Buffo Ristorante

We were able to try this Michael Bonacini restaurant on our latest date night. We started off with Buffo Bread which is warm rosemary sea salt bread served with oils. It was delicious and we could have eaten soooo much more! I was debating between a couple dishes and the waiter suggested the Seafood Puttanesca which is spaghetti with calamari, shrimp, mussels, tomato, garlic and anchovies. I'm not typically a spaghetti fan but they make all the pasta fresh each morning and found it really delicious with a flavorful sauce. My wife had the Ricotta Gnocchi with baby arugula, cream, parsley and thyme. She added the pork and veal meatballs and really enjoyed it. The fresh gnocchi was so much better than what we've had elsewhere. For dessert we shared the Tiramisu and were pleased how good it was as we often are disappointed with it at other restaurants. The texture was perfectly creamy with a nice espresso flavor. Our service was amazing, one of the better ones we've had in forever. I don't remember his name but it was the gentleman with longer hair. He was very prompt, kind and easy to talk with.

This is a cool little restaurant, hidden in the outskirts of the mall. The theme and layout is pretty good. Our server was friendly and quick to take our orders, however we had quite the wait (about 45 minutes) for our food to arrive at a tome where there wasn’t a lot of patrons in the restaurant. The food however is exquisite. I had an eggs Benedict and it seems that everything, even the brioche is home made. Pretty decent. This is a little more expensive than other restaurants but the food quality shows in that price. Definitely worth checking out.

We ordered the olives (so good, they had hot peppers and citrus juice with a small bowl of potato chips on the side) and garlic nuts (fresh made bread) from happy hour menu. Also shared a Caesar salad and we each got a pasta; the fettuccini and the penne on rose sauce. The best part of our experience was the amazing service we got from Venize. We want to come back to try the pizza, which we hear was good.

This place is located just next to Saks. It’s very aesthetically pleasing and they have an excellent selection of cocktails and wines. I came in for a quick bite to eat and glass of vino. I was pleasantly surprised the pasta was on special today for the quality. It was absolutely delicious. I’m gluten free and the GF pasta, alongside all the pastas are made from scratch daily. Russell made my experience one to remember. He recommended a wine pairing event that I ended up purchasing tickets for in June. He was very kind, polite and knowledgeable. I will be back soon most definitely. Cheers!

Great customer service for all staff! I like the cozy ambience of the restaurant with comfy chairs, library-like private area and patterned tile flooring. We ordered Lasagna and 8oz steak, which was just Okay. The steak was a bit chewy and dry. Great Italian food if you’re looking for one around Chinook area.

was looking through the mall directory for restaurants and randomly found buffo. my mom and i decided to try it out and we were happy we did! it’s inside saks hidden! the server let us choose our own table and they let us know their pasta and pizza dough is made fresh daily! rohan was our server and he was super kind and informative and helped us choose our dishes we had the daily special which was a spinach linguini and we also had the risotto gnocchi, which was delicious!!! definitely get the gnocchi here, it’s unique! the manager russell brought our dishes out himself and introduced himself which was a nice touch they also invited us to a wine and food pairing which they will be holding every saturday starting next week overall a great atmosphere, tasty food, and professional staff. we will definitely be back when we go to chinook! a hidden gem for sure - my mom suggests a menu sign or pictures outside of saks for more visibility to draw shoppers in! 😄

We absolutely adore this gem at Saks Fifth Avenue, CF Chinook Centre. This rustic Italian restaurant offers fabulous selection of drinks and delicious, authentic Italian dishes. Every plate was beautifully presented, and packed with refined flavours. Quality ingredients cooked fresh with perfection. Great atmosphere, excellent service, and wonderful dining experience. Highly recommended.

Tried Buffo today for the first time. Food: you can easily tell the ingredients are good quality. I had the meatball sandwich. It was a bit dry however it was a good size portion. Has the salad to go with it. - 4 stars. Decor: nice decor, it is brand new. Felt the tables were too close together. Don’t go if you want to have a private conversation. The tables to my right and left, I could easily hear everything they were talking about and can only assume they could hear everything we were talking about - 3 stars Service: we had a really nice server. She did a great job with the menu and explained all the options. Refilled the water and checked on us just the right amount of times. - 5 stars Value: Menu prices are between $15-$21 for lunch entrees. Several options for appetizers as well ranging from $7-$12. These types of prices are extremely comparable to Chip, Boston Pizza and Moxies.

Service and Ambience were great ... food was divine! Came during happy hour so lots of choices for snacks and drinks. All pastas made fresh daily in house. Give it a try you won't be disappointed!

I'll be honest, due to the price I've only been there during the pasta specials on Wednesday. I personally think their pasta is fantastic for the price. My favorite is their lasagna. It's different and not as saucy...so if you are a saucy type of person you might be dissappointed. They also have their daily pasta feature that will be the same price as their pasta special on Wednesday so you might be in luck and have a amazing pasta dish that day. Their happy hour dishes are a good deal too. I've had their mozzarella balls and they were quite tasty. Overall, a great time to come on a Wednesday. Now if they would only bring their pizza specials back.

This review is specific to a Happy Hour experience M-F 2-6 PM: $4 wine, beer and bellini's (raspberry and peach), attractive decor, and tasty food. All-round-winner! Two drinks, appy, entree and dessert came to under $50. The peach bellini was great, not watered down at all. My companions enjoyed their pinot grigio. I came here based off Instagram, and the food overall DID live up to the drool-inducing pics. The gluten free pizza was not memorable. The arancini, meatballs and chicken parm made our skirts fly up! Delish. The flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut must be tasted to understand how entirely divine it is. If you like a salty carbonara with prosciutto, you will appreciate the handcrafted noodles in creamy sauce (too salty for this gal). Located in Chinook Mall Saks, it is the PERFECT place to have a tasty inexpensive meal and then head off to the cinemas upstairs. The waitstaff/manager were very friendly and skilled. They let us know they are contemplating a late-night happy hour as well. I would be on board for that! There is an upcoming 3 course price-fixed menu as well.

Where do I start, my husband and I are visiting family from Texas and we were desperate to find a good Italian place that was close to our hotel. We stopped in with low expectations considering some of our prior dining experiences in the area but WOW we were completely blown away. We went in for dinner, had drinks, coffee, & dessert! The pricing was so reasonable for the AMAZING quality the food had. The customer service was truly a breath of fresh air! Highly recommend if you're looking for great food, great customer service, and an unforgettable experience!!

My husband booked a table in Valentine's Day and the restaurant was so short staffed, we had to wait for long time to be seated and served and the food was not the greatest. I ordered mushroom risotto and it was disappointing. I would never go again.

Would definitely pass on this restaurant. Pasta was sub par with little flavour. My husband had the lasagna and said it tasted like it had been frozen and then heated up.

Dont bother, im serious, food fair at the mall is better, service was ok, food was disgusting, ordered a ragu pasta, was gross looked like chef~ boy ~ardee presentation was so unappealing, taste was the same. Calamari was the worst ive ever had. Beautiful room , nice looking cocktail menu , but the food was beyond bad. Will never be back .

We loved Buffo! With all the traditional Italian cuisines, plus some you might not have seen before, it's a great place to sit, eat, chat and enjoy! Connected to the mall too! We really loved the branzino fish dish on top of risotto with a soft poached egg, and the customer service + atmosphere was second to none. Overall, we highly recommend Buffo to anyone looking for a new Italian restaurant to try in the southwest, and possibly a new staple on your list of best restos to head back to again and again! https://www.bestcalgaryhomes.com/buffo-ristorante-calgary-italian-restaurant-review/

Tried Buffo recently at lunch as I had to go to Bay to get a new suit jacket ... and thought I'd try a new place. Service was okay & food was fine. I will not rush back.

I like the place, ambience, customer service and although the food were portioned smaller than I anticipated the quality ingredients and taste were great. I recommend the Risotto Nero, Carbonara (in house made pasta) and the Grilled Calamari (Brown butter taste so good). The Buffo pizza was yummy, but it didnt justify the $26 price tag and it wasn't even cut. The tiramisu was a let down, I prefer the cake. The one disappointment that stood out for me was that I ordered another Carbonara for takeout since I enjoyed it. It was way too salty! I don't know what happened, but it was a huge letdown and I couldn't finish the pasta for how salty it was. Overall, I may come back next time to try out other menu items.

Wasn't the best ever but not worst It's a nice restaurant and love that they have normal tables and not the really high ones Went on Tuesday and it was 1/2 priced pizza and pasta. Started off with the buffo bread and the first order was really flavourful and wonderful, the second order was over cooked and not as great. I loved my pasta the carbonara it was yummy and lots of black pepper My friend got the regular tomato sauce and meatballs and it tasted off it was super bland We had the bartender as our waitress even though we were not sitting at bar, she was so busy making drinks that she didn't give us much attention. I had high hopes based on hype and it wasn't as great as I have read I'm want to go back and try the pizza before I totally make up my mind

What a cheap waste of space in the beautifully renovated space that Saks Fifth Avenue has taken over in Chinook Centre. I went here twice and was extremely disappointed both times. I went to Buffo for brunch with my mother a couple months ago, she ordered the Proscuitto and Melon plate and I ordered their version of Eggs Benedict with gluten free bread. Our server was incredibly rude and clinical to start off with, which we both noted right away. After we got our drinks, all she said to us was "Are you ready?" Nothing else. I mean whatever, maybe she was having a bad day, I understand but it's doesnt help with the rest of my experience I had here.... my mom enjoyed her plate of proscuitto and melon and my gluten free bread was harder than a rock. I normally don't complain too often at restaurants as I'm pretty easy to please unless you have REALLY fucked up. I found it so difficult to cut my gluten free bread that I was using so much "elbow grease" and still wouldn't budge. A part of it actually popped off my plate I was trying to cut it so hard. When I complained to the server all she said was "well you ordered gluten free bread...." in a tone like "what do you expect?". I have been gluten free for over 5 years and there are so many products out there that taste just like real bread! Local Care Bakery carries the best gluten free bread and supplies it to a lot of restaurants! I was at 80th and Ivy (closed not too long ago) a few years ago and ordered gluten free bread with brunch and I actually had to ask the server if it was a mistake! It tasted so much like real bread and he told me that they get all their gluten free bread from Care Bakery. The server's response is unacceptable to me and I am clueless as to how they would even find this bread acceptable to serve to clients. Management took it off the bill which was very nice, but that was a problem that could've been avoided with a quality check of the bread or maybe training staff better if it was prepared incorrectly. So we decided to return to Buffo yesterday for brunch, I wasn't going to write them off just yet, hoping they have learned from experiences like that! Where there's smoke, there's fire, so I'm sure there are other customers out there who have experienced something similar from this restaurant. This time the food was extremely bland and lacked any flavour. We ordered the proscuitto again, Arancini and Caprese salad to share. The proscuitto itself tasted like it was very poor quality this time, I found the melon okay but my mother stated that it tasted like it had been frozen beforehand. The dairy mixture (not sure if it was cottage cheese? Or something else?) didn't add anything to the dish as well. The Arancini tasted like a frozen microwaveable meal with $2 canned tomato sauce on top. The Caprese salad was definitely better than the first two but not a knockout either. For $15 they give you a slab of fior do latte cheese with a few tomato slices, basil, balsamic vinegar and a flavourless dressing. The tomatoes tasted very fresh and fior di latte is delicious but everything else didn't seem to come together. How do you fuck up Caprese salad? Jesus. The whole meal though was a regretful $71. Our server this time was very pleasant! Our bill didn't have his name on it but he was lovely. I won't be returning. I also want to give a personal shout out to the plastic plates that two of our appetizers were served on and the flimsy cheap grandmother looking silverware!! (Pictures are attached) On a positive note our side plates were cute and sleek. What a cheap excuse in Saks Fifth Avenue. Their marketing and decoration of the interiors are on point, but finish the rest properly for your customers. You're halfway there it seems but the beautiful interior decor won't make clients want to come back, high quality food and attention to detail will! Their marketing and interior design strikes me that I'm going to be presented something high end and promising, but I was severely let down after both experiences here. Do better!!

Tried the Buffo pizza during brunch it was delightful! The sauce on the pizza was great - the the right mix of sweet and tart. Service was excellent - our server was quite helpful at picking dishes. I'll definitely be back to try more pizzas and pasta!

My husband and I came here for dinner shortly after it opened. We ordered the caprese salad, a Buffo pizza and a squid ink pasta and every course were made with fresh ingredients and quite delicious! The pasta especially was freshly made and had so much flavour. It was fun sitting at the kitchen counter so you get to see the pizzas being made. I would definately come back to try the other items on the menu.

An okay. My sister and I enjoyed the atmosphere here and the food... I'd say 1 star. I ordered Beefsteak Tomato Caprese and Linguine Carbonara, the salad was nice but small with pricy, and the pasta of Linguine got a lots of black pepper in the white sauce... Not really enjoyable meal, hardly to eat it all. My sister had Arugula salad and Lasagna.... she said "Look at this, look like a serious cheap with too high price, I could buy a box of arugula at Sobeys and put my favorite dressing and sparkle of Parmesan for $5.00!", and her lasagna was over cooked and the bottom got burnt. She said, "Why the Chef sent this unappreciative plate to me? If I am Trump's kid, I'd fire him!" We won't come back.

I got the New Years special menu. This place is quite different from the regular Italian I expected. Overall the place is not overly noisy. Pricing was about par. Food tasted generally great although I'd like a little more flavor to my mushroom risotto. I will be back to try more!

We came here a couple nights ago and were pleasantly surprised! The atmosphere is amazing, almost a cross between a retro 50s diner and a posh, fancy Italian restaurant. We sat in the main area, and got to watch the chef prepare our meal through the large open space between the kitchen and the dining area. The service is prompt and friendly. Our appetizers arrived quickly, along with a free pizza because our server accidentally took it down. It was delicious, however, and we ate every slice. The pizza was called "the Buffo" and I will be sure to order it the next time we visit. Our caprese salad and Buffo bread were excellent as well. Next came our entrées. I ordered the Margherita pizza, which was delicious. The ingredients are extremely high quality and the crust was very light and airy. The rest in our party had the "Pimento" pasta with shrimp, the salmon, and they were even able to accommodate a child in our party with spaghetti and butter. Everyone loved their meal! For dessert, I had the strawberry gelato (What can I say? I'm a kid at heart) and my friend's daughter ordered the flourless chocolate cake. The gelato was great and I ate all of it. I tried some of the chocolate cake and liked it, too, although I preferred mine. If you're looking for a good Italian meal for a reasonable price, Buffo is the place to go.

Though the portion is smaller than I anticipated. Kayla who was our waitress for the night was AMAZING. I'd come back for just her. We had the meatball to start with, it had tons of flavor. I ordered the rissoto Nero which is different from anything I've had before but it was really good!! For desserts we tried th tarimisu cannoli and flourless chocolate cake both was amazing and rich in flavor. I can't stress enough how amazing Kayla was, she made our experience at Buffo memorable and I would totally come back just for her!

Great music and ambiance! I also loved the decor , so chic ! The food arrived quickly I had a salad called the vegano ( good option for vegans! ) and the buffo bread witch was great. People were dressed casual but again I was there early so I don't know if it gets more fancy at night.

Nice decor. Food was good with nice flavour and a solid variety. Good wine selection and cocktails as well. What did turn me off was no free refills on pop - seriously. At a cost of like $0.15 per glass to the restaurant not offering free refills is cheezy. Total money grab there. I know that does seem not like a big deal but does make me question going back when looking for a place to go.

I love trying new restaurants and my partner and I are huge Italian food lovers, so we were really excited to try Buffo. The decor and style of the restaurant really caught my eye, loved the blue and gold. However, nothing else wow'd us after that. The server/bartender was awkward, introducing himself twice to us made us feel we were easily forgotten. We ordered a Buffo caesar and a beer. Our food came out way before the meal. We had no drinks until halfway through the meal when the server came over and claimed "who knew making drinks could be so taxing" ... YOU'RE A BARTENDER! My portion size was disappointing. I ordered the ravioli for $23.95 and there was 5 raviolis, and they were not huge. Bread is not complimentary, you either have to pay for bread with your pasta or leave the sauce on the plate. We didn't receive a quality check from our server. Finally when we got our bill he told us this was his first Friday shift and he thought he did great. A weird comment for him to make as we are paying the bill and definitely did not experience "great" service. Will not be returning to this establishment

My husband and I decided to give this restaurant a try because of their Summer Feast menu, which offers one appetizer, one entree and one dessert for $35. I had the spaghetti and meatball entree, and he had the chicken . The food, including our appetizers, was shockingly bland. My husband commented it was like a key spice or ingredient was missing. The spaghetti was particularly disappointing - I've made much better pasta at home! The sauce was too acidic and actually upset my stomach, and the meatball was flavourless. Even the dessert was just "meh". While the atmosphere and decor is quite nice, and the service was reasonably good, the food was a total disappointment. I would not recommend this restaurant.

We just finished a delicious meal! My husband loved the lasagna, the noodles are made in house. The chicken fingers our son ate were perfect, the Roman Caesar had fresh crisp lettuce with just the right amount of dressing. I enjoyed the mushroom bruschetta and meatballs. Our server was delightful and the rest of the staff was friendly and helpful. We will be back!

We were invited to a soft open. It was a great experience to see the hustle of a restaurant opening up to the public. The staff were awesome. Very welcoming and cared about our opinion on the 3 course meal offered. Decor was beautiful and high quality. You felt comfortable the second you walked in. We decided to order a cocktail, a Bellini. It was way too strong so I would suggest asking them first how strong the drink is if you're considering ordering one. We were told after that the Gin and Tonic is to die for. So on our next visit, we must try it. The first course was a tuna salad of sorts. It was very good, however, a bit salty. Second course was 2 pizzas. AMAZING. The Buffo pizza was fantastic. Sweet and savory. Just ask for extra napkins cause it's a bit sticky and eating with your fingers is a must. They won't judge :). We had the anatra pizza as well. Tasty. Crust was perfect, soft and light. Only comment was that the Buffo came cut but not the anatra so it was a bit awkward trying to cut into it. Again.. fingers are a must in this situation. Last was dessert. We got the 3 nuttela donuts. So yummy but very very sweet. Pairing it with tea or coffee is the perfect ending to a wonderful experience. This restraurant will do very well!

I absolutely loved the food however our server didn't have a lot of common sense and she often snapped back at us, we found that she was quite rude unless she earned something out of it and she talked to much to others and rarely helped us she even had one of the other servers helping clean up while she was talking! Over all great restaurant just some this lady needs to smarten up and realize what's going on around her!

Loved the food at Buffo. We went on a Wednesday and they had happy hour from 3-6. We grabbed a plate of Arincini balls (should have gotten more!!!) they were so good! We then shared a Caprese salad and upgraded to add Burrata cheese (worth it IMO) and the buffo pizza. Delicious. My 9 year old opted to have the kids chicken fingers and said they were really good as well.

My husband and I were excited to go and try out a new, trendy-looking restaurant when we saw Buffo. After that it was downhill. Our server was rude and abrupt, as there was absolutely no welcome or small talk involved with her. The food was overpriced and mediocre at best. Definitely will not be going back there ever again!

Our service was not great, but the food was amazing! It's reasonably priced food, the ambience is great. The noise level is very high in there and so if you have a difficult time hearing in large crowds this restaurant is not great for you. I have to say almost every aspect of the menu is spot on except the beer selection...it is mediocre! There are so many brewery's in Calgary and they are all better than Trolley Five. Please do your clientele a favour especially those who don't love wine and get a better selection of local micro brews!

Despite having a nice ambience, the food was average at best. I went there with friends from work and not a single dish was above average. It is not bad, but for the price should be better.

The restaurant is modern with clean lines but has the severe decor so popular today. No sense of cosiness at all! The waitresses were trying hard. We went in at 4:00 P.M. and one of our party of three had a dairy allergy. We were limited to a starter menu between 4:00 and 5:00 P.M. and almost nothing on the menu was dairy free. The restaurant accommodated us by leaving the cheese out of the bruschetta which we ate while waiting until five o'clock to order from the dinner menu. We asked for bread too but all the bread had cheese baked into it so that was a nonstarter. Unfortunately, the toast that the bruschetta came on was very blackened. The dinner menu was not your usual fare. For example, the only available risotto on the menu had squid. Not everyone's cup of tea for risotto. The pizzas were exotic in terms of toppings and most of the dishes on the menu had an unusual twist which made them a dodgy choice for those who like simple or traditional fare. I opted for the duck pizza with Belgium endives and sweet apple. Too much endive and once again the crust was blackened instead of nicely crisped and toasted! I don't like the taste of "burnt". My friends had lasagna and spaghetti which they said was very average in flavour. All in all, I don't think I would recommend this restaurant and I don't think that I will return - at least not for a very long time. Frankly, I will be surprised if Buffo is much of a success without making some serious changes.