We stumbled upon this cute Italian restaurant hidden away while driving from Arizona to Connecticut. The food in service were excellent. They accommodated our requests easily. Prices were very reasonable for good quality Italian food. We'll make this our annual stop. read more

Visited Buona Sera, Wilkes-Barre, PA on a Saturday afternoon. Only a couple of tables were occupied. 1. Ambiance - not horrible, probably could do without the large screen tv's slide show of places in Italy. The noticeable table numbers pasted on the wall does not get you points. Lack of small details. 2. Seating for many tables are 2-top with closely spaced tables. We were seated at one of these. With most of the restaurant vacant, another couple was seated right next to us so we could all hear and share in other's conversations. Why in the heck didn't you seat these people at one of the other many, vacant 2-tops for privacy? This is not a large restaurant where distance to serve is an issue. Lack of small details. 3. Service was fine and prompt. Toasted bread and butter a nice touch. 4. The water is horrible and maybe undrinkable - like drinking metal? We will bring our own water if we ever decide to come back. Owner obviously doesn't pay attention to smaller details like clean tasting water. Was that the same to expect about their food? 5. Food was only OK and priced higher than some local higher end restaurants (Pazzo, Rikasa, Beaumont Inn). $12.95 Calamari was pretty good/typical breading-really good Marinara sauce. Portion was on smaller side. $26.95 Chicken Fettucini Alfredo - Meh (good portion size with good qty of chicken). They obviously skimp/substitute on the alfredo which should be butter, cream, and parm. Why do you do that for $27 plate of pasta? Wife had Chicken Ricotta I think, and enjoyed it with a pretty good red sauce. Big portion with 2 chicken breasts appeared to be rolled with ricotto in it. I think this entree was in the $26 range. 6. Wine pour really skimpy for $9 glass of house Cabernet. $6 bottle of Guiness beer typical. We each had one drink. I don't think we will be back. Our bill was about $85 before tip, so we are looking at about $100 for dinner for 2. read more

Wonderful! I enjoyed a tasty glass of moscato but they also had a cocktail menu. The basket of bread contained toasted slices, uniquely good. I asked the server for his recommendations on entrees and he was very helpful. I chose the sole with seafood in champagne sauce. It included a large piece of sole, several nice sized shrimp and three homemade crispy crab balls. It was all so delicious including the sauce, and my husband agreed. My potato and broccoli side was flavorful lots of fresh garlic. It was a very generous amount of food overall and even though I ate way more than I should have, I still had leftovers to take home. My husband enjoyed his obviously-homemade fettuccine bolognese. The glasses of ice water tasted good. We shared a dessert they were experimenting with, a warm Portuguese egg custard tart served with with vanilla gelato, whipped cream and caramel sauce(they also offered chocolate or raspberry sauce). Free off street parking, comfortable welcoming atmosphere, friendly helpful staff. We will be back. I don't understand all the negative reviews. Please ignore them and give this business an opportunity to prove them wrong. read more

Food was not good and way overpriced. I had vodka penned with chicken. Very little chicken cut up into pieces with 1 pound of penned. The salad dressing was horrible - tasted like straight apple cider vinegar. My husband had chicken parm, which should be crispy - it was soft. Also, couldn't believe they charged to refill soda - no restaurant charges for soda refils. Service wasn't great either. The staff was all standing around chatting and ignoring us. Sorry, one & done for us!! read more

We have been to Buona Sera many times. The food has always been wonderful. The service is impeccable, all the employees are always willing to do whatever it takes to make your meal enjoyable. read more

I am a first-time customer I ordered a lot of different foods and everything I ordered was absolutely outstanding! They are the best kept secret on Washington Ave in Wilkes-Barre they should have neon lights outside because that was the best Italian food I have had in a long time even their seafood was outstanding! The prices were great the staff was awesome and as far as I am concerned I will be a customer of theirs for life! God bless each and everyone of them for their kindness and they're awesome awesome food! I am so happy that I called them my belly is so full! I wish you all the best cuz you are the best thank you thank you thank you read more

I stopped here for dinner while out of town. When I arrived I parked on the street nearby. I walked in and sat at the bar. Vicki was my bartender and Jose also served and they were very nice. I started with the lemon drop martini and it was ok. I finished with pinot nior. For my meal I got the mahi mahi with clam and mussels on top of linguini. When it came out it looked great. I dug in and it was tasty. I added hot pepper flakes to it. I really liked the clams and mussels. The bill was a little less than $60. I had a good experience all in all. read more

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Just want to give you all an update... had ravioli with meatballs tonight so much food!!!! These meatballs are homemade NOT frozen!!!! Hubby had penne with seafood. Great music and fabulous service. Another 5 star dinner at Buona Sera Restaurant. read more

Buona Sera Ristorante - Ravioli with meatballs - Italian Near Me - Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania

The food here is outstanding and the service could not be nicer if they tried. We sat inside on one occasion and on the patio tonight - both were very comfortable and immaculately kept. A feast for all senses here. read more

Delicious. Unique marinara sauce. Great service. Reasonable pricing. Huge menu. Nice portions. Very very friendly service! read more

Buona Sera Ristorante - Sole Special Topped with crab meat and shrimp served in our homemade champagne sauce - Italian Near Me - Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania

This restaurant is a hidden gem! The menu is broad with a lot of unusual twists. For appetizer I had stuffed mushrooms in a cream sauce which was excellent. Main course: ravioli stuffed with meat and crab plus meatballs in a marinara sauce excellent as well. The service was spot on . The atmosphere is quaint and very relaxing. I know this restaurant went through a few hands in the last couple of years but the people running it now are working hard to make a go of it. Like I said at the top of this post this restaurant "is a hidden gem! " read more

Its under new ownership so no liquor or wine for another 2 months. Wish I knew that when I reserved on Resy. They (the server)asked me if I got notice from google that it was a byob. I said I did not. Anyway, the place has gone down hill. The food was very bland. Maybe a glass of wine would have improved the flavor. I ordered the chicken verona and received chicken francese. They patron next to me almost got my dinner. I had cut into my meal before I realized it was the wrong dinner. The poor guy next to me had to wait for another entree. Ravioli was so so said my husband. We had leftovers. They gave us a large brown grocery bag to package them. Weird. So, we are officially done with this place. After reading some of the reviews from last year make me wonder. Yes, the place has changed and not for the better. read more

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We had reservations for a Thursday evening. My fiancé loves Italian food so we decided to try this place for his birthday. I didn't see a parking lot nearby/behind the restaurant so we parked on the street. When we entered, we were greeted within a few seconds and seated. A server immediately came over and filled our water glasses and asked if we wanted anything else to drink. I ordered a Cherry Kamikaze martini, which was amazing! We looked over the menus provided--We ordered the calamari app (my guy's first time trying it and he loved it!). It was perfectly fried and tasted very fresh. They also have a separate menu with dinner "specials," where I chose the Ribeye. I wanted it with the Chimichurri sauce but was informed they were out of the sauce. I settled for the Au Poivre sauce, which was a peppercorn gravy sauce and was very good, extremely flavorful. My ribeye was cooked perfectly--great job Chef! My fiancé ordered the crab/lobster ravioli in a pink vodka sauce and he really enjoyed it. It was a birthday celebration so we had to have cake! My guy is partial to red velvet and he loved it here (and they played the "Happy Birthday" song over the speakers and put a candle in the cake). I had the Tiramisu and wasn't disappointed. Prices are very reasonable here. A very nice gentleman I can only assume is the owner walked past our table and asked if everything was ok and had a little small talk. Very nice guy. Service was GREAT. Our server was very attentive. We were never without drinks and plates were cleared from the table expeditiously. This really would have been a 5 star review but the reason for the 4 stars is that the bread they brought us before our meal was wrapped in a towel, so we expected it would be warm. It wasn't. It also tasted stale. I love a crusty bread, but even the white part of the bread was hard. Ick. read more

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Food service and ambiance was amazing.. highly recommend in the Scranton/PA area. Authentic Italian cuisine that you won't find most places other than NYC. Where the owners also have multiple restaurants read more

Great Restaurant in a hidden place. The food was great cant ask for more the service was great and there had AC inside. Outside is lovely but the day we went the humidity and temp was just too much. So we stayed inside. Next time will eat outside. I was not able to try their deserts, just was not able to. Lol read more

1st time here. We were visiting the area for fall foliage and found this 4.5 star ratings restaurant. We were glad we ate here. The outdoor partitioned dining cabanas provide privacy and isolation. It makes us feel safe and sheltered from the cold. The string lights enhance the ambience. We had Eggplant appetizer, bread, salads, spinach ravioli and chicken entree, layered with cheese, spinach, Prosciutto with brown sauce. Every item was delicious and nicely prepared. Our waitress, Madison is attentive and awesome. The owner, Richard stopped by to greet us. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience here and plan to return whenever we are in the area. read more

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I have reviewed this wonderful restaurant before so a quick update. Changed ownership to a previous owner and rumors were spreading about the quality. I will stop any you may hear. Food is still outstanding! Nothing has changed and I was not disappointed. I had for the first time Tilapia Lebanese. First, I am a fish snob. Tilapia was flawless! Sauce is reminiscent of a puttanesca, capers , anchovies, tomato. Absolutely delicious if you like that style. Nothing was overwhelming especially for those who don't like anchovies. I truly enjoyed it and will definitely have it again. Service was awesome and as always welcoming. Unfortunately, due to lack of staff the beautiful patio is a maybe so check prior to your visit. Soooo please revisit if you loved it before you will not be disappointed. I look forward to dinner again and again. Bon appetit! read more

Veal was tough and inedible, one bite was all it took and I was done. They asked if I wanted it boxed, and I declined. They insulted me by taking 10% off of the entrée, when I ate about 2% of it. Disgusting. Service was poor as well, and very disorganized. Never again. read more

This place is amazing. Some of the best homemade food I had ever had. Been here countless times and the owner and staff are just delightful. During covid, the owner made sure to go above and beyond to make people feel extra safe which makes your experience here even better! If you haven't tried this place out yet, I high suggest you do! read more

Buona Sera Ristorante - Chicken special - Italian Near Me - Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania

Above average dining. I read several posts on facebook about this place and decided to try as we love to critique places. We usually go with friends, one of which is a chef, so its always fun. We made reservations, but it wasn't overly crowded. It looks like an honest to god DUMP on the outside and I would have never ventured in if it were not for word of mouth recommendations. Inside, is a hbit of a throwback to times gone by, quite vintage. Two of us ordered house cabernet. Of course it was the barefoot brand, and that's okay, but they gave a generous portion. We ordered calamari to share. It was served hot and fresh and was a plentiful portion. They brought out Italian bread. I didn't eat any but the other three diners all said the bread was at least 2 days old and stale, and several of the butter packets empty. Our entrees consisted of two veal dishes, one chicken and one lamb. The prices of the entrees are very reasonable at about $21 each. The veal dishes were "odd". Rather than a veal cutlet as one would suspect, it was more like steak sandwich meat. Very thinly sliced pieces of (hopefully, veal, lol). The flavors were very good however. Served with a tiny portion of mashed potatoes and fresh carrot/zucchini mix. The best compliment I can say is that ALL the meals were served piping hot. This is huge in any restaurant to get the food served while it is hot. We rarely order desert, but this time we did. Tiramisu and spumoni, mostly because the spumoni is hard to come by. The tiramisu was very good and so was the supmoni, good flavor, but full of ice crystals, perhaps a bit too old or the temperature variations in the freezer. All in all, we all felt that there was nothing over the top special here and would not have any reason to return (especially due to the distance for us to drive). But if you are in the area and looking for a pretty good, fairly priced restaurant, give it a try. read more

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Two stars for food Three stars for service. The manager and staff were all friendly, though they could have been more attentive. I'd give 2.5 stars overall. $6 Manhattan Clam Chowder: okay $9 Calamari: slightly over cooked, strange breading, very forgettable $6 side Caesar: completely lackluster $23 Beef Short Rib: extremely bland meat, flavorless sauce, boring mashed potatoes. Worst short rib I've had in quite some time, it tasted like it was steamed and then microwaved to death. Presentation was lovely. fettuccini Alfredo: Good Even the bread served when I sat down sucked. I should have left then and saved $70. I won't make that mistake again. I have no idea how anyone who wasn't dying of starvation just prior to their meal could have rated this place as highly as many have. There are so many better options around here. read more

Everything about this restaurant was amazing from the food, drinks, desserts, staff, chef!!!! Would highly recommend!!!!

A couple of weeks ago my two son's had gone to dinner here and said it was excellent, huge portions, food was great, so naturally when we wanted a good pasta dinner last night but wanted to stay home, we called and ordered take out. It's always a gamble with take out no matter where you get it from. However, we were beyond disappointed. We had two orders of Chicken Alfredo, if you put both orders together it still wouldn't have equaled one serving. It would have been a great size for a kids portion but not a $20 adult dinner. Four, itty bitty pieces of chicken that my son fit all on his fork at the same time. So I guess lesson learned. In person experience great, take out experience, a disgrace. My husband said just consider our bill as a $130 donation to a small business. read more

Kids took me to dinner here for my birthday., 9 people total with a reservation for 5 pm on a Sunday. Place is easy to find, but from the outside looks like a corner bar. Don't let the exterior fool you, on the inside it's nice, albeit a bit small. Place was basically empty at 5, but by 630 it was packed. The food was fantastic. Delicious old school Italian. I thoroughly enjoyed the veal. Red sauce was delicious. Dinner was about 20 a plate including a salad. Cost was reasonable. Service was attentive, only issue was they messed up the sides and had to make some corrections. They got it right eventually. If not for the orders being messed up it would have been 5 stars. read more

Very diverse menu, good food, excellent dessert. Very friendly and attentive staff made for a wonderful Father's Day dinner..

I was looking for a restaurant with outside seating after a long work week. Let me tell you, this place is adorable! Excellent service, delicious food and presentation. When I dine out, I'm looking for service and fresh food. This place is it! Excellent appetizers (calamari is the best!) entrées, cocktails and desserts. The cocktails were made properly filled to the very top of the martini glass. The price is reasonable for the service, presentation and atmosphere. I'd definitely go back again! read more

Stopped in on a Saturday night with a 7 pm reservation and the place was packed. We probably waited for about 20 minutes or so but were then seated. We had crab stuffed mushrooms in a champagne sauce which were cooked perfectly and were delicious, however the portion size was very small considering the price point. We dipped our bread in the outstanding champagne sauce. Dinner salads were good with the house balsamic and oil pretty tasty. I had Veal Sorrento, which had prosciutto, mozzarella and egg plant served with a demi glacé. This was the most tender veal I've ever eaten. My wife had a chicken breast stuffed with crab and roasted red peppers off the specials menu. The crab was plentiful and delicious. The mashed potatoes and carrot/zucchini sides were good also. For dessert, we each selected tiramisu, which again was probably the best I've eaten. Tony the owner is extremely hands on and interacted with every table in the entire place, making sure all guests were satisfied. This is extremely rare these days to see an owner care like this. Deducting a star because parking is less than optimal and even much more so on a cold, busy weekend. Tables are very close to one another, so prepare to hear your neighbors conversation. All in all, we will definitely return, as the food and service are outstanding. read more

A group of families went to celebrate King's College graduation at Buona Sera. They sat us on the patio, which was lovely, and the waiter and waitress were very nice. They even took it upon themselves to put out grad balloons for our party. The food was priced nicely and tasted very good! Dessert was tasty too! We knew it was BYOB so we brought our own beer and wine. Overall, it was the perfect place for us! read more

Buona Sera Ristorante- 1287 N. Washington St Plains, PA 18705 Photos owned by Tiff Kline/ @Klines Korner, if photos are shared, please give credit. On Thursday December 6th, we had the pleasure of dining at Buona Sera Ristorante in Wilkesbarre, PA. Buona Sera Ristorante just celebrated their 1st anniversary in November and is an upscale Italian eatery offering top notch quality AND quantity. Sourcing their ingredients from local distributors, Buona Sera Ristorante prides themselves on supporting the local community and giving their customers the ultimate Italian experience. Open Wednesday and Thursday 4-9:30, Friday & Saturday 4-10:00pm, Sundays 3pm-9pm, and Mondays 4-9;30pm, and located where Mark's Bar used to be. Buona Sera not only offers authentic Italian cuisine for dining in, they offer takeout as well as an extensive catering menu for private parties, baby showers, weddings and wedding receptions, graduation parties and more! From veal to chicken, to seafood and pasta, Buona Sera is the place to book if you're looking for exceptional service and quality food. For more information you can visit their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BuonaSeraRistorante or by visiting their website buonaseraristorante.com Recently, Buona Sera Ristorante was highlighted on the Facebook page- "Best Things Pennsylvania" as one of the best places for an Appetizer in Pennsylvania. I would have to agree. We ordered the stuffed mushrooms - mushroom caps stuffed with crabmeat and served with champagne sauce. This appetizer was one of our favorite dishes throughout the night. Not only do they serve stuffed mushrooms, they also have fried calamari, clams/mussels, eggplant rollatine, clams oregenata, and another delicious dish we had, Mozzarella Caprese- fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, roasted peppers, and fresh basil with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A beautiful plate, with lots of flavor and colorful presentation. As we wined and dined throughout the evening, we ordered a few entrees to really get the full experience of Buona Sera Ristorante. One of the specials we decided to try was Cod Francese- dipped in eggs and a white wine lemon sauce. Madone! The cod fell apart in our mouths and typically you hear of chicken francese but the cod? Amazing. Served with a side of mashed potatoes and colorful veggies, this dish is definitely a fan favorite! Next, we tried the Braised Pork Ossobucco Demi Glaze Sauce. Oh. My God. The meat just fell off the bone. As I am not much of a Pork person, I fell in love with this dish. I've never had Pork Ossobucco before, so I was excited to try this item with the full presentation bone and all- served with mashed potatoes and vegetables as well, and this is a meat lovers dream! Finally, we ordered the Linguine Di Mare- sautéed with calamari, shrimp, mussels, and clams served in a marinara sauce. Ahhhh I cannot say enough words about this menu item. I loved it. All the variety of seafood and pasta were amazing. I will go ahead and say that this was my favorite entrée they served us. I've recently become more of a seafood lover and what better way than to mix it all together with Linguine? All entrees are served with a generous salad with house dressing (very good) and warm bread and butter. While asking the owner Tony what people rant and rave about, he said "the salad." The customers of Buona Sera Ristorante always want their salad with their Italian cuisine, it's a must have at their dining establishment. I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience at Buona Sera Ristorante. The food is amazing- you can always tell who offers quality over quantity, and this place has it! There were so many items we wanted to try but we only have two stomachs- the lobster ravioli sounds great as well as the veal saltimbocca. Let us know, have you dined at Buona Sera Ristorante before? If not, are you going now? Be sure to give their facebook page a like to keep up with their events, menu items and more., and as always if you give them a visit, let them know who sent you read more

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Excellent service and delicious food!! Dessert was very yummy! We enjoyed our cocktails, also. Can't wait to go back!

Excellent Italian food in town. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is very cute and some tables were under the tents. I got the Linguine di mare and it came with so much seafood, it was so delicious. The portion is pretty big and affordable. The weather starts to change and we were expecting a rainstorm, the staffs quickly move the tables that were not covered into the tents to make sure customers don't get rained on. The staffs at the restaurant are amazing and offers prompt service. Highly recommended it if you're in Wilkes-Barre! read more

My husband and I were in the area for the weekend celebrating our anniversary and wanted to dine somewhere other than the resort where we were staying. We did a search of Italian in the area and Buona Sera had great reviews so we gave it a try. What an amazing find! The staff was phenomenal. We were greeted warmly upon entering and things only got better. We started with the caprese salad and the homemade sausage appetizer. Both were prepared beautifully. The homemade sausage was outstanding. Tender,flavorful in a fantastic red sauce. The mozzarella caprese equally as delicious with roasted red pepper on the mozzarella and tomato. The salads before our entrees were huge, greens were fresh and crisp. The peppercorn parmesan dressing was excellent. I had the lobster and crab ravioli in vodka sauce special. My husband the veal sorrento. My ravioli were perfect. The portion was huge with chunks of lobster throughout. The veal melted in your mouth. Amazing. The owner was visiting the tables making sure each guest was having a great experience. When he stopped by our table to see how our dinner was he mentioned his food being NY style. As we frequent the city often we mentioned the name of our favorite restaurant in Little Italy. Coincidentally friends of his. We had no idea. He sat and chatted with us and nothing but pride of his establishment with good reason was conveyed. The waitress asked if we were celebrating a special occasion, we told her our anniversary and she brought us dessert on her. Creme brûlée. Fantastic. Start to finish the meal, the experience, the friendliness of the entire staff truly wonderful. We'll definitely return. Fine dining done right. A true diamond in the rough. read more

Our second time here was this past Saturday. Just as good as the first time about a year ago. We don't live close by or we would be there on a very regular basis. We loved our food, and the service was fabulous again, even had the same waitress. I highly recommend this great Italian restaurant. read more

That's Italian spot in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania I have the pleasure coming here for dinner trying this summer and eat outside in their back parking lot that was converted into a private scene underneath a private pavilion. The waitress and hostess and waiters in management and owner were outstanding everyone came up to us talk to us like we were like VIP needless to say they treat all their customers like this I had an outstanding dinner. So did everyone at my table the cocktails were unbelievable the food was amazing. Words can't even match. They are truly a above and beyond business read more

Was out with my buddy/business partner. Decided to treat him for New Years. Passed Bueno Sera several times Why not? Went at 5 on a Holiday Friday. No crowd yet. Extremly clean, welcoming, classy atmosphere. Menu is not complicated with nice selection including specials. We opted for the New England Clam Chowder (excellent) followed by calamari and clams fri diavalo (both generous portions). My partner chose the Short Ribs off the special menu and I chose Linguini Senate. Easily Some of the best food I've ever had! read more

Found this newly opened restaurant by the reviews here and Yelp! They were spot on. Odd location and front entrance but once inside everything was great. Food delicious, house salad dressing and bread yummy. Prices fair. Staff smiled and seemed happy to be ready for full night of reservations which are necessary. Suggestions for improvement- improve brand of wine by the glass and make gluten free pasta available. Thanks for a nice experience and great tasting food. read more

Chicken Francese was very good. Chicken Ricotta was underseasoned. Added salt and much better. Fettuccini Alfredo had zero flavor. Don't get it. Messed up our order so my food arrived after everyone else finished. No apologies. No offer of a free dessert. Handled it very poorly. Told the owner I was unhappy with the service and he didn't care. read more

Had a Birhtday Party there a few months ago. Food was fair, at the time of setting this up I spoke to the owner about bringing cup cakes, instead of him adding a cake to my bill. He was good with that until we got there ate are meal, then decided to bring out cupcakes. The owner became so rude it was ridiculous. He claimed that night he lost regulars over the cupcakes. Well let me tell you all, he lost a lot more than that. Good riddens Boner Sera. read more

We Love this restaurant. The food is absolutely phenomenal, and the service is impeccable! Buona Sera is truly a gem in the Wilkes-Barre restaurant scene. read more

Buona Sera Ristorante - Best restaurant in Wilkes-Barre! The food is great, the service is wonderful, and the prices are very reasonable!! We love it!!! - Italian Near Me - Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania

Stopping in Wilkes barre for the night while traveling. Found this great neighborhood restaurant on yelp. Ever heard the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover?" Well follow that rule. From the front it doesn't look like much, but the inside is quant and the outside seating was great. Individual tent/canopies set up for each table to make your dining experience special. We ordered a special - Crab and Lobster Ravioli with vodka sauce. It was delicious! The service was great, very attentive. Wish I had a place like this near where I live. read more