Buca di Beppo

Always heard great things about Buca from friends and co-workers but never went as we already had our favorite spot for Italian food. Went over to Universal City Walk about a week ago for a movie, decided to have dinner after. It was a good opportunity to give Buca a try, WOW! Great food, a lot like my mom used to make. Her father was from Italy and she used to serve it up right, so does Buca. The portions are amazing and believe me you won't go home hungry. (Don't know why another person's review said there wasn't enough food, he must have the appetite of 4 people). We, like a lot of other customers, ended up taking some home as there was too much to eat at one sitting. You basically have three choices on the menu, "large" serves 4 to 6 people, "small" serves 2 to 3 people and they also have what they call "Buca Mio", these are individual dinners of the more popular entree's. The first time we ate there, we ordered from the Buca Mio selections and they were very ample portions. A week later we found ourselves at City Walk again with some friends and ended up back at Buca, this time ordering the larger family style plates. The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the ample portions and flavor quality. I guess we now have a new favorite Italian restaurant to eat at. Give them a try, they do have other locations so it's not really necessary to go to City Walk and pay the high parking prices to eat at Buca. If you like good Italian food, you won't be disappointed. By the way, when we went back to Buca at City Walk, we had no idea that they had a second floor that seats so may people that at 7PM on a Saturday, for as busy as they were, we were seated in less than 15 minutes, amazing!

Horrible experience. This was the second year in a row our office Christmas party was here. Last year we waited outside, in the rain, for 45 minutes to be seated - despite having reservations. This year we called, confirmed our reservations, informed them of last years experience, and we were promised that it would not happen again. We called again on the day of the party and confirmed that we would not be left standing outside again. At 5 minutes after our reservation time, I was told it would be another 15 minutes. At 20 minutes past our reservation I was informed by a manager, who called me outside and brought a bouncer with him (in front my entire staff) that I was rude for telling the him that the service was unacceptable, that he was not doing his job very well, and that we, as customers, deserved better treatment than we were getting. We called several other restaurants and were prepared to leave when, finally, 40 minutes after our reservation we were seated.

The food was great and the wait staff (once we were seated) was attentive. However, we had pre-ordered off the catering menu, because of the size of our party (42-45) and they could not find our menu order. This in spite of the fact that we had faxed it over two days before AND called to confirm that they had received it. We had to do it all over again sitting at the table.

We will not be back next year. I would recommend this restaurant for a small party (less than 8) as they seemed to be able to accommodate that size in less time than we were required to wait.

The food is not bad and neither is the pirce, but I was shocked at the staff. Perhaps this was a frustrated actor, but you never treat a guest so poorly! As we left, we were knocked down by a server who when I got in his face about his rushed attitude, wanted to fight me! Really! His language and actions were shocking. I am in the biz and did not want anything out of the ordinary, but I brought his abusive nature to a manager. The manager was at best milk toast and the waiter sought us out for further aggresion. Listen, I know you are busy, and you are sad that you are working here and not famous, but there is a reason that this happened to you. Bad service and poor guest relations sink this person and place for me!

We love going here, it is always so much fun and really good food. The best thing, of course - is the atmosphere. I can't say enough about Paulo the waiter, he knows us by name and we feel like we're in a small town in Italy.

Highly recommend! If you go, try the antiipasto.

I must say that I am not a big fan of Italian food, but this place made me reconsider that. The portions are extremely large and we ordered the small serving from the menu and it was more than enough for two. The deep dish garlic bread with cheese is enough to stuff a party of three. You must try the bruschetta as it was very flavorful. My party received the chefs table, which is located directly in the kitchen. This is considered the best table in the house, pending that youre not bothered by the constant foot traffic passing by you. Overall, I was pleased with the authenticity of the food selections and the cheap prices for the amount of food that you get.