Buca di Beppo: Family Dining

One night, Ian and I decided to go to Buca di Beppo.  Even though this restaurant has been around for years, I had never been there.  I don't go out for Italian often.  This night, I wanted Italian, and I found out that I could get a coupon from the Buca di Beppo web site.

Buca di Beppo Castleton Location

We went to the Castleton location.  It's a free standing building behind the Castleton Mall in Indianapolis.  When we got there, the host asked us did we want to go the long way or the short way?  I had no idea what he meant, and I could barely hear what he was saying.  I know I'm loosing my hearing, but it was a little loud in the restaurant.  I guess if you take the long way, they walk you through the kitchen to see the cooks in action.  Since I made the poor kid repeat himself four or five times, he finally gave up and took us to our table!

The Menu

The menu is a spiral bound menu with a lot of options.  It's a bit overwhelming! It did have a pretty good description of every dish in there. 

Ian and the Decor

The decor at Buca di Beppos feels like a caricature of the Italian culture. With the red and white checkered table clothes, the family photos and photos of famous places in Italy, and the mood lighting around the restaurant, I felt like I was part of "The Godfather" movies.  I've never even seen a "Godfather" movie!

Bread and Oil

The bread at Buca di Beppo was like any other bread offered at an Italian restaurant.  The waitress went ahead and poured olive oil on a plate for us. Then, she asked if we wanted balsamic vinegar in the oil.  I had never tried that before, so, I told her to do it.  Well, it was interesting, but I've decided, I prefer the olive oil with Parmesan cheese. We did get a second loaf to share.

Stuffed Mushrooms

For our appetizer, we shared the Stuffed Mushrooms.  There were stuffed with prosciutto, cheese, sage and rosemary served on pesto cream sauce.  These were pretty tasty. 

Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce

The cheese ravioli has mozzarella, provolone, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses in it.  The original dish comes with Marinara sauce, but we requested meat sauce for ours.  The server kindly obliged!  All of the main dishes come in small or large sizes.  The small size feeds at least two people, and the large can feed four or more people.  All of the dishes are served Family Style at Buca di Beppo.  I thought that they served "Mio" sized dishes or dishes to serve one person, but those were not listed on the menu.  Maybe they are only served at lunch now.  The flavors in this dish are good.  It was a little watery though.  I couldn't tell if the pasta wasn't drained enough before being plated, or if the sauce was watery.  

I give this restaurant 2 pizza pies out of 4.  If you go, make sure you go with someone that will agree on what dish to share!  Also, I wish they had some kind of couples special or family meal deal like other places do.  We had a $10 coupon, but I felt for two people, it was a bit on the expensive side for pasta.  Maybe that makes me a bit cheap, but in this day and age, people need to feel like the meal is worth what they are paying for it!