Were it not Vicky's birthday, we would not have braved the blustery snowy evening to enjoy dinner out. Staying home would have been the better option, by far.
Instead, we combated the elements for comfort food at Buca di Beppo's Castleton location in Indy. Having our pick of spots in the vacant lot, we parked as close to the entrance as possible and waited more than a minute before being greeted by a hostess/manager.
Apologizing for keeping us waiting she proceeded to give us a tour of the restaurant where nary a patron could be seen nor heard. We had our pick of tables, rooms, and even the kitchen - equipped to seat a couple of diners.
Having perused the menu on-line I knew which appetizer we both wanted and placed an order for the fried calamari. In asking about a sauce other than the traditional marinara we were told that was the only option, but when we asked about a garlic-butter sauce we were told they would make some for us. Bonus point for the server, who was pleasant and helpful - not to mention we were the only patrons, so it cost them nothing to satisfy a small request.
Because Buca is a family-style restaurant, the portions are planned as either for two or four people. We were told the two-person portions were generous enough to easily serve three people. Three midgets on diets perhaps, but not three people with dinner appetites.
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar poured somewhat sloppily onto a plate, but bread, a distant future supply which finally arrived with the calamari. While the calamari was good, not too chewy, not over fried, it was a little heavy on the spices and featured an abundance of tentacles by ratio to the rings.
Adding to the unevenness of the kitchen work, the entrée of veal Marsala came out before we were halfway finished with the appetizer. When given the choice of taking the entrée or having it sit under a heat lamp to dry out in the kitchen, opt for the former.
Three veal medallions each roughly the size of two silver dollars sat upon a plate with sliced canned mushrooms and a thin, but tasty, Marsala sauce. This plate should have been service for one, not two to three as advertised.
I was but one bite into my piece of veal when Vicky emitted a gasp. A hair was embedded in her piece of veal. And by embedded, it was not simply atop the food, but positioned in such a manner that it could only have been cooked into the veal when the medallions were being fried. Beyond gross. We've patronized enough restaurants - good, bad, and ugly to know nobody's perfect, but, eww, hair?
As our server was nowhere to be found for more than several minutes, I wandered into the kitchen to track her down. Returning to the table with me she was extremely apologetic and immediately left to find the manager, who was not nearly as remorseful.
Adding insult to injury, the manager - the same woman who gave us the tour and seated us - instantly took to the defensive, gave Vicky a visual once over then said that no one in her kitchen has long hair. Only then did she manage an apology.
We ordered a chicken dish and our server assured us our meal would be "taken care of." The chicken dish proved to be barely larger than its predecessor which included artichokes and capers - both favorites of ours. However, the artichoke pieces had a tough exterior indicating that one additional layer should have been removed. The artichokes, like the mushrooms, were canned.
While eating the chicken, the manager returned, at which point I politely informed her that she had insulted Vicky with the insinuation that because no one in the kitchen had long hair, Vicky must have been at fault. The manager attempted to mollify Vicky by assuring her she meant no disrespect. Yet, all she did was make Vicky more upset. The manager imposed herself upon our dinner by sitting on Vicky's coat, scarf, and phone.
Note to restaurant staff and even owners: unless invited, do not be so familiar as to join us at our table. We are neither pretentious nor snobs, but we prefer to have a two-way conversation after a long day instead of a three-way conversation. We spent more time talking to restaurant staff than to each other which also detracted from the now less than celebratory mood of the evening.
Exit manager; reenter server, who asked if we were having dessert. Normally the answer would be no, but as this was Vicky's birthday, we opted for the bragged-about tiramisu. Eh, not so much about which to brag - cold, stiff, and sticking to the bottom of the dish.
The coup de grace came minutes later when the check came and the server apologized before even presenting it to me as she informed us the manager was charging us for the dessert. This after we were told by the server the meal would be "taken care of."
A fine time was not had by all, or even by any.
This should serve as a warning to diners who care about how they spend their hard-earned dollars. Buca di Beppo should be ristorante non-grata. And a happy birthday to Vicky.
Update: After posting my original review, Buca's corporate office, in Florida, contacted me directly to learn more about my issues. Â The VP is spoke with was very pleasant and did not offer any excuses. Â They simply wanted to apologize and learn more about what happened, so it could be addressed with the manager of the restaurant. Â They also offered me the opportunity to try their downtown Indianapolis location, on their dime. Â This is the first business to bother following up with me, so at least they are trying to make things better.
Review Source:My family threw a great Birthday party for me. Â It was great to have a private room and gather all around a big table! Â This wasn't my most recent Birthday but I don't think it has changed much. Â All the food was very good but nothing was extremely outstanding. Â The ambience made up for it! Â Should be 3.5. Â The next one was at Maggianos--Buca was much better!
Review Source:...this place is a disaster. took forever for me to get my meal, refill on drinks and the food was cold when it arrived. Now, I don't know about you but this place is lined up on the weekends, and the food wasn't that great. I have been twice, once I said out of sheer "maybe it was just a bad night..bad high-school waiter, not the best dish etc." No, this place flat out sucks.
Review Source:The food was excellent but very expensive for two people. Our order was about $60 for two people. Yes, I understand, family style, but if you want two different things, you better bring your money for it. Also, for what we paid, it would have been nice to have more rooms. Most people are terrified of their decor, I like it, but the tables are so small. We had 7 people and my friend on the end kept getting smacked everytime someone walked by. My other friend almost ended up with the waiters pencil in his eye. What irritated me more is that we were crammed into a tiny table and had a reservation while they kept seating 2 people at the giant boths across from us. If you are going to do a reservation family style, then you should have bigger tables for all that food. Sangria was just ok. Garlic cheese bread could have been better. Overall, downtown seems to have a better location. We also had reservations but still had to wait 15 minutes. Definitly not my favorite place. If you want the best italian in town, go across the street to Bravo.
Review Source:Ate here on Christmas night. Well I think the best way I can describe my dining experience was that it was unsurprising Italian food. It was wasn't terrible but cannot really be categorized as great either. I had never eaten at a Buca di Beppo and didn't know what to expect. We ordered the Caesar Salad, Stuffed Shells, Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken, Cheesy Bread Florentine, and Linguine Frutti Di Mare. My favorite was the Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken. The other items were decent to good. Only item I didn't care for was the Caesar Salad. The quality of the lettuce wasn't that great. The portion sizes for the 5 dishes we ordered were quite large as I expected. The only leftover we had was the Cheesy Bread. Service we experienced was somewhat slow but wasn't bad. It was Christmas and we were thankful that they were open. Side note: in Indiana on Christmas day it is illegal to sale or serve alcohol. Keep this in mind for future restaurant visits on Christmas day. We didn't hold it against the staff. It isn't their fault. I blame the ignorant Indiana state legislature. We did see an upset customer leave when they weren't able to be served any alcohol which I thought was so stupid considering the restaurant was just following the law. Anyway, I would recommend this chain restaurant to check out at least once. The food quality is about what you would expect from a chain restaurant and the atmosphere was engaging. Enjoy!
Review Source:I sometimes go here for team dinners. Nice, but decidedly Buca di Beppo, atmosphere. The food (family style) is consistently good. Salads are good as is the service.
Now, imagine the next two sentences are in italics: As an aside, I think its funny when people eat at places like Buca and then complain that its not "authentic Italian." Whether it is or not...if you want that, get on a plane, go to Italy, stop complaining and get a life...
Where was I?.. Oh yeah...What I like the most about Buca are the pictures - 100's of them - all over the walls. Old black and whites of mostly Italy everyday life. Completely eclectic - lots of interesting things on every flat surface. Imagine my delight when I walked into the men's room and the walls were filled with old pictures of guys standing at urinals. Classic.
Never change Buca.
Went in for lunch. Service was OK, but food (lasagna) was cold when it arrived  Wife's salad (chopped antipasto) was very good. Cherry on top of overall experience was even after the $10 off coupon the meal was $30 for 1 dinner sized piece of lasagna, 1salad and 1 kids plate of fettuccine (we didn't have drinks, we drank water). I've been to better Bucas before, this one was disappointing, especially for the price.
Review Source:I have not always been a fan of this restaurant, but when it came time to plan my daughter's 14th birthday party with 12 friends, Buca seemed like a good choice.  I was pleased with every aspect of the experience. We were worried they would not seat the entire party because two guests were late and this was not a problem.  The staff was great about letting me stow balloons and flowers at the hostess station  when I arrived. The server, Brittney(sp?) was amazing. She was patient and helpful every step of the way with this boisterous bunch. My husband and I ate dinner in the bar and Brittney kept visiting our table to keep us posted on how the dinner was going.  She followed my instructions with taking orders to help control the cost, which was very sweet. All of the staff were friendly, even the person who asked the table to lower their volume. As for my dinner, I enjoyed the green beans and would have liked another vegan option.
Review Source:If you think of Olive Garden as good Italian food, you will like this place too. It doesn't get much less authentic than this, but people in the mid-west don't seem to know the difference between good food and total crap. To top it all off, the service is bad and the decor is just plain frightening!
P.S. Do not try the Sangria! It's awful!
I know people go off on Bucca, it's large greasy so called Italian dishes, Snooky on a plate, crusted with cheap flower and double triple fried.
But you know what, there's a time and a place. I bucca hits that spot once in a while. It's thick spaghetti in really meaty sauce and that wonderful taste of canned tomatoes. It's self destructive food, chipped plates and god awful chianti. Screams sub-standard service.
I don't have too much to defend this place against reason and taste, but hey it's bucca. It's comfortable. Italian in the mid-west.
We have been going here so many times in the last 4 years, probably 4-6 times a year. The food is generally good, definitely much better than the food at The Olive Garden. Our favorite is calamari with spicy marinara sauce  and mixed green salad with gorgonzola and prosciutto. The best time to come here is when you have a big group of adults that you can share variety of dishes. If you go there with only 2 adults - you definitely have to figure out which dish you are going to share, otherwise you will come home with too much food, enough for the next 2 days worth of lunch.
My cons:
1. VERY Poor service - We had an OK service and often unpleasant service here. Our last experience was totally bad. Our waiter did not care about serving our table, and my husband had to yell at him to get his attention. He literally ran away as soon as he put the food on our table without saying anything. He never asked if we needed anything while dining (napkins, silverware, etc). We had to ask him to give us their free dinner bread (also some extra bread), and we had to pour the olive oil and vinegar for dipping sauce by ourself.
2. High noise level - very loud, too hard to make conversation.
3. Food portion - too big. A waste of food and money.
4. Overpriced
5. Kids meal - poorly prepared. It's better to order from the regular menu and share the food with the kids. Spaghetti and Pizza from the regular menu taste much better than the kids' version.
Despite all of the cons, I gave this place 2 stars because I may return someday when I need to dine with my relatives or big group, so I do not have to worry about cooking or cleaning the dishes at my own house. :-)
My recommendation: come here only with big group (at least 4 adults to share), or go somewhere else that will give you decent size of food and good service. Also, if you have $10 coupon from somewhere, don't forget to use it - it can buy a big dessert like tiramisu or creme brulee. Yum.
You can always count on good food at Buca, and generally crappy service. The two basically even each other out. It's too bad everything is overpriced, otherwise the food might win out!
I would agree there is no spice to anything I've had there, except maybe the Italian sausage. But overall, anything with meat is recommended.
My last visit was with a large group. The food took forever - I suppose they may not have been ready on a Sunday afternoon. There were massive waits between visits from the waitress, though, and there was chocolate cake still mashed between our stack of plates. Blech.
If you're in Indy I'd recommend the downtown location instead. From my experience the service there is at least marginally improved.
I am completely unimpressed with this place, especially after hearing locals rave about it for years. I finally made it over to Buca, and let's just say the best thing about my meal was the Italian soda. The sauces are bland, and I'm pretty sure the only thing they use to flavor their food is garlic. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE garlic. However, it should be paired properly with OTHER flavors and spices so it doesn't become overkill.
Also, this place is dirty, which is a huge turn off.
I do like that everything is served "family style" (i.e. don't even think about ordering individual meals), but it's not enough to bring me back again.
Went out with friends for a big dinner to kick off our gen con. Â I got the Gnocci and the Hubby got the apple gorgonzola salad. Â We all shared with everyone at the table and walked off stuffed. Â Not a good place to go if you are diabetic like one of my peeps. Â Though he did say the meatballs were fantastic. Â I feel like the menu is pretty vegetarian friendly but will not work if you are vegan. Â It's on the pricey side but delicious none the less.
Review Source:Best Pizza Chain Ever! It was kinda deserted when I visited here but it was early morning. They gave me a walk through and you can see the kitchen, which to me that is a plus. (nothing like making sure where you food is isn't skanky.)
Pizza Angelo: AMAZING!!!!!!
Tender chicken breast, mozzarella, roasted corn, fresh mushrooms, fresh thyme and Alfredo sauce topped with Parmesan potato chips.
If you think a meat ball should be the size of a small child's head then this is a great place. Me I would like to know that the food has so love in it, Italian food is all about love. The love of making it, the love of having other people enjoying it, and the love of know it came from your heart! When chain rest. understand that then a meat ball will no longer be the size of a small child's head by one that come from the love of the food!
Remember to eat well and live well and please no chains!
Among the best American Italian restaurants I've been to. We had bruschetta, chopped salad, and spaghetti with meatballs. Huge portions and we (=2) Â almost finished it all, even though we were full after two-thirds. We'll be back!
Indeed, we were back, and went for the same (minus bruschetta) with the same result: though this time I took one third of the pasta home for dinner two days later. :-)
Bucca's downtown Indy is definitely one of my faves for group reservations and an affordable meal. Â Because it's family style, I would say the average price per person with the house wine (which is wonderful!) is under $20, which is great for a night out downtown.
I love the salad with feta instead of blue cheese, spinach leaves, onions, vinaigrette and roasted walnuts. It is fantastically sweet and sour at the same time with a perfect balance and a great starter.
I also love the fried mozzarella with marinara and the chicken fettuccine with broccoli. Â Their portions for family-style are insane, so if there are four or less, definitely get the small...four or more, just get two entrees for more variety. Â The cheese bread is also amazing and check out the brushetta too!!
I also love the lemon cello (which you are supposed to sip but I also SHOOT) for an after dinner drink. Â They are one of the only places in town that offers it and it is GREAT! Â
Great for group birthday dinners, families and rehearsal dinners. Â Not great for one on one (in my opinion) or for quiet first dates. Â It is really loud in the restaurant and even divided up into smaller rooms can be very hard to hear your dining mates. Â
The downtown location is also a great place to start before heading out to the bars, as it is close to the circle and has garage parking attached, which is always nice and convenient.
Raspberry lemon drop ... as Joey would say, WOH. Â Fettuccine Alfredo ... richness of creamy love. Â Tony (our server) was THE BOMB! Â We also had PENNE ARRABBIATA with spicy fennel sausage and crushed red pepper in a zesty marinara. Â Started off with calamari with a kick-in-your-pants marinara sauce. Â It was just the two of us and we took more then 1/2 of our food home.
Review Source:
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