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Buca di Beppo
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
10749 Westview PkwySan Diego, CA 92126
(858) 536-2822
Announcement
Holy Cannoli, You Graduated! Celebrate at Buca! http://www.bucadibeppo...
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
224 reviews for Buca di Beppo
Review Highlights
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"If you like eating family style, this is great." In 42 reviews -
"The garlic bread with mozzarella cheese was BOMB." In 23 reviews -
"The Apple Gorgonzola Salad is delizioso." In 4 reviews
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224 reviews in English
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Review from Mia P.
4/15/2012 4 Check-ins Here
One of my go-to places when I'm in the mood for Italian. Love going to this place for the calamari rings with spicy marinara sauce and yummy pastas. The cheesy garlic bread is amazing too. One appetizer and one entree will be more than enough for two adults. They have decent beer prices and you can buy a take come beer cup. The Chocolate Chip Cannolis are yummy and great for sharing. The Double Dark Chocolate Cake is my fave.
This place is great for dates nights, family night out or large parties. So ask the waitress to seat you accordingly. I made a mistake to sit upstairs on a date night and sat next to a crying baby. Date night = sit in the bar. Family night and parties = sit upstairs. -
Review from Kerra A.
Went here for a family dinner..good thing there was 10 of us...cause what they consider a SMALL dish...can easily feed 2-3 people. I'm not a great fan of Italian food..but I went cause of FAMILY.
This place was packed like no other! Luckily our wait wasn't long. The decor kind of reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
Prices are kinda pricey for so-so food. Customer service was awesome tho. Between all of us we shared a veggie pizza, regular spaghetti, some spicy chicken pasta thing, and their Colossal Brownie Sundae.
Their drink menu ain't too bad, I tried their Moscato and the 7Sisters Martini. Cheaper than what you pay at the club, but still. $8 a glass...another $8 I could have myself an entire bottle from the liquor store.
oh and SODA is freaking almost $4!!! WTFUDGE?! soda? really? dumb. They advertise it as they make it themselves in-house. I can do that too lol they sell a soda maker at Target, TRUE STORY..thank me later
The pizza was so-so...if that's what they consider real Italian...then I'd much prefer Papa Johns or DiGiorno frozen pizza over the stuff they serve here. Is pizza even Italian? lol who cares..didn't like it.
The Colossal Brownie description said chocolate brownies and VANILLA ICE CREAM....they must have ran out and served it with CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM. That's what I call false advertisement. Not even a heads up lol they just served it and hoped we'd forget its supposed to come with VANILLA.
Whatever. Not a place I'd crave, won't be back unless its for a special occasion that someone else planned and i have no other choice but to come back here.
I secretly placed a framed picture of myself on their wall...let me know if you spot it HAHAHA -
Review from Felipe E.
San Diego, CA
5/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
I have been going to this location for a long time now. Is it me or is the food quality just going down? The last time I came here the food was OK, but though I'd give it a chance since I like the food and been coming here for a few years now. Again the food was a disappointment, we ordered the Supremo Pizza,baked Rigatoni, two iced teas, and a Tiramisu for dessert. For $60+ I expect to be satisfied, not in quantity but quality, right now I would rate the decor to be better. The pizza crust was hard and chewy, the pasta was over cooked ,way too dry and chewy. What a let down! Also, I remember the days when they offered to bring a bottle of olive oil, spicy olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Now all you get a few splashes of both and have keep asking for more, they won't leave it at the table. Seriously?!
Damn! Could have spent that money in a nice upscale restaurant. Well might spend more, but you catch my drift don't you ?
Did the bread get smaller ? Oh well!
If this is the quality of food here now, I will definitely not be coming back. -
Review from Laura L.
Ramona, CA
4/26/2012
A group of friend and I went here last night. We were excited to have been put in the Pope Room none of us had ever eaten in the Pope Room. We had made a reservation for 15 but only 10 showed up and one of the ten had to leave right when we got there so we ended up with 9 people. The waitress did not seem to mind that our group was smaller than expected.
We understood going in that it would be best to share food based on the portions and wanted to split up into smaller groups on a bill to make it easier to split the costs. One of my friends had a coupon for $10 off and another friend had checked in via foursquare and was offered a free garlic bread. We were told that only one could be used, even if the items were on separate checks because it was based on the table. This was a little upsetting as we had already split ourselves into smaller groups and now had to put 5 people on one bill instead of 2 and 3 on a bill because we wanted to at least split one of the discounts to be fair. Needless to say, after 45 minutes of trying to figure out what each person owed to no avail, we had just decided to split the bill 5 ways. Unfortunately this causes some to pay more and others to pay less, but we agreed on it just so we could leave.
Everyone enjoyed the food and our waitress was nice. Two of my friends had ordered the drink that came with the free glass, which really wasn't free as the price of the drink was higher. Unfortunately they both had accidently left the free glasses and also the receipt. I guess they will not give the free glasses to my friends and only offered to comp the price with a receipt. They obviously still have the glasses and had to see that they were left. They surely have records of what was purchased just last night at the pope room for a 5:30 reservation. Should not be so hard to pull up what was ordered. I don't understand why they just can't give my friends the glasses that they paid for! They are not out to steal glasses that say Buca di Beppo's they just want what they paid for! The customer service is not what it used to be. It's just a glass! I don't know if I will be visiting this location again. -
Review from Antoinette P.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 5/21/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Ok, I felt the need to update my review after I gave this restaurant a 2nd chance and had a completely different experience. If you read my 1st review, you'll know that my 1st experience wasnt a very good one. This time, my boyfriend and I decided to give them a 2nd chance so we went on a Saturday night w/reservations. We were seated right away....right after meeting the manager of the restaurant who apologized for our last experience and was very friendly with us. Our waitor was excellent as well..he did everything that night to accomodate us and kept telling us to call if we needed anything. The food came out rather quickly and it was very filling! We shared the small lasagna, which wasn't small at all. It was big and filling...just the right amount for 2 people. The mozzarella cheese bread was also amazing. We got the Italian Margarita drinks, which were strong, and loved those as well. The manager also kept checking up on us and offered us our glasses from before, when we had forgotten them. She apologized for the behavior of the girl I spoke to on the phone regarding my forgotten glasses from the 1st visit. We got our check and our coupon was taken off. The only reason I didn't give them all 5 stars is due to their coupon policy, which is still 1 per table. Not that that was an issue this time around but its a policy that corporate should look into adjusting when there is a big party and people are paying on separate checks. But we were very happy leaving the restaurant...feeling content and satisfied. We will be back. :)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/26/2012
I can't believe I just gave a place 2 stars but the 2 stars are for their food cause I still think… Read more »
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Review from Irma G.
Escondido, CA
4/12/2012
I'm going to start off by saying food was amazing! Had the spicy calamari it had very delicious flavor
The only thing I did not like it seamed the waitress kept trying to push us to buy something wine, desserts or any other dish on the menu. I understand their job is to recommend food but when it starts to be annoying its too much plus the table next to us was experiencing the same thing.
I will definetly come back again we actually have reservations soon so we can dine in the kitchen I know kids will love that. They only do it twice a night so I'm very excited :) -
Review from Kate G.
Updated - 3/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here today for a late lunch and had an awful experience. We had a pretty decent sized group, 5 people.. and each of us knew what we wanted to order right away. So it should've been easy. But it wasn't.
The waiter brought us 2 small pieces of bread for all 5 of us, and they were eaten right away.. we were left breadless. When my grandmother asked the waiter if we could get more bread, he said something about no more being allotted per table.. and we were confused. So we waited, and every time he came back, we asked for more bread. It was bizarre. 2 small pieces of bread for 5 people? Come on now.
For the prices they charge here, the service should be better. It wasn't just the thing with the bread- he was just kind of strange and rude.
It was a bizarre experience to say the least, and I think it turned us off to this place for good.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/24/2012
I came here last night with my grandma, and while I've had less than wonderful experiences here in… Read more »
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Review from Bib T.
Carlsbad, CA
3/26/2012
Casual family style Italian restaurant.
Small plate: feeds 2-3 ppl
Large plate: feeds 4 +
Husband and I shared:
small calamari for appetizer with spicy marinara (really fresh, crispy)
Linguini with Fruit Del Mare (seafood) in red sauce, just awesome. We finished the whole bowl, perfect friday dish during lent season (no meat). $21.95
Tiramisu was more like a a cake.. feeds like 4-6 ppl.
We took it home and had it for 2 more nights ($10.95)
2 coffee at $2.75 each.
I loved everything most things about this restaurant except: (and reason this restaurant did not receive 5 starts)
1. lady with camera wanting to take photos
2. the hostess was not friendly, welcoming, or inviting.. It was our first time, not very inviting.. granted it was a busy night and our reservation was at 9pm... but honestly, last customer should be treated just as good as the first.
3.we realized the table next to ours had gotten some bread. We didn't. By the time, we thought of inquiring about the bread, our calamari had already arrived and decided to forget the bread.
Mr. Manager - do all guests receive bread upon sitting at your Buca restaurant, or is it based on what you order? Thanks. -
Review from Jaycee S.
2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Went here with coworkers, a total of 18 people. The waitress was polite and checked on us regularly. I wished the waitress would have been a bit more helpful in deciding what to order. At a table of 18 some guidance is helpful. Additionally we could have used the serving utensils for each dish! Just in case that wasn't obvious ...
The food tasted pretty good. Everything I expect from an Italian chain restaurant. The dish that stood out the most was the eggplant Parmesan it was dope! -
Review from Ann O.
Temecula, CA
3/5/2012
I don't care what the management or the servers at ANY Buca's tell you---they have changed the way they cook the food. My husband and I loved their baked Ravioli. At one time the ravioli was made on-site and fresh. There was little cheese. The ravioli was baked with fresh tomato, basil, garlic and scallions. So delicious.
In the last couple of years, when we go to Buca's now, the baked ravioli is on the level of Olive Garden. Gone are the fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil and scallions and in their place, loads of melted cheese. Awful.
Really upsets us as we had our wedding reception at Buca's. Miss the quality. Restaurants should never sacrifice quality to cut corners!! -
Review from Sandra Y.
San Diego, CA
3/11/2012 Seated via OpenTable
The food tasted pretty good. Shrimp Fra Diavlo was okay but I wanted it to be a lot spicier. The Chicken Marsala was great, tender and juicy.
They only gave us one piece of bread for 4 people. We finished it in less than 2 minutes. The server came back and told us she would bring us some more, but I guess she forgot.
They take your picture and give you a complimentary "postcard" with your picture and a $5 off coupon on in. They also try to sell you a larger version of the photo for $10.
The food was kind of pricey but the portions were decent sized.
Overall, I guess Buca di Beppo was what I expected from an Italian chain. It's a step above Olive Garden, but I would still rather go to a small family-owned restaurant. -
Review from Justin L.
San Diego, CA
2/29/2012
I used to work here when this first opened up.
It's a little pricey, but the portions are huge even for their "small" sized items.
My personal favorites: Chicken Parmigiana, Eggplant Parmigiana and their chocolate slice (cake) though I think it's not prepared the same way it used to be.
It's a great place to eat some great food (and I've had my share of real Italian food in Italy) with a group. -
Review from Dani J.
Vista, CA
4/19/2012
I don't care what people say but this is not authentic Italian food. Yes the portions are huge but I don't like over cooked pasta! I thought this place was some what pricy.
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Review from Allen C.
San Diego, CA
3/3/2012
Yum Yum in my tum tum. Lol. I like Italian food... Who doesn't? I brought my friend here not too long ago because they had never been to Bucca. I told them that it can be rather pricey; however, you deff get what you pay for. My friends were stuffed and had so much left. It was great.
My other friend definitely ordered a large and his jaw dropped. Priceless. I am sure he loved it though. The picture they took would have been better with our food in it but out group photo was good nonetheless. We will be coming back again. Preferably to the one on mira mesa.
Cheers! -
Review from Kelly L.
Poway, CA
4/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
I have been to Buca di Beppo multiple times and tonight was the worst experience yet. The server brought us fresh bread that was fresh out of the fridge... stone cold. When I asked the server if the bread usually comes cold (knowing the answer is NO) and he mumbled something about the other types of hot breads they offer and then walked away in the middle of my husband's sentence. He never even offered to heat it up, was very strange. The raviolis were not quite hot but still tasted delicious. The good staff members were probably off celebrating Easter with their families.
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Review from Vicky K.
La Jolla, CA
4/3/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Family style fun. Great for big birthday parties and casual dining. Every once in a while I'll get a bucca craving. I love their pizza. and of course their pasta is good too- but go for the pizza ;) HUGE portions meant for sharing so unless your a professional eater, i'd bring a couple friends to join you here!
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Review from Ross M.
Norfolk, VA
Delightfully tacky, fabulous service, and an overaBundance of great food. every time we go here we either try sometHing new or go with old favorites. This time we went with chicken parm, sweet sausages, Caesar salads and and order of meat sauce spaghetti.
We'll be back, either at this location offer somewhere else -
Review from Vin K.
San Diego, CA
3/22/2012
Fabulous food. Very nice portions. Over a course of multiple visits, I've tried their Eggplant Parmesan, Frutti de Mare, Pizzas, Giant Meatballs and many other dishes. Every visit has left me completely satisfied with the taste, quality, temperature, texture, salt and spice level.
The lady with the camera offering to take pictures and sell them later is lame. Doesn't belong there.
Servers are a hit or miss. I've mostly had nice waiters, but there is an occasional one with the unwelcome 'tude.
Please, keep sending those 10 off coupons. I for sure will use them. Other restaurants take note. I'm a hearty eater and a happy tipper. -
Review from Shelli S.
San Diego, CA
This is one chain I've always just loved!
I like the family style portions that you can share, I like all the decor on the walls, I know it's a chain but it's one that always seemed to be perfect for a group wanting to share a big table.
I love the photos on the walls, the pictures, the music and the various dishes offer lots of choices for large groups. Perfect place to bring a big family. If you have 9 or more I think you are allowed to reserve the Pope room, which is secluded room with a spinning pope in the center of the table, I know, hilarious.
Full bar offers beer, wine, hard liquor and sometimes that can be a pain locally in SD, lots of places only server wine or beer. -
Review from Anna E.
3/19/2012
Came here for lunch...solid Italian staple, even if it is a chain. My co-worker and I split the Apple Gorgonzola salad (apples, walnuts, cranberries) and the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni. Both were excellent. I'd get the rigatoni over and over...chicken with garlic, red pepper, peas and spicy rosa sauce. Mangia!
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Review from Phillip N.
Los Angeles, CA
11/1/2011
Ads work on me. If you're going to give me a coupon, I shall most likely use it. With $10 off $20 coming in my mail each week, I was bound to end up here and I did one Tuesday.
With some people I know being haters of this chain, I was surprise to like it. The service was good. The food was good. The pricing is kind of spot on for what you get portion-wise.
Even though I don't like Mozzarella Sticks, I liked their Fried Mozzarella because it didn't taste overly cheesy. The Spicy Chicken Rigatoni had a light kick. Next time, no peas. Ugh, round foods still freak me out.
Enjoyable, cheap dinner. Yay coupons! -
Review from Richard B.
San Diego, CA
3/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
I don't come here often but if you need to carb up before a marathon....well, this is the place! I usually only come here a day before a run a marathon. Nice family restaurant, great & friendly waiters, and they're sphaghetti w/ the big ass meatballs is http://bomb.com! Also the calamari and garlic cheese bread is the sh*t too. This place is great if you have a big family eating dinner because they serve HUMONGOUS portions, so sharing a meal is advised!
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Review from Cat P.
San Diego, CA
1/3/2012
I really, really don't like giving less than 3 stars, but I've been to this location enough to believe it is justified. While there are pros to this restaurant, the extreeeeeemely slow service is bad enough to drag it down to 2 stars.
PROS:
Fun place for groups
Most of the staff is pretty friendly
Food is pretty good, especially their spaghetti
CONS:
Takes a while to get seated on a busy night (understandable)
Takes a while to get your drinks and place your order (forgivable)
Takes forever to get your food after you order (unbelievable!)
My most recent trip here was in November, at 4:30pm on a weekday and I thought it would be faster than usual. I called ahead for a table but we had to wait about 5-10 minutes once we arrived. There were people there but it definitely wasn't full, so I'm guessing they were understaffed and/or training new staff. From the time we ordered until we received our food was probably about 30 minutes. From now on, I'll only come here for big group lunches or dinners; life is too short to spend waiting for food at a restaurant that's part of a chain! -
Review from Lucy C.
Berkeley, CA
1/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
Buca di Beppo is the epitome of family restaurants. The portions are huge, the atmosphere is quirky and fun, and the service is always friendly and entertaining!
Stepping into the place, the first thing you'll probably notice are all the portraits, pictures, and sculptures tacked onto every inch of the walls and wedged between each and every corner. The eccentric decor definitely adds a ton of personality to the place and I've always thought it to be a fun and creative way to show off Italian culture! After requesting a table, a waitress will lead you and your party through the kitchens on a speedy tour, before whisking you to your table. There are two floors to the restaurant, so I've never had a problem waiting for a table, but I do hear that the place gets super crowded on weekends, so if you want to be careful, definitely make a reservation!
As for the food, I would highly recommend the Cheesy Florentine Bread- it's absolutely delicious and you'll definitely want seconds! Keep in mind, though, that all the dishes are family-sized! A Buca Small serves 2-3 people and a Buca Large serves 4-5, so don't go ordering too much! Although I'd completely understand- the food here is amazing! -
Review from Jeannie O.
Downers Grove, IL
11/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Interestingly enough the first time I came here was for a co-ed fraternity celebration and I haven't been back to this Buca di Beppo since (2-3 years ago?). I just came back for Thanksgiving break and my friends wanted to come here for dinner. The waiter recognized and remembered me! I dont know about you, but small things like that really get bonus points with me. :)
Onto the food! I had the lobster spaghetti and MM MM MM that bowl of spaghetti was the BOMB! Even though I was stuffed to the brim, I still finished that bowl because it was DELICIOUS!
Lobster Spaghetti: Lobster meat tossed with sautéed garlic, red scampi butter sauce, crushed red pepper on a bed of spaghetti pasta.
As I head back to Chicago, I'm gonna order this again! -
Review from Kaysi R.
2/25/2012 2 Check-ins Here
My son has been wanting to come here for his birthday. I made reservations which was a good idea because as much as it was raining this place was packed yes we waited like 10 minutes but considering how busy they were I was impressed. We sat upstairs and our waiter was somewhat slow... and I mean like Patrick from Sponge Bob Squarepants slow but hey thats fine as long as they bring me food I don't care how you look or act. But needless to say he wasn't the brightest he got our drink order wrong I thought it was funny that we vput in our order and he stood there looking at us with his mouth opened and all for about 5 minutes LOL not even joking. Every other table got bread and oil etc... but we had to ask and he never came out to check on us. the buss boy brought out the food and my husband asked him for the bread and oil. The food is really good if you feel likeb having italian the prices are okay and the portions are huge well the pasta and meatballs are. What was kind of trippy w]as that we hqd 2 waiters feet away from us and neither of them would look our way. We had to get up after 25 minutes of trying to catch their attention and walk over to the kitchen and ask for silverware. Upon making reservations I clearly told them that it was my sons birthday and his name. Well bummer he forgot his name and I had reminded him twice throughout the evening.
overall the food is good the service is good if your lucky and get a good waiter/waitress. I guess this night we weren't that lucky but the food is good :)
But if i go to the same location you better believe I'll be requesting another waiter.
ENJOY -
Review from Angel Daniel A.
Oceanside, CA
12/7/2011
I went there with a few friends for Thanksgiving Dinner. And it was just OK. Nothing special.
- Plastic / Fake flowers everywhere. They make the place look cheap! If I go do Denny's I can tolerate them, but if I'm paying a premium price for food, I do not expect fake plants. Looks very tacky.
- Service just OK. They are not that friendly, at least the waiters that helped us. Nothing special, not bad, but not good. Not impressed.
- Portions are HUGE! Personally, I do not like this, because you cannot order more than one dish, with just one "small" portion you will have more than enough. I would prefer smaller portions and be able to try a couple of dishes.
- Food was good. Not bad, but not memorable either.
- Based on the service and decor, the place is pricey. They should either have better service and atmosphere or lower their prices. -
Review from Efrain C.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 2/5/2012
This update is a bit late, but well deserved. After posting my original review, a customer service manager from corporate contacted me and apologized for the bad service. He offered me to go back to the restaurant, on their tab, to show me they fixed the issue. I explained to him that much of the fault falls on management because they let a brand new server help customers on her own, even though it was clear she still didn't know the job. He addressed all my issues and even had the restaurant manager contact me regarding this. I am glad they read this reviews. It shows they do care about their customers. I will be going back.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/22/2010
ITS BEEN BETTER!!
I have been to several Bucas in souther California, and this one by far, is the… Read more »
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Review from Jenny K.
9/29/2011
I've been to various Buca di Beppos at several locations and I have to say that they are all very similar and consistent.
This location has very easy parking, for it is in a giant plaza with a really grand and wonderful Edwards (which also makes this a wonder pre- or post-movie dinner go-to place).
Cheese, cheese, cheese. That basically summarizes my meal. The flavors were great, but the overload of cheese made the meal much heavier than I would have preferred. Well I can't complain because cheese is pretty much a key ingredient in Italian food.
I had a good time, and the server was very kind. She even took the time to introduce the dishes to us. We got a good deal because we had a coupon. 1 small pasta and 1 pizza was more than enough for 2 people (with a ton of take-out!) -
Review from Judy L.
San Diego, CA
12/4/2011
I didn't particularly enjoy my experience at the downtown location, but thought it was just an isolated event at one location and decided I wanted to come again. After all, the apple and gorgonzola salad is TO-DIE-FOR and I would order it over and over and over again!
Came to this place on a busy weekend night. The wait for a table was too long, so we decided to eat at the bar area. Ordered a small apple and gorgonzola salad as well as some pasta dish.
I wasn't feel well at all, and it's weird but their bathroom is located in the most inconvenient place, on the second floor in some random place. WHY!? Whatever. It was just sort of confusing and awkward having to ask every server that walked by where the bathroom was located at.
We got our salad and polished it off, but they apparently forgot about the pasta dish somewhere. Had to ask them about it and they had to make it again. At this point, I was REALLY feeling dizzy and sick and so we decided to leave, but they were still making the dish or something and were very apologetic about it. We were mostly concerned about leaving as I was ready to just puke, so that wasn't very fun, but I understand.
Either way, I would definitely go back for that salad again! -
Review from Tyson Y.
San Diego, CA
10/24/2011
Came here with a large group and we got several different dishes for some variety. I tried the Caesar salad, the Margherita Pizza, Baked Ziti, and Garlic Bread. Overall I thought the pizza was very good- but everything else was just average or mediocre.
The decor is pretty funny and eccentric...but I'm not sure the food is worth the price. -
Review from Brian P.
Spring Valley, CA
12/7/2011
So I came here to celebrate my girlfriends birthday with her family.
It was my first time going and I had only heard good things about the place, and I
must say, it is excellent. The service was friendly, yet still professional, and the food was the best Italian that I have ever tasted.
The pricing was a little high, but for all the food you get, it was worth it. The 9 Layer Lasagna is delicious as well as the Chicken Parmesan. Would definitely come again. -
Review from Lori C.
El Cajon, CA
11/28/2011 Seated via OpenTable 1 Check-in Here
My husband recently introduced me to Buca Di Beppo while we were in Las Vegas. I couldn't wait to go again when we got back to San Diego. We both really love pasta and choose Italian quite frequently when we dine out. Buca has so many choices and we tend to WAY over-order, but leftovers are fine with us. They have an amazing bottle of Lambrusco Rosso Dolce that is fantastic! We tried the lasagna on our last visit and it was out of this world. Definitely ordering that again. Love the atmosphere. The pictures, paintings, etc...are all wonderful. Even the restrooms are decorated! Great family place and party venue. We even walked through the kitchen on our way to the table. They also offer to take your your picture. Will definitely be back again!
I also used the Yelp feature to make a reservation and it worked perfect, great idea too because the wait was long for walk-ins. -
Review from James J.
Santee, San Diego, CA
2/21/2012 Seated via OpenTable
I've been to this particular location 3 or 4 times. Always get great service and the food is terrific. The most recent occasion involved my significant other and my best friend,his wife and his two young girls. They seated us upstairs in a booth. It would seem it was EVERYONE'S birthday as the staff make a bit of a big deal for birthdays and we must have heard this " performance " 6 or 7 times that night. We ordered the spaghetti and meatballs as well as the Chicken Marsala...The food was great. My friends had never been before. They loved the decor and the " old style " family Italian restaurant feeling.
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Review from Dennis N.
Kansas City, MO
2/11/2012
This review might have been late as this event happened on June 2011. I came here to get a to go order of Tiramusu for a birthday party. I heard they made it good here. I didn't know the size and wanted to order for five people. The hostess told me it was the size of a cupcake and good for 2 people. So, I ordered 3 of them. Once I got them, they were huge. I was pretty upset that I got tricked in ordering that much. The manager didn't allow me to refund it back. I thought that was sketchy crap. The tiramusu was good; but I'm giving this rating bc of management and "service".
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Review from Mike S.
6/20/2011
Was at Buca for father's day dinner. I have to admit it's a good family style restaurant. My grandma would be happy by the food, but offended by it's style. It's a little over blown how gaudy the interior is. Seriously, it hurts my Italian eyes! I've never seen a pope's shrine at my relatives house covered in mardi gras beads and christmas lights. Seriously?
Decent homestyle food. Liked their meat sauce. Didn't like their lobster ravioli, on account there was "no lobster" in the ravioli. The service was excellent, and the food came quickly. I was impressed, considering the hundreds of people packing the place. Good for groups, but I wouldn't come back individually. -
Review from Masatoshi T.
San Diego, CA
7/2/2011
I was trying to describe Buca di Beppo to an Italian-American coworker the other day who had (amazingly) never heard of the chain, but I was having trouble coming up with the right words. Then, it hit me. I said, "It's like a garish caricature of an Italian restaurant"
"Oh, yeah", he said. "Like with the red and white table cloths and Frank Sinatra photos on the walls?"
"Yes, exactly like that."
I've had tolerable dining experiences at this Buca di Beppo a few years ago, but this chain seems to have gotten much worse in recent years. When I came here this Thursday with some folks from my book club, it was a friggin' nightmare. I wasn't sure if I was in a restaurant or a carnival funhouse. If they keep this up, Chuck E. Cheese will soon have some tough competition.
The most serious problem: the noise level. It's so loud in there that we couldn't carry on a group conversation, and instead, resorted to having separate, smaller discussions among people sitting closest to us. And even THAT was a challenge. At one point, someone in the group surmised that the acoustics of the room may be designed to amplify the clamor in order to make the place seem more "festive". If that is true, that has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.
Making matters worse were the frequent birthday songs that the busy staff are forced to perform. And they don't sing the normal "Happy Birthday to you" song, either. Instead, they sing this incomprehensible litany accompanied by staccato clapping and it sounds utterly insane. If there is a hell, they probably sing this song to you on the loud speakers, non-stop. I'll bet the staff probably find themselves wondering if they aren't already, in fact, in hell.
Speaking of the staff, the waiter who served us, while professional and polite, was clearly under stress and was somewhat hostile to us in a passive-aggressive way. When she made a mistake with our order (we ordered a chicken parmigiani and she somehow missed it) she refused to admit her mistake, and instead, smiled and repeated "No, you didn't order the chicken parmigiani. That's why I repeated your orders to you and asked if you wanted anything else." All of us in our group remembered hearing it ordered. I can't fault her, though. Only a saint can work in that kind of environment and NOT want to rip someone's head off.
Okay, so we probably chose the wrong restaurant for our get together, but since we're still paying customers, it would have been nice if the restaurant were a little more accommodating. Family style doesn't really work so well in a diverse group such as ours, but everything is served family style there. One person wanted to order from the lunch menu, but that's apparently not allowed. Furthermore, we would have preferred to have separate checks (it's 2011, what's the big deal about separate checks?) but they weren't going to do that for us, either. Boo
I loved the company I was with, but I definitely felt a sigh of relief when we got out of there. -
Review from Sean B.
San Diego, CA
3/13/2012
This review is for the Mira Mesa location. Me and a friend decided to go back to bucca di beppo because we enjoyed the food. My friend had a 10$ coupon so we felt it would be a great day to indulge in the big portions that bucca di beppo is so famous for.
We had reservations at 6:30, and were happily seated around five minutes later. Once we got to our seats it took a while for our waiter to come. He quickly greeted us and took our drink orders. My friend thought he was finished speaking and had asked if we could please have some bread. Apparently he was not finished speaking because he paused, gave a "Did you just interrupt me?!" face, scrunching up his face in disgust looking at me. Then he proceeded to say he would be back with it. That is when the service(or should I even call it service) went downhill. After a while he brought the bread, quickly dosed the plate with olive oil then put two small dribbles of balsamic vinegar and rushed away back downstairs. We saw him walk by again and asked him if we could have more vinegar and he purposely ignored us and walked passed us. After a while the people cleaning the tables noticed us, and asked if we needed anything and happily poured us more vinegar. After about 20minutes or so our food came out. The person cleaning the tables had brought it up to us. Our waiter noticed and that is when he came and asked if we needed anything else(This was the last time we saw him until our check came). We had asked him for more bread if possible. He came back up and literally, while still walking tossed the bread onto the table and said "here's your bread" without looking at us at all. Our drinks were empty and we had tried to get his attention once again, but he ignored us again so we gave up asking him for anything else. The table cleaners(sorry I keep calling them this, I do not know their job position) noticed once more and quickly gave us new waters. When we were done with our food our waiter was nowhere to be found. One of the hostesses(I believe) was close to us and we had asked if we could get our check. She asked who our waiter was, and tried to find out where he was. The cleaners once again had to seek him out. Our waiter finally came back and did not speak to us, but just handed us the aluminum food trays. Once we asked for our check, he seemed to try and act pleasant and forcefully put a smile on. It seemed fraudulent and like he was only putting a smile on because he wanted a tip. His service left us disappointed, which made our dining experience unpleasant even though the food was delicious.
By the way we ordered the ravioli and the Italian supremo pizza, both which were delicious. Even though the food made our tongues happy, the waiter left us with an unpleasant aftertaste. If we do go back again and get the same waiter we will make sure to request to be seated else where.
Beware of the rude waiter on the second floor. -
Review from Hey El El E.
San Diego, CA
7/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
We've been here several times since it's in the neighborhood, family friendly, and convenient. But, the Kitchen Table service is below regular service in any part of the restaurant. Don't bother sitting here!
We went here for my husband's birthday. I reserved the Kitchen Table thinking it would be cool to sit there after reading reviews from other Buca di Beppos. Either we came on a bad day or the kitchen manager didn't like us or they just plain don't get it. What's the point of sitting at this special table and reserving in advance if the service is just like the regular table service, if not worse?
Here's what other people have said about eating at the Kitchen Table at a Buca di Beppo:
The waiters (we had more than one serving us) were awesome, always bringing by more and more food for us to sample. The chef continually stopped by our table to see how we were doing. Talk about personal attention!
==
Yeah, not for us. The wait staff, not even our waiter, showed us only 2 dishes of the 30 or so that went out. The chef/kitchen manager just stared at us, never approaching us and only said "good bye" as we left.
Here's a tip Buca di Beppo GM: it would be cool if the waiter assigned to the table gave the customer the down low on cool Buca factoids (how much food is made each day, why staff wear different outfits, how the restaurant started, etc.) Also, just train the staff to be more friendly, especially if the head-honcho is right in front of the customers.
What a missed opportunity to highlight the dishes to encourage us to try other dishes next time. -
Review from Desi D.
Santa Cruz, CA
8/18/2011
I went here the other night for a farewell dinner with some friends and family. It was my first time to dine here. It was strange the way you have to walk through the kitchen get to your table, but once past that it's a quaint little place with white and red checkered table clothes and walls covered with Italian memorabilia. It was pretty noisy in there, but not so much that we couldn't carry on a nice conversation. I actually don't recall if there was music playing or if it was just all the people around us.
Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. We started out with drinks and ordered Sangria. They served it in those adorable little Italian glasses and it was pretty tasty. We also ordered a pitcher of Blue Moon which was served cold and delicious. We ordered several dishes between the 6 of us, but I only ate the lasagna, which was absolutely delicious both that night and the leftovers the next day, as their portions are large enough to need a doggy bag. I don't know if their prices were fairly cheap as I didn't end up footing the bill, but I'd probably go back again.
