Reviews & Ratings for Buona Sera Restaurant

11/03/09

GOOD FOOD AND SERVICE

by village08 at Citysearch

Amazing atmosphere, delicious food and great service. Highly recommended

02/28/09

Worst experience at a restaurant ever

by Sleepensheep at Citysearch

My fiancee and I were read the specials very quickly. All we really heard was clams, mussels, bla bla bla, lobster sauce. Sounded good...until we got it. Our waiter spoke very quickly when giving the specials, but fiancee and I was absolutely sure he never mentioned squid ink pasta.

It was absolutely disgusting. We asked if we could have it switched with a pasta made from flower, water and egg but were told by the manager, who did not seem to care that his waiter never mentioned the squid ink, that we would be charged for the additional meals. We eventually got them to simply make a little more pasta and simply dump the clams, mussels, etc. on the pasta. What we finally received was very good.

Unfortunately, the service continued to be rude. At one point another waiter, not ours at all, decided it was his place to come over, asked if we liked what we ate, then went on to say that people come to their restaurant and ask for the squid ink specifically, essentially saying that we were out of place to dislike the squid ink and should have eaten the food.

This waiter's comment was completely uncalled for. Furthermore, I don't care what other people request. Some people request some pretty sick things in this city. Does that mean I should be into it too?

Finally we got our check and discovered another thing people should be warned about. You don't get the prices with the specials. While a normal pasta and clam sauce will cost you $15 a dish, the specials go for about $32.

Overall, the food was okay, but not worth the money at all! Rocco's off W. Houston is far FAR better. And the overall customer service was the worst I've experienced.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Draft, rude, cramped, slow, argumentative, bland, OVERPRICED

12/21/08

Worse service and food!!!

by Michael1975ny at Citysearch

I went to this over expansive restaurant few days ago with my girlfriend, and what I got???? 120 dollars check for 2 SPECIALS that waitress never warned us about that they are 34,75. Waitress was very bad and how about owner? Screaming at staff in front of guests. This was worse dinning experience I had in my life. Poor very poor restaurant. It doesn't even deserve to be on citysearch list. Please avoid this place.

• Pros: none
• Cons: service,food,owner

04/29/08

Horrible Food for the Price...

by dulcet at Citysearch

The food was bland and the seafood was overcooked! For the price of food at this restaurant, one would expect a decent meal...but it's not what you will get! I did get an attentive waitress.

• Pros: live music

04/25/08

Good food, poor service

by danpatten at Citysearch

Well I enjoyed the food there, specially Linguine alle Vongale very tasty. But I agree with other people the service needs some work.

• Pros: Food is tasty
• Cons: poor service

04/15/08

good food though a little overpriced

by gojugrl7 at Citysearch

It strikes me that this is a little touristy given the off-Union Square location, but it is definitely convenient, which is why a friend and I met there last night. It was not crowded because it was a Monday night, so we chose a quiet table on the opposite side of the restaurant from the live music--we could still hear it and it was a nice touch, not too loud at all. The service was attentive but a little too much so: coming over and turning up a really bright light when we were trying to read something (it is dark in there); but that was just to be nice really. I had the insalata del bosco, which is portabella and grilled mozzarella served over arugula with a sweet and rich balsalmic reduction. The mussels and clams appetizer was garlicky but good, with just enough broth for sopping up with the focaccia (and yes the tomato essence that comes w/ the bread basket is good--just serve a bigger portion of it please!) I tried my friend's penne ala vodka and it was what a good version of this dish should be. I thought the prices were high for pretty simple trattoria-style food but I would go there again for Italian on Union Square.

01/27/08

Bad food, terrible service

by zatang at Citysearch

I wish I had read reviews here before eating (and wasting) my Sun brunch. Their "live jazz" enticed us and we went in, only to have the worst possible customer service experience. The food is pretty bad and the service even worse. The manager is a complete waste who should be featured in one of those celebrity Chef Gorden's Kitchen Nightmare shows.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY TO GO HERE.

01/27/08

Worst Service in NYC

by AmitHoboken at Citysearch

DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT! My wife and I, and two other friends went to this restaurant for brunch because they advertized a live jazz band and the food looked pretty good. The waiter we had was really nice and I kind of feel sorry for him that he has to work in a place run by a manager who is so degrading, mean and plain and simply rude. The food wasnt the best, but the service was horrible. The tomato sauce that accompanies the bread basket is pretty good so we ordered some additional sauce with our meal, but the owner came by and said that he would charge us for an additional bread basket, when we didnt even ask for more bread. In addition one of our friends thought the cobb salad nicoise was just full of string beans and nothing else, so asked the owner if we can replace the salad with something else, and he gave us this indifferent look and flatly said no. There are tons of other places in NYC to go to for brunch. Do not go here.!

• Pros: Location, Ambience
• Cons: VERY POOR SERVICE, MANAGER HAS AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM

08/10/07

Big disappointment

by leecam at Citysearch

I had eaten here once or twice before and the food was decent. But I recently went back there and was horrified by the service. It was pretty crowded when my friend and I walked in, but there were still about four or five 4-tops available. We were told they couldn't seat us and they put us at the bar. We sat there while the bartender frantically poured drinks in front of us, and NO ONE even acknowledged our presence. The bartender, in her frantic state, tipped a bottle of red wine onto me and my friend and didn't even stop working. She just looked at us and kept working. The two of us are standing there with red wine spotting our clothes and my pretty expensive handbag, and it took a good minute for a waiter to come over offering club soda. They didn't apologize or offer one of the tables still sitting empty. As we left we tried to get the name of the manager, and no one would tell us. We called back and the bartender yelled at my friend and said she saw what happened and there was nothing on "the girl's skirt." Funny...I was wearing pants. I will never go there again.

• Pros: Standard Italian
• Cons: Terrible service, no accountability

07/14/07

Mediocre food, bad service

by wlbrown at Citysearch

We actually live in the neighborhood and about once a year I try this restaurant HOPING that they improve. We had some family in from out of town and they saw the open windows while we were walking by and said, 'ooh...that looks nice. Let's go there."

Disappointed again. It's a damn shame that the place has to be so bad. The house Cabernet that they charged $9 a glass for was virtually undrinkable. The pasta was overcooked and the sauces bland. And the staff was rushed and made you feel uncomfortable. When asking for parmasean cheese, you'd think I'd asked for the waitress' first born!

Go a block in any direction to find a more appealing and more satifying meal.

• Pros: Location good
• Cons: Primarily service. Food a close second.