The last time was a week or so ago. Ordered a chicken dish which I don't see on the online menu. It was three stuffed chicken breasts and was a bit over $20 with no sides. Then we ordered pasta with marinara for an additional $9 or so and garlic bread for another $8ish. For the amount of food you get, the prices are a bit high. The chicken was really good, the pasta and garlic bread were very so-so. Not much different than I would expect at an Olive Garden or the like. Service was excellent and our waitress was very nice and helpful.
(2)David L.
Went here for dinner with the SO on a Saturday night. Wait was initially supposed to be ~40 minutes but only took about 25 to actually get a table. There seemed to be an excess of hostesses (5-6 up front talking to each other at any given time). After being seated, it took about 10 minutes to get a drink order taken. Waitress attributed to having to help with a birthday on the other side of the restaurant. We immediately ordered the mozzarella garlic bread for an appetizer as well as the spaghetti and meatballs for our entree (dishes are "family style" so they're intended to share; would not recommend if you can't count on each entree having a couple of diners to tag-team on or plan on everybody having a lot of leftovers). Took awhile before we had our drinks refilled and our entree arrived about five minutes before our appetizer did. We initially told the waitress we didn't want the appetizer anymore since it hadn't arrived and we already had our entree. She immediately talked it over with the manager who then came over and decided to not only comp the appetizer but offered to comp a dessert of our choice as well. Also, the waitress was incredibly attentive after. The mozzarella garlic bread: "Decent." The bread itself was firm and crisp on the outside, fairly moist and chewy on the inside. Adequate amount of cheese atop all of the bread. There was also actual garlic cloves tucked under the cheese instead of the usual garlic-butter you'll find at most places. This was a bit unexpected and took some getting accustomed to, but it actually tasted pretty good once I adjusted my expectations. Spaghetti and meatballs (small): "Decent." Pretty well-portioned to share between two diners. Noodles were typical, cooked properly. Sauce didn't taste overly sweet or ketchup-like, such as you'd find at Olive Garden, nor was it overly herby like some country-style sauce; it was a good intermediate. Entree could have used a bit more sauce. There were two large meatballs, one per diner. Outside was mildly crisp and inside was moist. Very creamy mouth feel. The flavor was a bit lacking. The meat definitely needed a bit more pepper and, perhaps, garlic thrown in and they would be excellent. Italian Creme Cake: Lemon cake was dense but tasty. Not overly lemony and not overly sweet. The mascarpone cheese filling was excellent. Ours didn't have much of the raspberry-hazelnut sauce, but what there was tasted decent. Conclusion: Initially, we were going to nix BdB as a place to return to based on the service, however, between the waitress and manager making sure we were well taken care of after the initial lengthy wait for a drink order and the kitchen mishap regarding the app, we felt they went above and beyond what was necessary to keep us happy. Food Overall: B; I've had better (Spaghetti Warehouse); I've had worse (Olive Garden, Old Spaghetti Factory, Carrabba's)
(4)Valerie B.
It was my first time going to this place and I was pleasantly surprised!! From reading previous reviews I was a little nervous since I was planning to throw a surprise dinner party for my boyfriend. Right away, we were greeted and they lead us up stairs to a private room (the Pope room I believe). Since we had a large group we had two servers which was nice! The food was absolutely amazing! Large portions which was fun since we could share our dishes with each other. Overall, Buca is a great place with delicious food! I would definitely go back again.!
(5)Mya T.
I love Buca, but this specific location has a cowardly manager. Went here on Veterans Day with my parents, both Veterans, for dinner. When we walked in, the first thing we asked the hostess is if they had any specials for the holiday. She said "Yes, you get 10% off of your bill!" Delighted, we decided to make Buca our spot for the night. Spending over $140, we get our bill with no discount. When asking our very nice waitress about the 10% courtesy, she explained that the discount was only given if you presented a coupon sent through an email. We politely asked to speak to the manager to express our disappointment with the miscommunication and the waitress obliged. She returned 15 minutes later ALONE and informed us that the manager was busy and that he said there is "nothing he can do, no exceptions." Nice dude, reeeal nice. I guess losing long time customers is not a concern. 5% off or a simple apology would have been plenty sufficient but instead we received the cold shoulder. That's a nice thank you to the men and women who have served your country...
(1)Kelli M.
I'm not sure what the bad service reviews are about. We come here a lot and our service is always wonderful. The servers are friendly and always suggest drinks and menu items and they're really great with our daughter. I highly suggest the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and the Chicken Parm and the Margherita Pizza... and..........the Fettucini Supremo. The portions are huge, so if we have a 4 or 5 people, we usually order 3 or 4 small dishes and still leave with left overs. I'm a huge fan of Buca and will always come back regardless of the location.
(4)Taylor H.
My husband and I decided to eat out last night (which we don't do very often) I didn't write the review last night because I wanted to sleep on it and decide if I really wanted to write it..... This experience was the worst I have ever had in a restaurant, ever. We had originally wanted to go to Abuelo's next door, but they had a 45 minute wait. we walked over here to see if they had a wait, it was only 20 minutes so we stayed, unfortunately. We ended up only waiting 10 minutes, this was the highlight of the evening. We were seated upstairs in the back corner, which was nice and secluded, another plus. The hostess did not try to engage in any type of conversation, she showed us the table and started walking away, I had to stop her to ask for a high hair. I'm fairly sure our table had not been previously cleaned because we didn't have placemats or silverware like every other table did. Our waitress came by, asked if we wanted drinks and explained how their portions worked. We ordered our drinks, they arrived and then she disappeared for a good 10-15 minutes before coming to get the order. We ordered Mac & cheese for our son, a pasta dish (can't remember the name) and mozz garlic bread. About 10 minutes after we ordered our waitress dropped bread off at the table (which was stale and gross). There was another table that was seated near us a few minutes after we placed our order that also ordered garlic bread and they got theirs the same time we got ours....20 minutes after we ordered it? My sons Mac & cheese came before our bread, that's how long it took. Our waitress kept poking her head around to look at us but never actually said anything. This happened 6-7 times before she finally came over and said "sorry your entree is taking so long. I rang it in but when I went to the kitchen to check on it and I couldn't find the ticket for it, so they are making it on the fly right now." So we waited some more, 50 minutes total from he time we ordered until our entree hit the table. I've waited awhile for food before, it usually doesn't bother me but what really set me off was by the time it finally came it was lukewarm at best! I worked at Yard House so I understand how a busy kitchen works and a check that has been refired should come out extremely hot, not like its been in the window sitting....which is what ours tasted like. At this point I am furious and just want the check to come, I had like 2 bites of food before giving up on the whole experience. The manager came over and introduced herself and said "I'm sorry your dinner took so long, we took it off the check" and walked away. Didn't give us a chance to explain what happened from our point of view, but whatever we just said thank you. The waitress brought us boxes and could tell there was tension so she said "sorry about that, at least it makes for a cheap date night." I get she was trying to ease tension but it wasn't an appropriate thing to say. I'm pretty sure our waitress just completely forgot to put our order in so she grabbed a dish that had been sitting for a while, because if she truly ordered a new one on the fly it would have came out piping hot. We will never ever return here again. Such a disappointing date night.
(1)Kathy G.
Food was excellent! Service was excellent. Bring a lot of family members. A lot of food to eat and then take home. You have to try everything. Stuff shells were superb.
(5)Leslie J.
Really good food but service was not at all good! We waited so long, our waiter was not a people person, didn't tell us about portion sizes, and the place was pretty dirty. (Can't imagine how the kitchen looks)
(3)Jon L.
I have been going to Buca since 1999 in Pasadena I have always enjoyed the food and service However Peoria Arizona location had horrible service and the restaurant was not clean it was ran by High School kids our server Jessica was rude and the busboy was cussing and complaining about his job to us while we ate, when we left I asked for a after dinner mint and the hostess was talking to other employees ignoring me a said there over there if we have any ! Very Rude and not like Buca in Ca as I been to Pasadena, Huntington Beach , Santa Monica , Our Server Jessica forgot our dinner plates our drinks and simply did not care plus she did not get me a pitcher of Sangria when I asked for a pitcher but came back with a glass 20 minutes later she seemed bugged and we would of walked out but had hungry kids with us Never again in Peoria AZ I also will complain to Corporate as the food was good but the service and environment was horrible and not up to Buca Di beboo standard
(1)Jen R.
I've only been dining out for 34 years, but our trip to Buca today (Christmas Day) was the WORST dining experience I have ever had. It started with us making our reservation online. That was seamless as there were plenty of reservations available. Once we got to Buca Arrowhead, while we were waiting to be seated, 4 different people were turned away because they did not have a reservation, even though there were reservations available online and plenty of empty tables. As business owners ourselves, we were shocked to see so much money walking out the door for no reason. However, after our experience, I'm thinking that those folks who were turned away were the lucky ones. We ordered salad. The lettuce was brown, but we decided to let that go. 30 minutes after we were seated, our 4 year old son's pizza was brought out. 30 minutes after that, we still did not have our food. Our son had long finished eating and was bored. Our waitress visited the tables around us 4 times but never checked on us, refilled our long emptied drinks or given us an update on the status of our food. But all that aside, our food had FINALLY arrived so we figured we'd dish up and eat fast. However I guess our food had sat in the back too long. Our baked ziti was cold and our daughter's chicken parm was rock hard and her noodles were cold. We had to get up to go find our waitress at which point she took our food back. Then a manager came to our table and said, "Sorry about that. We'll reheat that for you" and he walked away. REHEAT? Seriously? He didn't even pause long enough to give us a chance to say if we even wanted our food reheated...or I don't know...replaced. I had to chase him down to tell him that our 4 year old was not going to wait for us to get new food and then wait for us to eat it. He offered me no solution and did not ask what he could do to make it better. I finally said, that we would like our salad and our son's pizza comped and that we would be leaving. Not that I need to tell anyone how to do their job, but from our point of view, had we been given a little attention and concern and not had to come up with a solution on our own, we would have gladly paid for our whole meal. We left and our Christmas dinner ended having to be fast food. Thanks for nothing Buca Arrowhead.
(1)Maci K.
Before going to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (which wasn't actually so incredible, save your money and wait for it to come out on Redbox) the BFF and I decided that we couldn't live without cheesy bread and figured this place would have it. When we walked in there were a few people waiting in the lobby and were told it would be a 35 minute wait for a table. We were starving at that point and really didn't care about a regular table so we just went to the bar and sat there. The bartender gave us our menus and explained that everything is served family style so when an item says "Small" it servers 2-3 people and "Large" serves 5-6. We decided on Spaghetti with meatballs (1/2 lb. ones at that!!!) and obviously a side of cheesy bread. A few minutes after ordering we were also brought a basket of fresh bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in. I didn't really like though that they just use a plate for the oil and vinegar and after the server pours it they take it away. Ummmm, sorry for my fat kid tendencies but I like to DUNK my bread in that goodness, not lightly dab at it. So obviously we ran out pretty quickly and had to ask for more. I wish they would have just left the bottles of the stuff with us so we had some control over it. Are oil and vinegar hot on the black market right now or something?? I feel so out of the loop! The cheesy bread came out next and was A-MAZ-ING! Perfectly crispy on the crust, soft and fluffy in the middle and covered with delicious melty cheese and garlic! We had asked for marinara sauce on the side too but the stuff was so good I actually preferred it sauceless. A few minutes after that the spaghetti came out with what looked like two round meatloaves on it, seriously these things were huge!! Beyond the size of the meatballs I wasn't impressed with the spaghetti at all though. The sauce was bland without any kick and the meatballs didn't have much seasoning at all and when you're an Italian restaurant you need to be able to do a good job even on the basics. I will go back just due to the cheesy bread and the fact that our server was great but I definitely won't be ordering the spaghetti again.
(3)Doug H.
I know it's a restaurant targeted at large parties, so I'd imagine they'd hire waitstaff that know how to handle larger parties (or at least train 'em to). Our waitress consistently forgot about portions of our order, like a water for one of our 8 people (though everyone else had a water at that point). The kitchen staff actually brought the limes she requested out before the water arrived, probably 10 minutes after our drink order. The second pitcher of beer we ordered after appetizers didn't arrive until after we were finished with the dinner portion. I could go on, but you get the point. Service was really slow, and it was hot and musty in our section. For a party of 8, 2 hours on a Sunday evening is pretty rough. The kitchen wasn't behind, we just sat with empty plates for a good 30-45 minutes after our meal. Good food ruined by the lack of service. Too bad.
(2)Christopher B.
I've been to Buca di Beppo before at other locations, but this branch made me remember why I am not a regular. They sat us in the rowdy bar area (where guys were getting drunk and shouting at the TV prior to noon!) even though we came for lunch and it was so cold that you could probably build a snowman. The management might want to save money during the winter but who wants to come into a restaurant that requires a jacket for warmth? Even after requesting more heat two different times, it never came. The bartender was the server and she didn't hide her ambivalent attitude toward her job. I'm not sure that I blame her for that. The pizza was also a complete rip off (go to Papa John's if you want pizza)! The crust was as thin as paper and the proportion of cheese to pizza sauce was about 1 to 5. The food echoed a desire of shareholders to up the profit margin. After all, for most of their items, there is a reason why they offer the big portions that they do - it obviously allows them to reduce expenses (staff, energy, itemized purchases) and increase profit by serving in bulk under the guise that it is an "Italian" thing to have large portions to share. If you've ever been to Italy, you know that they all don't eat according to such a model! The Mozzarella Caprese is good though, and can almost be a meal for two when coupled with the complimentary bread. The bread is nice and soft, but like a child, you are restricted to having the server pour the oil and vinegar. Aside from the yummy bread and Caprese, I do not find much of a reason to return.
(2)Charity S.
Buca di Beppo is my favorite restaurant. I love going here. I love the food and I especially love the atmosphere. Unfortunately the reason I have to give just 4 stars is because the service is totally hit or miss. I've gone with large parties and had excellent service. I've gone with small parties and had lousy service. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. All the same, it is a must-try if you're in the Phoenix area. Someday I really want to eat in the pope room!
(4)Chuck F.
Good food but pricey. No salad with entry, just cold bread. Very large portions
(3)Cassandra B.
My parents and friends met my husband and I for my birthday dinner here tonight and I was pretty disappointed overall. Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait about 10 min to be seated. Not a big deal since there are so many fun things to look at on the wall, though. We started with some garlic cheese bread that was skimpy on the cheese but pretty good when dipped in the fresh marinara. The small salad was good and enough for feed all 6 of us easily. My parents ordered a pepperoni pizza, we ordered the steak Milanese and my friends ordered a Quattro formagio pasta dish. We were told several times that are food was only a couple of minutes away until we were finally told that the chef had burned the steak. The pizza came out right after and was very good, but the rest of us still didn't have our food. The pasta dish came out next and my friend's husband asked what was in the dish because he was a vegetarian and wanted to make sure he knew which items were meat free. The waitress said only one of the items had meat in it but that didn't end up being the case. He even asked again after he tasted sausage in the shells and she said it was only cheese and spinach. After a few minutes she came back to tell us there was chicken sausage in the shells. Too late. Eventually our steak Milanese came out and it looked delicious with the fresh tomatoes but didn't taste that way. I expected the breading to be crispy and instead it was very soggy. That taste drowned out everything else. I was very disappointed. The waitress was nice and took the steak off the bill because of the delay but I was overall unimpressed and won't be back anytime soon.
(2)Had R.
Went there late one Saturday night, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Although I will say this place is on the expensive side... but you get a lot. Our server was great, in fact we were given a tour of the kitchen and got to say hello to the kitchen staff. The bulding inside is fantastic, there are so many pictures and things to see on all over the walls, and including the toilets. Some of the old photos are very funny!! I dont eat meat and cheese normally, but my server and I am sorry i forgot his name, actually suggested he create me a dish... which he did... and boy was it good. Great atmosphere, good food, made me feel like family for sure.
(4)Jennifer O.
I went here tonight with the BF and his parents, as it was his Dad's birthday. The place is a chain, and so it feels like a chain... you know, that weird feeling that all the 'kitsch' on the wall is the same as the 'kitsch' on 500 other walls across the country.... The food was fine, nothing crazy awesome, but nothing that was bad. We had garlic bread, gnocchi, and manicotti. Everything was ok, nothing was too flavorful, but it was fine. We shared a pitcher, almost, of sangria, which was good. We also got the brownie sundae which was good... huge! Overall, the place was fine and not terribly expensive, so I would come back if the occasion was right. Oh, and it's awesome they're on open table cuz I got some points for making a reservation and I got to get seated without waiting without having to make an awkward phone call. So yay to that. Oh, and the waiter was also a friendly guy, so that was nice.
(3)Everett J.
Good food and service. It is an absolutely horrible place to go if you are by yourself. Food is served family style, so take your sorry single self to a different establishment
(4)Travis H.
I dont understand the bad reviews! Today was my first visit there. I went with my parents during off-hour lunch times, so maybe that was a big difference between other reviewers and myself. It was very dead, which was great. My parent's go there all the time usually during lunch. They request a certain section on the lower level by a bar toward the back right ( from the lobby). They always get a waitress named Helena, who was an absolute gem! She and my dad talked about the MLB ( baseball) for a good 5 minutes, and as a big baseball fan, I was impressed by how much she knew! I ordered the Chicken Parm. I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about. I got an awesomely seared chicken parm dish that came with spaghetti.. All for like 9$! My parents loved their food too! I loved all the Italian "schwagg" on the walls, it was fun to look at for a bit. Temperature inside was perfect. I guess some people just like to complain. And please, take your kids to McDonalds... not places like this. Seems to be an Arizona thing.... PS- If you come during a Friday/Sat night Primetime dinner hours, I am sure, like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD..... you can expect things to be a bit more bustling.
(5)Tim M.
I've been here probably three times over the course of several years. Each time I've gotten something different and it's been hit or miss in terms of how I've liked it. The last time was a week or so ago. Ordered a chicken dish which I don't see on the online menu. It was three stuffed chicken breasts and was a bit over $20 with no sides. Then we ordered pasta with marinara for an additional $9 or so and garlic bread for another $8ish. For the amount of food you get, the prices are a bit high. The chicken was really good, the pasta and garlic bread were very so-so. Not much different than I would expect at an Olive Garden or the like. Service was excellent and our waitress was very nice and helpful.
(2)Naresh R.
It's Buca Di Beppo. Its not great its not bad. What else can you say about the place? The place is great for groups but food is just so so. Disappointed that not even a small happy bday dessert given to a 11 year old birthday girl after they sing happy birthday.
(3)Jeanie H.
I recently visited this location attending a business mixer event. WOW these portions are HUGE. They have small and large sizes - I hope you are really hungry when you come here. I really enjoyed the interior - old nostalgic photos, italian music in the background and the family style of service. I wanna say that I felt like I was at home sharing my meal with family - after all when you are dining with me - you WILL be sharing your food. =0) The restaurant is separated by different areas but still open concept so its great for group events - there was a birthday party going on in the next area too.
(4)David L.
Went here for dinner with the SO on a Saturday night. Wait was initially supposed to be ~40 minutes but only took about 25 to actually get a table. There seemed to be an excess of hostesses (5-6 up front talking to each other at any given time). After being seated, it took about 10 minutes to get a drink order taken. Waitress attributed to having to help with a birthday on the other side of the restaurant. We immediately ordered the mozzarella garlic bread for an appetizer as well as the spaghetti and meatballs for our entree (dishes are "family style" so they're intended to share; would not recommend if you can't count on each entree having a couple of diners to tag-team on or plan on everybody having a lot of leftovers). Took awhile before we had our drinks refilled and our entree arrived about five minutes before our appetizer did. We initially told the waitress we didn't want the appetizer anymore since it hadn't arrived and we already had our entree. She immediately talked it over with the manager who then came over and decided to not only comp the appetizer but offered to comp a dessert of our choice as well. Also, the waitress was incredibly attentive after. The mozzarella garlic bread: "Decent." The bread itself was firm and crisp on the outside, fairly moist and chewy on the inside. Adequate amount of cheese atop all of the bread. There was also actual garlic cloves tucked under the cheese instead of the usual garlic-butter you'll find at most places. This was a bit unexpected and took some getting accustomed to, but it actually tasted pretty good once I adjusted my expectations. Spaghetti and meatballs (small): "Decent." Pretty well-portioned to share between two diners. Noodles were typical, cooked properly. Sauce didn't taste overly sweet or ketchup-like, such as you'd find at Olive Garden, nor was it overly herby like some country-style sauce; it was a good intermediate. Entree could have used a bit more sauce. There were two large meatballs, one per diner. Outside was mildly crisp and inside was moist. Very creamy mouth feel. The flavor was a bit lacking. The meat definitely needed a bit more pepper and, perhaps, garlic thrown in and they would be excellent. Italian Creme Cake: Lemon cake was dense but tasty. Not overly lemony and not overly sweet. The mascarpone cheese filling was excellent. Ours didn't have much of the raspberry-hazelnut sauce, but what there was tasted decent. Conclusion: Initially, we were going to nix BdB as a place to return to based on the service, however, between the waitress and manager making sure we were well taken care of after the initial lengthy wait for a drink order and the kitchen mishap regarding the app, we felt they went above and beyond what was necessary to keep us happy. Food Overall: B; I've had better (Spaghetti Warehouse); I've had worse (Olive Garden, Old Spaghetti Factory, Carrabba's)
(4)Sanford R.
I generally enjoy Buca di Beppo! I am fascinated by how this place is decorated. All the walls and various trinkets make this a fun dining experience or interesting at the very least. One thing to note is that it can be kind of expensive to eat here, although I am always finding coupons for this restaurant so that helps. I am sad to report that they can be fairly stingy with coupons here though. They wouldn't take a coupon that had only been expired for like a week, which disappointed me. Aside from that the food is awesome! I go with my wife and we love the calamari and the garlic bread, which we sometimes get as appetizers. We switch up the main course when we go, but each time has had pretty good results. We had dessert here once or twice too and that was also good! We usually end up with leftovers, because they give huge portions. The portion size is truly gigantic, so you definitely want to share an entree here with others.
(4)Terry H.
Not bad. The portions are huge, which isn't a bad thing. There's only a few menu items I like though. Could do without the kitchen tour every time I go in though. We mostly only go when we have a coupon. Service is good, no complaints there.
(3)Lanette H.
Went with my husband and kids for the first time and loved this place. The food was amazing. We had the stuffed shells, stuffed chicken and lemon chicken scampi type dish with capers (forgot name). So good! I will definitely have my company Christmas party here this year.
(5)S C.
Great food, huge portions (well, I feel like the eggplant parmigiana has been shrinking) but always a good meal and it's fun looking around.
(4)Lindsay M.
If you are looking for a place to host a private party look no further - Anthony and his team are stellar! I booked a dinner presentation event at this restaurant and being located in Florida and flying in for the event makes event planning a bit more difficult. But Bucca Di Beppo here in Peoria made it a breeze. From the planning to the execution everything was very well done! Anthony delivered as promised and the professional staff members, Tiffany and Amanda, who were assigned to our dinner event were great! They were not only professional, very efficient, but also took great care in handling everything quietly as possible as they had to deliver food, etc during our presentation. Anthony, thank you for everything! Tiffany and Amanda, a HUGE thank you to you both, you were awesome!!!! Anthony, both Tiffany and Amanda are a huge asset to your restaurant! Thanks again for everything! All my best, Lindsay :)
(5)Lis L.
Our first dining experience at Bucca was awful. The service sucked and food was awful. A few months later decided to try again. Service was good and salad was good, however, the baked rigatoni we ordered took some time to be served to us and when we did get it, it was lukewarm. The serving bowl was hot but the food was not which told us it was microwaved. We shall not frequent this restaurant again. The manager did not find it necessary to come our table to apologize but had the waitress tell us it would be taken off the bill. No further compensation offered. The waitress did suggest we take the food home but we declined. Why would we take home what we didn't enjoy there. No recommendations from us to visit this establishment. We could write a book from the other horrific experience but why bother?
(1)Matthew M.
I already have low expectations for cookie cutter restaurants, but this particular dining experience failed to meet even minimum expectations. We ordered salad, pizza, and rigatoni. The pizza arrived first, then the salad about 10 minutes later. The bread arrived shortly after the salad. After 30 more minutes, we cancelled the rigatoni, since we had already eaten the pizza, salad, and bread. The waitress offered us the rigatoni to-go, but we declined. I won't be in a hurry to return to this or any Buca di Beppo.
(1)Elizabeth P.
Came here with the 4 for $40 deal where 4 people can share a family style pasta, salad and bread. It's a pretty good deal, the catch is that none of the pasta dishes that you can choose from have meat, so it's pretty much a vegetarian meal.
(4)Mike N.
I've been to multiple Buca di Beppo locations in several cities. They are a good place to go with a large group. We went to this location with a group of nine. The menu was typical. We ordered the seafood trio, which was nice, and the fried mozzarella, which was also good. The Caesar's salad was also good. We ordered pasta entree's and chicken, all of which were served up warm and in plentiful portions. We left with a fair amount of food. I would give the food four stars. However, I would give the service one star. Two in our party ordered cocktails. Five of us ordered wine with dinner. All drinks arrived together with our entrees. We did not get enough dinner plates. We did not get enough wine glasses, and had to wait for three more. Three entrees arrived together, and we had to wait about five minutes for the fourth to arrive. We had to ask three times for boxes to put our leftovers in. We were never asked if we wanted dessert. If the service were spot on, the rating would be much higher, but, I can't justify it.
(2)Crystal G.
Not impressed by the food. Atmosphere is crowded. Maybe they will be on Restaurant Hoarders. Waiter was a jerk. I asked for another and got one but she was dumber than a box of rocks (i didnt mean to insult rocks) Too expensive to deal with waiters with attitude and mediocre food!
(1)Eric S.
I first went to Buca in Scottsdale back in the day (no seriously, it was like... 8 years ago) and was suitably impressed with both the raucous atmosphere (naked people in the bathroom! How very European!) and delicious food. The chunks of garlic on the garlic bread were sinful and almost everything else was fabulous although I do recall never caring much for their marsala. So it was with a not insignificant amount of dismay that I watched, over the years, as Buca's quality declined, its food became less interesting, its service nonexistent and the atmosphere was ultimately no longer able to make up for its shortcomings. Eventually, I stopped going altogether, and I wouldn't have been back except that a family member's birthday was up and she wanted to go. Imagine my surprise to discover that Buca has revamped its menu and its attitude and I very much enjoyed my most recent experience there! Everyone agreed that the calamari appetizer was amazing as was the sampler appetizer (especially the mushrooms) - we cleaned them both up. The entrees fared well also, generous portions of delicious food with uniformly intense flavor... the sole exception being the salmon which was ridiculously dry. If you're like me and you've been avoiding Buca, you might want to give them another shot. We actually spoke to the manager about how pleased we were and he mentioned that they had indeed been bought out recently and the new owners had changed things up quite a bit.
(4)Jeff H.
Compared to the one in Seattle, well, can't really compare it. Reviews for this chain are all over the map, so I guess it depends on the location and reviewer. Portions here are just as huge as they are at every other location, and for me, that isn't a plus. I'm not a fan of leftovers, and I know going in that no matter what I order, I'm taking some home. I came here with my grandma and her friend, who are in their 80's and don't eat much. I think we left with more food then we ordered. The layout of this location is insane. It's a seemingly never ending maze of rooms, hallways, and passageways. It was also loud and there was a baby crying somewhere near our table, but due to the layout, I was never able to pin down exactly where. Service wasn't anything great, and I got the impression that she was getting towards the end of her shift and wanted to go home. I'm glad I live near Seattle, so if I'm feeling the need for some huge portions of Italian food, I can hit the one downtown.
(2)Katherine T.
I think Buca is actually a pretty great place as long as you follow the formula: Bring online $10 off coupon Bring a good group of friends who will share 4+ Be flexible Came here for a white elephant christmas lunch with 11 people. Ordered cheesy garlic bread, meaty salad, two types of rigatoni, eggplant parm, and proscuitto stuffed chicken. Only leftovers for one serving of pasta. Success! Everyone was happy, full, enjoyed making fun of the creepy rotating Pope head on the table for sharing, and were well catered to by multiple staff. My water was always 1/2 full :) Final tab under $20 a person with drinks and over 20% tip (they don't add gratuity too which I love!) Music was the perfect level too which I don't think should be undervalued. No shouting to be heard but not so quiet the whole restaurant could hear our conversation. Buca can be a good time as long as you come prepared!
(4)Kolacka D.
Ohhhhhhh Bucca.....I had such HIGH expectations for you! Having attended several large parties at Buca di Beppo I didn't hesitate to book my fiance's birthday party for him and 20 of his closest friends. I was impressed with the banquet manager, Anthony, who helped set up our menu and made suggestions regarding serving size and what to order. He was super helpful and accommodating, calling to offer various seating options and confirming our party in advance. If ONLY he had set the tone for out evening!! The good: The food was good. Yes, it is a chain, and the food reflects that. But our caprese, fried cheese, stuffed mushrooms, etc, they were delicious. Everyone LOVED the chicken parm and the pasta was great....and the red wine sangria was fabu! Attention to mistakes was great. Our server noticed we had been delivered a small app when I ordered a large when I didnt actually realized that......she comp'd the small and sent the large out. The management was good. Yes, I got to meet management! Super duper....allow me to detail the BAD. The room we were in was ODD. Imagine a long table placed in a room that was literally only 2 feet wider than the actual table on 3 sides. It was like the bat cave of dining rooms. All of the food had to be served from one end, which was kind of an issue with the gigantic hot bowls of steaming pasta. Add to the fact that part of the room doubled as the drink station/serving computers and it was a pretty busy place. Speed. My sister arrived early to greet guests and had to hunt down a server to order her drink after waiting 20 minutes. Literally. Hunt. Down. I arrived with the birthday boy and ALSO waited 15 for drinks. Water, soft drinks etc all took empty glasses and special requests for refills. The wait between appetizers and dinner was tremendous (ly odd). They served our green beans 5 minutes after we finished our apps but then the meal came 20 minutes later. WTF? Service. I already mentioned this a bit but if you're still reading you might care about the details. Our server was clearly overworked. I'm not sure how many other tables she had in the restaurant but when you're serving a table of 14-20 I would assume they would be minimal....not in this case apparently. People at the end of our table (GUESTS) ended up busing our dishes. A bus boy eventually showed up to help clear and literally took a plate away from a guest with the fork half way to her mouth. Yes.....SHE WAS STILL EATING! Our waitress brought out dishes for the cake which I appreciated since I hadnt purchases Buca's B-day cake and sometimes restaurants get weird about that. She left for a few minutes and shortly thereafter one of my guests overheard her complaining about how horrible our table was!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY??????? I pretty much lost my temper at that point and ended our meal prematurely. While waiting for management I overheard not one, but TWO other servers complain about their tables (as I mentioned we were seated in the drink station area.....so I guess they were breakin' it down in there). Management was extremely apologetic and polite although he obviously had doubts about my complaints. I'm going to choose to believe his doubts were related to his staff having an 'off' night as they are usually totally awesome? And to be honest I was soooooo angry by this point I wasnt able to detail the majority of my issues. There were certainly moments of greatness (ie the appetizer issue) when they demonstrated an understanding of good service. They took care of a large percentage of our check (which I wasn't expecting) but I completely appreciated since I had set up a cash bar and in our rush to depart ended up being an 'open bar' on me :-( I wouldn't recommend this Buca unless you knew the server or management and were ensured a good time. As a former server I understand the stress of waiting on large parties, but still expect the style of service afforded to smaller tables. I really did appreciate the effort management made to appease our complaints but simply wish we could have skipped the entire drama. And as I mentioned, the food was delicious!
(2)Darlene P.
EDIT: 7/14/2012 -- I was contacted by a restaurant representative through Yelp regarding this review. The message included an apology for my experience and said they wanted me to contact their customer service by email so they could "reach out" to me. I sent off an email over a week and a half ago and they still have not "reached out" to me. My review: Usually a disappointing experience when I go, and I'll likely not go back. Food is okay. It's why they get a grudging 2 stars. It's family-style so they bring a big platter or bowl of what you order and everyone serves themselves. I don't mind that. Though one thing that's kind of annoying is that you have to order side dishes as an extra with your entree. For example, if you order a platter of chicken parmesan, you just get a platter of chicken pieces and nothing else. If you want some pasta or potatoes to go with it, you have to make sure you add it on as an extra dish. Would it be so hard for them to put a combo-type offering on the menu so you get an entree platter with a side dish? Even if we pay the same amount as ordering it separately, it's still a perceived value and wouldn't make customers feel like they're paying "extra' for something that seems like it should be included with a meal. Service is either very poor or just okay. Servers seem to all be rushed and busy, like they're too overloaded to do a good job. Each time I've gone, I've had messed up orders. Once, we ordered cappuccinos before the meal, and the server went and came four times before he brought them during the middle of our meal...and only after I reminded him the first three times he had come back and kept forgetting the coffees. When he finally brought them he made an excuse, saying he was busy and the coffee machine was very far away from our table. Yeah. Last time, I was with a party of 5. After we ordered our meals, one of them got to the table very quickly (turned out he brought it to the wrong table and it was supposed to go to the table next to us), while the next three meals came out 30 minutes later, and the last meal, my meal, actually never came out!! He seemed to forget mine and when asked about it, hardly seemed apologetic at all, just a tad embarrassed, and just said that the kitchen didn't have any of the dish I wanted. Seriously!?! He couldn't tell me that earlier? I ordered another dish to-go since my party was nearly finished eating. But then he came back a minute later and said he checked with the kitchen and they actually did have my original dish. Ugh. What a nightmare of a server. So after all that, I did get my dish to-go. Nothing was taken off my ticket, though they gave us one dessert for free for the 5 of us to share. Pretty lame. Bottom line: Poor service. Food is okay, but not good enough to overlook the service. If you're craving good pasta, spend your hard-earned money at a different Italian restaurant that appreciates their customers.
(2)Edward D.
I was really surprised by all of the low ratings! Until I started reading them, and most of the negative is based on their service! We also have a problem with the service! The Family! Only came here because another restaurant next door was going to be a long wait. So, while we were walking back to our truck. Daughter mentioned, lets try Buca! Since non of us have ever ate here, and we always like to try something new. We decided to try Buca!!!!! Now this was a totally different experience. When we first walked in, we noticed all of the pictures hanging up. If you have little ones, you might have to explain a few things to them about some of the pictures! We were met by a couple of hostesses, after a few seconds of trying to determine where they want to seat us. One finally grabbed a few menu's and introduced herself to us. After a little tour through the kitchen, and surprisingly noticed they also have a table for customers in the kitchen! We were seated up stairs! Kind of feel sorry for them going up and down the stairs all day. Especially the food servers!! We were warned about the servings, since a small feeds two-three. Now this rating is based on three things! 1) Service! Not very good! There were times we were waiting for our waiter. We received our salad before our appetizer! For the price of our bill, service needs to get better 2-STARS 2) Taste! We ordered and expected to bring home left overs! Pepperoni Pizza, Actually I loved this pizza! One of the best! Next time I will asked them to cook it well done, for that crispier crust. We also had their chicken Parmesan, Daughter loved this one, Mommy and myself agreed with her also! Then the girls of course wanted a cheese cake, this was also very good. 4-STARS 3) Price! Now, when you come here. You are going to spend some money. Just the three of us, our bill was over one hundred dollars!! I don't mind laying down a hundred for a meal. But the service needs to be better. 2-STARS Overall we had a great time, and we will be coming back.
(3)Michelle A.
I really should have known better-being that I was spoiled in NJ with such fantastic italian food. Once again, another restaurant (chain or family owned) that does not offer chicken francaise! What do I have to do to find some chicken francaise in AZ?! Anyway..food was bland-you have to order pasta seperately? really??? It's not included? what italian place doesn't give you a smidge of pasta? Even olive garden gives you some pasta! Oh well..server was great, so I gave the extra star for the super waiter and I actually love all the kitchy stuff on the walls.
(2)Kyle F.
fun atmosphere and good food. Really liked the bread and the meatballs
(4)Marc B.
I love this Restaurant! the food is great, service is awsome and the drinks are stout! this place has a great feel to it.
(5)K'ana Heik S.
Huge servings, excellent friendly service, our waiter Ben gave incredibly spot on recommendations, and is a major reason I will come back to Buca!
(5)Kim S.
Although we visited on a Saturday evening, we arrived around six, we were seated within 10 minutes because the restaurant was not very busy. We were taken to a table which was not yet cleaned. After waiting a while for a waiter to take our drink order finally the manager took the order. A nearby waiter recognized that we had been sitting for a long time without drinks or a waiter. Because of him our waiter arrived a short time later and took our order. We would have enjoyed our mozzarella garlic bread while we waited for our entrees, but it all arrived all together. The food, with the exception of the bread, was lukewarm at best. While several tables around us cleared out, I never saw a busboy clear the tables. We were disappointed by the discombobulated staff and disorganization in every step of our dining experience. I honestly doubt I will returned this location.
(2)Rebecca S.
Went earlier this evening with 2 people who have never been. Giving a 2/5 because the food was good, when we eventually got it. Otherwise, poor service! We sat down at 4, the bartender took our drink order and while my friend was ordering an appetizer, the bartender walked off. Strike 1. When she came back a couple of minutes later, we placed our order, and we received the bread at about 415. We then received our garlic bread order at 430. At 445, the bartender came over, told us that the kitchen had been taking longer than usual (we were one of only 2 groups of people on that side of the room except for 3 people at the bar, otherwise the whole place was pretty empty), and that our food would be ready in a few minutes, and she took my drink to refill it. At 5, we still had not received our dinner order, the bread on the table had gone cold, and I still had not received my refilled drink back yet. Strike 2. At 515, over an hour since we were seated, we finally received our food, and she asked us if we needed anything else. I told her she still had not brought my refilled drink back, and she gave me a blank look like I was retarded. I told her she took my drink earlier to refill it, and never brought it back. She then realized that I wasn't nuts, and brought me a new glass. I was upset (I didn't say anything to her) but it was obvious on my face and she told me she realized that she did forget to bring my drink back, so apologized for that. but it wasn't her fault that the kitchen staff got our food out slow. Strike 3. I like the Mesa location a lot, but this one definitely did not leave a good impression on my friends, and myself - will not be bringing them back to this one.
(2)Daren C.
I have been here 4 times since it opened, so you know it isn't the best ever but it is not bad. Most recently we went for a wedding rehearsal dinner. 35 plus people. We were served wine, beer, pop, tea, water, salad, garlic bread, spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, chicken parm and cheesecake. The meatballs were a little mushy and lacked a presence other then the size. The pasta was good, cooked perfectly and tasted good with the sauce. The chicken parm was fantastic. Simple yet tender and plenty of flavor. The salad was bitter....? The bread was great, the cheesecake was excellent. We have always enjoyed our dinners here but will only order ceaser salad from now on.
(4)Tracilynn H.
Excellent food and large family style portions, my favorite is the veal parmesan. Been here numerous times and they get really busy, not always the best service and is pretty pricey.
(3)Jennifer W.
The antipasto salad was AWESOME. The lasagna and chicken pomodora was---eeehhhhh. And the restaurant was FULL of dust. They had obviously not cleaned the millions of knick-knacks in a year. I don't care to go back--it wasn't that great.
(2)Debby B.
Always ask if you want the tour or would you like to go directly to your table. I have always been asked may we seat you in the bar? Do not just seat someone into a very NOISY BAR. Never have I ever been to a Family type serving restaurant them did NOT have an option of just a single serving. Veal is free range veal that was bland, dry somewhat tough and tasteless. Lasagna dried out, the edges were spongy as if the lasagna is precooked frozen and the reheated. Nope not going back eeewww yucky.
(1)Iris L.
After reading some of the previous reviews, I didn't think I need to write anymore, but why not... The $10 off $20 ticket coupon lured me in. I talked my husband into going there even though the last experience wasn't the best one. So, that said, it was not that good this time either. First of all, they got rid of personal portion. So we had to choose something we both would eat. Now, my husband and I have very different taste buds. That's why we go to a restaurant!! So I don't have to make 2 different meals for the evening. Also it seems like they have raised the price when they made fancy-new-menu which had more ad by us-air or something that had nothing to do with their food... like Cheese cake factory's menu... (is that just to cover up the fact that they have no variety to choose from...?) We finally decided and ordered garlic bread and seafood pasta. $9 for garlic bread and $20 for a bowl of pasta... Hmmm why do I get the feeling I'm getting ripped off? So anyways... food was descent, but I don't like to be forced to get meal for 3 when I just want something for me
(2)Ryan C.
Reviews are all over the scale for this demi-Italian joint, but my experience here puts it on my Mediocre List. Remember Leftover Night as a kid? You'd ask your mom what's for dinner and she'd open the fridge and say, "Whatever you want -- we have spaghetti, salad, bread, there's a piece of fish, and some kind of meat. Go to town." Buca is kind of like that. The selection and portion sizes available to you are just wierd. Plain and simple, I like getting what I want, not choosing from among the things that THEY want me to have. I know all places have their menu's, but any illusion of getting something the way you want it is gone at Buca. That makes me change my mind. Buca is more like "Leftover Night" at a friend's house, choosing from among that other mom's dishes, which while familiar to you, were prepared in a way that just "isn't like my mom makes it". The food is pretty good: hovering around average, but hearty. The service is the standard fake-friendly. I can't be sure if the extra touch of douchebag that our server exhibited was a personal trait or something they train. The restaurant itself is oh so very annoying, with enough distracting wall decorations to paralyze a hard ADD case. The layout is a bunch of ridiculous rooms, with doorways and stairways like a maze, and they march you through the kitchen to get to your seats -- an obnoxious bit of pretention that should be saved for an establishment that deserves it.
(3)JEANNE C.
Love the food and service. Had spicy chicken rigatoni and stuffed chicken prosciutto. We sat upstairs in a section by ourselves. The service was good, but the restaurant was not busy. I have been to other locations in the past and they were very busy. Don't know if that would have affected the service. We had a great experience here.
(4)Albert H.
$10 coupon and FREE spaghetti coupon brought me back here recently, and things haven't changed. This is some of the most ordinary Italian fare that I've ever had and they give you huge portions that you cannot avoid. Well, you can, but it is silly when you consider the price difference between the full size order and the half order. Eggplant isn't bad, and I'm upset that they axed a few appetizer menu options from the menu. It's cool that they have an Italian beer on tap but they need more beer options. Not all of us splurge on restaurant wine, especially if you're trying to lure customers via coupons.
(2)Jake D.
I was going to pass on reviewing this place, but I left behind a "You've been Yelped" card and didn't want to be proven to be a liar... My parents were in town and it was my brother's birthday. The only Buca in Omaha had closed so they wanted to come here while they were in town. It started soon after we sat down with a kid screaming bloody murder at a booth beside us. Maybe the parents would take him outside to calm him down? No such luck. We ordered a few items, with my parents ordering a salad in which a special cheese was a key ingredient. After halfway through the salad we realize some thing is off. There is no cheese. So we bring this to our waiter's attention and he goes to the kitchen and comes back saying they ran out of that cheese. So.........instead of informing us of that they just throw out an incomplete salad and hoped we wouldn't notice? The rest of the food was ok, when we thought we tell them it was my brother's b-day to get the piece of cake and b-day gift certificate deal, they were, you guessed it, out of cake. So they substituted a piece of cheesecake. For that and for taking the salad off the bill, I can give them 2 stars.
(2)Jennifer L.
I have to start this review by saying I've been in love with Buca for years and years. Back before they got bought out, I used to go all the time, but once they took my favorite dish (macaroni rosa) off the menu I got sad and now I don't go as often. However, they sent me an email a week ago saying they'd brought back some old favorites. Guess what was on that list? Yep, you guessed it, Macaroni Rosa!! Needless to say I have been twice in the last 2 weeks. It's almost as good as I remember it... although it does seem to have more garlic now. They also brought back their best salad - the 1893 salad. It has meats and cheeses in it and it's awesome. My list of Buca favorites (besides the macaroni rosa) includes the chicken limone, chicken parm, ravioli with meat sauce, and green beans. Go with a large group or expect lots of leftovers because everything is served family style. Although, they do have a lunch menu now with individual portions and they are never busy at lunch time. Join their eclub - they'll send you coupons, which make the bill easier to stomach. Bottom line - their food is fantastic. If money grew on trees I could eat here every day.
(5)Willy T.
I used to work here and served table. Now I'm enjoying myself having a dinner at Buca. Linguine frutti de mar still the best and my fav dish so far.
(4)Stef Y.
Haha at Buca. Yeah, you have an array of typical dishes to choose from, but considering these are quite, SIMPLE, Buca still cannot master them. Thought the chopped salad would be awesome...but, I should have known, they used machetes to chop this dish, and then served us the bottom of the bulk, which means, sweaty, liquefied salad. Also, I don't mind having to order a 'side' of pasta, but I'm just so flummoxed by the choices: spaghetti with marinara? or fettucine alfredo?...choices, choices, choices! I mean, these two just pair so well with the porchetta rustica :(sarcasm): Apple crostata= standard apple pie. No warm apples, flaky crust, as falsely advertised on the menu. I should have learned from my first experience here. Good as a soup line!
(1)Mark T.
Buca Di Beppo is literally, italian restaurant hell. You know how all big box chain restaurants throw junk up on the walls in an attempt to make the space feel vintage? Buca Di Beppo throws junk, and knick knacks and statues and anything else 'italian' they could find in the chinese warehouse where they loaded up these goods. It's a terrible horrible mess and you end up sitting in a yardsale of italian paraphenalia while eating your very bland pasta. It's embarassing how truly flavorless the food is here. Thin, flavorless alfredo sauce. Thick slabs of lasagna with less taste than what I can get out of the frozen section at Publix. I went with a large group and across the table, bland food. When they seat your party, they guide you through the kitchen area where the cooks play along and say a welcoming hello. Deep down you know they hate this. Why are we in the kitchen? Sure it's nice, but I'd rather have them concentrating on making the food, and making it good. Of course, the food at Buca Di Beppo seems to be far beyond any point of return to tasting good. It's just dead. Dead food. No life, no flavor, not emotion. I get more flavor from the $.99 Michelina's frozen lunch package. Far from claiming anything authentic Italian, Buca Di Beppo even pumps out bread with no taste. Eating at Buca is like eating food from an assisted living facility. No salt, no sugar, no butter, no fat, it's all gone along with anything resembling taste. Sure, Buca has huge portions, and the setup is nice for large parties and families - but they might as well just buy the family-size pasta packs from the frozen section and bake it at home, even that would be better, and they wouldn't have to the mandatory gratuity. Say what you will about other italian chains like Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden - at least their food taste like something.
(1)Kris L.
Went here for lunch yesterday with a party of 10. All of us were disappointed. Three of us shared a ravioli dish, it was cold. Other dishes were scalding hot. We were never offered grated cheese. When we were finished eating the waitress showed up to ask how everything WAS...when we told her about the cold food and cheese she couldn't have cared less. They do add 18 percent tip which she mentioned as she dropped the check on the table.
(1)Nikki S.
Sooooo... where to begin.... Disappointment. That's a good beginning. It had been a few years since last eating here. We had talked about it in passing, but never seemed to make it back. One of the biggest reasons was mainly because of the large division of what we liked versus what the other person liked. Since they are a family style restaurant, that alone made it difficult trying to decide on something we would both eat. Now we find ourselves on date night trying to pick a place to eat. We were going to the movies and Buca was convenient. We made a reservation to avoid waiting. We arrived and waited about 15 minutes for the reservation. It was the weekend, so this isn't all that uncommon. While being seated I noticed that everything was very corporate kitschy. The hostess seating us took us on the "tour" and droned on in a monotone voice about the place before seating us. The restaurant was fairly busy, with several large parties. It took our server a good 5-10 minutes to greet us. We gave her our drink order Water & soda). As I had been very ill the previous week, no alcohol was ordered and this seemed to disappoint the server. There was a marginal wait again for the drinks. She droppped them off and then said she would be back to take our order. By this point we have been sitting here for 20 minutes and I am hungry! She finally comes back and we give her our order. Bruschetta and Chicken Marsala. I asked for a small side of plain pasta to go with the chicken. She said ok and off she went. A food runner brought out the bruschetta. It was a quarter loaf of sliced, toasted bread with fresh tomatoes and basil. Not the best I have ever had, but the tomatoes were very fresh and they were plentiful. Our entree arrived about 10 minutes later. The chicken looked very good with a small scattering of large plump mushrooms and they had not forgotten the plain pasta. It was accompanied by a huge bowl of marsala sauce. I dished up some chicken and pasta for our plates and we got started. I'd like to say it was as good as it looked, but sadly that is not the case. The Marsala sauce was so horribly sweet, it was more like a syrup and made the entree completely inedible. The mushrooms tasted as if they had been candied. The side of pasta was stone cold. I got the servers attention and let her know. She seemed completely unphased by it and informed me that she "heard that alot" and it was almost always returned. Ok. So I asked " why didn't you tell me this when I ordered it? " She gave me a shoulder shrug and asked if I wanted her to take it back. Umm yes. I'm not eating that. She asked if we would like something else. At this point, I'm not feeling very positve about the experience and hesitant to get anything else. We asked about the lemon chicken and said we would give that a try. As soon as she left, a table next to us leaned over and advised us against ordering that as well. He told us the only safe bet there was to just eat pasta. He said the only reason he was even there was because the kids liked it otherwise he would never eat there. We flagged someone down and told them to cancel our order and to just bring us the check. The check arrived for the full amount. I got our server and asked why we were being charged for the chicken. She was noncommittal and simply picked the check up and walked away. At this point I would like to point out that the side of plain pasta had been rung up as a side of spaghetti marinara and was $6. WHAT? She returned with an updated check and I pointed out to her that not only had I not ordered a side of spaghetti marinara, the side we had ordered was not eaten because the chicken was not eaten. She gave a "put upon" huff and said she would be back. She returned with another updated check and we gave her the card for the 1 drink and a coupon for the appetizer. Not once did a manager come by or was there ever a real "I'm sorry you didn't like your meal". While I have no problem paying for what I order, most restaurants would have just nulled the bill instead of running a debit for 1 soda, this place was more assembly line. I can honestly say that was my LAST visit to this establishment. I don't really know how you can screw up Italian food, but they seem to be doing a damn good job of it.
(1)Paul B.
This restaurant serves excellent Italian food. I can't recommend it enough. It's fun place to eat, right smack in the middle of Arrowhead's restaurant row. I was pretty much sticking to low carb meals, and that pretty much rules out most Italian dishes. Buca di Beppo's Eggplant Parmesian is low carb enough for restaurant fare, and they even got me eating pizza again! I just tasted it, and pizza was back on my menu after a 10 year respite. I am still very picky about my pizza, but I will never say no to Buca di Beppo pizza.
(5)Laura M.
I didn't expect much - and Buca Di Beppo was exactly what I expected. Ridiculous, obesity-causing portions (we got the small, which appeared to still be enough to feed a family of four), moderately tasty food, and an atmosphere that screams "CHAIN!". If it weren't for the $25 gift card, I wouldn't have bothered going... but I'm not one to turn down a free meal! So, for a free dinner, it was A-OK. I certainly wouldn't bother going back if I was actually paying though... there are way too many local gems serving up genuinely delicious pasta to devote my money to.
(3)Michael S.
For me, this is a chain that really does a good job delivering a mass-produced experience. What is most amazing to me is how fresh and tasty the tomatoes and tomato sauce are for a chain the couple of times I've gone to a Buca. It makes even simple dishes like eggplant parmesan really good. I've also had fine experiences with the wine and tiramasu they have that can make a family or friendly gathering at a suburban chain a good time. Or you can just go with a date and start a bottle of wine and sneak the rest into to the Harkins theatre thats right by there. The comfy booths and attentive service has always helped as well. This location also features a seemingly long lost Wilson brother waiter. You'd swear working at a suburban Phoenix Buca was part of Owen's rehab program. He's got some pretty good indie movie recommendations too.
(4)Jennifer S.
UPDATE: Because I reviewed our recent experience at Buca Di Beppo in Peoria, AZ here on Yelp.... I was contacted (practically immediately) with a request for more information detailing our bad experience - which I supplied. They gave us a generous amount of gift cards for us to go back again them!! I live in a different city than where the event took place, but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there at the big chain restaurants that really, really do care about your unique experience. I plan to sent half of the gift cards to the others that were with us (that was their first experience dining there) so they can give it another shot! I only posted that bad review because I was so upset about the experience...just to vent... I NEVER expected to be contacted - let alone given an apology letter with gift cards to try again! Thank you Buca di Beppo!! I am still a fan!
(4)Christine J.
I was out in AZ for business about 2 weeks ago for a whopping 24 hours... maybe less. My co-worker and I decided to hit this Italian place after settling into the hotel. I guess this stretch CAN be busy, since there's a whole training facility across the street, but that night, it was DEAD empty. Actually, there was nobody standing at the front of the restaurant to greet us! The place is overflowing with pictures upon pictures upon pictures, all of Italian families and kids and famous people, religious figure and so on. They had a special area called the Pope's Table (or something similar) with a bust of John Paul II in the center of a Lazy Susan. Tacky? Absolutely. Interesting... sorta. The main dining area is upstairs. The server was very pleasant though, but I wish the food was better. They serve buffet style, so they have their menu set up as "small" and "large", with small serving 2 and large serving 3-4 people. We settled on something simple, tortelloni. But it just wasn't good. It was kinda blah and that was disappointing considering we passed a grill and a steakhouse before deciding on this place. The wine, however, was very good! But that's the wine. The riesling was damned tasty. And then the kicker. So the fire alarm goes off and you know, I'm from NY, we don't screw around when it comes to alarms. The server just kinda looks at us and is like, "oh that went off 3 times today, its no big deal", and goes about his business. We were half out the door! I said enough is enough, paid for the bill and left. Crazy Arizona.
(2)Michael V.
wife absolutely loves this place. I don't get it. it's good but certainly nothing special. however tommy lasorda yelling for everyone to say they love the dodgers was pretty epic!!! caesars salad is good but highly recommend the apple gorgonzola salad! garlic bread is strong enough to kill vampires. baked ziti was pretty bland. the stuffed chicken thing was pretty decent. meh. next.
(3)Geoff R.
Make sure you are not in a hurry. The food is fair... All is family style. Service is so slow, they must be undertsaffed. We came because someone in our party has a coupon. Not my favorite italian place.
(1)Maira S.
The service is beyond slow despite it not being busy. Salad and bread are extra! If you don't like to eat garlic DO NOT order the garlic bread. It has a bunch of small chunks of garlic....so you are pretty much eating garlic with bread. The food was ok. In comparison to Olive Garden I would say it's about the same.
(2)Jackson J.
This place has really gone down hill in the last few years. Stopped in tonight 1/17 and was told over a hour wait. So we waited and waited and waited some more. Then we finally got seated and waited some more! Then l finally got up and asked for a server. When she came to the table she was very pissy. She didn't refill the drinks and the food took FOREVER!!! We won't be back and it's a shame because this placr used to be awesome!
(2)Marian F.
We sat at the bar, the bartender was very busy but had s terrible attitude & not into customer service. He was irritated that we wanted to try a couple of wines prior to purchasing a bottle. The co-workers were good to each other but not into the customers. Even the manager brought food out but let it sit rather than figure out who should get it. We spent $100 for two people and we won't go back. Very disappointing!
(2)Steven B.
The worst food ever. Waitress brought our bottle if wine with cork already removed. If I could I would score it a negative two stars!
(1)Elijah Jr. H.
Ok, I've never been a fan of this place. I've visited 3 different locations nationally. I came here tonight for my brother in laws birthday. We waited forever to be seated. They were, by no means, busy. Then, they did not have place settings out for us. A young man eventually came and took our drink orders and we explained how we wanted the checks to be split "that side of the table and the couple over here are separate." Then another server came and did the same thing. They young man went to tell her what we ordered and she just said "I'll do it, again, myself." We re-gave the orders and waited about 20 minutes for drinks. The our order was screwed up. Again, never a fan of bland, over-priced Italian food. The food was as expected. We had to wait for oil and vinegar, wait for cutlery, wait for napkins, wait for bread plates. Then the checks came and we, the couple, were given another members check and were embarrassed to say, "this is with the other patrons." And then, my sister in-law reminded the server, again, that it was my brother in laws birthday. We were the only people on the second floor and they announce to all eight of us it was his birthday. They clapped and sang and no type of dessert was offered. We waited another 20 minutes for the dessert and they said, "oh, we don't do much for birthdays. If you sign up for our club you will get a brownie next year." There was no, "Have a good night, thanks for coming," nothing. Not getting the checks right,nor not getting anything right, especially when you spay $22 dollars for a bowl of pasta, is unacceptable. It was nice to spend time with family but I hope to God I never have to go to this place again and I would never recommend it. Olive Garden, overall, is way better.
(1)Galina P.
We used to go here often , loved this place I wish they start to serve a gluten free menu so I could come back. Very nice place . Food is delicious .
(5)Heather J.
We have been to the one in MN several times but this one is huge! Great food, service was a bit rushed but all in all a good place to be. Sign up for their email club before you go!
(4)Jade N.
I love this place because of it's unique style. It's more of a home style feel than your uppity Italian restaurant. They serve in portions for 2 or more to share food like a traditional Italian household. The food is good and my waiter was great!
(4)Bad L.
It has been about 14 years since I last visited BDB. It was the one on Ray Road in Chandler. We found a $10 off coupon on Amazon Local and they are now pushing much smaller lunch specials starting at 6.99. The person I was with had never been, so we stopped in at this location. The food is always delish here. The meatballs are so tasty and the sauce they use is so, so good. We decided to share a "regular" small salad and it was still too big. She ordered the chicken parm and added a meatball. I ordered the rigatoni with sausage and meat sauce. Much to my luck, the waitress mistakenly entered my order wrong and ordered me a regular dinner "small" rigatoni instead of the much smaller lunch portion. YAHTZEE! BDB is so good, and it's a great place for large parties with large portions and even larger appetites. After the ginormous salad, we had 5 take home containers and will have food for the next few days. BDB is definitely worth the trip but be sure you are hungry and have at least 3-4 people.
(4)Brandon S.
The food was really great!! Servers are happy and joyful, but the food takes soooo long!!! Family style be prepared for a lot of food!
(3)Ron P.
Very interesting kitchen tour when you are taken to your table. Great food and interesting place with all the Italian pictures on the wall and music playing. I reserved the Pope romm a few years ago when I had family in town. I think you need about 12 or more to get that private romm but worth it if you have a large group.
(4)Michael T.
Went to Buca di Beppo because we were in the area and were starving for food, all the other local restaurants were in big box shopping centers and were crammed with people. We ordered salad, pizza, and baked rigatoni. The food came out in bizarre order.... Pizza first, then 10 minutes later, the salad arrived. 20 minutes after that we still didn't have our rigatoni and finally asked the server to remove it from our bill and we cut our losses. Food quality was meh. I've had much better. I'd say, if you have a whole family to feed, and you don't care about mediocre food, this is the place to go. Big portions, served family style. Don't expect ambiance, great service, quick kitchen, or well-prepared food. But for groups on the cheap, who aren't picky, it's not bad.
(2)Lucky T.
Wonderful service, but the price for what you get is a rip. I ordered some chicken with lemon and capers dish and that is all you get: 3 pieces of small chicken breasts in a lemon sauce with some capers = $25. Granted, the chicken is cooked perfectly, but the sauce is certainly not like the wonderful chicken piccata they used to have (no more piccata there). Just too expensive to get 3 thin pieces of chicken breasts and NO sides for that amount of money. My friend got some pasta dish that was also overpriced and, for me, way too spiced with flakes of red chilis which was too hot. She liked it...but both of us left saying we would never go back because of the ridiculously overpriced meals there. Now if the chicken dish came with some sides maybe...but just the chicken only for that price: think not. We tipped the nice waiter very well, cause it isn't his fault. Sorry, Buca, you've gotten too pricey for me for what you serve. You aren't the Ritz Carlton, and I'm not coming back and either is my friend. UPDATE: Ate there again with another. Again, fantastic service and I mean fantastic! I didn't like what I ordered, so when a Manager came by and asked I told him (well, I've never been accused of being shy). He takes the plate and returns with something I had mentioned I loved. I mean, how can you beat that???? Now the food quality: Again, excellent! Had the antipasto salad which was a fresh and crisp and delicious as it could be. The entrees were cooked perfectly and don't start me on the tiramisu which is beyond great. Now for the price which was the main complaint I had before: Again, there was just two of us, but we went for lunch this time. The bill came to $60 for 2 entrees, the salad, the huge tiramisu and one lemonade--BUT for all we had--and we brought home probably more than half of it, so now we have a whole nother dinner--the food is definitely priced right now AND everything was fresh! FRESH! And authentically cooked (having spent some time in Italy I feel I have some idea). Where you could really make out with their food and pricing is if you have a party of 4 or more--and if you have 10 people in your party you could super makeout here. If nothing else, you always know the quality of the food and the service is just superior.
(5)Melanee M.
We have been back to this location by the urging from corporate. We were not disappointed! The sauce was much better, service was really good, we were seated right away and served hot & tasty food. Whatever the issue previous, they must of worked it out.
(4)Michael C.
Herd the hype but it did not live up to it. Coming from an Italian the biggest complaint I have is DRY pasta which is what we got. There was not taste, not enough sauce and for the price it is over rated. The bowl was to feed 4 yet you get 3 sausage's, HUH! The salad was good but the main dish was a bust. Were they having an off day maybe but will I return more than likely no. Maybe the other locations are better?
(1)Sarah G.
I see a lot of low rathings and I am shocked. The food is family style, so if you are not prepared to eat, don't go. The chicken marsala is different, I had tried it here since I never had before, and it is almost like sweet & sour chicken without the sour. The baked ziti, was fantastic tasting! We did not order a dessert, however, the sunday is bigger than the face of two people and has twelve pieces of brownie....the waiters have to hold it with two hands when they bring it out, so if you have a sugar attack, consider going for that - you will not be dissapointed. The atmosphere is stimulating, pictures, paintings and portraits everywhere!!
(4)Luciana L.
The tiramisu deserves 5 stars. It was define. The ambience 4 stars. Very Italian-esque and at-home feel. Pictures everywhere. Some nude or partially nude, if that bothers you. The food 3 stars. I've been to at least 3 other Bucca's in my life and this one just don't compare to the others. It was good. The pasta was al dente like it should be and the meatball nice and soft but the rest of the food I thought was just OK. The green beans were way too crunchy for my taste. We also got some kind of pruscetto (sp?) stuffed chicken which I thought was way salty but I think that's what pruscetto is right? Salted meat? Service was OK. We got bumped around from waiter to waiter (actually, I think one of them was a bartender). I like continuity! He did hook us up with some extra bread so kudos for that. Overall, I think we come here mainly for the tiramisu. As far as meals go, we can probably get it elsewhere for cheaper (it's just 2.5 of us so family meals are much for us - both quantity and price) but every once in a while, we get that hankering for tiramisu. YUM.
(3)Kelly R.
I have been coming to this Buca's a couple times a year for over 8 years, I like that there are 2 stories to this restaurant, with plenty of fun seating options. There's an elevator as well as a staircase. I still haven't sat in the kitchen though! The service is never exceptional, but it's always a-ok. Since I usually only come with my bf to this location, I've come to accept that a 2 person table isn't going to get the same attention as a group. At least the beverage glasses are large, and I usually only want one refill. The food is as good as any other Buca's I have been to. I love the margherita pizza, chicken parmigiana, spicy chicken rigatoni, chicken saltimboca, chicken limone, and spaghetti with meatballs. Also, the caesar salad is one of my favorites, especially with a side of anchovies! Buca's is also home to my favorite tiramisu. It's made fresh in house, and is worth every calorie. Moist cake without being soggy, and the mascarpone on top is so creamy without being too rich, topped off with the perfect dusting of cocoa powder. I'm really thinking about changing my dinner plans tonight so I can go get me some tiramisu!
(4)Joe J.
My Fiancé and I have been here multiple times and it's good. The pizzas, pastas, salads, and desserts are good! I highly recommend the baked Ziti! The staff is friendly and helpful. The waiting room is very limited in space and can be frustrating. The dining space can feel small due to the dark depressing colors and the clutter all over the walls. Prices are a little high and portions are enormous. I can have enough left over food to last two days after the visit. Overall it is an ok place.
(3)Nicholas A.
This was my 1st visit to Buca di Beppo, and it honestly was not that bad. When we arrived, there was nobody at 1st to greet us, but stood around looking at all the Italian themed pictures and memorabilia. After a couple minutes, we were greeted and had to go up 2 small flight of steps to get to our table. Shortly after we were greeted by our sever, who took our drink orders. They have Pepsi products. I was hoping for some sweetened tea, which they did not have, though had a type of syrup that could be added to the tea to make it sweet. I chose the pear syrup for tea, which wasn't that bad at all. Server also said this was a family style menu or something to that effect. Looking at the menu it shows S and L above the selections, meaning small and large. The small served 2 and more, while the large served 4 and more. Not having been here before, we both ordered a small item each. She ordered the Penne al Forno (baked pasta) and I ordered Chicken Satimbocca from the entree section. She took our order and came back with bread, and some type of oil and something else. She poured the oil into a saucer, followed by pouring some type of vinaigrette dressing on top. She didn't explain what it was, but said they had butter as well, which my lady asked for. Still not knowing what the oil/dressing was I dipped my bread into it and was pleasantly surprised. The butter that came was in small packages, and it was not soft. Since the dish I ordered took some time to make, I got up from my table to look around the place. It was cozy, and had A LOT of things to look at. The music was themed as well to the restaurant. Well, we were a bit stunned when our food came. We should have just ordered 1 thing and split it... like the menu said, haha. We had so much food, we ate it for dinner, and I am even taking the rest for lunch. The food was decent, I didn't care for the chicken dish (not a fan of their artichokes). But the pasta dish was good. All in all was not too bad of a place. I will revisit at a later date.
(4)Steven K.
Why is their spaghetti so damn watery? Did they hire my old high school cafeteria lady to work in the kitchen? The waitress was awesome though. She had tons of personality and seemed like a hard worker. The meatballs are amazing, but wish the spaghetti was worth eating with them. Word of advice: if you are a Costco member, go across the street to Costco and buy a $100 Buca Di Beppo gift card for $80. And use a coupon on top of that. Easiest way to safe money here.....because my dinner for the wife and kids was like $130 and somehow it didn't seem worth it.
(3)Deni G.
Go hungry Buca di Beppo is an old fashioned Italian style restaurant with a relaxed and homey feel. This was my first visit to this Buca Di Beppo location and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. On my first visit I decided to take advantage of the take out service rather then eating at the restruant. The small portions at Bucca Di Beppo are enough for at least two people if not three, so be guided accordingly. For large families, the pasta dishes looked like they would feed quite a few people, however, I tend to look for quality, not quantity. On this visit I ordered the baked rigatoni, chicken Parmesan , mini meatballs, mozzarella garlic bread, and chocolate covered cannolis. The meatballs were delicious, however the rest of the meal was average at best. The bread, pasta, and chicken dishes were soggy and not seasoned very well, maybe it's something you have to eat at the restaurant. It just wasn't very good. The Cannolis were okay, nothing special. I guess I was expecting more. It was disappointing at best, especially after spending 72+ dollars. I might give Bucca Di Beppo another try at some point.
(3)Kathy B.
Came in post Cardinals game, looking for dessert & we found it!! Colossal Brownie Sundae! Perfect on an evening when the temp was still reading 110 degrees at 10 pm!! Jarrett was an excellent server even though we were just having dessert. Very fun restaurant and enjoyable atmosphere.
(4)Geoff R.
Much better service this time around. Our sever was prompt and actually brought what we ordered to the table. I glad we have this place another shot the food was amazing and well prepared and my glass was always full.
(4)Ester M.
Great place , highly recommend for either a fun date or for a family gathering. Family size portions. It's just like a typical Italian dining room themed. Tons of black & white pictures on the wall, ya get a quick tour of their kitchen , it's tw floors, great wine list....ohhh just go and check it out, you won't regret it. Enjoy when you do.
(5)Chris I.
I just want to say that manager Todd really went above and beyond for us tonight! He is the example of every manger should be! We were lucky enough to dine at the kitchen table tonight and it sure was a great experience to see/eat behind the scenes. Our server Alyssa, was so mellow, personable and to the point. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread and baked ziti pasta! We left stuffed yet satisfied! Thank you so much Todd and Alyssa, A++++!
(5)Steven N.
First time here. Having the Linguine Frutti di Mare. Scrimp, Baby Clams, Mussels and Calamari in Spicy Rosa Sauce. That's just the beginning!
(5)Amanda V.
The best garlic bread, chopped antipasto salad and spaghetti and meatballs. Our favorite restaurant whenever we are in Phoenix or Anaheim.
(5)Jana Y.
We ordered eggplant and chicken parmigiana. Plus Apple, Gorgonzola salad which is delicious. A small is more than enough for two ppl. So is a side of spajetti. The eggplant had two huge stacks which were delicious. My husband had three huge patties but something was sort of off. But he ate it. Then I tasted it and said this is veal. We asked the waitress to give us at least one chicken to take home. Well she made it right. Which was delicious , more so than the veal. My husband was very happy with that. . Anyway great customer service and wonderful meal. Of course we will be back. Then another customer on way out handed us a 10.00 off making the day sweeter. We have lots of leftovers. This is a place to share entrees that is if you can decide on the same thing. So happy they were open today.
(5)Ateh W.
Environment: I went here on a lunch date with my boyfriend and we were literally the only ones in the restaurant, which wasn't bad but different. It was quiet and dimly lit and the walls were covered with some pretty beat photographs.... overall the environment was cozy. Service: our waitress was great, she was up beat and very attentive ( we were the only ones there so how could she not be?). Like all good servers she gave us our space but made sure all of our dining needs were met Food: awesome! The bruschetta was out of this world. I ate do much of it that I could only eat a bite of my rigatoni I would come back
(4)Melyssa G.
I've been to several different locations and have never been disappointed. While the wait at another restaurant was about an hour, I spotted this place across the parking lot and immediately smiled. I love this place. This location gave a quick little tour of the kitchen. I've never been to a location that did that. It was cool and smelled oh so good. We had a pretty cool waiter. He had a sense of humor which is a plus for me. And of course, the food was amazing. Even tried something different and fell in love with it. Everyone left with full bellies.
(5)Christal B.
Wonderful environment!!!! So much to look @, food comes in hearty portions, friendly service. Totally enjoyed my visit & dinner.
(5)Jessica S.
Ah not really impressed with the meal at all or the dirty bath rooms with lack of potty protectors. Went for Baby shower and they were thoughtful giving us a huge room to ourselves. Our server however was absolutely a sweetheart and did a great job making sure we had everything we needed. The food wasn't too bad just what you pay for what you get they really need to spruce it up.
(2)Michael F.
Very forced service. Dishes come preseason'd with whatever was left over from the group before smokey service service will out a smile will be sure to bring the flavor out in your food.
(2)Lou C.
I'm a huge Bucca fan. It never takes long for us to be seated, the servers are always friendly, the food is always great, and the desserts are alway HUGE. The only complaint, which really isn't even a complaint, is that when we sit in the bar area, there are always flies. I grew up ghetto, so it isn't a big enough deal to remove a star. LOL
(5)Isla B.
My family and I went to dinner here for my brothers birthday. He loves this place (for some reason) so we were all expecting a somewhat pleasant dining experience to celebrate his special day. For starters, this place is family style, so the portions and prices are designed to feed 2 or more. My parents both ordered drinks - when our server brought out my dad's beer she sloshed half of it on the table and walked away. I also couldn't help but feel this place is overpriced. We ordered the caprese and artichoke dip to start, both of which were around $15. The caprese was perfect and the artichoke dip was okay - rather small for the price. We ordered 2 chicken entrees and a pasta dish all of which were about $25 a piece. They were all alright but for what you're paying alright doesn't cut it. The service was slow, the room we were in was noisy, the tables around us weren't cleared for a good 30 minutes - it was a Monday night so there wasn't really a reason for any of this. Anyway, we had a nice time but personally I probably wouldn't eat here again. Step up the service and clean up the environment. Hopefully the management reads these reviews and improves in the areas everyone is complaining about. Cheers.
(1)Blair H.
Dirty and horrible service. Every silverware roll we got was gross. The plates were just as bad. We had to ask to put in a drink order. We had to ask to get a set of silverware. We had to ask to get plates for our bowl of pasta, while it was sitting on the table getting cold. And best of all our server was cleaning the toilets and serving us at the same time.
(1)Audrey E.
Yeah they have big portions but i didn't notice anything special about their food. I got food poisoning from the spaghetti and meatballs I had here. The atmosphere was cool but I was packed and the waiter looked so stressed I felt bad for him.
(2)Paula E.
I am not a fan of family style dining (get your fork off my plate!) so it's not exactly what I would want to do. That being said the food was awesome. Price is on the high side and I didn't like that the young hostess didn't ask us before hand how we felt about eating upstairs or walking up steps when there was an elevator there. That is something that needs to be asked right away before seating anyone. My partner in crime didn't care for that either and service can be slow at times. I plan on going back due to the food and for that alone it gets 4 stars.
(4)Huy K.
Great place to try Italian food. Nice decoration and good service. Their tomato sauce is unique and a must to try. They also have great menu of desert too. Definitely will be back.
(5)Eric B.
I love my Italian food saucy and lot's of it. At Buca I get both and the Arrowhead location was no disappointment. I took my family on a Saturday night around 9pm. The restaurant was a little scarce and the hostess was a little "uppity". Other than that, the food, service, and time from ordering to receiving our dishes was great. We had the Cannelloni, Pizza, Calamari, and Buca Trio sampler. Everything tasted great and presented very well. I will be making another trip soon.
(4)Ian D.
If someone brings 17 people "friends and family" into a FAMILY STYLE restaurant, I would assume the staff would be competent enough to at least fill and bring a glass of water. Waiting 40 minutes for a glass of water is absurd. Asking for a glass of water 4 times is even more absurd. I had to ask my friend who was seated at the end of the table for a drink. Did they run out of water? It all started going down hill from there. It was quite embarrassing to bring my mother in law here and watch everyone eating their meal except her. They forgot her meal! They didn't forget to bring her food, they forgot to cook it! What? We were all done with our food when they brought her meal. This is a restaurant, you specialize in 2 things, drinks and food, can I at least get a drink? Next the waiter brought our check minus the change, ??? Wait what? They ran out of change? This is what the waiter told us. Not sure what is going on with this joint? The only reason I am giving Buca 2 stars is because the food was exceptional. If you have a large group of more than 2 people I would not recommend this restaurant unless you want to make yourself look bad in front of your guests, I say this because I have been here on multiple occasions with just my wife. But the last 2 times I brought a group of people here it was a nightmare. Family style is not so family.
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