Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

My wife and I have had dinner quite often at bucca, we have never been disappointed. Their fettuccine supremo is the BOMB. We are not terrorists. Awesome service, GUYYYYYSSSSSS.

Always good, just a little heavy, but you get that with most italian places. The manicotti and caprese salad are really good.

I went there last night for my birthday with a family of 7. We ordered a bottle of wine only to be told that they were out. No problem, we ordered overpriced Chianti that tasted very much like a ten-​dollar bottle of Woodbridge. Upon ordering a salad we were told they were out of lettuce and thus no salads on the menu were available. I was stumped. What kind of Italian restaurant runs out of salad?
The remainder of the evening was going downhill fast. The calamari portions were small and overpriced, certainly not large. The main course tasted good, but came out luke-​warm. We had to repeatedly beg for olive oil, bread and water refills and the waiter was rarely there to take care of us. Overall, the service went down several notches since the last time I was there.
Just a year ago I remember leaving with a feeling that this is my go to place for family outings. Sadly, this is no longer the case. The atmosphere feels no longer Italian and family-​oriented but rather like a regular pub/Friday’s food court.

Not as good the one in Everett Wa. Also expensive and they refused to honor a promotion that listed them as 15% off.
Service was great though and the pizza cert good.

Great family style Italian food. Portions are pretty huge so if your starving it will be awesome, otherwise be ready to bring it home. Lots of cool memorabilia on the walls to look at.

Great service and excellent food. Family style portions — would recommend for larger groups. Good selection of gluten free options. My family and I went in on a Monday night and our server was Dom, who was great. Great size and super vintage décor throughout!

We threw a 15 person party for my dad’s 80^th birthday, and got a semi-​private room for the group. Some thoughts:
Food was mediocre at best. The two salads we ordered were drenched in dressing and way too salty. Spaghetti and linguini were both way overcooked and mushy. Veal Marsala was underwhelming. Eggplant parmigiana was a winner.
Service was completely lacking. None of us had our waters refilled for the entire 3.5 hours we were there. We couldn’t find our server unless we got out of our seats and tried to wave her down. The bartender was nice though. I took my niece out for a walk, and the bartender offered her a free orange juice.
Facility was falling apart. Right in the middle of the hallway was a bucket to catch water dripping from the ceiling. Absolutely ridiculous. The restaurant looks like no one has taken care of it in 20 years.

It’s large portions. My kids love the naked statues.
Great for large gatherings.
It’s not Italian but relies heavy on Italian American standards.
Is it world class, no. Is it better than Olive Garden? Yes. It’s Just like that maggianos place, but more affordable.
4 stars for consistency and value.

Buca Di Beppo is a chain restaurant that serves family style Italian food. My mom and I came here for lunch. We shared an Apple Gorgonzola Salad (without the Gorgonzola), which consisted of mixed lettuce, topped with sliced Granny Smith apples, spiced walnuts, and dried cranberries, tossed in an extremely salty and sour Italian vinaigrette with a generous amount of red onions. I have never had a salad dressing that tastes so bad. I wonder if they even taste tested it before it left the kitchen. It’s like they forgot to add sugar to balance the taste.

Worst service
Server was consciously incompetent
Food came out cold
Took 20 minutes to get a Coke
Took 30 minutes to get ice tea
And then another 10 to get sugar/​Splenda …actually had to go around the restaurant and get it myself
Absolutely the worst Service and total incompetence from the staff
DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE@&&$&)((;$&&;:;))&&)$&

Expectations are everything. It’s like being a fan of the original Star Wars Trilogy, being so hyped for the prequels and then being introduced to Jar-​Jar. Wait… what is this? I expected more. It used to be so good. I have fond memories of it from before. That is my exact sentiment when i came to my last visit at Buca di Beppo. Now I am not a stranger to Buca and its large portions and family style atmosphere. I have had some wonderful times in the past at different locations. And this time around seemed so promising as the server and I shared a common bond, our first name. I thought this is going to be good, he understands me and we’ll have a fantastic night. Unfortunately it was a bit of a downhill skid from there.
To be honest the menu is huge and there is a lot to choose from. It can be difficult to choose since all their dishes are designed to feed at least 2 – 3 people for the small. My wife and I settled on the baked ziti and the calamari appetizer. I also tried to order a cocktail, the Milan Mule. I was told they could not make the Milan Mule because the were out of the limoncello that they used for the recipe. That’s fine, so I asked if they could just make me a regular Moscow Mule instead. The server went off to find out. As I sit here at home a few days later, I am still wondering if they can make it because I never heard anything about it since. The server also promised to bring out a basket of bread, which we never received. When the calamari came out I’ll be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. With the portions of the rest of the menu being rather large I had expected the calamari to be abundant. It did taste good so it had that going for it. The baked ziti was excellent and for that I am grateful. It was just what I needed since I didn’t receive my drink, or my bread. And serves 2 – 3 people is just right as we ended up with leftovers enough for one more serving. Then we went ahead and ordered dessert, a bowl full of tiramisu. Delicious and more than one can possibly eat in one shot. So be prepared to take home ²⁄₃ of the tiramisu.
Overall the night was a mixed bag. The food was delicious but the service needed some work. No updates on the drink order, forgotten bread, no refill on the waters and disappearing when ready to pay. The food itself could be a reason to go back but I hope the service improves.

my family enjoys coming here whenever we have a large gathering of family and or friends. it is the perfect place to host a large group lunch or dinner since all of their portions come in family-​size plates.
on christmas day, my family and my brother’s in-​laws met here for dinner and the 8 of us were able to be seated at a table suitable for that number of people. i wasn’t a fan of the bench on one side since that meant that the 4 folks sitting on that side of the table would have to get up any time someone else had to get up to use restroom, etc.
we ordered an assortment of large/​family-​sized dishes to share, including:
+warm spinach & tomato salad ($ 23.99)
+fried calamari ($ 19.99)
+green beans ($ 9.99)
+chicken marsala ($ 35.99)
+seafood linguini (specialty item, can’t recall the price)
+baked ziti ($ 30.99)
+eggplant parmigiana ($ 31.99)
this was a great variety of dishes to choose from, and more than enough for 8 hungry people. my favorite was the warm spinach & tomato salad which featured warmed spinach (vs cold, hard spinach) and freshly cut tomatoes (a surprise considering it was winter on the east coast). it wasn’t drowning in dressing which i appreciated. the chicken marsala was just ok, i don’t really like breaded chicken and would have preferred just plain grilled chicken with the marsala sauce and mushrooms. the seafood linguini was also average, standard linguine noodles with medium-​sized shrimp. i had just a little bit of the eggplant parm which i felt had way too much breading and cheese on it.
the service was generally slow, but expected, since i’d been to buca before, at this location and others. it took some time to bring silverware and fresh plates to the table, which should have already been taken care of before we even sat down. we also felt like we waited a while before the main entrees were served, good thing the complimentary bread and apps that we ordered held us over for a bit.
while this is an ideal place for hosting a large lunch or dinner party, i feel that the service and food are just average and could definitely be improved upon.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW IVE BEEN LIED TO ABOUT WAIT TIMES FOR PICK UP. Today I was quoted 15 – 20 minutes so I said I’d call back with my order. I called back in 2 minutes and was told 20 – 30 minutes. Fine.
I waited an hour plus. This was at 5:30pm, not like peak dinner hour mind you.
I get it, you’re busy or understaffed or just don’t have it together, fine. Just BE HONEST and say, wait time is an hour. Or overestimate like airlines do so people are pleasantly surprised.
Don’t waste my time. I have a tiny human at home that missed dinner, and I feel bad because I could have easily gone somewhere else. Sure your lies will get you tonight’s business but no future business from me, my family, and my extended family — I will see to it.
For those that have suffered through my review and still want to go here, time your pickups accordingly (multiply what they say by 2 or 3). I’m giving a positive 2 stars because I actually like their food. Yes, it’s massed produced Italian fair but they have a few yummy dishes: warm spinach salad is great, and their chicken Marsala is surprisingly good (made with a sweet sauce).

Ate here last night because I had a rare craving for Italian food. Eaten here before for my nephews birthday. Dishes were hit and miss then, but overall very good. But there were a lot of us and we had so many different dishes for us all to try. Small dishes were around $ 20, but they were a serving size for two.
This time I just came with my wife. The service was very friendly and quick even on a Friday night. We had the bucannelli for an appetizer which was really good. It was like an Italian version of a taquito with three different versions: chicken, sausage, and beef. I was really craving meatball spaghetti but I could not remember how it tasted the last time I came. For me however this dish was not up to my expectations. The meatballs were bland and the sauce was too watery. The waiter did give me some extra maranara though which helped.
I would definitely eat here again, but probably not the spaghetti.

I actually enjoy kitschy 60’s Italian décor. Batista’s Hole in the Wall in Las Vegas is a favorite.
It is a shame, because they the two most important things right: the food is consistently good and our server was excellent.
However. the layout and domed ceiling capture all the sound of people being happy and loud and amplify it. If you are not shouting, the person next to you cannot hear you.
The first thing you see is absolutely filthy, worn out carpet. In the first corridor, my feet were sticking to the floor. We got to the table, and noticed several of the plates had little bits of food on them. Not cool. Several of us had to send back the silverware. For the price, you’d think you could get something clean to eat with.
I generally dread going back, but a few members of the family like the food, so I might be stuck there once a year or so.

I was mad for not finding the restaurant even though my GPS said we were there so I called the restaurant and had 3 people who can’t give me good landmark for direction to Buca. Jason, the manager told me a prominent store but not large called 7 Eleven and yet was not effective to find Buca. But Jason was a nice person and to calm me down, he offered a free appertizer; I was a bit understandbly worried, but feel appreciated. I would like to apologize again for my diva outburst. The veal though was overkilled fried so it was tough. The salmon did not have enough zest or citrusy taste as described in the menu. I expressed my food opinion to staff. I enjoyed the introduction and the meal.

Great place for large parties and birthdays.
Decoration around the whole restaurant gives you a little Italian vibe. Some pictures I would say are not good for young children.
You have to ask for bread they don’t just give it to you. But definitely ask because the food does take a while to get out.
You order by plate, Small or large. Small feeding up to 2 – 4 people a plate.
I went with my sister and we ordered calamari as our appetizer. Very delicious and crispy with a side of marinara for dipping.
Also, we ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were very juicy and tasty. Took half togo.
A little disappointed with their margarita pizza. The crust was burnt on the bottom and too thin. Not enough cheese, and I felt I was mostly eating bread.
Service was a little slow. The restaurant is very spacious but there was only 2 of us in the room, and I think I only saw our server only 3 times.

I’ve been to the Buca in the Kentlands three or four times now, always for dinner, this latest time with a family celebration. The family style format of the dishes suits a large family gathering very well, allowing for everyone to get some of whatever they would like; we really did have an enjoyable evening!
So why only two stars, you might well ask? Because, as a number of other reviewers have pointed out, the restaurant, while it excels in fun décor and ambiance, is not competent when it comes to the basics of good food and good service.
First, the food. I don’t think of myself as a food snob and I’m definitely not Italian but even I know overcooked pasta when I bite into it. I’ve literally had better spaghetti cooked by Boy Scouts on camping trips. Fellas, properly cooked pasta is only slightly more difficult than boiling water, come on! Top it off with tomato sauce that tastes like it came straight out of a can and meatballs that… Ok I will not criticize the meatballs as I did not eat them but they did not smell appetizing. Not a vegan, would have glady partaken, but they smelled too much like Alpo dog food, and there was nothing for it once that thought entered my mind.
Second, the service is slow, to be sure as others have noted, but also irritating in ways that I did not expect. «Do you want more water for everyone at the table?» Yes, look, everyone needs some more water, why is that even a question? «Will you need another box?» You can plainly see that the leftovers don’t fit so yes we will not carry the rest home in our pockets… And on like that. Our server was full of these questions which made one think that perhaps he did not wish to actually look at our table or make any judgements about what he saw, but would rather pelt us with a steady stream of inane questions. Weird and irritating.
I really hope for some improvement, which I think could be had without too much fuss; buy the cook a timer, give the wait staff some coaching, etc because like it or not, I’ll probably be back with the next family celebration.

Brought my family here for a treat and to use up a giftcard I had. The décor inside is interesting, a lot of pictures, very colorful and the layout with multiple rooms is different, but feels relaxed and homey. The food was ok — average for a chain Italian restaurant. They do family style portions, so we were able to share, but the portions were still too much for our group. For 7 people, we ordered calamari, 3 entrees, and a vegetable side. I like their gnocchi with vodka sauce. The tiramisu is a large portion that can be shared, it was too much for our table of 7.
At the end of our meal, one of the chairs in our group completely fell apart and caused her to fall to the floor. The chair appeared to be in poor condition, not sure if it was a repaired chair. When the waiter got the supervisor, they both just looked shocked and speechless, all they offered was a free dessert. I saw online that this has happened at another location as well.

I went on a Friday night, so I understand it is a busier night, but the service was scattered. We waited about five minutes to get water. When we ordered our server asked us if we wanted complementary bread, we said ok… we got the bread plates maybe 2 minutes later, then the olive oil dip came out another 2 minutes later, but where’s the bread? Came about 4 minutes after the dip. The bread was warm, soft on the inside and harder on the outside, not a crispy outside bread more of a harder shell. It was ok. With all the table visits from servers the food did not seem to take long overall probably took about 15 minutes.
We ordered the small portions (serves 2 or more) of the baked ziti, definitely not the best I’ve had. There was not much sauce or cheese really, the dish overall just seemed a little dried out to me. If this is all you get it could feed about 2 to 3 people, but I would not recommend it on its own.
We also got the chicken parmesan, classic breaded chicken topped with cheese and tomato sauce. This was good, nothing special but that’s ok with a classic dish like this. The extra sauce helped moisten the ziti also.
I will not be coming back here, as we were leaving my boyfriend turns to me and says we could make way better AND healthier at home… so true. And the service did not make dining out worth it.