Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

I'm surprised to be writing this review. I expected to love Il Buco A&V, but was really put off by both the service and food quality. I expected the short rib to be more tender and the pastas to be more interesting. To be fair, the gnochi was delicious. To add insult to injury, you'd think the bread would also be tastier if they charge $1/pp. I likely won't return.

I wish they had better service b/c I go back happily (except for the irritating bread charge). But the meal was so rushed and charmless that it was a drag.

I have now been to Il Buco A&V three times. Each time I have either loved or liked the food I ordered. I love the concept, a bit like eating at a real Italian cafe. My first two visits I sat at the bar in the back room (the restaurant) where though I was near others, the roominess was fine and the wait staff and bartender were good and the food excellent. HOWEVER, last night I was seated in a small table against the wall and my friend and I felt squeezed. This was after I requested specific bar seats (twice!) in the weeks approaching our night's dinner. OK, so the table rocked and needed a matchbook. (Annoying that we never got one.) That happens. But here is the rub: the service was so fast and so unctuous that we were not left alone for more than 60 seconds at a time. I don't know the exact amount of times a bus boy or waiter came to our table, but after a while I began to count and at that point I eneded at 37 times, in a 2 hour meal! Which we asked them to slow up. It got so bad that the waitress poured us a new glass of wine and before we were able to take a sip she poured another refill in those same glasses, oblivious. We wanted to use bread to soak up juices on a plate after we'd split the pasta, and literally, 5 times did someone try to take that plate away in the course of 2 minutes. When we finally asked them to "leave us alone" they did so -- for 5 minutes or so, then the rush began all over again. I don't need that kind of crap when I am paying 300 hundred bucks for a meal. Il Buco A&V is approaching a staggering lack of awareness about themselves. A waiter or bus person should not try and take your plate away while you're still chewing and there's still stuff on your plate! Stop pouring a dribble more of water into our glasses when they don't need it -- let us drink the water down before re-pouring! Especially, given our seats, when the bus person had to reach over my shoulder, rubbing his armpit on me, to pour. My meal felt rushed, interrupted (many conversations were stopped in their tracks) and I left frustrated and claustrophobic, just the opposite of the way I would like to feel. I wanted to be transported by what is very good or even excellent food. The wait staff ruined it. I will not return for a while. Maybe I will go back to Il Buco, the flagship, which presents a much more spacious, languorous, experience. Or maybe I'll just go elsewhere.

While the food is good ,especially the grilled rib, the whole experience is not. From the if you dont call and confirm your reservation the day before you are cancelled to the $1 charge for bread to the surly rushed service the entire experience is unpleasant. $200 for one hour dining just not worth it.

I have been to Il Buco once before and decided to go back since my first experience was a good one. I ordered the porchetta entree which without exaggeration was 95% fat. Even the waiter was amazed. I rarely complain about a dish in a restaurant, especially since sometimes it is just a matter of tastes differing. But I cannot believe the chef could send out a signature dish that was completely inedible. I will not return, even though the staff was gracious and apologized.

I will go back again!

Our lunch at Il Buco lasted 4 hours, and every moment was pleasant. The food was unbelievably good: our shared roasted artichoke and roasted octopus were delicious; my (huge) porchetta panino with arugula and salsa verde was close to perfect, and included more cracklings than usual in this type of sandwich (an undeniable plus). Our waiter was excellent too: a young Italian guy who was quite knowledgeable about food and wine offerings and also apparently well-acquainted with how to ply his trade: there when you needed him, absent when you didn't. The place is nothing to speak of, decor-wise, but the fact that the hours passed without our noticing is a tribute to how innately comfortable it is. The friend I was with noted that he had had an equally good dinner there last week. Highly recommended.