Buona Terra

08/26/08

Horrible service from upper management

by eeeater at Citysearch

Food good, waitstaff nice, upper management snotty and act like you are doing them a favor by eating at their restaurant. Can go elsewhere for a friendlier environment.

• Pros: plenty of street parking before the rush
• Cons: snotty

08/11/08

Wife of Owner is not one for customer service

by Ntha at Citysearch

The wife of the owner is rude and demanding. Should have known when making the reservation that this would be a bad experience. We went for a birthday dinner. She wanted the party of 8 -10 people to have decided what their menu choices were prior to coming to the restaurant. Who has ever heard of such a thing? When one goes to a dining facility and receives their menu and hears the specials is when one decides on their order.

When she was asked about using credit cards to pay the bill she made a scene in front of the birthday girl/ host. She was complaining that it would take too long to run two different amounts on 2 cards. Huh? How much longer could it possibly take ? 20 seconds at most?

Our waiter was as nice and accomodating as he could be with such a demanding owner. The food was average to good but not worth the hassle of putting up with such rudeness. It's a shame. She left a bad impression on everyone in our party and most of us are local and could potentially be regulars. I guess getting guests in and out and turning tables is more important than customer service. Will not be returning.

• Pros: Gracious waiter
• Cons: Poor service from owner

05/09/08

Good Restaurant Gone Bad

by BucktownDiner at Citysearch

This was once an inviting neighborhood place with decent food and good service. After dining at Buona Terra for over five years, I find that the new staff is wholly indifferent to the needs or desires of diners. The wait staff carried forward from the glory days remains as great as ever, but they cannot make up for the disdain dished out by the newcomers. After several meals in a row tainted by snottiness, I see no reason to hope that Buona Terra will return to its former, friendly self. Ciao.

• Pros: Price Fixe Night; Pasta
• Cons: Stale Menu and Sour Service