Buona Sera

Brilliant place– true service is a bit slow and a bit noisey, but both the antipasti — bruschetta — and the pizzas were fantastic — fresh and yummy ingredients and the BEST DIAVOLA in London. To be continued!

Loud. really Loud. LIKE REALLY EFFING LOUD, oh yeah and they serve italian food too.
I came in with the hubs for a pretty party meal and when we walked our ears were ringing like we were in a club. The noise is not from the music but from people. Buzzing, drinking, laughing which isn’t always a bad thing. I think its great to hear people having a good time but if you’re an auditory person this may not be the place for you.
We had to ask for the bread spread thats supposed to greet you when you’re seated which was a bit of a gripe but I could tell they were slammed and the staff were in the weeds so it wasn’t a biggee.
Here’s the nitty gritty, wine selection was good with nice descriptions. The hubs ordered the pizza diavola which was nice and spicy and my wild boar bolognese pasta was really nice and the pasta was fresh and fluffy and delicious. What i thought was a bit odd is the lack of pasta bolognese, isn’t that a staple?
the antipasta selection of cold cuts and breads were filling and nice.
Over all, it was a good meal. Nothing too crazy but solid if you’re on your way out and don’t want to spend a fortune.

Headed to Buona Sera for lunch with friends. Having walked past many times I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the restaurant — it doesn’t look as big from the outside!
Lunch itself was pretty average. We each had starters which went over well enough. My caprese was largely lacking basil, but the mozzarella was quite nice. My friends both had the same main — a pasta with a tomato cream sauce (I forget the exact name) and one was fresh with lots of sauce and one came a bit later, a bit gloppier, and lacking much sauce. She was sad. I had the gnocchi, which was good although overcooked.
Fair enough lunch fare, but the service was very very very very slow (not bad, just dreadfully slow) and the drinks were miniscule in size. Not sure I’d give it another go.

What? People don’t like it here? What is going on in the world?
Let me begin by saying that I am not a huge fan of Italian food, but on occasion, I have been know to venture out of my comfort zone.
I have eaten at Buona Sera a handful of times, and each time I have eaten the same dish. Linguine allo scoglio aka a delicious seafood pasta, with a little chili running though it — a wonderful winter warmer. With this we opted to have the house white which I believe to be selected by the owner. That’s another thing I love about this restaurant, its family run so there is a relaxed, friendly, warm feeling. It’s almost like going to visit a friends for lunch.
The prices are reasonable and it’s a great place to take a family or a group. I think if I liked or at more Italian food I would probably go there more often, but as it stand I think my annual trip work just fine for me.

2 and a half stars. Buona Sera isn’t entirely worthy of 3 stars but just 2 would’ve been a bit harsh based on my own experience.
Buona Sera is quite pleasant, a nice place to sit and eat providing one is happy in a lively atmosphere as the evenings are busy and loud. Fine if one fancies some Italian food but not the best choice if one wants good Italian food. And therein lies the problem for this restaurant.
Although I liked the side salad (difficult to get wrong), the garlic bread and the cheesy/​vegetable starter thing (didn’t love them but they were nice) the main meal was quite a let down. Char-​grilled/​char-​burned Salmon on a bed of Rocket salad — a bunk-​bed I can only presume, there was loads of it! Not utterly dreadful but entirely unimaginative. I did hear similar rumblings from the group I was in (a large one) but also some praise. Not much but some. In a large group I appreciate that timings can be difficult but there was just a lack of creativity in the main meals.
The staff were great, very helpful and friendly but despite that I don’t think I’ll bother coming back should I be in the area again.
TTFN,
Ian

Great family-​run Italian restaurant on Northcote Road. Perfect for a budget/​average meal out with friends and family. The décor inside is a bit shabby though and the echoey and load nature of the place makes it unsuitable for romantic dinners, but for casual dining, its perfect.
The food was excellent. Gorgonzola and walnut homemade ravioli was delicious. The seafood stew with prawns, shellfish, and monkfish came in a huge portion, which was made even better by the cheaper price. The aubergine with mozzarella starter was good but a bit pricey at £7 for the three average-​sized pieces of aubergine that you get.
Overall, I’ll be going back again when I need something hearty, tasty, and decently priced.
The London Insider

I have been to Buona Sera twice now. Once for a birthday party a few years ago, and again recently for a girlie gathering.
The first impression was lasting and terrible. This was in the day prior to the smoking ban and I developed laryngitis due to having to shout across the music in a steamed up and smoked up environment.
The second was slightly better as we were seated in the less noisy conservatory area and smokers now congregate on the pavement outside. At least we could hear each other talk this time, but the food was rather underwhelming. I asked whether the wild mushrooms on the special pizza were fresh they very obviously were not.
We opted for the Montepulciano which tasted cheap and nasty.
I don’t understand how Buona Sera keeps attracting the crowds it does must be me

A good, honest, unpretentious neighbourhood Italian restaurant, with a menu that covers a span of real Italian cooking, covering a range of good antipasti (calamari and courgette highly recommended), pasta, pizza and meat or fish options. I enjoyed a grigliata di carne (sausage, lamb, and I forget what else, with a range of roasted vegetables), while my other half had a very good grilled salmon steak on rocket, with, I believe a balsamic glaze. Regrettably, the demands of the youngest member of the family kept us away from dessert, so I can offer no opinion. I’d put this in the same price bracket as the Carluccio chain, but, given the choice, I’d much rather eat here.
I would however add, en passant that I have seen more than one career celebrity foodie in here (none of whom I’ll name, suffice it to say one’s the Zippy to the Bungle fruiterer on Masterchef), which may pass for an additional recommendation. Apologies to readers who don’t get the Rainbow reference.

Como se diche «shitty» en Italiano? This place gets 1 star for having an Italian-​only speaking bartender to amp up the authencity of the place, and a server who was rather good at her job. Beyond that, a prepared margarita pizza from Sainsbury’s would surpass the shlock that was served up as Italian fare. Fried calamri and zucchini sticks were dry and served w/​o sauce, the recommended pizza was decent, but of supermarket quality, and the piece de resistance came in the form of the night’s special: proscuitto-​wrapped veal escallope with sauteed garlic spinach, that came in the form of two dry protein slabs ressembling bra inserts, with the consistecy of shoe leather, and a side of frozen spinach mush. The looping 80s soundtrack blasting in the background added no flavor to this flavorless evening. But, if you like some Belinda Carlyle with your crappy cannollini, this is the osteria for you.

Best unpretentious Italian for miles around!

Tasty, fast Italian. It’s a bit loud and crowded (this seems to be a trend in Clapham), but certainly not to the point that I couldn’t handle it. We had a delicious gnocchi and a pasta dish with Gorgonzola and mushrooms which was FAB. They also have a nice wine list and some good Italian beers to choose from.
I’d recommend Buona Sera, but not for a quiet, romantic meal out. It’s definitely more for a chatty fun meal with friends and family. I was there for lunch, but I’d say the dinner crowd is probably a bit more low-​key.
To be honest, if I had the option to do half-​stars I’d probably give Buona Sera a 3 ½ because they don’t quite deserve a fourth star, yet they’re better than three…

I came here fro a nice dinner, good conversation and a relaxing evening. Unfortunately I got only one of the three.
The menu is very Italian and very good serving pizza, pasta and seafood. The food we ordered was delicious with plenty of it.
Not quite so pleasing was the restaurant itself. It looked attractive enough but despite being a fair size, was very busy and cramped.
Worst of all was the level of noise. I cannot help but feel old before my time commenting on this but even I found it impossible to keep a conversation up.
This little factor was enough to put me off, but why it is so noisy I do not know.
If you find white noise relaxing this may be your place, if not bring ear plugs and stick to passing notes across the table while enjoying your food.

I went here on a Friday night with my wife. having walked past it a number of times we thought we would try it before going out for a few drinks. It was early on a Friday night and there were a few tables full, but within the hour there was not a spare table and two couples waiting. So much for a credit crunch.
The menu was very Italian as was the wine list. The white wine we ordered was excellent and I wish I had written down the name of it. We both orderd pizza’s and a side salad. The pizza’s were very basic with quality of toppings as popposed to quantity. My wife’s was a little soggy as there was too much pizzas sauce on it. Mine was very tasty but I have had better pizza’s elsewhere. The salad was very fresh.
Our bill came and the owner came to take payment. he was very Italian and friendly, offering us a drink on the house at the bar if we liked.
I would go back and have pasta or a meat dish. The starters that went back looked very tasty. It is fairly good value for money, and the fact it was heaving with what looked like regular customers is a good sign.