Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

Next time, I will listen to our food server. She warned us that the Marsala sauce was too sweet for many guests… an understatement! More like a thick teriyaki sauce. My bad. What she didn’t warn us about was that the chicken breast was drier and tougher than what I would imagine a roof shingle’s constancy to be.
In fairness to the restaurant both the waitress and management offered to remove the item from our check. I declined. I just wanted to get out of there.
On a previous visit there, the mussels were great. I will give it another try, someday.

Omg. Unilocal removed my review to bucca di beppo.
I didnt receive anything from bucca Unilocal!
I bought 2-​$ 50 gift cards from Costco to celebrate MY birthday. Gift cards were a $ 30 savings.
Anyways, I ordered my birthday dinner on the way over to Bucca di beppo thinking that the service was going to take forever, but they were pretty fast. By the time I arrived, the wait was just for maybe 10 minutes or less.
Service with the host was fast and friendly. The only thing is I think I went over board ordering for just 2 people since Im the only one who usually takes left overs to work.
The order consist of: small chicken alfredo, side of meat balls, some other pasta (forgot the name), calamari, and the bomb Tiramisu.
Love the food, but next time I will not go overboard. Just that I haven’t been there in years.
I would go back… the service was like I said, friendly and fast.

A friend and I decided to come here and try dinner one Friday night and the server was terrible. The food was meh. Would never come back.
We ordered and waited patiently for bread as all the other tables received it. Then, we got bread but no plates. The only reason we decided to come was because we had a coupon for $ 10 off $ 30. One small pasta was a little over 20, so we ordered a garlic bread side and that was alright. When we get the pasta, they still did not give us plates. Our server gave us a plethora of excuses that we didn’t have plates and ultimately have us large pizza plates to eat our pasta in.
To say the service was terrible is an understatement. You have to have an abundance of patience and time to deal with the server (s). When we had asked for the check, they took at least 15 minutes to bring it over and they didn’t even comply with our to-​go box request! Then, they didn’t apply the coupon and by that point we were so fed up we let them have our extra $ 10.

What else can be said about this place but authenticity at its best. I ordered the Alfredo Supremo which contained chicken breast, red peppers and broccoli in a creamy Alfredo sauce paired with pasta and let’s just say that it was INCREDIBLE!!! The wait time however, was a bit long. We ordered our food and waited for 30 minutes to receive it, but, we all looked pass the wait time once we sunk our teeth into their incredible family portions and flavorful food. I would say that they should offer bread to customers that is both fresh and warm as that is something I look forward to when visiting most authentic Italian restaurants. The bread we received was cold and not fresh but hey, I guess once again, the main course made up for that

This location was amazing!!! I ran into a minor issue making reservations on Mother’s Day and Ben the GM took care of everything! He really helped make our engagement celebration absolutely phenomenal! The food was amazing and the service was great too! Highly recommend coming here!

I don’t understand all the bad reviews. We went early at 11:15 on Mothers Day. Food was delicious and hot. Service was fast. Server was polite, helpful and cheerful. The woman at the from reservation desk was friendly. We’ll definitely be back. The small sizes of everything will really serve 2 to 3 people.

Food is excellent! Big plates (with only one small pasta eat 3ppl) We ordered a lot of food. Although we were warned by our very nice server.
All the plates arrived on time and the decoration of the place is splendid! It really takes you on a journey through the old Italy during the 40’s. Definitely coming back!
Special recommendations: Baked Chicken Cannellonis and fried calamari
The free wifi was not working, but at the end of the day, you go to a restaurant not to be plugged to social media, but to share with your loved ones ;)

Just had a surprise birthday party there for 46 people for my husband. I can’t thank the staff enough for all their help in getting this together. They did everything and more to make the table seating work for our large group. The food was great, the service splendid. I can’t thank Bucca di Beppo enough for accommodating our large party. Certainly would highly recommend anybody having a party here. Thanks again.

As first timers we did not realize that these dishes are really meant to be shared. Most of us have good appetite but we had take half of our food away. The staff is superpolite and creative, but for the large dishes this place needs bigger tables and spaces.

Of course the food is in Large portions. The food was awsome but the waiter was overwhelmed. At times forgot about us. Raspberry Ice Tea has no flavor. I enjoyed that they took a picture of us as a group.
Salud. #SupportTheTroops

The best thing that there, is the staff!
So friendly waiters & waitresses & Bartenders!
Food is Italian style with portions that are 3 days — food supply!!!
Prices are reasonable.

UPDATE: the regional manager did contact me, and apologized numerous times regarding the lack of service. I do appreciate that a lot and hope that this issues here will get solved. Sven, the regional manager was great, friendly, and made sure my voice was heard and that he will deal with the issues here. Thank you Sven for reaching out to me and making sure I was happy.
Wow what a mistake returning to this location. We were seated and waited more then 10 minutes for the server to come and ask what we want for drinks. Since we had 10 minutes we also ordered our food.
Our drinks came 5 minutes later after ordering and they were half empty. Our waitress was Sarah, by the way. Things went down hill from there. We came here to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday and we let her know, and she did not have anyone come and sing.
Then, she never came back, someone else served our food. Our drinks were left empty for more then 20 minutes. We were sitting around and waiting. We waited and waited. Then saw an employee and asked to speak to the manager.
The manager, Patty, was not helpful, was pretty rude and gave me her card to email her to help resolve this. Now it has been days and no email back. So I have escalated this and took it far as corporate and I really didn’t want to, but since they have a terrible manager, it had to be done.
Long story short, I will never return to this location and will make sure my voice gets heard regarding this location. Do not go here my fellow Unilocalers

I’ve always known Buca Di Beppo for their huge family-​style portions. This is good place for family dinner, big groups, and parties. Their dinning area is also unique because each section has different theme’s of famous people. Their menu consist of sandwiches, pasta, pizza, and salad, etc; they also have a gluten free menu.
:Food:
For appetizers we got the Fried Calamari with marinara sauce which I liked. We got the Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken. It was stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella. The sauces that it came with was marinara and pesto cream. I was disappointed with this dish because the chicken was dry and the crust was hard. My friends like vegetables so got the a side of Green Beans which was good. it was buttery with a lemon flavor. My daughter got the Spaghetti and Meatballs from the Kids Menu; it includes a drink. I didn’t get to taste the Spaghetti but she seemed to like it.
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:Dessert:
We ordered the Colossal Brownie Sundae but it took so long to come that we had to cancel it.
:Customer Service:
~Not friendly, our food took a while especially the dessert. We were looking forward to the Colossal Brownie Sundae but we didn’t get to taste it because it took a long time to come so we ended up cancel it.
~We spoke to Benny and Kelly regarding the customer service. They apologized and gave us a free dessert.
:Tips:
~Make reservations (available online)
~You can order online
:M’s Notes:
~Parking: Street, Lot, and Garage

Went in on a Sunday for a late lunch. The restaurant was not crowded, maybe 3 – 5 tables were occupied. We were sited right away, after a quick tour of the place. Food was delicious, but there were dew setbacks. Pizza was cold, we had to ask to get a new one preferably a hot one where the cheese was melted. The place was dark, and three of us walked out with stains on the back of our pants; Chairs were not clean (next time I will wipe my seat before sitting).
Service was good, our waitress was nice and
manager was accommodating.

The food is good, but the service was so slow.
It took us over an hour to get seated, granted we had a bigger party (but we had a reservation), but it still took us too long.
Once we were seated, we ordered right away, but the appetizers came a half hour later, and then after that, the main courses took another 45 minutes.
Its a nice place to go as a family, (if you’re willing to wait) but not for parties.

A place to come for families, parties with kids, or if you’ve been given a gift card — like me! It might even be a place for a teenage date. It’s decorated to the max with Italian photos, posters, the Vatican room, and even a table or two in the kitchen for a unique experience. It can be quite fun and lively. Otherwise, the dining areas are broken into smaller rooms, creating a more intimate experience.
In the vein of chain Italian eateries, this is by far has the best food among the Olive Garden’s, Macaroni Grills’, Carino’s, Maggiano’s, Carrabba’s, and the like. The food is great, but l don’t come here often because of the overrun of kids and it’s very touristic. Really, if it’s wasn’t for the family type atmosphere (not that there’s anything wrong with that), this elitefoodie would be coming here much more often.
These could not be any better:
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1. Shells & meat sauce ($ 18.99); it’s good for 4 – 6 meals, and I really like it. You can order online easily.
2/​¾. Chicken Saltimbocca ($ 23.99, 3 breasts), side of Fettuccine ($ 8.99), and a side of Broccoli ($ 9.99).
5. Eggplant Parm: Super crisp, with a super fresh marinara and mozzarella atop. It’s crisp because they don’t make it as a baked casserole, instead, they fry up the individual pieces, then stack it on a plate to order, with sauce in-​between. Loved.
6. Penne Cardinale (sliced chicken breast, artichoke hearts, and green onions in a white wine cream sauce).
Conclusion
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Buca di Beppo definitely has it’s place in this big, big world. With a lively and fun environment, the service is terrific, the menu has something for everyone, and well-​priced — making it great for family celebrations, young and old alike. In addition, if you love leftovers, this place is king. HUGE portions, made really to share 2 – 4 people per entrée. The service was nothing short of spectacular: fun waiter, knowledgeable, responsive, efficient.
PS. Leftovers! Score!
Location Specific — Santa Monica
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Parking is not good. 2^nd Street. If during the day, you can park in the structure and walk. At night, for a party or what not, really? You’ll be lucky to snag a parking spot on the street outside. Almost brought this location down to a 3.0 star review.

Not a great experience. Food was okay. It’s a chain, so I got what I expected. Salad was too heavily dressed. The saltimbocca was too salty. But I like their eggplant pizza.
But we were seated in the back of the restaurant near the restrooms. The whole section smelled like raw sewage. It was awful!
Had to valet park, which I hate.

3.5 stars.
While I’ve lost my taste for Buca di Beppo over the years, it’s still a decent spot for big parties, especially when kids are part of the festivities. Order the family-​sized portions and there’s usually something for everybody.
On my most recent visit, a group of us were celebrating my niece’s and nephew’s birthdays and we were fortunate to be placed in the Pope Room. It’s a fun, kitschy environment with lots of Pope-​related knickknacks adorning the room and a Pope bust in the middle of the table’s Lazy Susan. It’s hilarious and definitely photo-​worthy.
During my last trip to Buca di Beppo (in Anaheim), I wasn’t pleased with the food and I expected the same «meh» tastes here. Surprisingly, I found myself taking second servings of the baked ziti and chicken parmigiana and I thought the chicken saltimbocca was delicious. While the pizzas and the spaghetti and meatballs were nothing to write home about, overall it was much better than my last Buca experience. Best of all, the service was outstanding; our server Eric (I think) did a magnificent job with the adults and children alike. His attentiveness and professionalism were five stars and I’d definitely come back here for another family celebration.

I’m a big sucker for family style Italian places, so you can take my 5 stars with a grain of salt if you’d like. But I think the restaurant interior was cute (definitely a lot to look at) and the food was delicious. Our server was extremely attentive and friendly. We got the spicy chicken pasta, a yummy pizza, and the gnocchi was my favorite! I’m failing to remember all of the exact names of our dishes, but the sampling we chose worked well for us!

I came to meet a close friend for lunch. It was my first experience at a «Buca» and I have to admit I rather enjoyed it. Apparently not all locations serve lunch but they do here in Santa Monica. We had great service the entire meal from a very personable and attentive waitress.
First came the bread basket: wonderfully soft slices of warm bread which we dipped in oil & vinegar.
I ordered the chicken parmigiana with a side of spaghetti marinara and a mixed green salad. The chicken was great — moist, tender and flavorful. I’ve had better at small mom & pop Italian joints but was surprised at how well a chain restaurant prepared this — quite delicious. The salad and spaghetti were both good but nothing special.
Dessert time meant I got to indulge in some tiramisu. We decided to share and thought the lunch portion might be too small so ordered the dinner portion. It was served in a gigantic bowl the size of my head. We ate ²⁄₃ of it and had to box the rest (surveillance video seems to prove that it was ME who ate ²⁄₃ of it and my friend had one small spoonful… but don’t judge me). It was really good; maybe not the very best I’ve ever had but I had no complaints. I definitely recommend the tiramisu if you left room for dessert.
An overall good experience: 3.5 stars