Oh boy, oh boy. Beef, it's what's for dinner. On trip to Chicago, I was told there were 3 things I had to try: 1. Italian Beef Sandwich, 2. Chicago Hot Dog and 3. an official Deep Dish Pizza. On the menu for this night was Italian Beef. Buona Restaurant was a couple blocks from the hotel and was first on my list of must do's. It was a smallish restaurant with helpful staff. Sandwiches can have both hot and sweet peppers or no peppers at all. My sandwich also had some mozzarella (I could have had more). The small is about 6" and tasty to the last bite. Menu describes it as "Tender Italian-style beef on a toasted garlic Italian roll with sweet peppers, spicy giardiniera and a cup of beef jus." My dinner did not come with a side of au jus. It did, however, have sufficient au jus on the sandwich that a side was not really necessary. Delicious. Going to Chicago? Buona was a great place for a bite to eat. It's not a fancy restaurant, but it was a busy neighborhood place with happy staff and customers. read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Good location! Fast service and good food, the pasta is really fresh it always has fresh herbs on top. The outside is a nice area to sit. It happened to rain today so it wasn't as popular outside but we cleared off some chairs and we're fine there. I recommend for a solid fast bite to eat! Also not pictured but their brownies are awesome. read more

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Cheapest and the best beef burger I've ever had! Online ordering is pretty quick. Highly recommend! read more

We were looking for one of the best Chicago style hot dogs since we aren't from here and this place was suggested to us on Reddit. The hot dog was great! Not sure if it's "the best" or not, but it sure tasted good. read more

Buona - Hot dog - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Consistent, fast service with surprisingly one of the best burgers in Chicago. Of course, you can always stick with the Italian beef as I have done, its delicious too! If you get the onion rings, request extra crispy. read more

Quick service Italian place. I like how you order at the front or at a kiosk and they bring it to your table. Good place to get a quick bite or if eating alone. They pasta was a little overcooked but was tasty. A little overpriced for what it is but it is very convenient. I like how they have the red pepper flakes and cheese near the fountain drinks so you can add what you want. Will try the Italian beef next! read more

Great food! Had a short trip to Chicago and asked for recommendations on food from friends that had previously visited/lived there, and every single person told me to go to Buona. Picked this location due to the proximity to the Navy Pier. Great food, great location! read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here looking for a bite before a White Sox game and got the traditional Italian Beef. Service was super quick which was great as we were in a rush. They really load it up as it was tough to keep all the peppers in at the end. read more

This was the first time I've been to this particular Buona, I took a colleague here who was in from LA and had a great overall experience. We were in a rush to make a meeting during lunch time and low and behold it was very quick. We waited in line for a couple mins and had our food in two minutes tops. You could tell they do a lot of takeout business because of the to-go racks with all the DSP logos. It looked like the personal pizzas were popular based on all the people that had them in the dinning room. Highly recommended Buona if your in a hurry and want some tasty Chicago staple cuisine. read more

Buona - Buona Beefography - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Excellent place, just a block away from the hotel so a short walk, was busy inside, but after eating i can understand. they have a great range of menu options. and large portions as well to enjoy. the staff was kind and helpful and i will be back for sure during my next trip in to town! Food 4/5 Drinks 4/5 Staff 4/5 Cleanliness 3/5 Ambiance 3/5 Price 5/5 read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Visiting Chicago and need a quick lunch near my hotel. Asked for a local speciality nearby and hotel recommended Italian Beef sandwich at this place. Oh my, my first one so can't compare to others but it was fantastic!! Flavorful with melt in your mouth tender beef. Messy to eat but that's a good thing. Get the local giardiniera on it - not too spicy abd nice flavor. I love Philly cheesesteaks but these are a notch above. read more

Buona - Italian Beef sandwich with giardiniera. - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good service and a surprising array of options for various diets. The caprese sandwich makes for a yummy vegetarian option. Great for on-the-go lunches too. Service was on the slower side but appreciated the friendliness of the staff! read more

Just went to the location close to Erie street. I ordered two magherita pizzas for my mom and I and a broccoli soup. The magherita pizza was absolutely disgusting. The tomato sauce was thick and didn't taste good at all. What a disappointment. I guess you don't order pizza at a place who specialises in beef sandwiches but Buona was heavy on the advertising. read more

Staying at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, I saw about the new plant-based Italian Beef on the news and then read about it in the Chicago Tribune. Not being sure where this place is located, I was happy to see it's literally across the street for my fiancé to try. I told my nurse about it and she was excited as she's a vegetarian and can now have a plant based version of the Italian beef her coworkers love. One day, my fiancé went on to the app to order two large milkshakes at happy hour price, a plant based Italian beef, and a regular one. Trying both, we found they were equally good. The plant based one is slightly different and tastes like peppers. As we are soon heading back to Silver Spring, Maryland it would be nice to see them selling this at grocery stores across the country. The milkshakes are wonderful too. They are very thick and a large one would have been enough to share. read more

I like the daily specials that are not usually Chicago Beef Sandwiches (or beef for short.) I'm not a native, but a person who is recommended Buona for "beefs." He said theirs are an authentic representation of this local specialty. I like my beef baptized, with cheese, and hot (spicy hot), but I'm far from an expert on the matter. There are lots of other options on the menu, but the daily special - or the beef sandwich always draws me back to Buona - which is convenient to where I live at 600 NLSD. Buona Beef is sold frozen, in bulk, at Costco - so it must be pretty popular locally. I will have to explore other beefs for comparison - oh, happy chore! Stay tuned. Their COVID precautions seem adequate to above average. read more

I'd consider this a form of fast food. For fast food I'd give it 4 stars. As a "restaurant" I'd probably give it 2 stars. Moderate prices, but there are probably better Italian Beefs out there. read more

Thursday | 1130 Original Buona Beef Mozzarella, Hot Giardinera, Sweet peppers & Red gravy on the side Strawberry milkshake Wasn't busy at the time we came in with plenty of seats, you order number provided and they bring it to you. First time trying a Chicago Italian style beef and first bite was a "okay, not bad". Beef is thinly sliced and tender, bread I bet if was toasted a bit to add an extra crunch would be nice. The peppers overpowered the seasoning of the beef. Red gravy was seems like marinara sauce The strawberry milkshake was good and probably the favorite of this meal. Also around 1215, most tables are getting filled up. Would I ever come back? Sure but I'd try a different Italian beef place first. read more

Buona - Buona Beef & strawberry Milkshakes - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I only ordered the vegan Italian beef . The ordered on 2 separate occasions. It was pretty good read more

First restaurant I've eaten at since the pandemic began as I've been too nervous but I had a couple dr appts spread out and we were hungry. We went in to order and it was before the lunch rush so it was pretty quiet but those that were there were distanced and all had on masks. No one was eating inside at that time. We went to sit outside and the seating is distanced except two sets of tables were right next to each other but someone moved one of them so it was distanced so they could sit at it. Food was brought out to us and the server had a mask and gloves on. The food was great as Buona usually is! I had a beef bowl and my dad had an Italian beef and fries. We ate everything! read more

Was kind of cold. But it was cold outside so plausible. Tasty and baptized was definitely soaked. I recommend stopping by for a good sandwich minus all the tourist nonsense. read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Passed the Beverly location pretty often. Guess they've expanded recently. Got an Italian Beef not dipped and a fountain beverage. The bread is nice and flaky. The meat is tender. Opted without peppers sweet or hot. Big screen TVs abound. Exposed brick. read more

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Food came very fast and was very good, we came for disney on ice the first time and we loved the food. When we came we got excellent service from a worker named Martin. He was very sweet and kind to me and my two daughters. The 2nd time we came was before Jojo's concert and he was outstanding making sure we received our orders correct! He is such a fantastic worker! I thought he was the manager always going above and beyond his job role! We will come again for Martin's service!!! read more

Alright place to get a quick, tasty roast beef sandwich. Came here for lunch after class and tried their classic 5 inch roast beef, with provolone as the cashier recommended. It came out quick and hot, soaked but not overly wet or dripping in the roast beef juices. The meat was tender and juicy, although there could've been a bit more compared to the amount of bread. The beef had a nice meaty flavor but was a little on the boring side, so the melty provolone provided a nice contrast to the meat and bread. I do think that without cheese, peppers, or any other add-one, the classic roast beef would be a bit boring, but I am down to come back and try other combinations some time. read more

Buona - Roast beef with provolone - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

OMG, Your staff made me one of the best pizzas I've hade in a long time. I was drinking a bottle of Chianti with it and the pairing was spot on. I would like to thank you for the wonderful pizza and for continuing to work through these troubling times. read more

Buona - Pizza - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As today's cold weather left us stranded in Chicago due to flight cancellations, we found ourselves stressed, hungry, and with very limited food options as half the city was not operating. We found Buona and decided let's make a run for it (not smart with -60 degree wind chills) We were greeted by a very nice girl who recommended the burger over the sandwich, which surprised us because this place is supposed to be known for their Italian beef sandwiches- so we decided to get a burger and a sandwich. So, here's my opinion on both: Burger: meat was a little dry, but had good flavor, havarti cheese (yum), and -wait for it- fried jalapeños! I had never heard of such a thing! They were so good! All in all my burger was very tasty, only downside was that is was a little dry, but I am sure if you tell them not to make it dry, they will listen. Very nice people work here. Sandwich: the meat itself was moist and flavorful, the cheese was melty, and the giardinero peppers (butchered that for sure) were delicious. Downside: I don't like olives...the sandwich had olives. I should have paid attention to the menu. PS. They have pizza and it looked good - I may go back to try the pizza. read more

Buona - Burger - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Portion sizes were great and food came out quickly. I got the chicken pomodoro which was delicious overall but the chicken was a bit dry and the bread could have been more toasted. Staff were friendly and helpful and I've been told the burger - which my brother got- was very delicious. The star of the show were the fries though. Extra crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside they were delicious. I gave another star for the fries alone. read more

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All the food I have had including pizza, hot dogs, beef, fries and pasta is very good and tasty! I highly recommend this restaurant.

Visited this location last night around 8pm with a friend , placed an order for 20 bucks , got to my friends house and realized they gave me a 7 inch vegan sandwich instead of a 10 inch Italian beef...no biggie (at least I thought ) took the sandwich back immediately with everything that came with it , told the manager Roman what happened, he took the sandwich back with an attitude like I filled out his application to dip beefs and fry fries at his old age , didn't say sorry for the inconvenience or anything , but this is a perfect text example of overgrown unprofessional grown adults working teenage jobs and being unhappy with their lives and jobs ! I didn't pick your career because if I was a white woman he would've been verrry apologetic & Patricia didn't make the situation any better running to the register like she has a phd in handing out orders . Do better read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We were trying to find food that was local and unique, something we cannot get in Arizona, as we were in town visiting for the weekend. I was glad we found Buona. The food was amazing. The staff was friendly. We were served quickly. All around great experience. I look forward to visiting again in the future! read more

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Overall: 3/5. A decidedly average experience. It's close by and I'll get it if I'm desperate but I definitely don't crave it. Taste: 2.8/5. The beef and cheese were nothing to rave about. I don't want to seem like one of those clean eating/detox/salad junkies but I felt very greasy/gross after eating the sandwich. The sandwich also greased through a lot of the takeout bags. Value: 3/5. Putting more veggies costs extra, which I was not aware of. The $8 sandwich is definitely enough to make you full. But idk, it's on the expensive end of fast food, on the cheap end of sit down food. I can't decide. Ambience: 3/5 It feels like a diner, smells like a fast food chain. Service: 3/5. Food took 5 minutes which is a bit slower than your typical fast food chain but decent for sit down restaurant standards. read more

Disappointed in my visit today, sausage were dry and hard, peppers burnt and bread not fresh. I ordered a beef pack with sweet peppers and a 4 piece sausage I wish I had saved my money and just ate at home. This is not usually what I receive from Buona, I must say im shocked. read more

Buona - Dry sausage, very hard and dry - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Lunch today at my favorite Chicago beef place. And the 5" beef sandwich was free. Thanks Cubs for scoring in the 6th inning yesterday. And the Cubs won the game. Double hip hip hooray. I added Parmesan chips and a drink. Very cheap but very delicious lunch. All the employees have smiles. How do you do it Buono? Other companies could learn from you. Love local. Love Buono. read more

A bit overpriced for the amount of food you get... the service is terrific and the restaurant is very clean though! They bring your sandwich to your table and constantly ask you if you need anything else! I'm impressed by the service at this fast casual place. However, I wasn't really too full after I finished my sandwich... read more

We had a great time at their soft opening! The Baptized Italian Beef sandwiches were on point and the Chicago hotdog was fantastic! The attentive and friendly crew offered up samples of thin crust pizzas that were crispy on the edges, but still had a great chew throughout. (And don't forget the fries - expertly fried, perfectly seasoned - sure, they're only fries, but the details matter!) Welcome to Streeterville!! read more

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An outstanding experience! The customer service is top flight and thorough. The restaurant is exceptionally clean, bright, nicely laid out, and plenty of table options for groups, singles, or small groups. The people working there are super-friendly and willing to help however they can. I give it a 5-star for the quality and taste. I do think it is pricey, $12.50 for a 7-inch sub, $0.60 extra for the peppers, fries (on the smaller quantity-side) and a soft drink. Therefore, it is more of a "Friday treat" category instead of a regular haunt. However, I highly recommend it. The food is delicious, fries crispy, and drinks cold. This restaurant's dipped beef and crunchy roll is much better than anything from other "unnamed" restaurants. It's a not miss, enjoy! read more

Great sandwich and friendly service!. I like the original, other options are nice as well.

Came to see my friend Rob only to find out he's leaving the Illinois location, heading back to Old Town. Now I will have to travel to Old Town to see him. He's such a genuine person and just a truly joy to be around!!! We'll all see you there my friend!! The food is always great!!! #travelAddictsOnline read more

This location was the first time I visited a Buona. The staff is super friendly and helpful. The food never disappoints. I go here frequently for my lunch break. Keep it up! :) read more

Wonderful customer service when I walk in my order was ready. And sandwiches were all labeled Beef cheddar on Croissant with Hot peppers and another without pepper can't forget walnuts Brownie. Sandwiches are small and need more Beef. Also need some Seasoning the 5 Stars is for Customer Service. read more

Buona - Sandwiches Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Their Italian beef is great, the grilled chicken salad and sandwich knock my socks off! BUT! Try using their website to "order online" HA HA HA! So walk to their nearest location, try to punch-in your order on the big plastic board .... GO HEAD, TRY It looks as though the Buona people haven't tried to use their own website and touch-screens! So, I walked out and tried the "Indian Wraps" across the street. A GREAT FIND! I've spent time in India and I love their delectable flavor-rich food! These folks cook it true Indian style, the sauces work so wonderfully with the basmati rice! SERIOUSLY, TRY IT! I WAS HUNGRY! I was going to order a grilled chicken salad, a grilled chicken sandwich, a side of potato salad, and some Cannoli! read more