Buca di Beppo

04/28/2008 Posted by aj226

We dined at this location with a group of 20 for a university student group function on April 26th. The food was wonderful, service excellent…up until it came time to pay. I had been informed several times, while making reservations in advance, that the restaurant accepted university purchase orders. The hostess even put me on hold to double-check this information. I was instructed to let the server know about the P.O. prior to the meal, which I did. When the bill came, the server accepted the purchase order, only to return a few minutes later to ask if it was a form of payment. He then mentioned that they only accepted them for University functions, to which we explained that it indeed was. We then had the manager come to the table to tell us that they do not accept purchase orders at all. After discussing options, we returned to the manager and explained that we had been told several times that purchase orders were accepted, otherwise we never would have taken that route. He proceeded to give several visibly insincere apologies and mentioned that in his five years with the company they had never accepted them. He further made it clear that there was nothing he would do and we were left to foot the $160 bill. No efforts were made on his part to accommodate our group in any way. The wait staff, however, did attempt to work something out, which was obviously prevented by said manager. The treatment that we received from this manager was far from acceptable in the realm of customer service. His behavior reflected very poorly on the restaurant in my eyes and as a result I would advise people, especially those with large groups, to avoid this location.

04/08/2008 Posted by autahteddybear

Nice atmosphere but the food was not good the sauce tastes like they only opened a can of tomato paste to make the food. Try the burger place accross the street

Pros: nice atmosphere

Cons: I think bucca means hole (what does that tell you)?

02/11/2008 Posted by sarcasmanaut

It was pretty busy, the service wasn't very good, which, is understandable on a busy night.The staff was quite friendly, but it took nearly twenty minutes for a refill and the food was almost an hour wait. It is not nearly good enough to charge $30 a plate. For that kind of food, I don't think I would spend more than five. If your seeking good Italian, try elsewhere.

Pros: staff was friendly and the stuff on the walls is sort of entertaining

Cons: bad service, no good parking, very expensive, bad quality

02/05/2008 Posted by BeeniechiK

Food tasted like cheap frozen food reheated. The only thing that was good was the eggplant parmesean but it wasn't that good. I came with a large party so I sampled quite a few things on the menu. Fun idea to have group dining, but this place was no bueno. Food was very mediocre.

Pros: None

Cons: A lot

11/24/2007 Posted by fantasticfive

We wanted to go somewhere new, with family from out-of-town. We had wanted to try this restaurant, but that is good as it got - a new place. We beat the evening rush, but our food was served cold. We admit we were new and did not know what to expect, and we had a large group of 12, but the attention from our less than helpful waitress was pathetic. The lasagna was served burnt and cold, another dish was poorly spiced, and then the waitress disappeared. When she finally brought our check to us, she was gone again for a good 15 minutes, so we took our check to the front and asked them to run the bill. She looked and acted supprised when she saw us on our way our down the stairs. Never to return. 11/24 If this is authentic Italian food, we just might fast when we are in Italy.

11/21/2007 Posted by conniecorleone

Most of the stuff at Buca's is average but their manicotti and lemon chicken are both to die for. Foccaccia isn't bad either but don't waste your time with the mixed pasta dishes or rum-SOAKED tiramisu.

Pros: They definitely make their own sauces and meatballs--a plus

Cons: Restaurant is so spread out, servers have a hard time getting to many of the tables. Parking

10/02/2007 Posted by weeblerobnox

Its a great atmosphere and lots of authentic things on the wall. The wife and I are transported back to Italy when we used to live there. The food, amazingly enough, is great. We were surprised when we tried the green beans in oil and vinegar, just the way they make it back in her moms house. Rest of the food was great. Only problem we had was someone broke a glass in the ice machine so our ice had glass shards in which my mom swallowed one. The restaurant paid for medical and we were reimbursed (later after the manager regained himself from being flustered).

Pros: Good food, fairly authentic

Cons: Hapless workers

09/24/2007 Posted by leadfoot97

I've eaten Buca's food twice. Once for take out and once in the restaurant. Save yourself the "experience" and get your food to go. There's an excellent online menu with pictures and descriptions, which is actually more helpful than the menu (or the waiter) at the restaurant. If you have a reservation, waiting for the table is not a problem. Make a reservation, especially on the weekends! However, as so often happens in Utah's restaurants, Buca is a "family friendly" atmosphere. Which means that there are large tables of people yelling and laughing in the same room (3 feet away) from your table of 4. If you can hear your waiter, you're doing better than we did. We placed our order, and waited. We waited for water. We waited for salad. We waited and waited and waited for our meal. By the time we got our very standard chicken parmesan and spaghetti marinara plates, we had been at the table over an hour. Then something very strange happened. My dinner partner was passing the red pepper across the table and the shaker broke in half, leaving glass and about a pint of red pepper flakes all over her meal. We signaled for a bus boy, who promptly got the manager. He moved us to a clean, but ill-equipped table, and got her a new plate in FIVE MINUTES! Then our dopey waiter said "Sorry, that happens all the time." What?! That really shouldn't happen more than once or twice a year, but whatever.... We were more upset that her plate arrived so quickly while we had been waiting so long that our food wasn't even hot when we got it. A word about the employees: they are young and unprofessional. Buca charges upscale prices and fosters an upscale expectation by offering reservations, but the hostess and waitstaff were college/ high school age in jeans and t-shirts. They were talking about what they were going to eat for lunch while we were in the foyer. They were loud, laughing and joking with each other, not the customers. The food is excellent. Get it to go!

Pros: Excellent food, fun atmosphere

Cons: Unprofessional staff, Inadequate parking

05/24/2007 Posted by sandra30

Food and proportions are good! Everyone loved the lasagna. They have vegetarian options which is great. Servers are friendly and atmosphere unique. However, like other patrons we also had problems with the manager/owner and our bill. He refused to accept coupons for $10 off (for every $25 purchase) which four people in our group of ten had. He said coupons are "per person" but since we were all at the same table he would only accept one. It's a family style restaurant so everyone dines together. We read the coupon print and it said "per person" not "per table". Manger's reply was "yes, it says that but that's not what we meant or intended". After 10 minutes of explaining whether we are billed seperately or in a lump sum the final outcome would be the same. His final reply "well, you're obviously upset so I have no guarantee that you'll return. So I have no incentive to give you the discount". If that wasn't enough, he followed us out to the parking lot and demanded a tip of 15% instead of 10%, citing it was an industry standard. Someone in our group gave the extra amount to tip the waiter. The manager's response, "I don't want your money". This restaurant would be a fun and delicious dining experience if the manager/owner had customer service and math skills.

Pros: Good food, proportions, reasonable prices, friendly service, unique atmosphere.

Cons: Manager/Owner seriously lacks customer service skills. Hassle to accept their own coupons.

04/24/2007 Posted by stefanielynn

I've been here a few times, but dont plan on returning anytime soon. The first couple times were awesome. I love the chicken parmigian, and the garlic bread, and its usually a fun atmosphere. But the last time, y husband and I ordered the small "Quattro al Forno" or something like that. Neither of us got too full off it, and it wasnt the best italian food. The garlic bread with mozzarella is super good though. The service is usually friendly, and we got refills just fine. We left a cash tip, but a couple days after we ate there, I was looking at our bank account, and saw that they had charged us a few extra dollars. We called the manager, and he said that a tip had been added to the receipt, even though we hadnt. The manager credited the extra money back to us, but I dont feel comfortable using my card there anymore.

Pros: Garlic bread

Cons: Some food is a biand, extra charges