I went to this restaurant just yesterday for lunch with my roomie and another friend. I was impressed by the menu prices and the food tasted wonderful. I had the Abituale, which was a penne pasta with a spice kick. My friends had the Salmone Ubriaco and the Polenta Con Maiale, in which they loved. La Buca is one of the better Italian restaurants that I have been to in a while. Very affordable and nice location off of NE Burnside and NE Couch... read more

Simple and uncomplicated, but ultimately forgettable Italian.

Pretty Good food. Service was ambivalent but prompt. Wine not so good.

I really, really, really like this place! Reasonable prices, a nice wine list, good pasta dishes, specials all the time (tonight I had the salmon and shrimp with penne in a white wine butter sauce with capers, olives, and tomatoes), and friendly service. It's always a pleasure to come to La Buca. read more

Awesome awesome awesome. Price plus service plus quality. Amazing pesto not drowning in cheese and pine nuts. Eat til you burst then keep going good. read more

Soooo good. Was in Portland and ate there twice. The ambiance is average however the food and prices are amazing. Highly recommend the pasta with the spicy sausage and cream tomato sauce. All six of us enjoyed our food to the point that my dad went outside to encourage four onlookers to come in and eat. Very good! read more

Took awhile to get waited on. Got soup and it was cold and tasted like a bottle of cream, luckily that was taken off the bill. Small glasses of wine. Pasta was swimming in tomato sauce and was so simple I could have made it at home and I don't cook. All in all, eh... read more

Still Great. Still love Ernest. Great inexpensive drings and awesome service. I recomend every thing but the pork polenta is my favorite.

5 stars for this place all around. first of all, there are so many Italian restaurants and to me, my opinion only, it's kinda overrated. But not this place. It's so inexpensive, super yummy food, and kind staff. Really you can't go wrong. Even if their prices where higher, I would still give it a 5 star and gladly go back. You can't lose with this restaurant it's a no brainer! read more

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Had not been here in a long time. The food is superb and has gotten better over time. The dishes are rich in flavors with generous portions. Prices are great and service is fine. Look forward to going back. read more

I like the dinner side more , the service there was great, they are gentle and made sure you get what you want. The taste from the food was very good too. I ordered a pasta dish with pine nut and walnuts,it was very good! read more

Very cute place. I agree that the bread is not great. i wish i'd had a dessert but was too full from my pannini. My friend loved her seafood pasta and we had a lovely time. My one real complaint- COLD! i was freezing. read more

We enjoyed a good Italian meal at great prices. Also enjoyed some bread and a bottle of wine. Our entire bill was about $30. Not a great selection of wine, but for value, hard to beat. read more

Ambiance was great and got sat right away on a Saturday night, I believe their pasta was made from scratch and the sauce was amazing. We also ordered the bruschetta and that was fantastic as well. WIll definately go again. Best deal for italian food! read more

Fairly priced, this delicious italian food will leave you satisfied as can be. Will definitely be back!

Food was, as Yelp puts it, A-OK. Nothing really stood out service, food or ambiance wise. I liked my salad and my husband enjoyed his chicken marsala. We live nearby and will likely return again since they do have a very cheap bottle of house red. read more

Nice, small and unpretentious Italian place with good food and wine. I enjoyed connecting with my family in Portland at this charmingly intimate eatery. read more

La Buca is my favorite Italian restaurant. The food is always fantastic. Their cocktails are some of the best around. I have never had to wait and often have had my choice of tables. The staff are friendly and have suggestions on wine. Substitutions are not discouraged. A staple for comfort food for me. read more

There was real care in the meal. Hearty and warm service and food quality. Staff was easy going. Great date night spot and family gathering place. Lots of love in that food! read more

The food was pretty good and the ambiance was very nice. The price of dinner for two was also very cheap. Unfortunately, this is overshadowed by the fact that the service is very poor. I think this is because they were taking to go orders on a Saturday night. Also the staff looked pretty small compared to the volume of customers present. I also think that the wine selection needs to be expanded. But all in all it was still a good experience and I would go back again. read more

Great food and service! Really recomendo the alfredo pasta, the salads and the chicken! But all I'm menu is great!

I'm from Minnesota and went to La Buca after a recommendation. The food and service was excellent! Best tiramisu I've ever eaten.

Went for a nice date, and had a great time! They were quick to seat us, and were attentive the entire time! The food was delicious, and they make delicious house made lemonade. I would definitely go back! read more

Had the Pollo Pesto panini with a salad and it was excellent! The chicken Alfredo has a very deep rich flavor and was very good as well. The desserts look amazing as well! Would def come back! read more

Every time I go here I am absolutely blown away. The pasta is like 8 dollars, the atmosphere is amazing, they have a wonderfully cozy back room perfect for dates. The food ranges from good to great. And it's incredibly cheap. I got a big side of gnocchi for 5 bucks. The drinks they serve are good, the servers are friendly, there's never any wait. And I usually hate italian food. read more

Great pasta! I love their pesto pasta and their gorgonzola salad with apples and walnuts. Your dinner comes with nice bread, too.

Very good paninis and friendly service, but the menu is a little limited. Lovely atmosphere though.

So for $20 on the dot, my partner and I shared an olive brushetta, mixed green salad, delicious penne pasta entrée, bread, and a pint of beer. Service was very friendly and prompt. If you are hungry, fairly broke, and in need of a fairly romantic Italian dinner, it's hard to beat! read more

Friendly, tasty, great red wine & pasta vegetariana, good convo if you sit at the bar and talk to the friendly staff.

There is a fine line between too much sauce and not enough. It should be in the recipe on how much to apply. Should the sauce be a finely veiled layer or a deep saturation of oil and exotic flavorings? Should it be apply evenly on one dish or your dinner partner, aka my cousin? How does the chef know how much to apply? Is there a special measuring cup to pour the sauce? Is there a special technique on how to drape the sauce over the pasta? Can this special technique to apply the sauce be found inside a cookbook? Here is what such a mirror dish, each like each other. Identical amount of sauce, poured the same way, same saturation point (perfect), and great service - do you want cheese or chili pepper? Or both? read more

La Buca is an excellent value! La Buca has two dining areas; one front and a smaller room in the back left corner. This room is has a bar, is a little quieter and feels more private. The noise level on the front is low. The food is an amazing value with a good size bowl of pasta costing 7.95-9.50. The sauces are very good. The side veggie or salads for 4.95 are large portions. Definitely a place to return. read more

One of my absolute favourite restaurants. I've been going here since 2007 and have taken many different people here many times and it has never disappointed. Top notch service, top notch food at a price that won't break your back. Try the polenta con maiale. read more

Went here with some friends for my birthday, and the food was amazing for a great price. Good beer selection, and friendly waitress. I got the chicken Marsala, which is one of my favorite dishes, and it was delicious. Their tiramisu was also incredibly, very authentically Italian, and actually the first one I have really enjoyed since I got back from Italy. I would give it five stars if it 1) allowed us to split the check, and 2) wasn't over the river. But it was worth the drive for the food. Plan on going back. read more

Dependably good and well-priced food. The perfect "I don't know, where do you wanna go?" night places. We have loved coming here for years!

Cheap, meh pasta. I can make it better myself and I am definitely not a cook! This is a good place to go if you want a cheap sit down meal before or after seeing a movie or to take the kids. For any other situation, keeping walking down 28th since there are so many other yummy options. read more

It's a good place to have a nice Italian dinner. I had the Chicken Marsala, it was flavorful but it was the Bruschetta that really stuck out as delicious....right amount of garlic, fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar..... it was a really treat. read more

The Cost: First off this place is not as cheap as advertised. Yes, pasta dishes cost between $6-9 but that price does not include any meat, soup or salad. Adding meat costs between $1.75-3.50. Salads cost about $3.50 for small and $6.25 for a large. My meal cost $13.25 which is high average for a pasta dinner with meat balls and salad. Also at most Italian restaurants my meal would have come with antipasto and garlic bread. (See the bread section for my thoughts on the bread I was served.) The bread: This meal came with "bread" however the bread was pre-cut artisan sandwich bread that had the the slices sliced in half. The bread was neither warmed nor seasoned. It was served with a dish of olive oil and vinegar which was frankly bizarre when paired with bread from a bag instead of a crusty fresh warm loaf. My husband and I both found the bread unacceptable. To add insult to injury the menu states on each page the bread is $.25 a piece extra if you would like extra bread or if you meal does not come with bread. This is likely due to inadequate portions and people eating lots of bread to fill up. (See the food section) The food: The food itself was for the most part just okay. The caesar salads were bland but thankfully not over dressed. My husbands pesto was somewhat greasy and vaguely reminded me of pesto from a mix. My husband did not even eat half despite the fact he was very hungry. The al forno was excellent and the high point of the meal. However the meatballs I had with it were just okay and really brought the al forno down. They also over sauced the al forno but luckily the sauce is around the edges so I was able to avoid drowning the majority of my food. The bruschetta with olive spread and prosciutto was very tasty but priced too high for the 2 slices we got. I would consider the portioning an issue at this restaurant. When you go to an Italian dinner you expect to feel sated after the meal. (Also you expect to have leftovers with most Italian restaurants I frequent) The portions here are not adequate unless you added a salad/appetizer. Overall: Overall this restaurant was okay and I would go again if I was near there and wanted Italian food. However, don't go in thinking this will be a cheap meal. We spent $30 for 2 pasta entrees with meat, 2 small salad and 1 bruschetta and drinking only water. I would have only gave this restaurant two stars but the al forno and the bruschetta really were very good and brought the meal up to a 3. read more

Food was good. Ambiance was a little dark for my taste, couldn't really see my food. Host was lovely but the waitress was a bit flaky. Great bread pudding! read more

LOVED it here! Wonderful corner Italian restaurant, the service was sweet, the food delicious, and it wasn't too pricey! Definitely check it out, and go for the chicken marsala:) read more

The kind of food and service you'd expect from a much more expensive restaurant! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the kitchen is adept at handling special requests. Last time we were there, I noticed the Caprese was listed under the appetizer section as a bruscetta, The waiter enthusiastically offered to turn it into a salad, which was probably the highlight of our meal. I has slow-roasted pork in a red wine and onion sauce over polenta ($9). It was very good. My girlfriend had chicken Marsala ($12), which was probably even better. It was a hot, breezy night, so sitting outside was pleasant. Great experience, as always! read more