Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

The Spaghetti And Meatballs Were The Best I Ever Had! You Could Tell The Food Was Prepared Fresh And Homemade. Everything Was Brought To Us In A Timely Manner. All In All My Family Of 4 Loved It!

This was exactly what we wanted post a college graduation on a Saturday afternoon for 15 people. We reserved The Pope’s table and did the menu ordering in advance… They let me bring in a local bakery cake too… From start to finish our meal, service, drink selection, restaurant atmosphere was just superb. I don’ t have a single thing to say otherwise. Great for a family gathering, prom celebrations. I’M D reccomend it to any if you.

Had a group dinner of 16 for the celebration of our college graduate. Our waitress Mariah gave us great service, very friendly and took care of everything. Appetizers and entrées were all very good and everyone enjoyed the meal.

Decided to try this place one more time, as I’ve been to others and have enjoyed the food. The first visit, which took place last fall, did not go so well. We were seated at a booth, where we sat for 10 minutes before being acknowledged. After approaching a staff member and requesting drinks, she returned with our sodas. We then sat there for a good 20 minutes, waiting for someone to come and take our order, before finally choosing to leave. When we walked out, we were told «thanks for coming,» by the same individual who provided our drinks 20 minutes earlier. Really!!!
The second visit was better, as we were acknowledged and were able to enjoy our meal. The food was good and our waiter was friendly. The only downside was when my mother-​in-​law, who uses a walker, requested to use the restroom. The wait staff took her to the restroom, which is NOT handicapped accessible. She was unable to open the door, so the waitress opened it for it. The restroom is not designed for someone who needs a walker, nor for an individual who may be heavy set. It would have been nice if the wait staff would have made her ware of the the handicapped restroom across the way.

It depends on what you are looking for. If you want large family style portions in a kitschy atmosphere, with older booth, cheap wine, checkered tablecloths… then come here by all means. Use a coupon in the local mailer, make a reservation and order up.
My hesitation to recognize them for their long standing local presence is that I didn’t think the food was that great. Had the chicken marsala, caprese salad, lasagna and everything was a bit bland. We ordered three «small» dishes for our group of 4 thinking it would be enough… and it wasn’t. I think this is a good place for a big loud group of friends where it is more about the experience — not so much for out of town guests, a date, or family dinner.

I love it here! It has a warm family atmosphere and the food is to die for! Granted it is a little spendy, but it’s well worth it! We got the fried mozzarella, lasagna, cheese cake, the brownie sunday, some sangria and a beer for $ 50 – 60 before the tip, and our server was super nice and a little silly, but it’s part of what made it a wonderful experience!

There are 2 nice things to write about. One is the food, and which is very good! I had the lasagna and for only 1 person it’s $ 20?! The second nice thing is the décor, it’s festive with all the colored lights and pictures of the nuns riding bumper cars is pretty funny! A few not so nice things. First, the wait to get the «house» bread, was a ½ hour. Second, the wait for our food was 45 minutes. Third, we noticed that our waitress was constantly at a large table near us, and we were forgotten. Lastly, the manager has NO people skills. She didn’t apologize to us once after we spoke to her, then when she took our plates to put the food in boxes, my friend asked if she wanted her big brownie bowl, too. The manager said «I only have 2 hands!» Get rid of the manager then maybe this would be a more pleasant place with nicer waiters.

Amazing food, hot staff, pleasant atmosphere. You get huge portions/​go with friends and share. Walking in the aroma will take you away!

I was here on Christmas Day evening at 5 PM. It was absolutely nuts there. Super busy. Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait 30 minutes to be seated, and then it took 45 minutes for our food to arrive. The antipasto salad and penne shrimp pasta both tasted good, and the service was good considering the amount of customers. I don’t think I’ll return on Christmas Day.

The food here is consistently excellent but the service is very inconsistent. I came for my bday last year and it took them an hour to bring out my entrée and when they did they had the wrong pasta and had to redo it! Also they didn’t bring bread and olive oil to my table until I asked! We were starving with the extra long wait and all the other tables had bread, so I finally asked and she brought it. I came back a month later though, had a different server, and the food came out very fast and no errors! It is kind of odd because on the night they got my order wrong and were extremely slow, the place was dead. On the night they got it right and were quick, they were packed! Also if you sign up for their e-​club they will send you a free pasta with bread and you can pick it up for carry out (which means 100% free, no tip even) at the side door in the back and it is HUGE

I say it’s all in the festive atmosphere. It’s family style so share the large dishes and have a family party in this the happiest of places. I’m sure it’s not quite this festive in Italy with some exceptions (for tourists)? There is ample space for many groups and it is not unusual to hear part of a presentation for a work group or family from a tipsy speaker and fifteen party people laughing. The food is delizioso. (thank you Google translate). The service attentive and friendly even though the pace is hectic and servers have to work a number of large parties. The first round of drinks took awhile that’s because a group of thirty arrived before we did and got their order in first. After that it was smooth sailing and there is still enough left over to take home for an enjoyable encore.

Where do we begin… they lost our reservation so if you book on line Don’t! Apparently the online reservation system doesn’t work and they know it, just don’t care. We got there at 5:15 and was seated at 5:30 with ¼ of the restaurant being full. We ordered within 5 min of being seated and with 45 min later our food arrives! Two entrees and garlic bread. Really? No manager in sight the entire evening. The restaurant was not busy but we figured with all the to go orders they send them out the door first before they serve the guests in the restaurant. Our server was great although she should know when it’s appropriate to get a manager to step into the kitchen and check ticket times. Buca… an epic fail.

Cute place. Tapas was entertained by the tons of stuff on the walls for awhile and we both coveted to Pope Table. The food was slightly better than average, i guess. Neither Tapas nor i are huge pasta fans, though he chose the mac & cheese, which was sufficient for him. The bruschetta in the giant martini glass was fun. Our server was excellent.
Buca i think would be more fun with a large, boisterous group. A birthday party of 11 – 13 year old girls came in and seemed to be really enjoying themselves. A romantic dinner type place? No. A small family dinner place? Sort of. A tween birthday place? Definitely. Family-​style, inoffensive comfort food in a semi-​charmingly loud atmosphere was made for tweeners.

Food was the usual was very good but not great you know typical Italian food the waiter me was real busy doing who knows what or just didn’t care we didn’t see him real often it was after 830 at night and the place was not real busy

Over the last ~ 15 years I’ve probably been to Buca’s 50 times. Been there with large groups (work and birthday parties), or sometimes with the family or a few friends. We’ve booked out rooms for large groups, booked the large round «Pope» table (seats about 15?), there are even smaller tables right in the kitchen you can book and watch all the commotion going on there. We also regularly order take out and bring it home — I even have a list of what to order in evernote so I don’t forget any of the family favorites. They have a really generous email coupon program that also keeps us coming back — fantastic deals.
The food. Amazing. Try the Gorgonzola salad with «Italian bacon» (autocorrect won’t let me spell the correct name of the meat). Spaghetti with meat balls, garlic mashed potatoes, all of the pizzas are great, my favorite dish is the chicken Marsala, we also usually order one of the spicy baked pastas (shrimp one is amazing). All their dishes are served family style so bring friends … there’s always more food than you expected.
The deserts shouldn’t be missed either — but just like everything else they come «family sized». Try the chocolate cake if you’re having trouble sorting out which one to order. We sometimes order it «to-​go» and enjoy it at home after we’ve digested a bit.
The atmosphere is «unique». The walls are covered with all kinds of things to keep young and old busy. When I first started going this was really part of the experience and charm. I’ve been so many times now it really is more about the food and good company sharing a great meal.
One of the best parts about the experience are the leftovers. The food seems to get even better the next day.

The food is consistently good, but the service tends to be a bit slow. We had the manicotti and ravioli; both of which were delicious. The portions are so large, there is always something to bring home.

We had reservations for early Sunday evening and were promptly seated when we arrived.
It has a nice atmosphere and the many Italian themed paintings and photographs on the walls keep you distracted from the carpet that is past the point of cleaning and needs replacement and the booths that need a thorough cleaning.
The family-​style portions are unique and plentiful with two choices of portion size — small which is quite sufficient for two people or large which they say will serve four and I have no doubt about that. We ordered small portions of everything, shared it between the two of us and still had leftovers to take home.
The Veal Saltimbocca was very tasty although I expected the veal to be more tender than it was.
The Linguine Frutti di Mar had tasty mussels, calamari and shrimp. While the linguine itself was quite good, I expected more flavor from the tomato sauce that accompanied it at a restaurant dedicated to serving Italian food.
Recommend you pass on the Fried Calamari Appetizer.

It’s a fairly typical Buca di Beppo. I love these places because they are loud and fun. And the food is pretty good too. If you’ve never been to a Buca, either go with a large group or be ready to be served a ton of food. Most dishes are served family style.
The night we went, service was bit slow, but I’d try it again one more time before writing it off as a loss.
Tip: The Pope table is awesome for fun celebrations.

I love the family style servings. Buca is a great place to bring a lot of people but remember when you order the food is meant to be shared. My favorite is the calamari and the stuffed mushrooms. Last night I went with my family and enjoyed the trio platter appetizers. Our server was very friendly and helpful. He got our appetizer order in before the rest of the party arrived.
We ended up order the garlic bread, wish I recommend, garlic mashed potatoes (we had to send back because it was bland but the next batch was awesome), spaghetti, stuffed shell and the riti. They were yummy yummy yummy.
We topped off the night by ordering dessert a brownie dessert that was huge. So love this place for the food.
As for the décor? I know it’s unique décor but some of it can be scary. Oh well

Just about the only perk to this restaurant is that it’s good for big groups. Easy to reserve, lots of room, fun atmosphere (if you’re looking for loud/​boisterous), abounding in kitsch.
However: I am second-​generation Italian, raised in New York on Il Bambino and Gino & Joe’s, and please, Minnesotans, take it from me: this is not good Italian food. This is sub-​Olive Garden food, and I sincerely have nothing against Olive Garden. I’m not sure it gets any more pre-​packaged, clearly frozen, and inauthentic than this.
I’ve been to this location several times, always with a large group, and as my husband said on our most recent (and probably last) visit– I could make far better food at home much more cheaply. I just don’t think it’s worth $ 20-​$ 30 a platter for frozen ravioli in canned marinara sauce, or «baked ziti» that doesn’t appear to have been baked, just tossed in melted cheese.
The other big drawback to this location – if resoundingly «meh» food isn’t enough – is that it is, without exception, packed to the gills. It’s extremely loud, The servers are harried within an inch of their lives. If you need a high chair or another glass of water, it will probably take you ten minutes and/​or a reminder, or you may have to track someone else down completely.
If you want good Italian food in the Twin Cities, try La Grolla, or Bar La Grassa. This is not it.