Had to go into the kitchen to get someone to seat us and the group in front of us after 5-10min waiting out front.
They had a great thanksgiving feast - turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, bread and pumpkin pie.
We made reservations to eat here the weekend of "Dad's weekend" at UIUC. The hostess at the front was entirely overwhelmed and frankly quite rude. Some of the larger groups waited for almost 1 hour for their table to be ready. When we were finally seated, there were several tables that were open but hadn't been cleaned. Efficiency needs to be improved and they should have bus people to clean and set up the tables. Food was good once we were seated. The waitstaff made up for the rude hostess who really needs additional customer service training. You know it is bad when the customers had to look at the screen with their reservations as she had no clue what she was doing. Manager came over and apologized but that was the end of the service recovery. There is quite a bit of value in eating here if you are with a large group, we were a table of 3 so there were plenty of leftovers. Enjoyed the caesar salad and the pasta dishes.
Probably one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. WAY OVERPRICED For BAD FOOD!! The only positive was the ease in making the reservation on Opentable. Service was extremely slow. Waitress was unfamiliar with the menu. Took 15 minutes to get our initial drink order. Food was EXTREMELY salty. Portion sizes were not that big. Pasta dish with chicken and sausage. Lots of sauce minimal protein, pasta way overcooked. Seriously McDonalds is better. Too bad nice ambiance.
Went with a big group - they handled us with no problem. Food was great, service was great and everyone enjoyed the experience.
We enjoyed the chicken saltimboca. The small size was great for two & we even had some to take home. We usually order this whenever we visit & even make it at home. The antipasto salad had lots of tasty ingredients. Loved the chocolate chip cannoli & limoncello for dessert. Amber, our waitress was great.
Unfortunately they had our large table, a group of 20 and one of 30 all being served at the same time. If our waitress would have been efficient at all, which she was not...she could have quickly taken our orders and gotten at least ours going and done before the others went in but we were CONSTANTLY trying to find her.
The food was fairly good but getting even drinks or water was too long.
The shrimp florentine e was very delicious but the penne with sausage was way salty. The portions were huge. Three of us ate 2 pastas..and took home enough for lunch for each. The sausage with penne...I took home... Doubled its volume with an equal portion of buttered noodles, 2 tomatoes, and the level of salt was then proper/ very tasty still. Haha...Service was pleasant. Family friendly. Enjoyable.
Buca Di Beppo is a great restaurant for all occasions. Quality food served family style. Great place for group get togethers or dinner for two. As a Fighting Illini fan, I was very happy when this restaurant opened in Champaign. Friendly staff, good service and the food is great.
The idea of everyone eating from the same dish reminds you of home.
My wife ordered the Apple Gorgonzola Salad, I ordered Lasagna, and we sharred. Both were delicious...very large portions. Our waitress, Brittany, was just perfect...possibly one of the best servers we have ever had...coast to coast and four trips to Europe. Our dinner and our service were both excellent.
We had a wonderful meal with ten family members. We sat at the "Pope" table. Jasmine did a great job serve and all the staff was very friendly.
We met here with my fiance's parents and my parents for them to meet for the first time. It was a great experience overall. It was easy to communicate and the food was great. Thank you for making this a great experience for all of us.
We had a wonderful time! The food was delicious and was prepared perfectly. Our service was outstanding especially considering it was University of Illinois graduation. Would definitely recommend.
The management can to see about us several time while we were there. They were very welcoming and hospitable.
My daughter was celebrating her 13th birthday with friends. We had a large group of both 13 year olds and adults. The evening could not have been more perfect. EVERYONE working on this night was extremely pleasant and helpful. They really helped to make it a special night. I had only been to Buca one other time a few years ago. They won me over -I'll be back again soon!
It was a great way to try a variety of foods with a group. Everybody loved the prosciutto and mozzarella stuffed chicken and the gnocchi.
For the last 3 years, we have always chosen Buca. Very attentive wait staff. Very accommodating. And the food has ALWAYS been amazing. Biaggi's on race weekend tends to be overbooked, can't get in on time, service had not been great - so we made the switch to Buca 3 years ago - best decision ever.
Thank you for dealing with race weekend crazies!
We always are happy when we leave Buca di Beppo! They have amazing Italian food and the servers are so nice. We love coming here for special occasions!
The food is always delicious and plentiful. I was disappointed that you didn't serve the olive oil and parmesan as you did on our other visits, though. Also, the birthday coupon, and other coupons your company has emailed me, would not print, so would you please fix that?
The food was very good and the service was great. The only issue I had was that we felt slightly rushed in that the salad and the main dish were brought out too close together and by the time we enjoyed the salad and started our entree, it wasn't quite as hot as it should have been. Still excellent tasting though.
We ended up at Buca Di Beppo Champaign because it was Christmas day and nothing else was open. We have two Buca's in Columbus where we had travelled from, so we knew what to expect. This one had the same kinds of decor, but somehow it all felt a little more fabricated than the ones back home. It was pleasant enough though. Our waitress was very nice, although not very knowledgable about the menu--I'm lactose intolerant and was asking about dairy in various dishes, and she kept having to go check with the kitchen. When our food arrived it was delicious and exactly the kind of meal we weary travelers where looking for at the end of a long day. Overall a pleasant experience.
Our seriver Brittney was wonderful as always and food was great!!!!
Do not eat anything before you go!!! The food is amazing!!!! Service is slow but the quality of the food makes up for it. Great for families and special occasions. Food is served family style. I highly recommend it. I would not recommend if you are on a time crunch.
The food was delicious. We had the turkey and trimmings since it was Thanksgiving and we also ordered spaghetti and meatballs. Our waitress was great. We had a marvelous time.
Brought some friends that had never been to Buca before. I had only been to Chicago Buca and were impressed with the Champaign Buca. Had a great time. Service was great, waitress was very helpful in deciding how much to order, food was very good, had an excellent time!
The food is ok. Not bad. Not great. What they lack in quality they make up for in quantity.
This establishment is in a shopping mall. Booked reservation online, not needed-place was empty. Immediately greeted and seated. Temperature a bit on the cool side. Friendly waitress, answered all our questions. Salad came quickly, entree followed appropriately. Manager visited, had a nice conversation. After that, service was noticeably absent. No water refills, no offer of dessert options or coffee. Surprising considering we obviously were enjoying all they had to offer including a bottle of wine. It was easily 20 minutes with no visit. Luckily, a nearby table had been seated with a most adorable 8 month old who kept us entertained. The food was very tasty. Salad , entree for 2, bottle of wine $78.
I recently went to buca for a date, the staff was very polite and helpful as well as informative about their menu and selections. The food was well prepared and there wasn't a long wait to be served. The prices seemed high at first until I saw the amount of food we received. I have worked in a restaurant similar to buca's before and the prices were higher for less food so I applaud buca on their quality and quantity of food compared to the price. I definitely recommend buca's for their atmosphere and quality dining experience and I will be going to them again
I had a business lunch at Buca's in Champaign, IL. I enjoyed my ravioli and it seemed like the others enjoyed their food as well. I have had the anti-pasta salad before and it is good. The iced tea was very good and did not taste old. I tried the Italian Cream cake and it was very good. The noice level was good for our meeting. The service was outstanding. I would recommend.
The food was good. A small issue with my food. They fixed it right away. Not as upscale as I thought but good. You get your money's worth.
When we visit the university, we dine at Buca, and generally order the chicken parmigiana, baked ziti, and spaghetti with marinara sauce. On this visit the sauce over the spaghetti was very skimpy, but the other dishes were up to their usual excellence. We were seated in the wine room, and it was both cozy and quiet - very nice. Nothing in our meal will prevent us from dining at Buca on our next visit.
Went to this restaurant in the Chicago area and was excited to know that it was now located in Central IL! It wasn't quite the same experience, but it was nice. The food was good and the service. It is a bit pricey for the family portion that is served. Tomatoes should be fully ripe in August, yet the dish that was ordered had semi ripe tomatoes that were not ripe and thus, really had no flavor.
Food was excellent, but service was EXTREEMLY SLOW! I had to wait for everything, especially beverage refills and the check. My family had all left after dinner to go out into the mall, leaving me to wait for the check for about 15 minutes. Not the same experience as I had last time my family had dinner at this restaurant.
In the past, this has been one of our favorite restraints, but after our last visit, our opinion has changed. Though not reflected on the website, the menu has been significantly reduced, maybe by as much as a third. Many of our favorites have been removed. Kitchen service was slow and food was not prepared as ordered. Our waitress was inept and inattentive. Even though the manager apologized for the slow service and reduced our bill, it was not enough to overcome the disappointment of the evening. One bad service experience we can understand, but unless the menu changes are restored, we will probably not be going back for quite a while.
We went as a group of six including two kids. Service was quick and friendly, and the food came in a timely manner and was delicious! We had enough leftovers to feed us all again that night, too!
Our special man of the day requested this for his Father's Day dinner so we drove a little ways to get here. The food and service were great. We would make the trip again and recommend it to friends as well.
This chain of restaurants has a reputation for providing abundant servings of Italian home style food. The service and ambience were great. Unfortunately the food was bland and disappointing. I have eaten at numerous Italian restaurants including a Buca de Beppo in another town. The food at this location was mostly pasta. It had very little sauce or other ingredients. We ordered a spicy chicken dish that was not even remotely spicy. The Salmon tasted like it was boiled and had absolutely no flavor.
I am hopeful that this location is not indicative of other locations. If it is, then I suspect this chain will not be around much longer.
Food was pretty good, Americanized Italian. Ambience not that great, didn't realize it was in the mall when i made reservation. Service OK. Huge portions though...
Greeted by a very friendly hostess. Had reservations and seated promptly, even with it being graduation day at The University of Illinois. Waitress was very friendly, food was very good. My only complaint was the noise level. Was had to carry on a conversation because it was very hard to hear. Great place for kids cause you wouldn't have to worry about them being too loud.