Cuisine: Italian (family style)
Restaurant Features: Bar
Locations: **St Paul (site of this review), Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove and Minneapolis
Addresses:
St Paul 2728 Gannon Road St. Paul, MN 55116 651.772.4388
Burnsville 14300 Burnhaven Drive Burnsville, MN 55306 952.892.7272
Eden Prairie 7711 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952.934.9463
Maple Grove 12650 Elm Creek Boulevard Maple Grove, MN 55369 763.494.3466
Minneapolis 1204 Harmon Place Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.288.0138
Links: Buca di Beppo website Google Map
Atmosphere: Big, loud, happy and crowded, warm and cozy. There are many sub-sections to the large restaurant, many of which have long tables to fit large parties.
Menu: Appetizers include Garlic Bread (with or without mozzarella), Bruschetta, Fried Calamari, and Pan Fried Fresh Mozzarella.
**Buca offers three portion sizes for their entrees: Individual (1 person), small (serves 2 or more) and large(serves 4 or more).
Salads include apple gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella caprese, chopped antipasto, Caesar, warm tomato spinach and the Di Beppo 1893 salad.
Baked pasta specialties include manicotti, stuffed shells, baked ravioli, chicken cannelloni, and lasagna.
Pasta dishes include spaghetti marinara or with meatballs, linguine frutti di mare, ravioli al pomodora, gnocchi al telefono, macaroni rosa, tortelloni, penne arribbiata, penne campofiore, fettuccine alfredo, and shrimp fra diavolo.
Entrees include chicken saltimbocca, chicken with lemon, chicken marsala, chicken, eggplant, or veal parmigiana, salmon with pesto, veal limone, and porchetta rustica.
Desserts include tiramisu, double dark chocolate cake, cheesecake, chocolate cannelloni, spumoni, chocolate vesuvio, and apple crostata.
Price guide:
What we ordered: My companions and I ordered several dishes to share, starting with Buca's delicious garlic cheese bread. Heavy emphasis on the garlic!! They slice the cloves and put on a very generous amount. The bread is crispy and absolutely amazing!
Mussels served in-the-shell with Marinara sauce. These were the most delicious, tender mussels I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. On the small side, but with amazing flavor. A must-try if you like mussels!
We had the chicken Canneloni ( Pasta tubes are overflowing with 100% chicken sausage, Italian cheeses and fresh sage. Smothered with provolone cheese and Romano cream sauce. Served on a bed of fresh marinara sauce.)
Macaroni Rosa ( pasta with sliced chicken breast, broccoli, peas, mushrooms and Roma tomato bruschetta. Tossed with marinara sauce, a hint of cream
and corkscrew pasta.) This was so much better than it looked! The portion size was huge for a small, and loaded with ingredients and sauce.
Chicken Marsala (Sautéed chicken breasts and fresh mushrooms in a sweet Marsala wine reduction). Very good, but disappointing to only get two chicken breasts in a small order.
Apple Gorgonzola Salad (Tart Granny Smith apples, spiced walnuts, dried cranberries and Gorgonzola cheese are tossed with fresh Romaine lettuce and our Italian vinaigrette). Wow!
Manicotti ( Tubes of pasta stuffed with a rich blend of ricotta, mozzarella and Romano cheeses and fresh Italian parsley, topped with creamy béchamel sauce on a bed of homemade marinara sauce.)
Garlic mashed potatoes
Spaghetti and meatballs (Imported Italian spaghetti with Buca's famous half-pound mouth-watering meatball smothered in homemade marinara sauce.)
Service: Wonderful! We made our reservations several weeks in advance and requested a space that was a little more private. They put us in the corner or the restaurant at a round table for 8. So nice that we could all see and talk to each other! It was a very busy night (as it always is at Buca), but server did a great job making recommendations. One thing that is slightly inconvenient is Buca's inability to split up checks. No matter how many people are in your party, they will only give you one check per party. They will, however, run as many credit card transactions as necessary :)
Overall Impression: Excellent Italian food, as long as you like garlic! Vampires beware of Buca and anyone who has eaten there within 12 hours! Great place to meet for large groups. Reservations are needed.
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