Get cozy with friends and family and enjoy an Italian feast at this loved-by-locals restaurant.

by Contributor

In Short
Homesick for your mother's Italian cooking? Grab your appetite and head to this restaurant, where the friendly wait staff will serve up portions of Colosseum-esque proportions, like spaghetti and meatballs loaded with savory tomato sauce and lots of pungent garlic. Dishes center on Southern Italian immigrant fare, and are meant to be shared family-style with a large goblet of wine-to enhance the taste, of course. The ornate décor with walls covered in vintage photos evokes a warm homey feel that welcomes customers to dine among the other families and loyal customers. Buon Appetito!

08/24/07

AVOID ENTIRELY

by johnthebabtist

Don't support this nasty corporate chain. the greed is as thick as the smell of expired ingredients.. the food at this place is terrible, a horrible odor is constant - it's a loud slopfest.

• Pros: it's in a great location
• Cons: the food, the service, the atmosphere, the corporation's attitude towards the working class

07/28/07

Authentic as it is... Italian food.

by linko4

I love their food because their plates are huge and it's filling. I have my twenty third birthday here and my family, and friends like the place. The food are very tasty, flavorful, and of course filling. It is a great place to eat with friends and family, can even throw a birthday party there; that's what I did.The staff member are friendly, but the services are quite slow. It's worth waiting for the food, even when it's a little slow.

• Pros: Great tast food, and friendly staff.
• Cons: Hard to find parking, and a little slow on the service.

11/21/06

It's Loud in there, but dependable

by newguysfo

We've been here several times both for family dining and for big office parties and birthdays etc. It does get pretty loud in the rooms. I'm not sure if it's the staff yelling or the guests or just the acoustics causing multiple echos off the walls, but whatever, it is part of the culture of Buca di Beppo.

Go with a large group and share, that's the best way. My favorite is the 5 cheese pizza with the caramelized onions. They took it off the menu last year but the secret is that they will still make it for you.

Also like the chicken breasts, the large salads and the lasagna.

Lemonade is pretty good and comes with refills

• Pros: lots of fun, tongue in chique decor, big portions
• Cons: parking, waiting on line, loud, sometimes too salty

06/08/06

Wondeful staff, Delicious food

by jonahsmomma

We had a Birthday Party June 3rd, 2006 also the night the Bay Bridge decided to close down the bottom protion!!! It caused many guests to flake out...But the wonderful staff accommodated us quickly and gracefully as the head count kept changing. They were so sweet and efficient. We ordered the salad, calamari appetizer, fettucini alfredo, a pizza and ravioli for 10 people. We were in heaven! Everything was good. Very impressed. We still had food left over too. FUN!

11/07/05

A little overrated

by jbo0gie

reading the reviews saying how this place is always crowded, I made reservations online a few days prior and so we were seated promply when we got there. the place has a nice homey feel to it, but people talk really loud. we had a small quatro al forno, side fettucine alfredo, and mozzarella garlic bread, the bill came to about 30$, no other drinks. the service was not the best, we had to ask for more water and the waiter did not come to check up on us a lot. worst of all, our garlic bread came AFTER our entrees came. and they did not even bring us the regular bread while we waited for our food (about half an hour)! and dont get the garlic bread unless you like huge pieces of raw garlic over the bread.

• Pros: good food
• Cons: loud, crowded

10/22/05

Order the SPICY ARRABBIATA PIZZA

by cindypotter

I haven't dined in the Buca restaurant in a few years, but recently ordered the Spicy Arrabbiata Pizza to go. It is HUGE first of all - but also really really good. So much better than I thought. Huge chunks of spicy sausage, nice crisp strips of pepperoni - light and crispy crust.... EXCELLENT for the price.

08/12/05

Good for friends or families gathering

by sallyvjj

It's a fun place for big group of people to shout and laugh loud in. The plate is huge and you can all share within the group. The bartender is funny and he told jokes while I was waiting, that's somthing different. If you plan to have birthday party here, the staff will sing the song for you, too!

• Pros: Inexpensive, Good for Big Group, Great Pizza
• Cons: Parking

06/02/05

My Buca experience

by mikeylikey

This place is like chucky cheese for adults. We had a bachelor party there and our waitress, ended up sitting on my boy's lap and feeding him tiramisu while the rest of the flamboyant staff circled us- blowing bubbles and yelling comments of questionable nature. We then ended up standing on the table to cheers the whole room. If you want a nice quiet dinner and dull servers beholden to your needs, stay away. If you want to be as loud and drunk as you like and aren't easily offended then this is a good place. Peace.

03/16/05

Good festive Italian

by cl_foodie

Go to this place for a fun relaxed atmosphere and huge dishes. The food isn't outstanding, but it is plentiful. Thin crust pizzas, huge plates of pasta. You can't go wrong with the huge desserts as well - tiramisu was pretty good.