Recommendations on What to Eat at Maggiano's or Buca De Beppo

I love Buca. Each time we go, we get the Fetucini Alfredo Supremo. It comes with chicken and veggies like brocolli and roasted red peppers. I've also had the Chicken Marsala. It was very good as well.

Maggiano's is some of the best Italian food I have ever eaten and the best place to have a family style dinner...Awesome service and atmosphere!! You definitely can't go wrong with the Lasagna its the best I've eaten in DFW!!!

Maggiano's Rigatoni D (pasta/chicken/mushrooms in cream sauce) and the Chicken Spinach Manicotti are both big hits at all my sister's parties!!! Really anything at Maggiano's is delicious :)

The lasagne at Maggiano's is great...it is so good that they actually run out of it!! But we have never had anything at Maggiano's that we didn't like.

K.

We LOVE Bucca, we've been to both and like Maggiano's too. But Bucca has a more intimate feel and the food is excellent!! Last weekend when we were there I notice a room with a large round table, lazy susan in the middle of it.

I have never been to the other but Maggiano's is delicious!

I have been to both, most recently to Buca de Beppo for my mom's 65th birthday. Maggiano's is very elegant, Buca is bright and cheerful. Food is great at either-had chicken picatta dish @ Buca.(Family style portions) I also recommend Johnny Carino's. Very family friendly, HUGE portions/menu selection. Everything on their menu is delicious. For a family with small children I think Carino's or Buca's would be better. Enjoy the party! Happy birthday to your hubby!

I've been to both several times and personally prefer Maggiano's. At Maggiano's we ALWAYS get the Rigatoni D, which is Rigatoni pasta with chicken, sweet caramelized onions and mushrooms in a marsala wine sauce. We also always get the Maggiano's salad which has greens, red onions, blue cheese crumbles, pancetta and A. amazing vinaigrette. We've tried many of the other dishes, including the one's that have already been recommended, but these are the dishes we always go back for.

At Buca de Beppo, the only thing that really stands out for me are the meatballs. They were darn good. We've tried the chicken parmesan, the chicken marsala, the spaghetti, ravioli, manicotti, pizza, salad and some other things there too, but I honestly can't point to any one thing I liked best there, except for the meatballs. The food is great, don't get me wrong. I just don't really have a standout favorite there. I do recommend, if you can (depending on how big your party is), get the booth in the kitchen. I think it will seat 6, but I'm not sure. You definitely have to reserve it in advance.

Bon appetit!

If you go to Maggiano's you have to get the chicken spinach mannicotti. It is the absolute best. We sometimes will drive 30 minutes just to pick it up for take out.

I second the lobster ravioli at Maggianio's! It's great!

LOVE Mag's Eggplan Parm. Really have not had anything bad there, though. I'm not crazy about their salads but I'm a picky salad person and don't eat pork or blue cheese.

Not sure how many guests you are having but they do have a party room...not sure how it works or the cost but ask.

You will most likely enjoy no matter what.

Have a great time!

Maggiano's has A. excelllent parmesean chicken.

I've never had anything bad at either place. The chicken marsala is good at both places. Maggianos has a good Gnocchi and I love Buca's Pasta Arribiata. As for sides, they both have great salads, and I love Buca's garlic mashed potatoes. Maggianos has a great stuffed mushroom appitizer.

I agree with those who have said to choose Maggiano's over Buca. I ate at Buca once and have no desire to go back. The food was not good, no matter how fun the atmosphere is. Everything I've had at Maggiano's is tasty -- love the Maggiano's salad.

Buca De Beppo hands down, it's fabulous! They take you through the kitchen before they seat you, there is even a special table in the kitchen that I believe that a party can reserve. The food is excellent! The dishes are huge so it's great to share, it's a great family place. We have just always ordered a sample dish, but their ravioli is good as well.

for appetizer...fried mozzarella...to die for!!!
for entree....chicken parmigiano.....my absolute favorite!!

havea great time!

Maggiano's is yummy! Zucchinni appetizer and mushroom ravioli are the best

Maggiano's--hands down. The food is better overall but is definitely better quality than Buca de Beppo. Buca uses the cheap, powdery parmesan cheese on the table, which makes me question the quality of the food they send out. Maggiano's has consistently good, high quality food.

Hi A.:

We have been to both restaurants. Maggiano's for my husband's birthday and Buca di Beppo for both of my sons birthdays. Great minds think alike!

Honestly, I can't remember all that we ordered at Maggiano's but I do remember that it was pretty much all good. Much pricier than Buca, though.

At Buca, the Fetticini Alfredo is to die for! You can get it with or without chicken. The lasagna is good, not great (as I come from A. Italian family and loved my grandma's sauce). Their gargonzola salad is very good, too. Buca is great because the food is served family style. You can pick and choose several items. The portions are very large, so when the menu says something serves 1-2 people, it can probably serve 3-4!

Have fun celebrating!

I would say go with Buca. I've been to a few small b-day parties there and they were great, very accomodating as far as seating and getting what everyone wanted and/or needed and they usually have several of the wait staff checking on the party often. And of course the food was great.

K.

We have never been to Buca de Beppo but our family LOVES Maggiano's. Our absolute favorite is the Riggatoni D... (I think that is what it's called) It is a chicken and mushroom pasta dish. It is great for those that are picky eaters...and if someone doesn't like mushrooms they can be easily moved to the side. Pretty much anything from there is a sure bet....we have not tried anything that we don't like yet!

Hello A.,

Just wanted to let you know that basically any thing that you order at Buca de Beppo is absolutely delicous. Just remember that the serve family style portions so depending on amount of your guest will depend on how many dishes you order but be sure to order different dishes so you can taste them. I'm sure you'll like them all!!

http://www.sicilianosgarland.com/ This is not A. answer to your question but another Italian restaurant that is VERY family friendly. It is A. Italian family owned business and each of the kids and grand-kids has worked at the business at one time or another. The food is fantastic and (last I knew) the owner came in each day to make the cannolis himself. Click on the newsletter and learn a little about the family; or check out the menu. They have two areas for private parties.

Blessings to you and your family -- and your special gathering.

Hello. I have had parties at both places, but the one at Buca de Beppo was by far better. The food was perfect, the service was terrific and the atmosphere really made the night.

I feel that Maggianos has too open a feel for semiprivate party, yet Buca had the feelings like we were the only ones there and were really taken care of. Also, we were able to plan the menu ahead of time with management. It was such a great time, my grandma even had a beer.

I am a Bucca Fan. We have a dinner club and try out many restuarants (a group of 12 of us) and we had by far the best time there and we loved it. The meals are prepared by actual chefs and things aren't canned like you wil find at many restaurants like this. We are also able to be ourselves at Bucca and don't have to keep it down, which for us is good because we get loud at times trying to talk over each other to the next person.

We love the lobster ravoli at Maggianio's. I have also had the crab cake sandwich for lunchtime and it is to die for!!

Our other favorites at Maggiano's are the regular simple dishes of ravolior penne (daughter's fave), hubby and I love both chicken and veal parmesan, marsala and my favorite piccata.

Mmm, I am getting hungry thinking about that. We love the place! Enjoy

PS: I know Maggiano's at Northpark has a private dining area. We have been in a private dining party/room set up for about 15 people before which was very nice.

Both are great for a party because they serve family style. Buca is a little more casual, Maggiano a little more nice. However, I say Maggiano's is by far more delicious. Their Rigatoni D is DELICIOUS, the Maggiano's salad so good, and the lasagna is like twelve layers! I suppose it depends on how wild your group is! :)

We love Maggiano's...and I second the Lobster Ravioli and the eggplant parmesian but honestly, anything there is so good!!! I just love it!

Maggianos is the only one of the two we've been to. there we always get (take out or eat in) the Riggatoni D. And as someone else pointed out, if you don't like mushrooms, they are easy to removed- i'd know! LOL

also, at Maggianos my husband and the people in the family that like veggies love the spinach salad!!! i've had the salmon and it was really good as well. but after we'd had the riggatoni d for the first time that's all we ever get now....

It has been a while since we ate at Buca de Beppo, but they have a Tortelli dish with A. alfredo sauce that is out of this world.

Jen D.

I ate at Maggianos last night for a work deal and everything was excellant and their service is great. If you are a picky eater then I don't know what to tell you. I like just about everything. I've eaten Buca a couple of times and they are good too, great family size salads. But Maggianos has this cozy feeling and they have all their Christmas stuff out. They also have rooms you can reserve for small parties at the one at the Northpark mall. The rooms are very nice. Hope this helps.

Maggiano's by far!!!! Buca de Beppo is terrible. We're Italian and have had many celebrations at Maggiano's. Anything you order is great. If you do family style, you can keep ordering if you run out. Any leftovers they will box up for you to take home.

I have not been to Maggiano's however I have been to Buca De Beppo and let me tell you its phenomenal!!! IT is very family oriented that you need to just order a main dish and share it. They value the old Italian traditions where everybody just ate off everybody's plate. I went with a very large group around 30 people and we ordered 5 main dishes and some appetizers and that was more than enough with the bread. We ended up boxing up and giving to remains to thehomeless on our way back to our hotel, we were in DC on a travel study trip but we also didn't want to waste the food....

We had my husband and his twin brother's birthday party at Buca a couple of years ago. We had about a dozen guests plus our families and we asked for the Pope room. It is a room with a large round table with a lazy susan in the middle. It was great! You do have to have a minimum number of people to have the room though. I don't know the exact number. Also, Buca serves it's dishes family style with a couple of different size platters for each dish. It is great for a large group. The shrimp scampi dish is great!

Hey A. if you go to Maggiano's, on their menu they have a "family style" selection. It let's you choose from a couple of different items and I promise you can't go wrong with any of them. Good luck and have fun!