Buca Di Beppo--Family Dining
Buca Di Beppo is a great restaurant to visit in Orlando, Florida if you:
- want an affordable way to feed a large group.
- love Italian food!
- want to try a little something different.
- like large, family style dining
Things you should know about Buca Di Beppo: - They offer single portions at lunch time. - It’s family style dining, with large portions that are meant to be shared. - Make a reservation to save yourself some time. - Bread (the garlic bread is awesome!) and salad are separate from the meals but can be ordered as side dishes. - Prices reflect the cost of meals that feed from 3-6 people.
Buca Di Beppo (means Joe’s basement in Italian) was the place I chose to celebrate my 33rd birthday. I had never been there before but I was a little more than curious to find out what it was all about!
Pulling up to Buca Di Beppo I knew we were going to really enjoy ourselves. The front has stone sculptures outside and a beautiful, inviting entry way.
Walk in and you’ll see tons of photos all along the walls. And a hostess stand that sort of towers over you. It's was kinda weird.
The hostess greeted us immediately and asked us if we had ever been to Buca Di Beppo before. We told her no, so she lead us through their kitchen.
I’ve never been through the kitchen of a restaurant before, which was pretty cool (you can even make reservations to sit and eat your meal in there, I hear it’s the best seat in the house!)
They gave us the grand tour (as they do all their newbies, and I’m told everyone else who goes to Buca Di Beppo). There were pictures of celebrities, whom must have dined there in the past, surrounding the table in the kitchen.
I couldn’t help but think how hard it must be to keep the kitchen sparkling clean during a dinner rush. It wasn’t busy when we arrived so I guess it wasn’t an issue.
We were lead to the Wine Room where the entire ceiling had empty wine bottles lined across it. With fake grapes and ivy dripping from it. It was fancy! (and maybe a little dusty)
We were the only ones in the room which made it feel like we were at a family dinner table. It was complete with checkered tablecloths and everything!
It’s very dark inside Buca De Beppo because there’s no windows. The brightest room was the kitchen. The rest of the place has only soft lighting which really does give it a basement feel. But I guess that’s sort of the point!
With pictures all over the wall there was certainly plenty to look at. There were pictures of families, faces and just weird stuff everywhere.
It was funny though because there were a few pictures that were reminiscent of our own family. One in particular of a beautiful woman in her wedding dress, it reminded me and my Mom of my Grandma. Which started a nice conversation.
Then there were pictures that were just weird. The one directly behind me had the face of a woman that just looks ahead. She stared at me the whole time. It was kinda spooky.
The pictures gave us something to talk about while we were waiting for our food.
Speaking of food...........
My family has Italian roots so we know and enjoy good Italian food! I think Buca Di Beppo does a good job of recreating some delicious meals at fair prices.
The idea behind the way they serve their meals is family style. Each dish can be prepared to feed up to three people (small) or up to six people(large). Except for the appetizers which are pretty standard in size.
We decided to start with a jar of sangria (it was my birthday after all), mozzarella sticks and lobster dip. Everything came out fast and hot!
For our meal we decided to go with three small dishes. The first was a spicy chicken rigatoni which had peas and a spicy red pepper sauce. It was very good and not at all too spicy.
The second dish we chose was Chicken Parmigiana (I know we were really living on the edge). That came with two large pieces of chicken breast that had been breaded and baked and then topped with cheese. It came out steaming hot and quickly disappeared.....
The final dish we got was another rigatoni meal that had beef and was topped with ricotta and Parmesan.
Even though there were six of us we were unable to polish off all the food we ordered. Chalk it up to the huge portions at Buca Di Beppo or to the fact that we wanted to save room for birthday cake!
In any event my Aunt, who was unable to attend, got to enjoy the meal with us because we sent her home the leftovers!
The bill for 6 people (less a coupon, plus a tip) was $120. Not too shabby for a meal with drinks!
SIDE NOTE: You should check out some Orlando coupons before you go so you can try to save a few bucks.
Bucca Di Beppo is not the best place to go if you are looking for some romance, it gets very loud but that’s what gives it a fun, party atmosphere.
You’re going to want to go with a large party or it may not be as much fun. Otherwise, go for the experience and to check out all the wacky pictures on the walls.
In any event you should enjoy your time and your meal at Buca Di Beppo!
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