Richard P.
Yelp
All the ingredients were present for an absolutely delightful evening last night as I gathered with a large group of friends at the Castleton Buca di Beppo's in celebration of multiple birthday.
For those unaware, Buca di Beppo is designed as a festive, family-styled restaurant. This is a modestly-sized national chain that started in Minneapolis in 1993 and has grown to right around 100 locations including three in Central Indiana - Castleton, Greenwood, and downtown.
They specialize in parties and events, function much better with reservations, and do exclusively operate with the true family-style dining where appetizers and main dishes are shared experiences. As you should guess, it is an Italian restaurant and there's really nothing that deviates from Italian.
To be fully transparent, my party did serve up a bit of a curve to kick things off as our group of 14-15 started off with the arrival of five and the rest trickled in. 10 were present within 15 minutes of the agreed upon time and drink orders were taken at that time. We had one family of three that arrived late, though generally we were what I'd call fashionably late. That does matter at a place like Buca di Beppo, especially during these times when staffing is more difficult, because reservations do help dictate the flow of staffing and service.
The entryway is wheelchair friendly. Buca di Beppo has several accessible spots and a nicely done concrete ramp to the front door. It's ADA compliant. The two front doors are glass and a tad heavy. You enter into a lobby where a host will get you to your assigned spot. There are several areas in what is easily designed to be a sort of Italian-style house. Favorite rooms tend to be the Pope's Room and the Chef's Room.
The decor is festive. It's not quite gaudy but certainly close. It's busy in what is generally a busy atmosphere anyway. This is definitely designed for family and fun.
The entire experience tends to be gently paced. When you go to Buca di Beppo, you don't generally rush in and rush out unless you're picking up a carry-out. However, we were there over four hours and that was simply too long. It was sensory overload - in fact, one member of our party left precisely because of that issue.
Drinks were fairly timely. Alcohol is served here, though I ordered my usual iced tea. It was refreshed once in four hours - fortunately, right as the food was starting to arrive.
You could tell that our server's rhythm was thrown off by having our pace throw off her schedule a bit. She seemed to get a bit of help with delivering food, though generally staffing seemed low and I felt badly for her. She was trying, but her frustration showed and multiple mistakes were made.
We ordered appetizers like green beans, brussel sprouts, and I believe bread. I wasn't a fan of any of them (as in I didn't eat them - not that they were bad). I'll never get used to Italian restaurants that don't offer some sort of side since Italian food and bread is practically a must.
Main dishes included spaghetti with meat sauce, lasagna, spicy chicken rigatoni, and maybe one other. Dishes come in small, medium, and large. Our order was incorrect and never addressed. We were, as a result, charged for food we hadn't actually ordered and for at least one large when we ordered a small. At Buca di Beppo, these kinds of things add up.
We were seated at a long table and round table. We had a hard time coordinating foods and meals. We'd also requested splitting of checks and were told that would happen, however, it did not. The end of an exhausting evening was needlessly chaotic as we attempted to divide a bill to ensure things were fairly divided and the server was tipped well.
The food was decent. There was certainly leftovers considering we received food we didn't order. I enjoyed the lasagna, in particular. It wasn't brilliant by any means, but I enjoyed it. I did try the spicy chicken rigatoni and it was closer to warm than spicy with a blandness that assured I certainly wouldn't order it again.
I was with people I enjoyed and a 2-year-old I adored. I fully expected a wonderful experience here, but I found the atmosphere overwhelming, the service slow and not particularly hospitable, and the food mid-range. I essentially had two modest-sized servings of lasagna and four spicy rigatoni chicken noodles for a price that exceeded value.
About an hour before we were done yet another party came in and they were placed literally right next to us in an empty room. This partly blocked my exit as a wheelchair user (Can anyone say fire hazard?) and generally was just bizarre given the amount of empty spaces available. I was just starting to relax a bit and then "Wham!" sensory overload again.
This was a two-star experience. I'm opting for three recognizing staffing issues. The atmosphere was poorly managed, the service lacked, the food mid-range, and mistakes were made.
Quite simply, there's not a chance I'll return.