Buca D'oro Ristorante Reviews

Absolutely one of the best meals I’ve had in a while! The veal chop was outstanding. Service was excellent. All in all a very delicious meal.

We go very often to Buca d'Oro. Indeed, it is our favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. Why? For one thing, you can talk and be heard by your other guests; you don't have to shout! For another, the traditional Italian food is prepared beautifully. The staff is friendly, the location is in the heart of the historical district, the prices are fair, the cocktails generous. Try one of the many seafood dishes, the pastas, the delicious desserts. And leave feeling relaxed--this is not a showplace, it's a warm, inviting environment.

What a delight to find this restaurant open again. The age-old carpeting and the dark atmosphere are gone. They have been replaced by white walls, lighting, and new tables and chairs. The menu has many selections that interested us. The food was nicely prepared and outstanding. The waiter was most accomodating. The prices are more reasonable, and the selections much more interesting.

I had walked past this restaurant a week ago, wanted to stop in, but didn't have time; wished I could come back. Booked a hotel in Philly this week, and was looking up restaurants and this one turned out to be one minute away!! Kismet!! Delicious dinner and dessert, and friendly staff. Hope to be back again soon - several dishes on the menu I want to try. Note: they said they are closed the first two weeks of August 2024.

I have dined here for lunch and dinner many times over the years when it was previously known as La Buca. We were so glad to see that it had reopened. My friend and I arrived today for lunch pre theatre. We were pleasantly surprised by the interior change - much brighter. Tables placed far enough apart to allow for private conversations. Wait staff were welcoming and very attentive. Our meals were excellent. Only downside but not a reflection of our meal was it currently is awaiting a liquor license since they apparently only reopened in September. Had we known we might have been able to bring a bottle of vino. Until such time as they acquire the license, would suggest that they update website and other social media options to suggest BYO especially for a delightful dinner.....

We wanted to try a new restaurant. Very nice experience coming in and being seated. We heard the specials and ordered appetizers and entrees. It seems the waiter does not take bar orders (even non-alcoholic); someone else comes over to ask. Then they pretty much disappear for the rest of the evening, so if you want a second bar order, never mind, unless you want to chase down someone who is willing to find your server or a bar person. Our appetizers arrived, only they were not our appetizers. We don’t know what they were, but we did not order them. Evidently, we were told, our server mixed up our order tickets. Both of the correct appetizers were very good, though unfortunately, they were cold. Perhaps that’s because they were sitting around while we were given the wrong appetizers? We figured with what happened so far, if we tried to tell them they were cold, who knows what would’ve happened. When our entrées came, they were “okay”. We ordered the same mushroom pasta dish, only mine was with gluten-free penne. The pasta on both of ours was cooked perfectly with just the right amount of olive oil, and we liked the pieces of garlic. My issue was that the flavors were all separate and did not come together. The mushrooms were barely cooked. It as if they threw everything separately on the plate. The mushrooms would’ve been great if they had been gently sautéed with the olive oil and garlic. Mushrooms in such a dish should not be almost raw. They should have a deep flavor. And again, while the entrees weren’t as cold as the appetizers, they were warm, not hot, which meant they got cold quickly. The dish had walnuts in it and I can’t remember if the menu said they were toasted, but if they were, they didn’t taste like it, and if they weren’t, they should’ve been. They tasted raw, which would’ve been fine in a salad, but not in a mushroom pasta dish. Our server came by once and that was about it. He was disappointing overall. The young man who filled water glasses was great. I’m a water drinker, so I appreciated that very much. We looked at the dessert tray, though were so disappointed in our meal that we didn’t want to further the experience. Instead, we walked a bit and had some really good ice cream. The restaurant was pricey and disappointing as such. There are so many great restaurants in Philadelphia. Wishing that this had been one of them. Note: This restaurant has a special parking price for the theater, which we purchased. One pays for it with their bill and is supposed to be given a sticker to go on the parking ticket. We paid and did not receive the sticker. It took a while to flag someone down to help us. Our waiter should’ve taken care of it when we paid.

Had lunch before the theatre with 3 friends. None of us had eaten here before. All of us were pleased with the menu, service and ambience. A very nice lunch menu with salads, paninis, pizza and entrees. I had the veal Roma which had 2 nice size pieces of veal and was very good. A hidden gem. We will be back.

This is one of our favorite neighborhood eateries. My husband had the lamb chops and side of spinach and I had the beet salad special and the Margherita Piadina. Excellent.

We stopped x eat while visiting the city, I found a nice environment nice waiters with a nice Italian menu. The pastas were good, good wine, average price of the place. If you want to try it I recommend it.

This place is a hidden gem! Found it through a reference on Walnut Street Theater page. It is tucked away on Locust St, walking down into the restaurant we knew we were in for a treat. It’s quant and rustic. Service was great and the food was fantastic! Can’t wait to go back!!