Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

And so ends our 5-​year Christmas Eve tradition. We tried… we really did. But tonight was the last straw. We won’t be back.
It started from the git go… we walk in, approach the hostess desk, and four females all managed to avoid making eye contact with us, while the apparent head hostess, wearing her oh-​so-​cheery blinking Christmas lights around her neck, says «We’ll be with you in a moment» after we announced we had reservations. No, «Hi! Welcome to Buca!» or «Merry Christmas!»
After a brief 5-​minute wait, we were escorted through the bar to our table in the section near the kitchen. Seven minutes elapses without so much as a «hello» from ANY server or any one. Finally, we stop an employee and ask him to get our server. Three more minutes pass until finally «Jose» shows up. He apologized for the delay and takes our beverage order. After a 10-​minute wait for 2 glasses of wine, we sat for another 10 minutes before we could order our salad.
This is how the whole evening went. Wait for someone, anyone, who looks like an employee, make a request, and wait. We ordered the stuffed chicken with one meatball and our joiner relative ordered the mini meatballs. Although the food was tasty, it wasn’t hot when served.
We stacked our dishes at the edge of the table to show we were done with them, but they went ignored far too long. Apparently, Jose wasn’t assigned a station or pre-​determined tables, so he appeared to be working in different areas. We had to remind him to get the beverage our joiner ordered. He approached the table across from us, who also waited about 10 minutes, and asked them «Have you been helped yet?». Station assignments might help, management.
The ultimate kicker was there were no toothpicks (at all) as we were leaving nor did ONE person at the hostess desk say «thank you» or «Merry Christmas.» Bah humbug!
Sure, they were busy, but no busier than the previous four Christmas Eves we had been there before. Next Christmas Eve they’ll be a little less busy, since we won’t bother coming back.

We had a birthday party of at least 12 people here, and had a really good time. We shared a number of dishes and everything worked out great and tasted great. The service was fine. Gets pretty noisy with so many people, but that’s to be expected.

I like this place and am always very full when I leave. They do family style for most of their meals. For lunch you can get smaller portions and it’s priced nicely. bThe inside can be a bit of a maze so be sure not to get lost when finding the restroom. I’ve enjoyed this restaurant each time I’ve been here and recommend it!

I’ve been to Buca di Beppo numerous times and the words that come to mind are always: overrated, excess, and expensive.
Certainly, the place is an interesting one, with all of the kitchy décor. The Pope Table is great for groups up to 12 – 14. The table is round, has a lazy-​susan for passing dishes, Vatican and papal décor, and it’s relatively easy to visit… plus a bust of a generic pope sitting in the center of the table.
My family finds some of the décor rude and in bad taste.
The food, while plentiful is spendy and not tremendous. We recently had Chicken Marsala, for example. You’ll find better Chicken Marsala nearly anywhere else. Ours didn’t taste as if the chicken had been cooked in Marsala, but more like they poured the Marsala and mushrooms on at the end. The Tiramisu was soggy… swimming in dark rum. Again, not the best I’ve had. Seven tubes of cheesy cannolli was over $ 30. If you figure that out, that’s about $ 5 per pasta tube. The place is making money hand over fist.
The baked and traditional pasta dishes, and the chicken (e.g. Saltimbocca) we’ve had have always been okay, but not great. For a group of 12, we ordered a couple of sides of garlic mashed potatoes, two pasta dishes, and two chicken dishes. Our total was $ 225 without the tip. We all left full.
The restaurant tends to be loud, and it can be difficult to visit.
Because of the busy-​ness of the restaurant, service can be a little slow. Our waters were not routinely re-​filled. We needed to ask for refills on bread. Our server, «Epic Jose», was good. A bit sarcastic, but he was enjoyable.
If you’re looking for a unique experience with friends or a group, Buca would be it. Just don’t expect the most spectacular Italian food you’ve ever had. They offer a variety of rooms for groups — the Pope’s Table, the Kitchen Table, the Wine Room, the Poster Room.

When i eat unhealthy food i prefer it to at least taste good.
Bad and old smell as soon as you walk in. Food taste like it was frozen and deluded with water. Service is ok. Make sure you have enough money to pay for this

Alright place. Went here a couple months ago. Random dinner with my 2 brothers plus wives of course. Waiter was funny, courteous, and sarcastic. Awesome guy. Food, however, could’ve been better. Portions were large, of course, but flavor not so much. I had pizza, that went fast. The pasta dishes they had were plain and dry. The meat ratio was like 1/​20, barely any. At one point we almost asked for more sauce, but didn’t want to ruin a night out with the women. Leftovers were plenty, no one wanted to take them home. lol.
Would I ever go back, depends on who’s paying… but probably not.

The cheese garlic bread is to die for!
For a chain restaurant, it’s one of the best. The food is tasty and the portions are very generous. Deserts could be improved. Service is good.

Going to Buca is always an entertaining experience.
For one, there’s the atmosphere; total kitch with posters and oddball pictures everywhere, but it’s a fun environment to dine in.
As for the food, while it’s a bummer that it’s family portions which don’t work too well when you are just going out in a pair or alone, it is very good. Lasagna is tasty; fettuccini is well done, and the pizzas are among the better in Italian restaurants. Also love the meatballs, and you’ll always have plenty to take home.
A fun dining experience with good food that will fill you up.

Dined here with my family last night to celebrate my brother’s birthday. We ordered two appetizers, the stuffed mushrooms and artichoke dip. The artichoke dip was awesome. I did not try the mushrooms since I really hate them to begin with, but the rest of the family loved them. Next, we ordered a Caesar salad and the warm tomato & spinach salad. The caesar was good, pretty standard. The warm tomato & spinach salad was interesting… the tomatoes were the best part. Next time I would definitely order the dressing on the side! For an entrée, we had the stuffed shells and baked ziti. Both were okay, but it seemed like the baked ziti needed more sauce or something.
The waitress was very friendly and attentive. The ambiance is nice, but we were freezing throughout dinner, as the A/​C was cranked! Brr. I also used a $ 10 off coupon that I received via email, and the waitress was happy to take care of it.

I think that the location in Houston is better all around, but I had an enjoyable experience. We ordered the Shrimp Fra Diavolo, it was very delicious! We ate enough to fill us up and even have leftovers. The atmosphere is fun and unique, but the family portions can either help or hurt you.

Tried them again, since we love Italian food, with slightly better results on a to go order. First off, that curbside pickup they advertise, is a joke. I waited in the to go spot for 15 minutes on a sunny afternoon without anyone checking on the cars. When I go inside, a teenaged employee kinda laughs it off saying «we were busy and can’t do the curbside right now. Fine and dandy, but HOW ABOUT TELLING ME THAT WHEN I CALLED IN THE ORDER? Instead of asking what car I’ll be in… assuming that means they will deliver to my car. So our meal had an extra 15 minutes to get cold.
Food was good, but we were NOT told bread came with the meals. So when we ordered a side of bread, we had more bread than we knew what to do with.
Bottom line, a little more intrusive leadership with management and ensure issues are getting communicated to the customers!

I was forced to attend a birthday party at Buca in Maple Grove, even though I do my best to avoid chain restaurants like the plague.
No, I am not a hipster; nor do I think I’m too «cool» to frequent chains. I just don’t care for microwaved food made by people that barely know enough about a kitchen to know to put the cold food into a microwave to make it hot.
So, on to my experience. I ordered the spaghetti & meatballs, because I figured it was the least likely thing to be screwed up, considering that it’s an «Italian» restaurant. I knew that I was taking a risk by opting for meatballs, but I decided to live on the edge.
.which was a decision that I regretted horribly for the next day and a half. but, I digress.
First, the noodles. I (foolishly) anticipated Al dente, but received what appeared to be noodles with a an outer texture similar to slime, and an inner texture that was either hard and gummy, or complete mush.
Second, the «sauce.» Obviously old and microwaved. When the noodles were removed from the serving dish, a substance resembling chunky, rusty well water was left behind. The chunks were, I can only assume, tomatoes. but, I’ve yet to identify the mystery liquid.
The «meatballs.» — where to even begin. Apparently, their idea of a meatball is 25% beef and 75% breadcrumbs. These were mushy, overcooked beyond comprehension, old, frozen, and lacking anything resembling Italian flavor. Silly me — at $ 6 a piece, I was expecting something edible. These were not. I ate half of one and my wife ate even less of hers.
Also — it was Friday, so I decided to start the evening with a scotch, of which they have 2. Given that scotch isn’t the most popular drink these days, I won’t fault them for that. I will, however, fault them for charging me for a double and serving me a single that had a shot of water in it. Thankfully, it was just water, and not the mystery liquid from the spaghetti «sauce»
I switched from scotch, to Sierra Mist. The Sierra Mist was good and tasted like what I know Sierra Mist to taste like. But, I don’t believe that is deserving of a star. though, based on the rest of the meal, I guess having them not screw up Sierra Mist might be considered an accomplishment.
So, in closing. if you’re looking for $ 40 spaghetti consisting of slimy noodles suspended in brown/​orange, oily mystery liquid topped with balls of a tasteless grey substance that, while mushy, will still be harder than your BM’s for the next 2 days, Bucca is the place to go!
For the rest of you. there’s a McDonalds just down the road that could probably whip up better Italian food than Bucca if you were to ask nicely.
PS — we sat in the «Pope Room,» so I got to experience this disgusting slop with the Pope’s bust staring at me for the whole evening. I can only imagine the horrors he’s seen in there.

I went to get my brother some of his favorite pasta. I had an online coupon for $ 10 off When I got to buca to pick up order the woman would not honor the coupon. It was $ 42 for small pasta and small chicken. I explained my brother was fighting cancer and I wasn’t working and it was kinda expensive. She had a stack of coupons on the counter but would not extend one to me. I forgot my reading glasses and tried for 20 minutes to pull a new one up online. I left frustrated. The food was decent but Felt terrible when I left. I almost just walked away from the whole thing. I should have!

Would love to rate the food and drink here, but unfortunately, we waited at the bar for nearly ten minutes with no service. We were confused, because a) we were the only ones in the restaurant, b) we were greeted by a host, and c) an employee passed us by with only a «someone will be with you shortly». I’ve heard good things about their food, too bad the employees didn’t want to serve it.

It has been awhile since I’ve been to Buca. The last time I was there, we celebrated my hubby’s birthday with a group of people and we had a good time. I remember the food was pretty good. But we ordered different dishes at dinner.
I received a buy one get one free coupon for lunch and thought what a great time to revisit Buca. This trip I was sorely disappointed. I ordered the Chicken Marsala and my aunt ordered the Chicken Parmigiana. The Chicken Parm was pretty good tasting with a decent sized breast. My Chicken Marsala however was SWEET. Sweet? Is Chicken Marsala supposed to be sweet? It tasted like a sickly sweet and sour chicken. Also the size of the chicken breast was tiny! It was slightly bigger than half the size of my aunt’s. I know it’s lunch, but that was ridiculous. The fettuccine Alfredo that came with my dish was dry and bland. $ 12 was not worth it for my dish. Luckily I had the buy one get one free coupon or I would have complained.
The positive about this place is the wait staff was nice and I liked the salt and pepper grinders at the table.
Not sure if I will be back.

Seems all the cheese is tied up in the décor on the walls.
Fettuccine Alfredo was very dry with no detectable sauce.
Appetizer of garlic cheese bread (which arrived with the meal, not before) had only a hint of cheese sprinkled down the center.
Service was attentive, prices are ridiculously high for ‘just a pile of cheese-​less carbs’

I truly enjoyed our dinner at Buca di Beppo on January 3^rd, 2015. We booked our reservation early because this place gets super duper packed. We tried placing a Christmas food order for pick up, but when I called at 4pm on Christmas Day they had already run out of most of their ingredients. No Rosa sauce to make our Baked Ziti, no apples to make our Apple Gorgonzola salad, nothing. Disappointed people all round. No matter, we decided to dine in to celebrate the New Year instead!
The décor is bloody hilarious and if you check out the ladies bathroom there are some really cool vintage photos, cosmetics, haircare products and tools from the 1950’s — 60’s. And Sophia Loren pinups on the walls. It’s a treat.
The location in Maple Grove is about a million and a half times more spacious, roomy and spread out than the Buca location in downtown Mini-​Apple. However, realizing that space is at a premium downtown, and it’s in an historical building, they have done what they can to preserve the overall feel and maintain the vintage Italian theme of the restaurant. I just honestly prefer Maple Grove’s restaurant. It has a more relaxed ambiance and I didn’t feel cramped and squashed like the ceiling was going to collapse on top of me once I took my first bite of pasta. We got to walk through the kitchen, right past the Pope’s Table (which you can reserve. Call and ask them!) to be seated in our cozy booth. We proceeded to order our favorites. Apple Gorgonzola Salad (so good that Venus herself would fall in love with this salad). It’s just so delectable, the sweet cranberries, crunchy walnuts, crisp apple slices and tangy gorgonzola crumbles. The Baked Ziti, with a Rosa sauce (Alfredo with Marinara) and lots of melted mozzarella cheese and ricotta baked right in. We also got a small Spicy Arrabbiata pizza. Their Chicken Limone is fantastic, I have always loved it. Grilled tender chicken breasts baked in a creamy lemon butter sauce, with capers. If I could dip my pizza crust in that sauce, I probably would. (If nobody was looking). The Small size has only 3 breasts so order more or less food accordingly. Small size feeds 2 or more, Large size feeds 4 or more. Everything we get is delicious. Service can be a bit painful during dinner or lunch rush. But otherwise it’s quite tolerable. Our server today was a nice young man who checked on us at perfect intervals.
Some people say this Italian food is not as authentic as it portrays itself to be. All I know is, this is a fun place that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I love the decorations and photos on the walls. Plenty of colorful surroundings. Whatever you do, if you leave this place hungry it’s your own fault. So finish your plate. And if you can’t, they package up your leftovers for you.

Buca di Beppo, as the sign says outside «Immigrant Italian Cooking», I’m not really sure what the hell that means but I think it means they offer authentic Italian cooking. If you’re going to Buca di Beppo for true Italian cuisine, you couldn’t be in a worse place. This is probably the equivalent of «authentic Chinese» cooking you would get at your favorite takeout joint. Which is to say, not authentic at all. This is just Americanized Italian food.
When I was younger and my pallet was less developed, I though Buca was pretty good. Now that I’ve grown up and had REAL Italian food, I can’t help but think Buca is a god awful. We ordered the veal parm, a stuffed chicken breast, a random pasta dish, and a seafood platter appetizer that consisted of fried shrimp, calamari, and mussels cooked in red sauce. Nothing was cooked particularly well and the mussels were a huge disappointment, they were completely overcooked. Kind of amazing how anyone can over cook mussels since they can be cooked in about 2 minutes and as soon as they open they’re done. I don’t know what gets more obvious than that. The pasta was far from al dente and quite frankly the food was simply a disaster.

I love Bucca. Haven’t been here for a while. It’s a beautiful restaurant with giant platters of food! It looks like the prices raised. Rather pricey.
I could wander around the restaurant just to look at all the pictures on the wall. Even the bathrooms are cute.
FOOD: I love the cannoli here. I haven’t had it in four years, but that’s not the point. I’m typically too full for desert, and since it’s already pricey, might as well not add on anymore.
Today, we’re sharing a fettuccine alfredo platter. Excellent as always.
Don’t come here alone, this restaurant is a place where you share the food
PRICE: I’m glad my parents are paying. It’s pricey.
SERVICE: Quick and kind! Out waitress is really nice. Also her uniform is cute.

We went in for dinner this evening. Good thing we made a reservation cos the place was jam packed!
Our server tonight was kind of forgetful cos we had to keep asking for things. We had to ask for bread, plates, straws and finally utensils! It was understandable cos it was really busy, but when we had to look at our plate of food for a while because we had no utensils was somewhat unacceptable.
On to the food, we ordered fried mozzarella for appetizer and chicken and mild sausage with ziti in cream sauce as our main. The appearance of fried mozz has been changed but still good. Our main dish though was kinda bland. The chicken in there was good but the cream sauce was kinda bland.
Overall, it was an ok experience. We will still come back though cos there are dishes that we really like.