- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Buca di Beppo
Categories: Restaurants Italian Food Italian, Food [Edit]
3612 Tudor BlvdAustin, TX 78759
(512) 342-8462
Announcement
Holy Cannoli, You Graduated! Celebrate at Buca! http://www.bucadibeppo...
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
Sun 11 am - 9 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
95 reviews for Buca di Beppo
Review Highlights
-
"...Kong has a fantastic family style Italian restaurant called..." In 20 reviews -
"I also recommend their stuffed shells." In 3 reviews -
"Pasta dishes are my absolute favorite." In 3 reviews
Loading...
95 reviews in English
-
Review from Ashley M.
Pflugerville, TX
5/22/2012
Just took my boys there for a late lunch and sat at their kitchen table. We went to celebrate my oldest graduation from kindergarten before things get crazy here. I have to say we love this place. We don't go unless we can sit at the kitchen table just because some of the decorations in the other rooms are a little much for the kids. Anyways both my boys devoured their Mac and Cheese and I loved the anti-pasta salad. Then because we were celebrating his graduation we were given a free desert which was to die for. Their are two things I would change the set up of the kitchen, although it is fun to sit at the kitchen table you don't see much because of the way it is set up and the second is the size of the pene noodles in the mac and cheese. My youngest had a hard time eating it because they were so big. Other than that the staff was great and food was great and the experience was great like always.
-
Review from Noelle W.
Austin, TX
5/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
I went here for the first time a few days ago. I should preface this by admitting that I'm an Italian food snob, and I didn't care for their dishes. I thought they were bland and the noodles were I overlooked. They're a little stingy with the bread, too.
The family-style platters are a good idea in theory, just not sized properly- we were there for a graduation party and at a table of 10, they only gave us two platters that realistically would serve 6-8.
It's also incredibly loud and cramped in their dining "rooms." -
Review from James F.
5/16/2012 1 photo
OMG, its like my OG Italian Grandmother is in the kitchen at this chain restaurant! Buca is what I expected; themed decor along with surprisingly small linked dining areas. Next visit I'm booking the kitchen table which we viewed on this visit, no little Grandma that I could see.
Catching up with an old friend started with cold bread. Comparing other local competitors like Mandola's warm bread with herbed olive oil Buca's offerings fell way flat. I picked the Caesar with my usual onions and tomatoes; the crunchy croutons hidden below with a well tossed dressing was a good beginning.
Check the menu for better deals as we found out dining at lunch. Single lunch lasagna offerings were $10 each or you could order the dinner portion in a small supporting category for $16. My friend being a long time (total amateur) Italian snob liked the generous portions and meat content of the sauce. We ate and still had generous leftovers to take home.
Little Rooster had chicken parmesan or as we parents like to call it a chicken nugget with cheese on it. Served with a huge portion of spaghetti, the wife ate the leftovers for two dinners. Service was adequate; food was good. A nice three star Italian place, just not anything amazing enough to warrant any more praise. -
Review from Steven L.
Austin, TX
5/16/2012
The food is decent. Not great, not terrible, right in the middle. The service can be excellent, although at our last visit the server just forgot to write down one of our starters. Our mains were delayed because there was "a large party" - of course, it must have been larger than our group of ten, which was hungry.
The Chicken Limone was decent, the spicy pasta dish was a bit over-seasoned for my taste, and the rest of the dishes were okay.
The appeal of this place is feeling like you're in a large, noisy Italian family dining room. The family style dishes are fun, in that they allow you to have some of whatever is on the table without having to ask for a taste.
Go for the experience, not the food. -
Review from John S.
Austin, TX
2/6/2012
After years of driving by the place, and thinking....Nahhhhh....
Buca Di Beppo is Italian for "Joseph's Cellar". They should rename the place "Iron Spaghetti Cactus Warehouse at NxNW"
Yeah, that about sums it up. See ya!
Oh wait...I have to write a review?
OK...1 portion will fill two people. Quickly.
Blandly too.
We ordered Spaghetti and meatballs. Guess they forgot to drain the pasta, as there was an excessive amount of water under the noodles. Ehhhck!!! The meatballs? Sure, they were bigger than Chef Boyardee, but assembled from the same mystery meat made popular by Franco-American ....We won't be back. Place was too noisy, full of kids (Ack!!! Children!!!) and the food was lackluster for the price. I know I sound like every Yelping Austinite when I say this, but the words "Italian" and "Food" are just so.....un-attainable here in ATX. I wanna take my baby out for a true romantic Italian dinner, not to the "It's a small world" ride with Pizza. LOL
La Sigh-yuh! -
Review from Samuel Y.
Austin, TX
First off, 5 stars for the Double Dark Chocolate Cake!!
I must preface with:
-I don't really like cake in general (don't hate)
-If I ever eat cake, I never eat chocolate cake (don't hate again)
-I'm not a fan of candy, therefore, I don't eat chocolate that often (don't hate 3x)
But for some reason, unbeknownst to me, I LOVE the Double Dark Chocolate Cake!! For all those points I just mentioned, this cake is the complete opposite. haha. It's soooo rich with the chocolate cake, and chocolate icing and chocolate sauce on top. The cake is super moist and just sort of melts in your mouth. Wash it down with 3 tall glasses of milk and you are set. Amazing.
Now the rest of the food...
I've had a variety of dishes there. I think my favorite was the Penne Arrabbiata. All the pastas are good and the pizza is good too. But I think the overall, the food just feels like it is fast-food Italian. Almost like Fazoli's. Don't get me wrong, I like Fazoli's, but for a sit down restaurant, Buca should be a couple notches above Fazoli's--not just on par.
To top it off, they always have $5 off coupons, but it is one per table. You never go to Buca by yourself--it's always with a large group since they serve family style portions. So you go w/ a group of 10 to 20 people each time and you can only use 1 $5 coupon.
I think next time, our group of 20 should sit at 5 separate tables so we can get $25 off in total. -
Review from Allen S.
Austin, TX
4/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Its ok. Food's kinda bland.
-
Review from Ashley S.
8/18/2011
I frickin love Italian food. I have eaten Buca's more times than I can remember over the years. Partly because family gatherings are had here, and we like to take home leftovers.
Father, uncle and I arrived first and sat at the bar waiting for everyone else. My oh so hip ginger father ordered a pitcher of sangria while we waited. Uncle got some of their house chianti. I tried it, but I am just not a fan of chianti. Or have yet to try one I'd actually buy. The longer we waited, the quicker our pitcher disappeared.
Pasta dishes are my absolute favorite. Don't give me excuses why you don't eat pasta. I don't care if you claim it goes straight to your ass and thighs, I am still wating for all of those things to bless me and appear someday.
Something I have never noticed until our most recent visit: There is a creepy room with a circular table DEVOTED to the pope. There is a half size mannequin pope protruding from the middle of the table. WTF?! I don't want to eat and look at pictures of the almighty pope while I sip alcohol, that shit makes me feel guilty.
If you've never been to Buca, you may be surprised to find that everything is priced by portion sizes. Small feeds 2-3 people (or 2 very large, starving people). For our little group within the much larger group we ordered 2 small dishes. We also ordered a small cesar salad which was PLENTY for 3 ($10.95, c'mon that is cheap!). The sausage rigatoni is always a win for momma & I. The veal parmesean made my dad mighty pleased. And even after we were done eating our share, we had plenty to pass around and also try other's massive entrees. I also got to try the new lobster cesar salad, the baked ziti (or as my wannabe family member kept calling it: baked zitty). The spicy chicken rigatoini was a fan favorite as well.
Don't pay mind to the overall 3 star rating. But you probably shouldn't come here unless you have at least 3-4 people in your group. This is not a one on one quiet date place. Honestly, this is my favorite Italian restaurant. The waiters are friendly, the staff is awesome, the bartenders rock, the portions are supposed to be large, the food is fantastic, the decorating is cheesy, and its great for large groups.
FACT: They are always busy, so call ahead and make reservations!Listed in: For the Northies, Italian Stallion
-
Review from Tom Z.
Austin, TX
3/12/2012
+ larger portions than i expected
- the food has almost no sauce. makes it taste kind of bland.
there are pictures of 'stuff' ALL OVER the walls. I don't like this kind of decoration, but maybe you're ok with it. -
Review from Adam G.
Round Rock, TX
11/21/2011
I've been here twice now. The food was great both times.
I've recently stopped eating grains and sugars and there were few options on the menu that i really liked.
The sausage and peppers was great and the "spicy" was just spicy enough.
I also enjoyed the chicken saltimbocca.
Also, the service was great both times. -
Review from Lisa M.
Austin, TX
10/28/2011
PASS.
Staff was friendly and helpful but then it stops there.
Food was blah. Could have made this at home and I can't even cook without the smoke alarm going off! It's just way to expensive for this weak food. Bring back some quality and I might be back but until then...later Buca! -
Review from Rawhide W.
Los Angeles, CA
1/18/2012
Have been to many Bucca's in California, as well as the Austin location...always a good time and good food...ate in the kitchen in Austin with some friends....a little tight...but fun!
-
Review from Carla S.
5/11/2011
I awakened with a mad craving for sausage and peppers a few weeks back and did a frantic Yelp search only to be disappointed at every turn. Each "sausage and peppers" reference was for toppings on a pie. I just wanted plain sausage and peppers. Sure, I could make them, but I didn't want to. Well my friend was taking me out for my birthday and when I told her of my S & P need, she told me about Buca (which we have back home, but I'd never been to). I looked up their menu and there they were on the side dishes. Well we were off to Buca.
I love this place. I know it's a chain and if you know me then you know I don't care. If I like it, I like it. Suck it, you "I only buy local" robots.
The staff was friendly, the decor kitschy and fun, and the food was so tasty. I actually was here again with my same friend last weekend for Mother's Day and in my two visits I have had or sampled the Apple Gorgonzola Salad, Sausage and Peppers, Chicken Saltimbocca, Chicken Carbonara, and the baked Rigatoni. I would order any and all of these items again.
I'm on the Induction Phase of Atkins and I never have been as close to tears writing a review as I am right now.
I'll see you soon, Buca, I promise.Listed in: Chains Addiction
-
Review from Lindsay F.
Austin, TX
5/9/2011
Wow I am a bit surprised by the reviews.
I went here last week for 2 special occasions in one week.
I made reservations. I had a person with me who was in a wheelchair.
The staff was more than helpful from start to end.
The men ordered the smaller sized veal that I tried a bit of and it was delightful.
We got calamari and super GARLIC bread (with the long garlic slices throughout it) and those appetizers were great!
We tried the White Sangria, they let us sample it, and it was truly unique.
I ended up with an Italian Lemoncelli Margarita with Danny DeVito's label of liquor in it. It was strong and sturdy, loved it!
My Mother-In-Law got an Italian Mojito that was very nice too!
We ended up getting the smaller sizes of the entrees because there were 4 of us at the table. As mentioned, the veal was great, the chicken fettuccine alfredo was probably the best I have had ever, the chicken canneloni (like spinach manicotti stuffed shell idea) was fresh and succulent and the stuffed shells, forget about it, they were all so very good!
The guys ordered one meatball that was the size of a softball so that was pretty cool too!
We even ended the night off with a birthday brownie for the honoree and they brought out a candelabra with the brownie which was totally adorable.
We decided that since we had gone through the menu successfully so far we decided to try the tiramisu.....it was perfect and soaked with just the right amount of rum.
I had to stand away from the candelabra at that point, though, because I feared that all the liquor in my breath could become flammable, just kidding, but it was all outstanding.
The price was high, yes, but really worth it. You don't have to get the huge portions, there are size levels, just ask about it.
They offer great lunch specials and take-out, of course.
The mood and theme inside is awesome! We loved the Italian music that was being played. There is a themed table there, too, so you can "sit with the Pope" if you want that :)
It was a wonderful experience. We had never been and there was also a ten dollar off coupon in redplum so we got to use that, too.
One coupon is allowed per table, just keep that in mind because I was told that http://redplum.com regularly has coupons for BdiB.
This place is terrific for special occasions for those who love Italian food.
There is even a booth in the middle of the kitchen. We got a quick tour and it was a really spectacular night!
I only take off one star because we ended up getting all the way home and realizing that they only gave us half of our leftovers. That was kind of a bummer. I called the manager just to let her know and she was thankful and even gave us a credit, which I did not expect at all.
Give this place a try, it is really worth it and for those who had a bad experience, that is such a shame. We just must have hit it on a good night, I guess! :) -
Review from Heather B.
Austin, TX
9/4/2011
I wouldn't say it's the best Italian food out there...But the dishes are flavorful and the atmosphere is always inviting!
My personal favorite: The Antipasto Salad w/ the spicy Italian Sausage & Peppers plate! -
Review from Fareed T.
Austin, TX
8/22/2011
Not an amazing culinary experience, but darn yummy food. Always fun for the whole family, and that counts for a lot in my book. Great portions, nice atmosphere, consistent quality.
Great with large groups where you have different tastes. -
Review from Estephany C.
Austin, TX
5/14/2011
Well, my guy and I were in the mood for italian but wanted to try something new. So after reading promising reviews of Buca we went ahead and decided to give it a try.
The wait wasn't bad for the type of seating, large groups are the norm there. Plus it was Friday night and very busy, so the wait was about 20-30 minutes and we were seated no less than 15mins later.
The interior of Buca is like a rat maze, so many winding turns and a surprising party table in the kitchen where new patrons are taken through to the seating area.
The menu was slightly overwhelming in terms of decisions because the small portions are meant for 2-4 people.
Our waitress was very curtious and attentive and talked us through the usual ordering procedures in terms of determining the size portions and how hungry we really were.
So we ordered the stuffed shells, and my guy ordered the italian margarita.
The stuffed shells came in and oh my goodness were they flavorful. The shells tasted so good and were hot. Gooey cheese, meat sauce and bits of beef, yummy!
But the thing with my guys drink is you could barely taste the liquor. It was more of a soft frozen drink with a sugar rim sans the liquor. My daquiri was also more of a milkshake type drink than anything else. There was alot of whip cream on top and ice on the bottom. I didn't make much of a big deal because I had tea and I wasn't going to complain about a small drink.
I will say that we felt like the waitress was pressuring, and rushing us, to finish eating so we could "save room for dessert". I just kind of forgot about it but again, I'm not going to make a big deal about that.
Overall, this restaurant is best for groups, not couples. -
Review from Texas C.
Austin, TX
6/27/2011
The food is average at best. The only good quality this place has is it's LARGE portion sizes.
Found sugar ants on the wall near the table.... I wasn't pleased. -
Review from Jane p.
Bryan, TX
5/1/2011
We are fans of Buca Di Beppo, having been to several locations around the country. Finally tried the Austin location this weekend.
The food was predictable and very good
- excellent chicken marsala with mushrooms
- a mixed pasta dish with lots of cheese and fresh tomato sauce
- very fresh vegetables in the salad
- the best "chain" tiramisu to be had - rivaling those served at fancier restaurants and small italian mom-and-pop joints
The place atmosphere was in tune with the "authentic" Buca Di Beppo-the chain look-and-feel: comfortable booths, cute old pictures on the walls, clean restrooms with more pictures, jazz playing.
I am only rating the place at 3 stars because of the service. It took 2 tries to make a reservation - the call was transferred to another person half-way through, and had to start over. Several more attempts to get the high chair for the kid in our party (even though we asked for it both times when making the reservation). Our waitress kept forgetting to bring enough plates, forks, napkins, etc.. throughout the meal. Water was refilled barely twice during the 2hr dinner.
We'll go back - eventually, although not very soon, because of the food. But it's not a place I would heartily recommend for fun casual family Italian. -
Review from Elizabeth F.
Austin, TX
2/11/2011
Very sad. Very disappointing. What happened? I came here about a year ago and the Linguine di Mare was oh-so delicious. Well, I went there just last week and it was awwwwwwwwwful!
Let me cut in and say the good things:
1) FRIENDLY, FRIENDLY nice staff -- everyone
2) Great coffee
Now, for the REAL reason I eat out -- the food. The veal parmigiana tasted like it had been prepared 7 years ago and then frozen, reheated, refrozen and then microwaved. It was edible only because we were starving after having endured just about the worst bread I've ever been served at a restaurant. The only thing that would have been worse than the bread we had would have been month-old Wonder Bread! What is with the bread? This is at least supposed to be good -- every time!
The salad was meh. They gave me the end of the red onions. Really? Who eats this part? Where's the quality control?
The Linguine di Mare was so sad that I could have cried which would have added moisture to this desperately dry dish. The calamari, I'm convinced, were rubber substitutes for the real thing. The mussels were sandy . . . memories of the beach . . . however, beach in my mouth . . . not good. I guess I could have looked at this as cheap dermabrasion for my teeth. The linguine was good, and plenty of it, plenty.
The coffee listed as adding a liquor to it as "corrected" -- yes, corrected coffee! Not to be confused with the laxative Correctol! Who does the marketng here, an enema of Ex-lax? The WHOLE MENU, or at least the quality of food needs to be "corrected"!
Will I come here again? No, not unless all my taste buds fall off and amnesia becomes a way of life.
BUT we did get to use a coupon! Yay! : ) -
Review from Andrew K.
Austin, TX
1/24/2011
Tiramisuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are 3 main stand-outs at Buca that I'd recommend to someone coming here:
The tiramisu here is great! Quite possibly my favorite tiramisu.
Great size, enough for me~! (and 7 others)
Great flavor, nice kick of alcohol, wonderful chocolate chunks on the top - this recipe is something else!
The other great thing here I think is the nice thin crust pizzas - perfectly crispy pizza crust and toppings. I had the Margherita pizza - will have it again.
Calamari is decent - but what helps it out is the spicy marinara that comes with it! Really like that marinara.
The other main courses here are mostly good stuff as well, but not standouts like the above.
The spicy rigatoni is definitely a safe bet.
Veal saltimbocca is good stuff
The problem with buca is - w/ the family style portions, if you order something you don't like... you've just gotten yourself an assload of it. X_X So choose wisely, young Skywalkers. -
Review from Tarun V.
10/3/2010
This place was very bittersweet, like a first date that had some good and bad to it....but you'd go back for seconds!
I ordered the chicken parmesan and it was good...but I've had better. Someone else had the stuffed shells and those were the shit! The manicotti is the booo-oomb!
I also had the meatballs and that IS the reason to come back! I boast of making really good meatballs but even mine pale in comparison to theirs!
Their bread kinda sux. To me a good italian restaurant can be judged by their marinara and Bucca's marinara left much to be desired. It was too watery for my taste. -
Review from Kris U.
Worst pizza so far on my "pizza list". Check out my photo...does that pizza look appetizing to you (assuming you are over 5 years of age)?! Their version of the margherita: a thin layer of tomato paste spread on a cracker crust, with a dolop of mozerella cheese in the middle of each "slice" and a basil garnish. The pizza gets 1 star.
The only really good entree we tried (we chose 5 dishes to share family style) was the prosciutto stuffed breaded chicken breasts - 3 stars. The parmesan and garlic baked bread was also good - 3+ stars.Listed in: Pizza!
-
Review from Scottie J.
Leander, TX
8/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
We hadn't been in a while and were really impressed. The food was great and the summer cocktails were very good. The best thing at all was our waiter. Ari is the best waiter we've had all summer. He was friendly and had good suggestions.
-
Review from Jack N.
1/10/2008 ROTD 3/5/2008
"Buca" - Italian for "mouth"
"Beppo" - Italian for "burp"
At least that's what it means to me. I have not stopped burping since dinner last night.
With so many Italian options in town, why on earth would I pick Buca di Burpo? Because it was a 16th birthday party for my daughter and 17 of her closest friends, and they LOVE this place.
I'll try to write this review through the prism of why we chose it, because I certainly would never eat here if given complete free will.
1. Its noisy. Noisy loud and, noisily decorated. They've kind of got a Chuy's Meets Italian thing going - with crap hung on every available inch of space on the walls. Not a fan of the "style" personally, but at least you have plenty of things to look at during dinner. I ate last night with a giant photo of Frank Sinatra boring his eyes down on me. As the dinner progressed I became convinced that he could see directly into my soul.
Noisy was just what the doctor ordered when you have over 15 teenagers eating together. We sat them in the "Pope Room" which is exactly what you think it is - a small semi-private area with Pope crap hung on every available wall space, and the additional flair of a big bust of Pope Benedict (I think) in the center of a big lazy susan in the middle of the table. That gang of kids, even as squealy as 10 teenage girls can get, did not noticeably disturb the other patrons - its that loud in there.
2. The food is "Itallian for the Masses" and I don't mean religious ceremonies. Its bland, except for the overuse of garlic. The food seems meant to not offend, much as I feel Olive Garden's does. We ordered a variety of large platters, and it was definitely hit or miss. The Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce was fine, not remarkable but not bad, either. The Pasta Rosa was horrid for me, but one of the other adults eating with us liked it. The Bruschetta was not good - way, way too much garlic ( a theme with Buca di Burpo), the tomatoes seemed soggy, and the bread was really a personal pan pizza, not crustini or slices of bread.
The kids ate most of what was put in front of them, but I did try one of the meatballs from their Spaghetti & Meatballs platter. To call these "meatballs" is not fair. They were HUGE. Like the size of a baby's head. They were more "meat-orbs" or "meat-spheres", calling them "balls" belies their heft. I swear the one meat-sphere on my plate had its own gravitational pull.
Eating the meat-sphere revealed a definite aftertaste which has stayed with me overnight. Again with the garlic. Listen, I am a garlic fan, I love Italian food and do not shy away from garlic as a rule. But this place, and the meat-spheres in particular, are so laden with garlic that it is actually kind of offensive. As I took several bites, I began to get the sense that this was not something I should be eating . The aftertaste is hard to describe accurately, but suffice to say it was garlic-driven. A first for me - overpowered by garlic.
3. The service was top notch. We had two tables - the aforementioned Pope Room and another "four top" where my wife, our neighbor, my son and I sat. The large group of teenagers were being normal - meaning pains in the butt, constantly getting up and moving around, very loud, etc. Our server displayed infinite patience even in the face of repeated interruptions. At one point while our server was trying speak with my wife about what to order, our daughter walked up and stood directly in front of the server and started talking to my wife. The server just walked away for a few minutes and quickly reappeared to continue the conversation, and dismissed any need for apologies on our part for our daughter's rudeness. Impressive.
So what do I have to say about Buca Di Burpo when all is said and done? Its fine for large groups, especially kids. Don't eat here if you consider yourself an Italian food afficionado.
And buy some Tums. -
Review from Laurie S.
Austin, TX
11/10/2011
The food was good, the wait staff was rude all three times we went, the bartender was a jerk this last time. It was just disappointing after the great times we had at the buca in los angeles at city walk. Teach your waiters the fun and friendliness a good Italian Restaurant should have. we wont be back.
-
Review from Deji M.
9/24/2009 1 Check-in Here
C is for coupon, is good enough for me.
I got one of those Valuepaks in the mail today. I usually send those messes right to the recycle bin, but I took a look. One of the only worthwhile things in it was $10 off a $30 or more purchase at Buca. Lemme 'splain to you why.
SO and I talk a lot, but we don't eat a lot. The portions here are made for families, or in our case, infinite leftovers. $30 will get you a salad as big as your body, and an entree maybe the size of a small closet. Tonight we got the apple-walnut salad (yum) and the baked ziti with cheese of divinity.
Usually, we can at least eliminate the salad, but we took a good serving of it home, along with all of the ziti minus maybe 6 pasta pieces. Others out there might not be as pathetic, but we brought that leftover bag home like a newborn from the hospital, and we'll be taking good care of it for life, or at least 2 more days of lunch and dinner. For 20 buck, not a bad deal. -
Review from Cotton F.
Austin, TX
12/18/2007
Olive Garden meets Cracker Barrel... lowered expectations will improve your experience... you might get lucky on service as well. Based on one
visit... Yelp! My apologies to Cracker Barrel fans... Added several stars due to positive impression from take out salad at Dallas Buca -
Review from Bryan L.
Austin, TX
10/11/2009
I used to be a fan of Buca di Beppo even though I could have sworn that there was a Peppo somewhere in their name. As corny as it was I liked having the menu on the wall, and sharing those huge portions. Most of all I loved the garlic cheese bread, cooked in a thick pizza pan.
Well, I haven't been to a Buca in a long time, and it looks like some things have changed. Apparently they were purchased by Planet Hollywood. They now have menus with pictures of all of the food on them. Their portions are smaller, and their prices got higher. Worst of all, they changed the recipe on the garlic cheese bread making it fairly run of the mill. The only unique thing about it is that a small portion costs $9 with an extra $2 upcharge to get some marinara sauce to dip it into. $11 for bread?????
The food isn't bad, but it isn't good. I don't have any plans to go back after the changes they made. As sad as it is, I'd prefer to save money and get equal quality over at Macaroni Grill or the Olive Garden. Saying that makes me cringe a little, as I really think that those places are sub-par.
I am really glad that my Italian grandfather doesn't know how to use the internet, because if he even knew I had ever stepped foot in one of these places he might disown me. -
Review from Tom S.
Austin, TX
9/20/2008
I really like this place. Judging by the lines everyone else in town does as well except yelpers. Don't ask me why but Yelpers don't seem to like it (see all of the mediocre reviews). I think the fact that it is a chain scares Yelpers too much for them to enjoy it.
The food is served family style (although they do have a few items sized for one) so go with a group and share.
On my last viist, I had the finocchiona pizza plus the chopped antipasto salad. Both were very tasty and it is a good bang for the buck. -
Review from Michelle C.
Austin, TX
5/10/2007
What Buca is not: fancy; good for you; romantic; quiet; a place for dieters.
What Buca is: gigantic (family sized) portions; "home style" Italian food; slightly over the top; garlicky.
Buca di Beppo is a chain restaurant serving home style, family style Italian food. You really need to have at LEAST four people to go, preferably at least six. The more the better, because that way you can order several dishes and try a bunch of things. I mean it: the portions here are HUGE - served on large platters with commercial-sized serving spoons.
The decor is all crazy. Every square inch of the walls are filled with outlandish photos, knick knacks, and funky ephemera. It is a festive place for a loud, jovial gathering of friends or family.
I've eaten here umpteen times and recommend the frutti di mare (linguine with seafood); the garlic cheese bread; the arabiatta pizza; and the tortellini. They also have some kind of pesto cream sauce that makes an appearance on various special pasta dishes which is excellent. Also, there is a salad that isn't on the menu that I love called the "meat and tomato" salad, which is a variety of Italian deli meats, tomatoes, cucumbers, and whole milk mozzarella tossed in a very garlicky dressing. Ask for it - they can usually oblige you.
If you plan in advance, there are a couple of special tables that are kind of fun to try at least once. There is one table called the "kitchen table" - so named because it is in the kitchen, so you can watch all the orders coming out and all the hullabaloo while the food is being made. Fair warning, though: half the waitstaff makes it a point to actually come over and SHOW you every dish as it comes out, so if this sounds even remotely annoying, don't sit here.
For large groups, there is also something called the "pope's table," because it has a big lazy susan with a plexiglass-encased head of (you guessed it) the pope in the middle. Good for making a large party funny and festive.
This is definitely a place you should check out at least once. Come pig out on carbs, carbs, carbs, then head over to the nearby Dave & Buster's and play that boxing game to work off a bite or two of your dinner.
Oh, and if you try it and like it, sign up for their e-mail list; you'll get coupons from them on a pretty regular basis. -
Review from Ben W.
Saint Paul, MN
5/17/2008
Buca's offers a fun environment for groups looking for family style Italian. The food is good, but not amazing. For smaller parties wanting high quality food, I would recommend elsewhere.
The bruschetta was tasty as an appetizer. The Caesar salad was a bit fishy for me and there were lots of the chunky stalk pieces of lettuce. The chicken cannelloni was a favorite amongst my group. The Penne Arrabbiata was good and the sausage is definitely spicy. The pasta was served a touch al dente.
The Chocolate Vesuvio for desert was a definite winner, as was the Ultimate Raspberry Lemon Drop Martini.
Definitely make reservations for dinner, you can do this at Buca's website: http://www.bucadibeppo... -
Review from Dawn M.
5/22/2007
The worst "Italian" food I have had in Austin belongs to Buca Di Beppo. I seriously get embarrassed when people tell me they like this place.
I tried a very common staple...spaghetti and meatballs. How can you mess this up? Boy, did they EVER! I swear I had 3 tablespoons of runny, canned marinara sauce. The meatballs were bland and stale. It was so bad I just laughed.
Save your money and try Mandola's at that horrid Triangle location.Listed in: My Caca List
-
Review from Ed S.
Austin, TX
11/12/2007
OK, so it's a chain. But I love how garrish this place is. And after a glass of Chianti, I like it even more. I don't mind the food. It's far better than Olive Garden. And after a glass of Chianti, I like it even more.
It's a lot of food but I have no problem ordering less or doing take-home. More to like the next day. -
Review from sherrie n.
Austin, TX
5/13/2010
Ive come here a few times for things like high school dances, and birthdays, but its been a few years since. We went today for my brothers birthday and the novelty has seriously worn off. Its drafty but feels muggy, like its an old restaurant cluttered with stuff.
The food is mediocre italian at best. I will say the chicken arrabiato was good but everything else was meh. We had sausage penne, gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken parmesiana. I did like the garlic cheese bread sticks too.
The worst part was the slow service. The waiter couldnt muster a friendly attitude and rarely came back to check on us. We also brought a cake, and he took his time cleaning and clearing the table (after we sat waiting for 20 min) before finally bringing it out.
I think if i didnt come back for years i would be better off. Go to maggianos if u want family style italian. -
Review from Donna R.
Seattle, WA
8/17/2007
I'm really not a fan of Italian food (thanks to my family's instance of going to Olive Garden all the time when i was younger, it's ruined Italian food for me - even good Italian), so when i actually agree to go eat Italian, i tend to like places that don't serve all their meals with pasta and red sauce. This place does have quite a large selection and dishes that are pasta free. And with their new "individual servings" selections, some of it could even be considered healthy.
But i didn't get that. I ordered a lemon chicken dish that was raved about by my companion and he ordered the ravioli. Both of them are the small sizes, though that means a crapload of food. The chicken was bland and very boring. The ravioli was surprisingly good, the sauce was not your tangy marinara sauce, but crushed tomatoes and olive oil and the filling was pretty good. The apple pie desert was pretty good, but it wasn't the best.
My biggest complaint really was the size of the portions. I get the concept of the place, but geeze, that's a lot of food for two people. I left feeling 10lbs heavier than i was coming in.
The waitress i had was friendly and attentive, so no complaints there for sure.
I don't know if i'd go back, really. It's not my type of place. I think I'll take the advice of someone else here and go to Vespaio when I'm in the rare mood for Italian. -
Review from Dolph M.
San Antonio, TX
12/2/2007
I made a trip to Buca Dip Beppo mostly to write a yelp review. So let's begin.
The restaurant is crammed full of gaudy posters and crap on the walls. It's not attractive in any sense. The restaurant is also quite loud.
Fortunately we had a group of 10, plus 3 not eating, and this venue worked quite well...
We started with two appetizers, including fried shrimp and fried calamari. The fried shrimp were waaay over cooked and tasted like hard rubber. The calamari was actually *perfectly* cooked, and the batter was borderline between light and heavy, but there were absolutely no seasonings of any kind to keep it interesting. The two sauces served were both quite bland.
Ceasar Salad. They bought two family style platters of salad for our table of 10, which was just enough. The salad was clearly tossed in dressing hours ago, and as a result, was quite mushy, cold, but not really cold enough, and difficult to serve from the platters without making a mess on the table.
We ordered 3 entrees... the first of which was lasagna. The top few layers were actually decent, but the bottom 1/3rd had so much flavorless cheese layered with flavorless noodles that I couldn't eat it. We had a ravioli dish that I didn't try, but my girlfriend refused to eat it because the texture was just slop. Lastly, we had chicken parmigiana, which looked to be the same chicken patties you get on a 99 cent sandwich from Wendy's. The same tomato sauce was featured on all three entrees. Three entrees served 10 people well, without having many leftovers (keep in mind we already had appetizers and salad).
We finished with three deserts.. two enormous slices of chocolate cake, which I found to be just average, and a slightly interesting chocolate desert which was basically a giant slice of warm, triangular brownie turned on its side so the point was sticking up into the air (also served with two scoops of ice cream). Although nothing gourmet, I found the brownie thing addicting, although I do love good brownies.
Service was average, although our waitress was clearly stressed out because she had our large table, a couple other small ones. She was trying hard, but my biggest complaint is that we often had empty glasses on our table which she wouldn't remove after bringing new glasses. We stacked our plates to make collection easy, and those stacks also remained on our table for quite a long time. Unfortunately I was sitting at the end of the table, with the easiest access for our waitress, so all these dirty dishes piled up in front of me while waiting for removal. I guess I took one for the team. Unfortunately, I'm the one writing the yelp review.
I wouldn't come back without a group of at least 4 people. And if I had a large group, I would consider other restaurants first.
Restrooms were also notably clean.
Summary-- Mediocre quality, apparent inability to accommodate less than a group of 4 with the family style menu, and yet mediocre service for groups. -
Review from Matthew M.
Austin, TX
7/19/2011 3 Check-ins Here
I love this place!! Sure I can not finish a meal all by myself, but I do enjoy me some leftovers!!! I can typically feed my family for about $50, but keep in mind, I do not just order a plain meal, I customize my meal!! by getting a Meatball and salad!! (the meatballs are about the size of a softball). The decor is cool, the staff is cool!! I love this place!! if you ever want a bad ass expeirience, reserve the kitchen booth!!! YES!!! there is a booth in the kitchen!!! and you can sit there by reservation!!
-
Review from Shane H.
Orlando, FL
11/12/2007
While it is not gourmet nor the best Italian food in the city, it is certainly better than average and Buca earns an extra star for the funky vibe and unique menu.
Buca Di Beppo is a chain restaurant focusing on Italian family style dining. They do have a recently introduced menu with single serving portions on it but it kind of defeats the purpose of coming here if you go that route. The salads are great, the bruschetta and garlic bread are awesome and most of the pasta dishes are very good.
I am not a big fan of red sauce so I usually get something without it but I have never had any complaints with their specials or their alfredo sauces. I absolutely love the Tiramisu here as well and the generous portions they give you. As previously mentioned this is NOT the place for those counting calories, the portions are huge and made for a number of people.
Because of the massive amounts of food they give you it is very easy to feed 5 or 6 people for less than $10 each.
I personally only sit at the kitchen table when I come here, I love the vibe there and I enjoy watching the kitchen work. I have never had any complaints with service but I am sure that the service at the Kitchen Table is probably better than that in the rest of the restaurant.
I personally recommend the Shrimp Genovesse, Fettuccine, the Green Salad with Prosciutto and Gorgonzola and the Tiramisu.
Overall, this is a great place to bring a group of people and eat on the cheap as well as a decent place to bring the kids. Don't expect gourmet but do expect to leave very full and with a healthy grocery bag of left overs.
Definitely better than Olive Garden!! -
Review from Bryan M.
Austin, TX
2/6/2009
I'm not a big fan of the crap on the wall themed places but I do like how they have it sectioned off into areas to make it seem like several intimate restaurants and to reduce noise.
The food was good but not great. The new Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken and Fettuccine Alfredo were quite good but not as great as the price would indicate. Family style works well but if you have a group of three and the three don't agree on what they want you have a problem.
Last time I ate there they had individual portions in addition to the family style. I liked that better for small groups.
The kids food was tasty but was an adult portion.
Probably will wait until we can go with another family before I go again.
