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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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nothing else to say thats hasnt already been said.
HUGE portions, great quality food, great prices.
every time we have a big party, we just hit this spot up and call it a day. usuals are = calamari, caesar salad, pizza arabiata, chicken parmigiana, and some type of white sauce pasta. done deal
This was my dining experience here at BDB this past evening: my mother, father and I met up with my brother and our new in-laws (last minute surprise wedding on my brother's part) for my sister in law's birthday. Reservations were for 8:00. When we got there, our table was not ready. 15 minutes later, still not ready. Not like BDB knew this or could control this, but it was really awkward meeting our new family in a crowded area with people trying to get through every other second. Just sayin'.
Anyway, we finally got seated at our big round table. Maybe 5 minutes later our server Heidi came up and began to address us, starting with: "I know you guys had some coupons, the manager wanted me to let you know that..."--my dad cut her off there. Apparently he had gone up to the front before we got seated and gave them some coupons to apply to our meal. Hey, in this economy... But he had no intentions of our in laws finding out, so he asked them to please be discreet. Heidi kinda unintentionally blew it. Wah wah wahhh.
Food here is always pretty legit. We (9 of us) got two green salads to start (not as good as I remembered them to be)...and to split, we got eggplant parm (nom nom!), Penne San Remo (too al dente and greasy for me), large pepperoni pizza (I didn't partake. Okay, I had a slice. Reaaaally greasy.), and the in laws had chicken parm--no complaints from them! So all in all the food was good but the ambiance and service, plus the pain in the ass to park and get here have helped me come to my conclusion of 2 stars. My sister in law definitely deserved a better birthday elsewhere.
Edit: I forgot to mention! One of the in laws got a big piece of plastic (soft, not hard) right in her chicken parm. Heidi took it off the bill, but it still negatively added to the already seemingly doomed meal.
I took some colleagues there to have dinner with guests from Japan and South Africa whom just arrived the same day and were staying at the Universal Hilton.
This was my first time to Buca, so my colleagues took charge and ordered the following:
Mozzarella garlic bread: just okay
Spaghetti with meatballs: Bland. I think I can make better spaghetti and I don't cook.
Shrimp Fra Diavalo: Ding Ding...pretty good
Chicken with lemon: Moist and good
I ordered a double dark chocolate cake to take home to the wife. It took her a few days to finish and she loved it. Taking her home dessert and leftovers keeps me in good standing with her since I have a lot of business dinners.
I guess it's a good place if you have a big group and want to share different dishes.
Bathroom was clean.
Best eggplant parmesan, hands down. I was weary of ordering it since I've had so many bad experiences with it (soggy eggplant - not so good) so I didn't. I did, however, taste it when my aunts ordered it and found it to be really damn good. I tried it at several other places after that and they never measured up! The salad we had was also tasty! Everything was really good that night! No complaints. Wish ours measured up!
I have to say this was some of the best Italian food I have had for a long time. It was our first time going to Buca Di Beppo, I found it here a while ago and decided I would try it out. We started out with the Bruschetta it was so fresh! I had the Cheese Manicotti it's pretty much an oven baked dish. My husband had the Shrimp Fra Diavolo it looked excellent. His dish was pretty spicy though.
To finish the night off the waitress recommended the Chocolate Chip Cannoli.
I was amazed at how busy they were it seems like a good place to go out with the family. Prices were very reasonable.
The coolest part is when we got there they brought us through the kitchen then to the seating area.
The wait was a little long though that was the only con we had to wait about 25 minutes to get a seat. That's probably because the food is so good. We can't wait to go again.
I've experienced better service, was expecting better pasta and a better ambiance.
The server took more than 10 minutes to refill our drinks, the pasta was super spicy and our salad was super salty.
We chose Buca because of its prices and because we were craving Italian food... maybe next time i will go to a more expensive place and go for the REAL Italian meal.
It was my first time, and I was surprised to be in an Italian restaurant and not be served any kind of bread basket. Not likely to come back again. = (
The one thing that I noticed about this Buca is that it is one giant maze. I think I even managed to meet Danny DeVito on one of my trips to the bathroom! (He was actually a paper cut-out :D)
We ordered a variety of things, but only a few stood out. The calamari was pretty delicious and not as greasy as I expected it to be. The Pizza Margherita had fresh vegetable toppings on it, and the Shrimp fra diavolo was on point.
I was actually surprised at the quality of the sangria as well considering this was more of an Italian restaurant.
I would have given them 5 stars, but they failed the birthday test. It was one of my friend's birthday and we planned it so that we would sing happy birthday when our waiter was within audible distance. We were hoping we'd get some free dessert but the waiter didn't even flinch.
buca di beppo. bucccaa di beppo. buca di beppppo. i love saying it. i really couldnt stop myself. it was also cute when my dad said puco di pep-boys. ahah oh pops. the walls look like mambo italiano's childhood scrapbook exploded into a wallpaper of memories.
ive been here a couple of times for normal dining experiences, but recently i came here for a retirement party with about 50 people in a private room. they did quite a stellar job at managing such a large party. they orchestrated the drinks, dishes, and space rather swiftly and smoothly. we all had the same pretty generic meal, but the quality or taste wasn't compromised in the mass production (garlic bread, Caesar salad, ravioli with ricotta and marinara, chicken Parmesan, and tiramisu).
they also offered complimentary 2 hour valet which was a major perk to avoid city walk's ridiculous parking prices. the bathroom was quite a trek to get to from our upstairs room but the never-ending entertainment on the walls kept me interested for the adventure :)
So I coordinate a club at the high school I work at and the kids decided they wanted to go to Buca di Beppo for our banquet. I had mentioned Pasadena and they wanted City Walk. Now, I was trying to keep it closer to home because, well... most of these kids don't freakin' drive. And as I get older, and the thought of having children is there, I also think, "Damn! When you become a parent, you also become a freakin' chauffeur." And while parents were more than welcomed to come to our banquet, many of the kids don't invite their parents to come.
So as coordinator, I do my duty and call and get the ball rolling. Teri, the general manager, was great. She emailed me the information and I was able to fax it back and get everything set up.
We were set for 4pm on a Saturday. Since I was "running" the thing I figured I better be there early. Luckily, I overestimated our drive time and gave myself more than enough time and was there 20 minutes early. The kids, not so much. My fear was that we were going to get charged more since we'd be heading into dinner time. I had also emailed Teri to ask her if I could take a cake for the kids and she was cool about it and said that they currently didn't have a cake cutting fee and that they would be happy to accommodate us. :)
They usually like to wait for the party to get there to seat you. Unfortunately, for a good twenty minutes it was my husband and I and one student. They seated us since they were getting more people in the waiting area. Our waiter made sure that everyone had a drink the moment they sat down. When we had 6 of our party of 23, we decided to start. Why should we suffer when they are the ones late? The waiter brought us the salad and some garlic bread. As more people came, he brought more salad and more garlic bread. When we finished, they brought us our ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs. Keep in mind, everything is family style. So, when they bring it, it's these huge bowls of food.
I was pleasantly surprised at their food. I wouldn't normally go to an Italian restaurant and order cheese ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs. But as I was choosing the menu I had to remember that I was going to have high school kids and some parents and siblings there so I had to go with classic [read: bland] Italian food. It actually wasn't that bad. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised.
Overall, the service was fantastic! Our waiter made sure we were always taken care of. He brought everybody anything that they needed when they needed it. He even brought out styrofoam containers to take leftovers home.
Oh, and even though many of our party showed up after 5pm, they stayed to our original pricing for the banquet. I have to say that $400 was pretty good for serving 21 people. (2 got detoured from the fwy and got lost.) Would I have another banquet here? Yes. Although I may lie about the time so everyone will be there on time. :)
Where is the 4.5?!?
Their bolognese sauce (meat sauce aka "spaghetti sauce") still doesn't compare to mine, but the last time I went, it was much improved. A very satisfying meal, indeed. Their shrimp diavlo had a good flavor also, but it was INSANELY spicy, to the point that it starts to take away from the flavor.
I like it, but then I've had to lower my standards since moving to L.A. I haven't tried Maggiano's… Read more »
After 17 minutes of trying to find our table, we finally sit down in a room that resembles a sardine can with eleventy million sardines in it. The goddamn place is like a maze.
Tami: "Mumble mumble, words and sounds. Words and sounds."
Me: "What?! I can't hear you over all this racket."
Tami: " What are you having ...words words sounds and more words...?"
Me: (screaming now) "Seriously, I cant hear you. It is so loud in here"
Tami: "WHAT. ARE. YOU. HAVING. TO. DRINK?"
Me: "BEER"
Ok. So Buca has the worst food ever when it comes to Italian. I'm Italian. Trust me on this. I refuse to eat here, I don't care if they serve it family style. So when we showed up for a birthday party on Friday night, Tami and I stopped at Subway and took advantage of the cheap food before heading out. I basically drank my dinner. One thing I will say, is that they serve their beer in HUGE glasses. I think they are about 22oz. for like $6. Not bad.
Went to Buca In studio city
I had been to many others like Redondo Beach,Pasadina
but man this one suked big time.
To bad as i took mom n pop snd they were laughing.
I think its the location they know u will never be back tourist trap.
A.B,
After paying $10 to park at Universal's City Walk, we decided to eat at Buca's. We've got one here in Atlanta. But, we thought it'd be better if we traveled a few thousand miles for our first experience.
Promptly got seated. The red wine and red checkered table cloth eased my previously queasy stomach. No, I didn't eat the tablecloth. Just the home-y look of the place relaxed me. Plus, the myriad of pictures on the walls entertained me.
We ordered the spaghetti and meatball platter. For a party of 3 (three), why do they put only 2 (two) meatballs in the dish? The platter is the "small" and easily feeds 3 people! We ordered an extra meatball at a separate price.
We also ordered the Shrimp Fra Diavolo. Rumor has it that skins left on seafood intensifies the flavor of the dish. Does that also hold true for shrimp tails? It was a little annoying getting sauce on our fingers in an attempt to de-tail the shrimp.
All-in-all, it was a tasty first experience at Buca's. Not a whole lot different from Maggiano's as far as food is concerned. Decor-wise, Buca's is more casual. Maggiano's is more dressed up, if you want to call it that.
My first experience with this place occured on a Friday night late, after seeing a rip off movie at the theater over here at the City Walk. My friends and I all ordered iced tea, because I think all of us were feeling like cheap bastards. The best thing of the evening was they kept filling up those ice tea cups. Decent service in that area.
We requested the kitchen table and they said it wasn't available. When we walked by it a couple of employees were sitting there having a break. I guess that's why it wasn't available. They sat us upstairs and it was kinda crowded when we got there but thinned out right away. The crowd was mixed between families and couples out on a date, but later a table full of well dressed hotties provided me a Kodak moment. I guess they were there to go to one of the after hours clubs that one of my friends is too much of a pansy to stay up late to go to.
Anyways, the food was pretty much bland crap. The veal wasn't good at all, the marinara was tasteless like a microwave meal. I wasn't impressed with the quality of the food at all, but the portions of course were good sized. The table of hotties ordered like 1 dish and 1 salad for the 6 of them and probably got out of there for 2 bucks each or something like that.
I should have followed the hotties to the club, but of course I already have three restraining orders for stalking and don't need anymore of those.
Anyways, this place blows. Better Italian food from Smart and Final frozen section. And that's family style too.
We visited on New Years Eve. Since the Universal City Walk sponsor a free New Years Eve event, you can imagine how busy the place was. Are you imagining? Yep, that's exactly the way it was...only MORE people...
Anyway, the wait for food was 2 hours long. But, I'm sure if you were to go on any other day, thewait would be a reasonable amount of time.
I really like Buca Di Beppo because it's loud and family-oriented. There are all these pictures on the wall that are Italian-related--and if you take the time to study them--actually quite funny.
They offer a table in the kitchen, so you can watch the chef cook. But, our party (there was about 7 people) got seated on the third floor. Atleast, I think it was the third floor. After you go up the winding stairway, through the hall and around the corner, only to go back up the stairway, you get a little lost.
The staff was very friendly, courteous, and ummm... boisterous.
The portion sizes are huge. So, yes you can share a meal. But, in the words of Joey: I don't share food. The BF got lemon chicken. It was great. And, I'm actually kind of surprised he shared. =P
And, if it's your birthday, or even within ten days of your birthday, you get a huge peice of double chocolate cake. And, the entire third floor gets to sing happy birthday to a complete stranger. But, who cares if I turned a little red, I got free cake!
Definitely recommend this place the next time you want to catch a show at the Gibson ampitheatre.
i have been coming to this place numerous times only because i think its the next best italian food out here in LA besides maggiano's.
Buca is a great place to have big or small parties, the portions are huge and it feeds all. Price is reasonable and the ambiance is great!
You should try the fetuccini chicken alfredo. it is so delicious.
the spaghetti with meatballs, im not so much of a fan..maybe the meatballs..but not the pasta.
This place is also a warning...Dont try to book any huge parties here on wknds because you will wait forever.
Went up to universal citywalk to catch a flick and decided, on?
yup , you guessed it, my favorite, italian food!
So Buca Di Beppo was not a bad choice for the evening.
Got promptly seated upstairs, service was really good, had a very funny, friendly waiter, it was a bit crowded, but no prob.
Had some fine wine, good eats and all in all it was a good time!
I would have given this location four stars on any of my previous visits. This time, something had changed. First of all, they have a new menu, which I think is bigger. We'll get back to that. Our waiter was a middle-aged man whose English skills were not the best. He was friendly and had plenty of "ethnic charm" but it appeared that anything deviating from the verbatim menu was difficult to communicate.
My mother-in-law tries to order a margarita. He says, "we only have italian margarita" and he literally would not let her order a "regular margarita" which she clearly wanted. Nor could he explain what an italian margarita actually was. Turns out to be a margarita with amaretto, which is a terrible combination. We wanted her to send it back but she made do. Either this guy did not understand how a bartender makes drinks or they are just pouring it out of a bag somewhere. Then he takes my drink order, a pitcher of Sam Adams. "We don't have Sam Adams," he says. Since they always start out asking if you're familiar with their menu, and I was already a bit agitated with him, I fired back "Are YOU familiar with your menu?" (If he'd correctly said "we are out" I wouldn't have said that.) Then he offhandedly mentions that they have Stella on draught, which was not on the menu. Hello?!
These experiences alone wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but then my wife ordered what she always orders, and there were problems. She always asks for the Seafood Linguine without calamari. He took the order and returned a bit later with our food. Hers was just like it was on the menu, with the calamari. So she sends it back. Then he comes out with a kid from the kitchen, who also did not appear to comprehend English well, and the two of them try to understand the simple instruction of "no calamari." Then he comes back AGAIN to tell us that the sauce is pre-mixed with the calamari and they can't take it out. Then he tried to explain some way that he could bring it how she wanted it, with the sauce on the side. A whole table of us couldn't really decode what he meant exactly.
Either this guy is an idiot or something has seriously changed in the kitchen because she always orders it this way with no problems. Which made me think back to the new menu. Perhaps Buca has changed their kitchen to a more efficient but less customizable approach? Or perhaps this guy was an idiot. We weren't the only ones with problems, the manager guy with the headset had to come over and calm down a nearby table over some apparently similar mishap. Ironically the guy finally brought out the Linguine appearing nearly exactly like what she originally ordered. Either they figured out they could actually MAKE something to order in the kitchen, or this guy finally figured out what we wanted and how to tell the kitchen. Ultimately it wasn't very good anyway, and by then the rest of our table had pretty much finished.
When you go to Buca at Citywalk, after waiting 45 minutes to sit and paying at least $10 to park, you expect more than this. In the past it's roughly been worthwhile. This time our experience was so poor that I doubt we'll ever come back. I'd like to believe it was just our waiter, but the vibe I got was along with the new menu, a lot has changed at Buca, for the worse.
Buca is a good place to eat (it was greater before the recession). Their lunch menu is decent. I usually get their chicken parmigiana and a side ceasar salad. The portions are usually decent. Well the last time i went (last month 06/09)...I got the same thing I usually do. Well the salad is now a small cup instead of a bowl! I was thinking to myself (WTF? is this)! So no more side salad for me. The chicken parm is still the same and its decent.
Their garlicy cheesy bread w/ marinara sauce is good.
If you're in the mood for pizza when you come here..get a large pepperoni! Their pizza is actually delicous although theres more oil on it that Jiffy Lube. Make sure you pat the oil off w/ a napkin before consuming. They also bring a side of peppercinis w/ the pizza. It just compliments the pizza. IDK why..but it does. I love it.
The service here is usually okay during lunch hours. There is one waitress here who is a riot. She is so cool and usually jokes w/ us every time we are here!
If you have a large party, check out Buca because everything here is family style (except the lunch menu).
Twitter: JFIZZLE76
This place is bomb. I freaking love their Spicy Arrabiata Pizza.
Their staff is exceptionally nice and make you feel at home. They ask if you've been there before, and if not, they give you a quick tour of the place. My boyfriend and I went to the one in Pasadena for Valentines. And our waitress saw I gave him Laker tickets, and told us her story of giving her boyfriend Laker tickets also. Then she offered us free chocolate covered strawberries. Yummmm.
But whatever Bucca Di Beppo you go to, I'm sure you'll be very pleased.
Why do I fool myself into thinking this would like actual Italian food? Sure, they have a pope room and they have family style settings, but the food is mediocre at best.
Now forgive me for not being Italian when I kind of semi bash on an Italianized place but honestly, this place blows.
The salad was DRENCHED in Italian dressing as if it had been sitting in a window for longer than necessary, the veal was overcooked and tough. That in it of itself is awful to imagine. And only thing that kept coming was the bread. I don't want bread, I want a refill on iced tea when the weather outside is 100+ degrees-not bread.
Our server seemed more intent on serving his other tables than our large group but gratuity is added already...
A major flop.
I always dread coming here, but inevitably someone sometime will pick a company lunch at Buca. First of all the tablecloths are covered in grease and tomato sauce stains. I have to do body contortions to avoid touching it, always unsuccessfully. Then come all the communal pizzas and pastas. No matter what is ordered, it's always greasy and school cafeteria-like in quality. I guess their main appeal are the huge portions, but crap multiplied by a lot is still crap.
Last Wed, it was someone's bright idea to drive way the hell over to Citywalk for a birthday party at Buca Di Beppo. Mind you, everyone invited to the dinner lives on the Westside and we easily could have gone to the Santa Monica location. *sigh* But someone thought it would be "fun and different" to go there so we could walk around Citywalk too. Fine, but that only works if Citywalk is still OPEN, which it wasn't, and the if the restaurant doesn't neglect to tell you that they will shut out your party (w/ a reservation) if you don't put in your order with the kitchen before 9. We had a reservation for 15 people at 8:30. The four of us who got there first had about 10 minutes to order the food for the whole table. At least we had a room all to ourselves, that creepy round Pope room upstairs. That room also has the weirdest acoustics, so that the person across from you sounds like they are right over your shoulder. Anyway, we ordered tons of food, including the garlic bread, calamari, the antipasto salad, the Quattro Al Forno, two pizzas, spaghetti with meatballs, and bruschetta. Most of it was pretty good, although the cannelloni and raviolis on the Quattro platter were only "eh". At least it was pretty inexpensive for so much food- only about $25 for each of us, including the tip.
So- the food was pretty decent as it is w/ any Buca, but our party was saved from a shut-out only by luck, since the restaurant never warned us about their plan or told us when they closed even after multiple calls about our reservation. Parking is overpriced! As for the friend who came up with the idea.... she's lost her event-planning privileges for the foreseeable future.
So I'm in NYC already but I need to review some Cali spots I went to before coming out here and this is one of them.
Really, I'm not big on reviewing chain restaurants but I had the urge to review this one.
I came here with family for lunch before venturing to Universal Studios. I give four stars just for the service. Our server Rachel was very nice and honest with what to order. She strayed us away from ordering individual lunch specials (which in reality is more expensive anyway) and just suggested family style. I like how servers are honest and try to do what's best for the customer. We ordered calamari, a seafood pasta dish and Rachel suggested a white sauce pasta with artichoke and chicken. All dishes were good - my cousin and his friend visiting from Italy liked it too. (Phew, my cousin's friend was REALLY picky when it came to food). Good thing he liked it.
I would come back here just for the awesome service we received.
This place serves food family style, which means very large portions so you definitely can't eat here alone. The walls are covered with pictures and places of Italy and Sophia Loren. They have a wide variety of salads, side dishes, and entrees. The antipasti salad is very tasty and ofcourse they do serve pizza. Their desserts are delicious . My personal favorite is the double dark chocolate.
So when I first went to eat here I thought to myself.. I always eat italian. Do I really wanna eat here. But then I saw the portions they brought out and everything was so delicious, that shut me up quick! They have delicious wine. I would love to come back here!
Oh so THIS is where Americans have been coming to become the fattest country in the world.
Buca claims to be "family style". Really? I don't buy it. If Italians really ate this way, they'd have us beat FOR SURE. Unless 4 of them gather around and kill a small plate. Seriously, Buca's small plate could feed 4 but they say "2 or more". Try more!
So we ordered one small plate of the Fettucini Supremo which had chicken, broccoli and red peppers. It was aight. We were only 2, it easily could have fed another 2. The garlic bread with mozzarella cheese was pretty good.
Their desserts are just as big as their entrees. We had the homemade cheesecake that had rasberry sauce and hazelnuts and it was delicious! Man oh man, I love me some good cheesecake!
Service was good, our waiter was quite the comedian and I appreciated it. I'm easily amused.
This place is better if you come with a large group to split all the food. On the plus side, I didn't have to worry about lunch the next day.
Strictly for the rotating Pope head room alone, this place is worth it for a party. Better for a large group as the portions are all family style!
Recommends (and this after several drunken birthday parties)
GARLIC BREAD WITH MOZZARELLA
FRIED CALAMARI
CHOPPED ANTIPASTO SALAD
SPAGHETTI MEAT BALLS
PENNE ARRABBIATA
LASAGNA (Nine layers, NINE!!! of lasgana noodles stuffed with our homemade meat sauce and a savory combination of ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and romano cheeses, baked in our made fresh daily marinara.)
CHICKEN PARMIGIANA with prosciutto
And in case you aren't at the point where you are begging the waiter to wheel you out because you ate so much, I'd suggest the...
TIRAMISU
CHOCOLATE VESUVIO
The more the merrier here! Oh and last time I was there I noticed they have the full on kitchen table going so you can sit and dine and take in the culinary action. (Kind of fun if you are on a pseudo-mobster date!)
I love it here.......As usual I get the same thing every time I come here...I get the apple Gorgonzola salad and then pizza con formaggio....it is so good...rarely do i love pizza in California but this is great....thin crispy crust, not too much sauce and the cheese is delicious....
The salad it the best part though.....granny smith apples, walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries....omg, it is so good...
The portions are huge, be prepared for leftovers. :) The restaurant is hilarious inside....the photos that cover the wall are just too funny. The wait staff is normally friendly....my friend asked for a pizza that wasn't on the menu and they were more than happy to do it. It is almost always crowded (not just this location, any of the buca's...) but normally there are always seats at the bar.
Not for the carb conscious!
Delicious piles (yes, piles, mounds...whatever you want to call them) of food. Shrimp scampi, ravioli, fettucini alfredo, bruscetta...you name it and they've got it.
I don't know how to say yummy in Italian but this certainly fits the bill.
This place is great for a group and they're super accomodating, regardless of the group's size. I've been with up to 14 people and they had no problem. There's a bit of wait though because it does get busy--check out the shops on the Universal City Walk in the meantime.
Ciao.
This place is great for large parties since you can just order a couple of plates and everyone can have a little bit of everything. That's the whole reason for this restaurant to share different tastes with your friends or family. I think the reason why people don't like it is because they are not used to sharing. We live in this individualistic American country where each person gets their own huge plate....and if they don't eat it all, they take it in a doggie bag to eat later by themselves. HOW FREAKEN ODD!
Listen....it's k to eat out of each other's plates....it's k to enjoy each other's company and laugh and drink.. This place really promotes that feel ...and for that I love it! Good business planning because it's different than any other chain restaurant.
Nothing says Italian like the Pope staring at you during your meal....
Bucca is a great place for large groups, and the food is actually palatable...
My Favorite Dish: Chicken cacciatore! A big leg o' chicken on mash tators...
Also the Stuff Shell Diavolo spicy, and freaking huge...
Ahhhh and what guy can forget the women with the huge mellons.........you know the picture I am talking about.....
I like food. I like LOTS of food. I really love carbs and cheese. I love splitting entrees with my friends. I like bizarre decor. I love the tackiness of CityWalk.
Now, people, can you understand how in some ways, Buca Di Beppo is the PERFECT restaurant for me?
Ok, ok, ok, I know what you're gonna say. Perhaps something along the lines of, "Five stars, Wes??? But Buca is a *gag* chain!!! And all your other reviews are like, cool indie joints!!!" All is true. Also true is that Bucca can't be beat for good service, good food, and good atmosphere. It's the same reason I love Honda's: reliability and comfort. It ain't a mustang, but it gets me where I need to go.
Case in point: last August my mother came to town from Mississippi. I usually show her all the unique stuff that tourists never see, but you gotta be a little touristy sometimes right? So, we spent the day at City Walk. Her being a picky eater, I knew she would find something appetizing here.
Our server was this jovial black dude named Alvin who told us we could call him "Alvino" cause he's Italian. Already, mom is laughing. point 1 for Alvin. He told me about their new "Buca Mio" portions, which are lunch servings for one (in case you don't know most of the food at Buca is meant ot be shared). Cool. When we couldn't decide, he directed us to something we both would like to share. Point 2 for Alvin. Before I go further, I should tell you that my mom drinks Coke by the gallon. Alvin NEVER let my mom go thirsty. By this time, he's rackin up those points, especially since I took note of the fact that we were initally his ONLY table and by the end of our meal he had like 8 tables......yet the quality of his service didn't change one bit.
In addition to the good service, the food is really cheap. And app, shared entree, and two cokes, were only 25, and Alvin got himself a $10 tip out of the deal. He even found me on my way to the bathroom and personally thanked me. No, Alvin.....thank YOU. I was happy, mom was happy, and I will continue to bring dates, family, and friends, to one of my only cherished chains.
I like Buca Di Beppo, but this location was such a bad experience for my family and me. My dad recently hurt his leg, and we did not know that the seating was on the second floor. As we realized, "oh no, stairs" we paused while we were following the hostess. She was ahead of us, and then my dad decided to just go ahead and go up the stairs even though he was in so much pain, she responded to us by saying, "thank you for cooperating". by this time my mom got ahead of us and when she reached the top of the stairs, the hostess then told her, "good job!" as if she was a 5 yr old completing a project. She gave us a snobby attitude and treated us as if we were children.
Lots of food, great place to go with large group of friends -- not good for a date when one is a vegetarian or if you can't agree on a dish to share. The entrees are family style. Lots of things to check out on the walls. The large salad provides enough salad for 6 adults. After the salad we would get 3 entrees which was enough food for all. The best spumoni that I have ever had.
Will get very busy, so go early --- same for the Santa Monica location.
The good thing about my Gentleman Friend and I is that we venture out of our normal playground (Santa Monica, where he calls home) trying to get away from the offerings 3rd Street Promenade has. So, last night we decided to go to City Walk... maybe take in a show, get something to eat. Y'know, something new. So, where do we wind up? Buca Di Beppo. This is mainly really stupid because there's a Buca in Santa Monica, oh, 5 minutes from his house. But, at least we got to pay $10 to park in an over crowded garage, battle a ridiculous amount of crowds, and the human wall that the "Curfew Team" built to weed out 15 year olds. But, I digress...
This is the 2nd time I've been to Buca Di Beppo. I liked it the first time, so I was game. The Gentleman is always up for Italian food, which is probably why he picked it.
There were only 2 of us, so we tried to order a reasonable amount of food: Garlic bread with mozerella cheese (very yummy), lemon chicken (his favorite, I had only a bite, but it was very good), and some kind of trio of stuffed pasta shells. Overall, the food was very good. They seem to know what they're doing, regardless of it's the most authentic food or not. It's the kind of Italian food that old people and little kids would like, but people with a decent palate can enjoy too. The marinara sauce is actually quite good, and The Gentleman asked for a side of it for our bread apetizer. He's so smart.
I'm sure there is better Italian food allover the place. The atmosphere here is entertaining, but loud. It's a loud place considering they cater to large groups, but they still pipe in boppy Italian music. I felt like we were at the Disneyland version of an Italian place. But, I like Disneyland, so who's complaining?
I'd definitely go back to Buca, when the need for pasta arises. If you're a fan of leftovers, you can't go wrong here.
I've been to three different Bucas (Universal, Pasadena, and San Francisco) and tend to really like them. The SF one is the best, but this one is good too.
It's usually very crowded and very, very LOUD. I recommend going with friends, having some wine with dinner, and loosening up. Usually the whole restaurant sings "Happy Birthday" if someone is there for that occasion. It's meant to be family style and social.
The plates are HUGE. Again, meant to be shared.
Food is pretty good. I recommend the Margherita pizza, and definitely have tiramisu for dessert. Love their tiramisus.
Service is just O.K. Wait staff is pretty friendly, but food can take a while. What I love about this place is the pictures on the walls. I find myself staring at all of them while waiting or while eating. Very amusing, especially if you're into pictures like me.
Huge portions. Yummy food. Gets VERY busy and there was this weird stench when I went up the stairs. HAHA. Their pesto pasta was heaven. I'd go here again...but definitely not on a weekend.
You can chalk this negative review up to "weirdo" since I am sure I'm the only Californian who also doesn't like Avocado. But, if I get one more "come and celebrate my (birthday) (anniversary) (colonic)" invitation to this place, I'm going to puke. It's loud (and I normally like loud), busy (and I normally like busy), overpriced (and I normally am not frugal), and just plain average food (and I normally love Italian food). I really don't understand why people like this restaurant (or any of their locations). In fact, I think the only thing I like about the place is the cheesy decor. I think I got to sit in the "Pope" room at the Santa Monica location once. I'd say, spend you money elsewhere like the Grove's family style Italian restaurant - Maggiliano's (or whatever it's called). The food is better there.
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