Cucina Buca

We chose Cucina Buca on St. Clair to ring in the New Year, and while we’ve been to other Buca locations before, this was our first visit to this one. The restaurant itself is stunning—beautifully designed yet cozy. As always, the food was excellent and consistent with the high standards we’ve come to expect from Buca. We can always count on an outstanding meal here. While we enjoyed our evening overall, our waiter seemed a bit distant and didn’t bring the warm, engaging service we were hoping for. He mentioned he had a long day, and we completely understand that everyone has long days—we’re all human after all! That said, a little more energy or a smile here and there would have gone a long way in making the experience even better. We’ve seen some reviews noting similar concerns about service, and while our experience wasn’t bad, we hope to see an improvement in service during our next visit. We truly love Buca and look forward to returning soon!

January 3, 2025 on Google

We had a wonderful lunch. Loved their service and food

December 28, 2024 on Google

Excellent Food and ambience. Central and easy to access location. Great presentation as well as taste. Good vegetarian selection. The INSALATA BARBABIETOLE salad was very good. The PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE was very crispy and good flavour. The FOCACCIA DI RECCO and PANSOTTI are very tasty. The spaghetti was bland. For dessert, the TORTA DELLA NONNA is delicious. The main Host was terrific... but table Service was basic, an area that needs to be addressed and consistent throughout the restaurant for place with such great food. Definitely worth the visit.

December 20, 2024 on Google

Food is great, the vibes are even better. Cute little gem at St. Claire. We walked in to this place to celebrate our anniversary and it did not disappoint. We got the garlic knots to start and that was great. They have a lot of dairy-free options and the one I chose for the main is the red sauce pasta with mussels. Sooo delicious guys! They cooked the pasta perfectly, and it had the perfect amount of meat! As far as dessert goes, the blood orange gelato was too sweet for me - pick something else. They have a lot of other options if you’re okay with dairy. The food isn’t even my favourite part - this place is lowkey gorgeous. Love all the understated and beautiful interior design touches. The table setting was to die for. Love the squiggly placemats and each vessel/utensil was picked intentionally. Oh and I found a nice little surprise under my gelato. It’s the small design choices like these really make a place memorable.

December 17, 2024 on Google

This is my longest review ever, but this place truly deserves it. We initially planned to dine at another restaurant down the street, but choosing this spot turned out to be a delightful surprise. The food was simply amazing—everything was flavorful and well-prepared. However, the standout feature was the service! Gus was our host, and although we had to wait a bit to be seated (we were a group of six without a reservation), he apologized and offered us focaccia as a courtesy for our patience. We had a fantastic night; everything and everyone was wonderful. The icing on the cake was when I thought I left something behind at the restaurant. I called, and Gus personally checked for me, went to the restaurant and waited until I got there to try finding my personal belonging. He even sent photos from the security camera to ease my worries, all on a Sunday afternoon! Who does that? This clearly shows the care and dedication they have for their customers. I want to ensure places like this thrive. With great food, reasonable prices, and genuinely kind staff, it’s a must-visit!

September 22, 2024 on Google

We came here on a Friday night and had heard a lot of good reviews. Atmosphere was good and not overly loud. Food was fantastic! We had beef carpaccio and beet salad for appetizers and grilled octopus and pasta as mains. The octopus had some spicy kick to it that I really enjoyed! Drinks and wine all were very good. The total bill came to just short of $400.

January 8, 2024 on Google

While the restaurant boasts a sophisticated ambiance, the culinary experience fell short of expectations. The upscale atmosphere sets a delightful tone, but unfortunately, the same level of excellence doesn't extend to the food. The dishes lacked the flavorful punch anticipated in a high-end establishment like this. The service was all right. Nothing that you'd consider outstanding. We asked for help with the wine list and the waitress who helped did not seem to really know what she was talking about. I did not even finish my dessert, which I always do, I ordered a tiramisu, just not great.

October 2, 2023 on Google

Outstanding! Didn't have a reso but they got us seated right away on their patio. Unfortunately it started raining 10 min after that but the staff was very quick to find us a table inside. Service was very good. Food was also creative and very well done. We had several appetizers, 2 mains and deserts - ALL were great. Atmosphere felt kind of like some of the places we went to in Europe when living in Germany but obviously larger in size. Nicely decorated, bright space, no loud music - the patrons enjoying themselves and staff doing their thing create the vibe. Definitely will return and make this place a regular visit.

July 27, 2023 on Google