Buona Sera

This was our third dinner at Buona Sera spread out over quite a few years. Every dinner was outstanding.

Great vibe and a packed restaurant on a Sunday night! Loved the Lobster Ravioli. We will be back!

I'm biased. I LOVE this place. I could go here over and over without getting bored of the food. It is truly amazing.
One of the dishes I get regularly is the zuppa di pesce (fish soup). It is arguably the best I've ever had in a restaurant. However, one piece of fish I can't eat is salmon, and a small salmon fillet is in the soup. Each and every time, I simply ask that the kitchen leave the salmon out of my soup. And each and every time, I enjoy my dinner without the piece of salmon.
As usual, I ordered without the salmon. However, when the soup arrived, it had the salmon in it. The waitress explained (apologized?) that the chef refused to leave it out, as it would "compromise the dish."
I'm paying for this. If it was a steak, and I ordered it well done, would the chef refuse if he believed that the steak should be served medium?
Unfortunately, two of the people I invited were first-timers at Buona Sera. Both commented that they have never seen that refusal in any restaurant. They were less than impressed.
While I will certainly return, and order the soup without the salmon, I'll now check and make sure the kitchen will serve it as asked. Otherwise, there are plenty of other items on the menu to choose from that won't make me sick.
So very disappointed in this one single visit. Very unlike every experience I've had there.

This place is delicious every time my wife and I go. We are foodies so we always get something new and it never disappoints.

Great food. Great service. Quaint and intimate.

Wonderful Valentine's dinner! Food and service were outstanding!

Entrees were really good and we will definitely be back.

Food was excellent. It was our first time there after driving by for years. The carbonara was the best ever and walleye cakes were unmatched. The owner came around to the tables and asked how everything was. Very nice atmosphere as well.

The server was really not attentive. She could not recommend a wine and did not check on us and was chatting about nothing while ignoring our table.
The food was not as good as it used to be. The tiramisu was delicious.

Food was outstanding as was the service. Love this place

Disappointing. We had Sunday reservation for 6:30 and arrived on time but no table was available. Had to wait but not terribly long. After seating our waiter didn't show up for a while then took drink orders which were relatively promptly delivered. Then he disappeared for about half an hour. When he finally came to take our food order he informed us that they were out of the veal so several of their specialties were not available. We ordered and he disappeared again. We had to ask for our salad & bread plates. He apologized saying the kitchen was short staffed. We finally got our entrees at 8:00.
Over all not an unpleasant experience but disappointing and pricey.

I love Bueno Sera for special occasions. They treat you well and the food is fantastic !

I've wanted to try the place for some time now, but was disappointed by the experience. We waited for over an hour and a half for our meal and it wasn't even close to par. I ordered the salmon and not only it was nuke warm, but the veggies were underdone and tasted like they were bought at Cub. My wife did like the Cesar salad and risotto, so I wish I got that. For the prices, I expected a lot more. Thankfully enough, I was comped for my dinner. Sadly enough, we will not be going there again. Sorry

We love Buona Sera! The staff is always so kind and knowledgeable and the food is always amazing!

Delicious food and Excellent.service!

My first time. This was a great place to meet up, take our time and have great food. Service was amazing! Food spectacular. I must do!

We really enjoyed this cozy little restaurant's ambiance. Unfortunately, the food was sub-par. I added shrimp to my caesar salad for dinner and was given three small sauteed shrimp. They were seasoned nicely, but chain restaurants give you more shrimp. If they were large shrimp; that would be different. Our friends ordered a couple of the specials and were underwelmed with their flavor. It just wasn't anything special. The nicest part was the wine and atmosphere. Maybe it would make a special dessert date night for couples. The wine was good.

our 4th visit to Buona Sera and we will come again

Buona Sera is a nice little resturant. There aren't many decent places to pick from up here in the northern burbs unless you head over to Maple Grove.

I used to love this restaurant. My recent experience has changed my opinion. The first thing I noticed was they removed my favorite pasta from the menu. I was optimistic and ordered something else. The restaurant was crowded and noisy. We weren’t told until after eating our salads that our food was delayed because only the owner was cooking by himself for the evening. We waited over an hour for 4 entrees. Our server was excellent and did her best. It was disappointing to have to wait and I understand staffing was the issue, however it really dappened our whole experience. I hope they can resolve their staff issues so other diners have a better experience. Please bring back pasta del vallagio!

We will definitely go back!
We were there on a snowy Thursday evening and it was busy. That's always a good sign. Our server was very good as she managed maybe a couple more tables than she should have.
The food was good.

Buona Sera is a top favorite of mine we've been going there several years and the food is always spectacular and we love the cozy ambience of the restaurant

This is a wonderful establishment! Great service. Great food. It is a quaint little restaurant so the only thing I would say is you are able to hear others around you quite well, which can be a negative for some people

Great ambiance. We loved the lighting and decor. We felt like we were in a cafe in Italy Outstanding service. We had a very personable server who was knowledgeable and attentive. She contributed to the memorable experience we took away with us. The food presentation was very pleasing to the eye. The flavor of the food was amazingly delicious from the Walleye Cake Appetizer, the Halibut in Crema Sauce to the Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Spumoni Ala Mode Ice Cream. We definitely will be recommending the restaurant to others and will be returning soon for another like experience.

The food was amazing. Everyone was so attentive and appreciative. Made us celebrating our anniversary even better. Would recommend everything!! The food, the service, the place!! Absolutely amazing!!

The food is amazing and the service is amazing! It is my hidden secret to share with people not familiar with the area.

Our compliments to the chef and our wonderful server, Isaac!!! We definitely will be back!

The best thing about this plce is the service and the wine list. Food is a bit above average, but just a bit. Antepasto was drowned in some sort of vinegrette and had a single meat only. Bread basket was not as fresh as one would hope. Entrees were just OK--mine was over -garlicked and over-sauced, sauce on side dish of pasta was watery. Tiramisu was excellent!

Love this restaurant! Variety of choices, all of which sounded delicious! And one of the day’s specials, the scallops, was delicious. Enjoyed dinner with two friends. All of us thought our meals were outstanding!! And, we all enjoyed the opportunity to talk and share our recent experiences and update the others. The noise level was low, so we were able to talk easily!!!

Typical neighborhood restaurant with friendly, efficient service and outstanding Italian food.

Birthday. Service was great

Amazing food as always! Love every experience here.

Food was fantastic. Service was top notch, can tell staff has stuck around for a long time here. I’d highly recommend. A hidden GEM in a neighborhood, will definitely be back.

We have been going here for years......love it and last Saturday night one of our favorite nights....everything was perfect.
We should have gotten a picturetaken of or group.....our waitress was fabulous....and the food was amazing.

Everything was great, our server was attentive and friendly.

Only disappointment was wait staff did not recognize that we were there for our 40th anniversary. This was in my reservation. She did not ask if we were there for a special occasion. Also for specials of the night prices would be mice to know so when you get the tab you are not shocked with price especially when you do the upgrade.

5 Stars!

Buona Sera looks like a large stucco house in a well-kept neighborhood on the corner of Douglas Drive and West River Road in Champlin, but it’s anything but average or ordinary!

Buona Sera serves authentic Italian food, created and often personally prepared by the owner/chef, Raffaele Virgillo, a first-generation Italian. The authentic savory flavors are a combination of obviously genuine, fresh food—not pre-prepared elsewhere. The menu is simple and yet extensive—serving veal, pork, and pollo, with a variety of the most flavorful sauces I’ve ever eaten. From the Grill, perfectly aged New York strips, filet mignon, fresh salmon, and delectable lamb are served. Seafood is also on the menu, and often featured in the house specialties. Last night, I enjoyed a creamy fettuccini alfredo with a combination of scallops and shrimp at the personal recommendation of the owner/chef himself—a portion large enough for two meals. The butter, cream and parmesan were mouthwatering with delicious, fresh seafood! Crusty bread with flavored butters preceded our meal. The night was a special occasion, and the desserts—a Crème Brule and Tiramisu did not disappoint. The service matched the food...perfection and personable.

Buona Sera is exceptional—and my favorite restaurant. Even though I live nearby, this restaurant is worth driving across town for some of the most authentic, delectable food you will ever eat. Hard to believe that I only found it a couple years ago, when it’s been there for decades. Do make reservations—it’s only open for dinner Tuesday’s—Sunday’s—a true family business.

We met friends for dinner, their choice of restaurant. None of us had been here before. When we arrived at 5pm, it was empty but filled up as time went by. We got a booth, as the seats looked more comfortable than the tables with chairs, however, the booth turned out to be very cramped and it was difficult to maneuver to eat. Our waitress was fabulous, very outgoing, very knowledgeable. The fresh bread was excellent, which came with a dried tomato flavored butter. Our friends ordered the House Salad which they said was good. We ordered broccoli/cheese soup, a favorite of ours, which was a new item for the chef, we were told. It was truly awful, watery, tasteless, no cheese flavor, tiny flecks of green which was the broccoli. One of our friends and my hubby got the "special" of pork medallions, which was very good, tender and flavorful. Our other companion ordered the Walleye Almondine which she said was very good. I ordered the shrimp scampi. My hubby begged "a taste" which I gave him before I had even eaten any of mine and his response was, "I'm glad I didn't order that". The shrimp was tender and large but there was no flavor to the scampi. I order this meal frequently at other places and have never found myself adding salt to give it a bit of "zip". The meals came with a choice of potato (we all got baked) and the vegetable of the day, which was beans and carrots. Our friends ordered tiramisu for dessert and we ordered a 5-layer chocolate cake, both of which we very good. Though my hubby liked his meal, he did not feel it outstanding enough to make a return visit. I certainly did not. There are enough Italian restaurants in the
area, ones that we have been to before and like, that we will not be returning here. We also felt that the prices were high.

New Years with my wife

Food and service were amazing