Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

Had the best server. He was super handsome and professional, i couldnt even hold my food down he was that hilarious. Italian cream soda coming out my nose all night! Despite the mediocre food Jesse compensated for it with his excellent service. We have the same name too which makes it even better. I’ll definitely be back and asking for him. Great Job!

Really rough service today. My family and I went here to celebrate my birthday, we were a table of 12; At the same time it looked like a table of 24 got seated as well. We decided to order quick so that our order was made before the larger one. Our server didn’t really seem to be focused on our table. He kinda took off when we were completing our order, and then disappeared without repeating it back to us. I was the only one who placed the order, so it wouldn’t have been hard to repeat it back to me. We had to chase him down to change something on our order. Appetizers and entrees came at the same time, we didn’t have utensils, old plates weren’t removed. There was only ONE server to our 12 top to 4 servers to a 24 top. He wasn’t there to check up on us, we didn’t get all the food we ordered, we had to ask if it was still coming, he didn’t get the kids spaghetti for our boys, it was bad. AND when we were finished, no one came to clear our table. We finished before the 24 top and their table was cleared before ours. I decided that I did want to get a dessert, the colossal ice cream brownie thing, which shouldn’t have been longer than 5 – 10 min, and we waited at least 20 minutes when we finally said, forget it, we want our check. It sucks that we had to pay 18% because we were a big party, but didn’t receive the service that we should have. The server gave us the dessert because he said it was coming right off. I tried it, and wasn’t pleased at all. I’m enjoying my cold stone over this $ 15 dessert. They will be getting a complaint from me tomorrow.
With 6 out of the 12 people who work or who have worked in the food industry, this was ridiculous
*retracting one star
I called the location the following day and spoke with the manager who was the same manager that night. He said he was making his rounds talking to tables, but he didn’t make it to ours. He kept telling me, next time I should ask for a manager of things get that bad. The one server should be able to handle a 12 top on their own. He said sorry, and kept repeating himself with, next time, ask for a manager. At that point, that night, we were over it, and with the manager, I was over it already. It honestly felt like he was just trying to get off the phone with me. He asked if I remember the servers name, it was on his name tag, but our server was barely even around.

Bucas is always a treat. I’ve been to several different ones and they all are constantly good. There are several great Italian cooks in my family, half of us are Italian (not me) so they know good Italian food. They love Buca Di Beppo. Service us always good to. I especially like the décor with lots if old pictures covering the walls. If you have a large party ask for the Pope Room.

It hurts to leave this review because I love Buca! And have had some good service from this location, however last night was by far the worst service ever.
Like mentioned in all the other comments this restaurant is always understaffed! So it takes us forever to see our waiter plus he is so bombarded with other tables he messes up everything, no straws, no utensils and the cherry on top our order is wrong.
I ordered the usual a large shrimp diavlo with extra sauce. I have had to order it with extra sauce because they are always so inconsistent that I figured better safe than sorry. When our order comes it is as dry as a bone! I am not even joking I was eating boiled pasta. Then our waiter brought out a side of Marinara sauce? Why? If I say extra sauce why would you bring a completely different sauce and then bring us dry pasta.
This horrible experience continues but I will only tell you all what matters, our interaction with their so called «manager». After waiting for 15 minutes and nothing from our waiter we spoke with «» and expressed how our pasta was so dry and we had asked for extra sauce. She replied with our pastas don’t come with a lot of sauce. Okay… Well we come here a lot and this is the worst it has been. Then she tells us she eats there everyday so she knows this is right… I will just stop here because her response was so childish there’s no longer a point to my story.
Long story short. I ate cold pasta, and I will not return to this location.

The service was slow. Our waiter took a long time to get us water, and we waited 30+minutes to get our food. On top of that our food tasted cold like it was sitting out for 20 minutes and microwaved. Also, the music in here was loud to couldn’t here myself talk. If i could rate this place no stars i would.
Highly disappointed.

Quantity over quality. Everything was absolutely tasteless and the oh so simple broccoli was even completely overlooked to mush. Takes a lot (or lack of) skill to even achieve that. The service is also extremely slow. Why are we waiting over two hours for one pasta dish and the waiter constantly lying to us that it will «be right out» because the kitchen is «backed up». Never coming back to any location.

We used to be Bucca di Beppo fans. Birthdays and Christmas dinners were celebrated here. Take out orders were made when we had guests at home. Tonight would have been another treat we looked forward to. However, three things made this experience a flop for our pick up order. We ordered several items from the lunch and catering menus.
1. The caesar salad was missing the dressing!
2. The online ordering said that the catering order of half pan baked ziti would come with several add on items including fresh bread but sorry for us! Nothing of those items nor the bread were in the bag. What’s the point for asking how many guests would eat?
3. My husband looked forward to the chicken marsala entrée (which by the way he actually cooks better than Bucca’s). But my goodness! For $ 12.99, didn’t we order a chicken marsala with a side of fettucine alfredo? Why did you give us fettucine alfredo with a side of chicken marsala? The chicken was a/​one tiny piece!
So Happy New Year 2016! Thank God the kids liked the baked ziti and it’s more than enough to last til tomorrow. — I have to edit this part. No, the baked ziti wasn’t as good as it used to be. Another flop!

Just because the serving is ample doesn’t make it group destination, it’s even worse when you have a lot of not-​so-​good expensive food. The only good thing about this place is their kids menu, $ 4.99 for spag and meatballs– 10 and under only– for everyone 10 and above, you’re throwing money down the drain. The calamari was greasy and stale, the pasta was either very sweet or very spicy. The chicken Marsala tasted like General Tso’s chicken, so sweet! If I wanted Chinese food I would have gone to a Chinese restaurant. It was weird. The salad tasted like it came out of a 3.99 salad kit from Safeway. No dice man. Buca Is a sorry ass excuse for Italian food. C’mon folks, it may be ample but you’re just throwing good money away. The service was ok but the silverware was lacking and the ones we had was dirty. And please stop with the pictures! That’s just straight up highway robbery and frankly, annoying as hell. I will never ever come back here again. Ever! Never!

I can’t begin to say what a HORRIBLE experience we had here last night. This is the place we come every year for an annual Christmas gathering (past 6 years). It’s usually consistent and the service is great. But last night we noticed the place was 80% empty (in the back area where there are several booths and about 10 tables). Only TWO tables were occupied and our party was one of them. We had called over a week before to say there were 26 in our party. That’s about how many the other table had also.
Our reservation was for 6:30 PM. We did not get our entrees until 8:35 and our guests were bored, hungry, and kept getting up and taking walks. I asked SIX times for water and ended up going in that FILTHY little room on the side and grabbing two plastic kiddie cups and getting my own. The guy in there totally let me because he saw how pissed I was. My boyfriend’s mom was nearly choking on her bread and I had keep telling the staff who were super busy. The place was grossly understaffed and our server, Jose, was the only one who was assigned to the two tables. A manager popped out a couple of times acting like we were going to get served but it was just an act to appease us but we let him know it was ridiculous!
The place is grossly mismanaged and understaffed. I noticed last year there weren’t as many patrons as years before either. They lost our business last night. I hope their corporate office sees this. Our dinner was ruined and they got our money for the worst service EVER!
I think the worst part besides everyone being hungry was the fact that they kept giving us a «Just Five More Minutes» B.S. and that really meant another HOUR!!!
One more thing, the women’s restroom was so DISGUISTING! FILTHY TOILET SEATS WITH SHIT ON THEM. NO SOAP, AND THE PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER DIDN’T WORK. THERE WAS PAPER AND TOILET SEAT COVERS STREWN ALL OVER, EVEN GOING OUT THE DOOR!

Where do I begin?
How should I begin?
I don’t even think one star is worth giving…
Came here for a dinner for a very much adored and respected co-​worker. Our party was over 25 people, we were tightly seated in room with two other LOUD parties, then to be informed we would only have 1 waiter!!! Are you kidding me?! Let’s just say that was the downfall of a horrible dining experience. Appetizers tasted either burnt or previously cooked and placed under a heating lamp. The pasta was over cooked and the salmon and chicken was nothing to speak about. The cake topper was when the party organizer asked for dessert to come out because it was already after 10pm and the waiter informed her that the chocolate cake she requested was «accidentally» given to the other party and we can get one, but would have to wait 10 minutes for it to defrost! Talk about a joke, right! I can go on and on, but it’s not worth it. Obviously not the place for large groups…
The lack of enthusiasm from the waiter was even worse and the «apology» from the manager was fake.

I have been enjoying Buca for many years, but never have I had such an awful experience! Came here for a family dinner, and the place was far from busy. I was told that the waiting time was 1 hour since we didn’t RSVP, despite all the empty booths in front of me and lack of a crowd at the front entrance. The girl at the front says the tables are all RSVP’d, and they only give up those tables if the parties don’t show up. She says she’ll text me when a table becomes available. Fine. So I walk around the mall while my dad waits at the restaurant. After nearly an hour, my dad asks the girl at the front about the status of our wait because the restaurant is still pretty empty. She claims that she texted me that a table was ready. I received no such text until 5 minutes later. What lies! On top of that, we get seated at a booth that had been empty since we first arrived. Well hey, f a party doesn’t show up after 15, 20, or even 30 minutes, GIVE THE TABLE TO ANOTHER PARTY!!! The night only went downhill from there.
Nobody wanted to take our order. For most of the night, all the tables around us were empty. AND, we were right across from the cash register and next to the kitchen so definitely within sight, yet NOBODY WANTED TO PROVIDE ANY SERVICE. Finally got our orders in, then played the waiting game, for a THIRD time. Our water wasn’t being refilled and nobody was checking in with us to see how we were doing or to inform us about the status of our food. I should have timed how long it took, but the wait for our food to arrive was absurd! Plus, we received dirty plates (and NO APOLOGIES when asked to swap out the plates), and the food was below par! We even received the WRONG order and had to wait AGAIN for one of our dishes to be cooked.
Ordered the classic Chicken Carbonara (small $ 21.99), but it didn’t taste right. Being a Buca regular (though not at this particular location), I’ve had this a million times, so I know what it should taste like. The Alfredo sauce was off. Prosciutto wasn’t as red as usual. In fact, the entire dish was bland and wasn’t as vibrant as usual. The worst part was the chicken breast — we received a total of THREE SLICES OF CHICKEN. In fact, when I served myself a portion, I had absolutely NO CHICKEN. Excuse me, but last time I checked, it’s called CHICKEN Carbonara, not simply Carbonara. The outrage! We informed one of the 3 waiters (one of which was the BARTENDER) that served us, who said the small should come with 4 ounces of chicken. With all due respect young man (probably in college or even high school), I don’t know if you’re aware, but THREE SLICES of chicken is NOT equivalent to FOUR OUNCES. The chef was told to cook more chicken for us as a side item.
Tried the new Soffici Cuscini (small $ 21.99), which consists of gnocchi, pancetta, and red onions that are tossed in spicy vodka sauce and topped with Parmesan and basil. Considerably spicier than I expected, so I was unable to enjoy it.
Also had the Veal Saltimbocca (small $ 26.99), which is topped with prosciutto and sage, and served with artichoke hearts, lemon, capers, and lemon butter sauce. Meat didn’t taste great.
Throughout our time there, NOBODY bothered to check on us. Completely ignored, and it was difficult to get their attention when we needed it, like when we got charged for the dish that we didn’t order. Used my birthday coupon, which they didn’t even bother to read because otherwise I would have gotten the famous birthday song (which was poorly and unenthusiastically sung at a table nearby) and a dessert (if they even do that at this location). Thanks San Jose Buca. Best birthday family dinner ever, NOT!

Came here for sunday lunch during thanksgiving chaos and was anticipating a long brunch queue. (A plus located in oakridge mall) We were a group of 3 and it was a ten minute wait; however it wasn’t a crowded at all. Plenty of tables waiting to be warmed, but barely any staff available to seat the parties.
We sit and wait probably a good five minutes till our waiter realizes he hasn’t helped us yet. We order and waited a good 25 minutes for our food to come out. Nibbled on the free bland bread. The bread arrived sliced both directions as if they were telling us to not fill up on bread. We can’t help it if our food hasn’t arrived.
Calamari – nothing special and the marinara sauce was meh
prosciutto stuffed chicken with pesto sauce– chicken was semi-​moist, nothing to be impressed
chicken and sausage ziti– probably the only thing I’ll ever, creamy and tasty
baked rigatoni– this reminded me of pizza with the addition of mini mountains of ricotta taking over the pasta
I’m not an Italian food connoisseur, yet I could tell this place isn’t as tasty as italian food should be. Service was decent, but the food took forever to come out especially if people want to go shopping afterwards. Nothing special.

I came here with 4 other people on a mellow Thursday night. When we got there the host said it was going to be a 10 – 15 minute wait. We noticed there were open tables so we just waited. In the mean time there was a Thursday night game on while we waited, my girlfriend decided she wanted to pick up something at the mall quickly then we would probably be seated. Did that, returned and my party was not still not seated for another 10 minutes.
We ordered the stuffed chicken and the fettuccine Alfredo. The stuffed chicken was really good. However when we waiting for the past the waiter brings out the pizza holder thinking we ordered the pizza (which name is similar to the pasta). When we are the pasta it felt very bland and watered down, felt like it was rushed because the waiter took down the wrong order at first.

Be it Nice & Retro Italian Music at the background or Funny, Old & sometimes Weird photographs as a décor theme, Buca di Beppo definitely nails the Classic cum welcoming ambiance, which I totally love it!!! (Although some of the pictures are not Kids friendly).
Myself & the hubby are regulars to this location & have always had a pleasant experience till date. We enjoy being seated near the bar lounge and may be because of this reason that we were served by the same attendant, TREY, twice so far. Good & decent service from Trey, Appreciate his sincerity !!
Their complimentary Soft Breads go amazingly well with the Balsamic Vinegar & Olive oil. It’s fresh & filling, as good as an appetizer or a small plate entrée. Our usual order «Penne Alla Vodka — $ 19.99 (Small plate)» from their traditional pastas is their best & tastes Yummy as hell !! We are super crazy with the dish that we’ve never stopped from ordering it every time we hit any Buca. Tried «Fettuccine Alfredo — $ 8.99» from their sides yesterday and it tasted good, however, I personally feel Alfredo is less or this is how it’s meant to be according to their cooking style. Well, it was not bad after all !!
Winter is coming & the chilly evenings have already hit the bay, warm up by grabbing a «Buca’s Traditional Chianti». It’s a Red Wine, a Quartino (9 oz.) — $ 12 would suffice serving per two (may be a little less for two but it was sufficient for us). It’s perfectly smooth and goes well with any Entrees.
I’m not a big fan of their dessert menu, for once we made a mistake by ordering their Tiramisu. It was so huge that even a to-​go wasn’t worth it! Main drawback to this location is their parking. There is a big Oakridge mall parking lot but never an easy job to find a good parking spot.

Smells so good walking in, but I was VERY disappointed when I was served a very poorly made and presented chunk of lasagna… Which I thought was a staple Italian dish. How could they have gotten it soooo wrong! Service was okay. Atmosphere was nice, but very disappointed in the food.

I came here with 3 other people for dinner on a Thursday. When walking in, I saw group of people waiting to be seated. The hostess said the wait would be 5 – 10 minutes. I sat at the bar with my friend and as I was walking past, I saw that there were plenty of tables available and ready. After waiting for a while, I figured I could run into the mall and grab an item I needed and come back with a table ready for us. I went to Sephora, returned, and we still had to wait an extra 10 minutes after. Just the waiting experience alone made me lose my appetite.
We ordered the prosciutto stuffed chicken, the cheesy bread florentine, and the fettuccine supremo. I think the best item we had was the stuffed chicken, but even that did not ‘wow’ me. The fettuccine tasted so bland. I had to eat it with Tabasco and some of my friends had to eat it with salt — that’s how bland it was :(. I am not sure if that’s how the fettuccine here is supposed to taste or if the cooks had to make all of the dishes quickly, but I was pretty disappointed. I am not sure if I would return unfortunately.

I’ve always been a fan of Buca di Beppo, but my opinion changed during my recent visit to the restaurant at the Oakridge Mall.
It had a while, a really long time since I dined at Buca Di Beppo and we recently came here for dinner. With reservations, we waited for about 10 min before getting seated.
We knew exactly what we wanted to order, so went ahead and placed the order immediately. While waiting for the food, bread was served.
Just after we finished the bread, the main dish (Spicy Chicken Rigatoni) was served even before the appetizers. Uhhh!!!
Then after some time came the appetizers — Stuffed Mushrooms. Lacked in flavor and no salt. It was a dud.
The chicken Rigatoni wasn’t even mixed well with the sauce. I had to turn it over a few times for the pasta and the sauce to mix. Looks like they threw in the sauce into the serving bowl, then the pasta and didn’t even spend a few seconds to toss it.
The pasta wasn’t well cooked, no minutes short of a perfect al dente pasta. Sauce was okay, a tad more salt would have been nice.
I don’t know if it was just this location or what, but I didn’t enjoy the food one bit. Service wasn’t impressive either, dinner plates weren’t serves until asked for and they didn’t even clear up the used plates.

I LOVE Buca! Just not this location!
My to go order was $ 100. Fettuccini Alfredo had almost no Alfredo sauce (shown in photo). «Family size» Chicken Marsala consisted of the smallest chicken breast filets on earth and zero pasta. Garlic bread was good, chicken & sausage ziti was great!
But when I called to ask about the lack of Alfredo sauce and the Marsala the manager (Richard) told me the order was «correct and was consistent with company policy». I literally laughed because I’ve eaten at other Buca’s and never once had a problem. Maybe I caught them on an off night, but I gave them a shot to fix it and they made zero effort to do so. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

Worst service ever!!! We have (currently still here) party of 12. Arrived at 7sat at 7:15 and didn’t get our dinner until 8:45 pm!!! I fact we got our appetizers before we got our drinks. The server has the most boring rude personality ever. At one point we thought he quit and left because we didn’t see him for almost 45 minutes! We had to ask the hostess for silverware and our drinks and plates. The service was terrible.
I’m adding to this after sleeping on this. I feel like we paid for a horrible time. We also had 3 kids under the age of 2 who were surprisingly well behaved through all of this. The thing that makes this night so frustrating is that the server Trevor had to know how terrible everything turned out yet he didn’t apologize or offer any free dish dessert etc. Throughout the whole night when we would see Trevor he seemed to rush us through what we were asking. It’s one thing to give terrible service on a busy night because the bars slow and the kitchen is slow but you apologize for it and make the guests feel better. We were treated like a hassle.
I would also like to mention that they stuck our party of 12 in the back by the emergency exit and the table was flush against the wall so if one person had to go to the restroom 5 people had to get up to let them out.

Our go-​to dish is the shrimp di friavolo. Add a dash of salt and the flavors really come alive. Not too spicy but opt out if you have a very delicate tongue.
My date likes getting the mozzarella garlic bread. I don’t find it to be much better than the complimentary bread that vines with oil and vinegar dip.
You can request the Italian soda flavors be added to iced tea. I usually get iced tea with pear syrup which was once recommended by a waiter.
Wait staff is energetic and friendly. Ask for recommendations if you aren’t sure.
Some nights we’ve been offered a group photo which they print on site for a fee.
Décor is gaudy and fun, somewhere between your old italian grandmother’s bathroom pantry and a gentlemen’s den.