Sorry to give a poor review, but this rating is specifically for the Hoffman Estates location. I like the food and the price, but I have been here 2 separate times and both times there were clearly loose squirrels inside the dining area. I've talked about it with a manager at another location and apparently it's a recurring problem. Frankly, this place should not be open during construction until they have taken care of the squirrels. To be clear, the first time a squirrel literally jumped on me and was running loose IN THE KITCHEN. Thought I was there a crazy day and came back giving them the benefit of the doubt, but nope, still have loose squirrels. Health inspector should shut them down until they've secured their food, since loose squirrels inside means that they will get in the food too. read more

Went for lunch today over the years found to be good and food consistent. Today was not the case. My sausage sandwich bun was hard almost stale and sausage only filled 3/4 of bun. My wife had a cheese burger, the cheese was not melted appeared laid on a warmed up beef patty, no quality control here. The worst issue taken was when my wife went to use bathroom. Found facility was filthy and did not use. Said the equipment inside needed a good cleaning and floors were terrible. Makes me question kitchen cleanness after bathroom condition observation. Hopefully improvements will be made, but we do not plan on return. read more

Stopped by for a late lunch in the drive thru. Ordered a hot dog for the first time in a long time. It was the best example of a Chicago style dog that I have had recently. The sausage was large and delicious. The poppyseed bun was just right the trimmings of yellow mustard, relish, chopped onions sport peppers, and tomatoes were completed with a crisp pickle spear. The sandwich is wrapped in foil lined paper to keep it hot. Hats off to Buona for delivering the perfect Chicago HotDog!! read more

This place is very underrated and flies under the radar because if it's main competitor across town.... and we don't even order the beefs. Every time I've ordered here it does not disappoint. We've had the chicago style hotdog, crispy chicken sandwich, turkey sandwich, burger, pizza, and now the meatball sandwich and they were all spot on and pretty tasty. My wife loves the fries... so do I. Nice atmosphere for dine in and in my opinion is very low key to the area. read more

Everything about Buona is amazing! The new remodel is just beautiful - we were very pleasantly surprised. The food is outstanding and the employees are 5-star - both efficient and super friendly. Can't go wrong with a visit here. read more

Generally I enjoy my visits here. Food is tasty, well priced and there are many specials and incentives to take advantage of. Great rewards program. They get busy and sometimes the service is not what it should be. Also new employees so that could be it. An ongoing issue is they do not enforce the No Smoking. Several times there are groups of men that smoke outside the front and rear doors within feet of the restaurant. There are no smoking signs but they simply ignore them. I have contacted Buona several times but nothing changes. At one time they didn't have the required state signs posted. I have mentioned it to staff but they do nothing, might be afraid to lose business. It is rude to have to either walk in or walk out and be in a cloud of smoke. When the weather is warm there are groups sitting in the patio area smoking right next to the exit door, yuk! read more

This restaurant is known for having outstanding beef, except I had a problem. When I spend darn near $12 for a beef,fry, & medium soda, I expect a decent amount of meat on the sandwich. Well, I got ripped in a big way. The amount of beef was just enough to feed a six year old kid. read more

I am fair when it comes to mistakes when comes to order taking cause people make mistakes. I recently went in to have the new avocado pepper jack chicken sandwich...I know sounds delicious! I ordered my sandwich I was so excited to try it I got back to work opened my sandwich and I found that I do not have all the ingredients on my chicken sandwich....so I end up eating a dry chicken sandwich cause I was hungry..no big deal I will try again another time. So today I visit and I tell the person taking my order "last time my order was incorrect " she said ok I will make sure it gets made. I get back to work and I am super excited for my Pepper jack chicken sandwich....well it was a burger. That will be my last attempt at this establishment they can keep there new sandwich. Check your orders before you leave and drive all the way home to be disappointed. read more

Try their burgers!! Yummy!! Sure, you can get a burger next door from McDonalds for $1, but you get what you pay for. Buonas burgers are fresher patties, fresher toppings and way tastier!! And if it's the season for a pumpkin pie shake - you got to try one of those too!! read more

I eat at Buona about once a week and like multiple items on the menu. My only complaint is that I would like a smaller size order of french fries available. I eat about half an order with my sandwich, I realize that the restaurants cost between a smaller size and their size is a few pennies thus it profitable for them to charge double for a bigger order. Plus many times the fries are under cooked. read more

This is a nice location to come with the family or even for business. If you are a fan of their beef then you know what to expect. The thing about Buona is that they have very good individual pizzas (10 kinds) and a lesser known "Chicago Style" hot dog...out of this world. Synopsis: beef a step below Portillo's; fries two steps below Portillo's; Buona Hot dog 1 step above (Jumbo vs. Chicago) Portillo's. But Buona has good individual pizzas...who's better? You decide. read more

Great food, great atmosphere and very friendly people. I had a very enjoyable lunch here today. I was greeted warmly and had a staff member come by and see if I was alright during my lunch. The views are great and a beautiful landscape. I was even able to sit outside after my meal and relax. I give this restaurant a A+ rating. read more

I like eating here but recently they shrank their pizza without changing the price. Boo!!

Great beefs and other Chicagoland favorites. Price is comparable to Portillo's normally but if you join the rewards program and get their weekly deals you get an excellent value. I highly recommend getting their potato salad as a side! read more

It's in my neighborhood. I hadn't visited in a long while and then have gone there twice in the last 3 weeks. Both times purchased the 10" beef and a full salad. The salads are fine, but I couldn't taste the beef due to it being loaded with salt. On the 1st disappointment, I figured the staff had salted the sandwich. The 2nd time I specified no salt. So it seems a heavy amount of salt is inherent in the recipe and/or there is no quality control. I'll not return for another beef of salt, and other places have better salads for the money. Too bad Zippy's closed... after doing a beef crawl I knew it was my favorite. Now I'll have to drive farther to go to Portillo's for a fast beef pickup. read more

Never been here until today and oh boy... It was just awesome! The cashier was just great, I believe her name was thiary.. But she was great about recommendations and she just seemed to be so happy to be working. The food was awesome, I just ordered an original beef and it was very filling and delicious at the same time. There was another person named Geri that offered me a free drink as a first time customer, she was very helpful as well. Both employees deserve to be recognized for their firm work ethics and enthusiasm! 5 star food and 5 star customer service read more

The beef & giardiniera pizza is the most crucial item on the menu. I haven't tried most items, but this pizza is the bomb! It's topped with the gooey type of cheese that stretches and forces you to cut the cheese rope. Between that and the crispy thin crust are thin slices of italian beef and fresh giardiniera (w/ green olives). All the gardeniere oil does make eating the pizza a bit messy, but it's definitely worth all the napkins. The 9" pizza is more than enough for one person and well worth the money. I always tell myself I'll try something new the next time, but I can't resist the beef & giardiniera. read more

I come here on my way from O'Hare to Elgin every time I come. I actually choose my flight time so I can get there for lunch or dinner. I LOVE their ceasar side salad - oh man...my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Nowadays I always do the Italian beef (feeding my inner Midwestern child). But man-oh-man - the beef with a ceasar side is freakin awesome. They have a good variety of food and multiple side dishes to choose from. I'm not too keen on the desserts but by the time I've had a beef, salad and soda, I'm good. I had their lemon cookies last time and they were aweful. They offer wine but I thought it was a little pricey considering what I'm eating with it. It's a very casual place, kid friendly and good for groups. It's my favorite Italian Beef place. read more

Not my kind of place. I prefer restaurants where there is at least a little bit of effort to offer healthier options. Not here - even the salads are loaded with crap. I ordered what I thought would be healthy - chopped salad - Not. Three stars because the salad tasted good. I just did my best to work around the fried chips and pasta in it. read more

It was slow understandable with what's going on. Got a beef and two hotdogs everything. Beef was great way better than other places but the dogs were stone cold first time there and last time read more

Food sucks. We had italian beef, nothing special, jumbo hot dog, below average and breaded chicken, yuck frozen patty. The fries had no taste and everything was soggy. Better off going to Portello's read more

I really wanted to like this place. I have driven past this place for years and finally decided to stop in. Walking in its your typical I really lunch joint, nothing to impressive. Average lunch crowd. The line moved pretty quick which was nice because the line was just about out the door when i got there. One thing that bugs me is that most joints like this all of there food is ala carte. You can make any sandwich a meal for 3.25 but i would still like the option for some lunch specials. I thought for sure i would be blown away by the beef, since that is what they are known for. I did not think it was anything special. I ordered the BBQ beef sandwich combo with a fry. I was definitely not impressed with the BBQ sauce. In fact, i prefer the sauce on the mcrib over buona's. I do not want to completely bad mouth the place, because i am sure other things on the menu are very good. A guy sitting next to me had a salad that looked pretty good. read more

Very good food and had a great experience with their staff they made us feel at hime. The inside dinning is very nice for a fast food beef place. read more

I used the drive thru and placed my order which included fries. I told the cashier to make sure the fries were fresh and hot. When I drove up, I reminded the cashier that I wanted hot,fresh fries. He said they were freshly made. I got my food and tasted my frumpiest and the fry was super hot and fresh just as I like them. As I drove home, I kept eating the fires and quickly noticed that all the fries under the top layer were cold and horribly hard and NOT freshly made. In the past, when I've had the same request, the fries were hot and fresh all the way through the last fry. I obviously was lied and it ruined my whole experience. I had just gotten out of a medical appointment and was so looking forward to my little treat to help make my day better, but all they did was take my money and give me old, shitty, cold fries! What a horrible way to treat your customers. Especially when I went out of my way TWICE to confirm my order!! You ruined my day. You ruined my weekend. I can't even pay to have a hot meal. From now on, I'm going to dump out all my fries and check them before driving away since the staff can no longer be trusted! What a shame that it has come down to this. But, when the fries are freshly made and hot, they are fantastic! Now I know I'll have double check before driving away. read more

What happens when your coworkers make you go to an Italian beef restaurant when you really don't eat red meat? You get the margherita pizza. Mouthwatering. Huge chunks of mozzarella and tomatoes, real basil, piping fresh from the oven, so crispy and gooey you want to abscond with it and go off to a tropical island together. That's what I'm talking about! read more

Meats are flavorful. Food comes out a little slow. The bread on my beef sandwich once was hard, dried out, and definitely not fresh. Their lot gets very icy in the winter. Be careful. read more

I ordered soup from here and it was cold and tasted kind of gross. Won't come here again.

First off let me say the beef sandwich was good. My gripe is about the guy that was walking around cleaning the legs of ALL the chairs in the dining room with a disgusting smelling chemical spray. The dining room was empty so there were a LOT of chair legs to clean. It went like this. Guy sprays chemical on rag then goes down on the floor to clean/polish each leg on ALL of the chairs. Did I mention that ALL of the chairs next to us were sprayed? I took the trash to a receptical across the room and you could still smell it. We don't blame the sprayer as he was only doing his job. I blame management for not having enough common sense to allow doing something like that when there are diners present. No one expects to eat in a restaurant only to gag on a toxic chemical. read more

I went here for dinner tonight with my family. This place is for fatasses; the portions are very big. As a side dish, I ordered the parmesan chips with my Buona Beef and Italian Sausage Sandwich. The sandwich was ok and the chips were not very good. In fact, I ended up asking the waitress if it was possible for me to switch out the chips for french fries. Service-wise, this restaurant is very good. The staff is friendly and attends to your concerns pretty well. One offputting thing about this restaurant is that you have to clean up after yourself! Please beware -- come to this restaurant very hungry and with the desire to clean your own dishes! read more

My favorite place for Italian beef. Much better than Portillos! The kind of sandwich you think about for the rest of the day after you eat it! Skip the fries and get their homemade chips. I'm getting hungry now just thinking about it. This place has a good thing going on. Come during lunch hour to see the rush. Thursdays are their pizza day. $6 dollar pizzas that are pretty good. But as I'm eating it I regret not getting the beef sandwich. read more

You can't beat these beef sandwiches. Get them juicy with cheese. The antipasto salad is a great side. I'll be back!

This place understandably gets a bit crowded during lunch. It's conveniently located to many businesses and has a drive-thru. The individual pan pizza with a buttery, yellow is tasty, but I very much recommend the beef. If you are on a budget or not extremely hungry, the kids Italian beef meal is actually very good. You get a much smaller beef sandwich and portion of fries with a drink. After that, you might even have saved room for their gelato. I recommend the spumoni. read more

I can't believe it took me so long to try this place for the first time! But now that I have, I cannot wait to go back! My family met my parents here for lunch one Saturday afternoon. It was fairly busy, but not so busy that we couldn't easily find a table for the six of us! So you go up and you order your delicious food, they give you a number, and then they bring it out when it's ready. Side note, the lady that was bussing tables/delivering food/etc was amazing!!! She was helpful without being obtrusive, and she brought my kids cookies for free because they were "being so well-behaved" (there's a first time for everything! LOL) She was awesome, I gotta say! But in any case, the food was delicious. It was filling without being too greasy, and their menu has a million choices, it's not just beef. There are pizzas, burgers, fries, sandwiches, salads, etc. They really have more of an expansive menu than I thought! I got the chardog with fries, and my daughter ordered the "kids" pizza. And the "kids" is in quotes because this thing was HUGE! She could only eat two bites of it (don't worry, I helped her out!) My mom's beef sandwich was delicious, and my dad's burger was also really good! the fries were piping hot and fluffy on the inside, and their house salad dressing was delicious on my side salad. they also have catering and a drive thru, although I haven't used either of these services...YET! I will definitely be back for the yummy food and fantastic service! read more

Our Son kept telling us about this awesome place called Buona to get delicious Italian beefs. Today we finally got a chance to try them . I had a 7" beef with hot peppers. It was delicious! Good food , good prices,great atmosphere, friendly workers. We will definitely be back ! read more

Their Buffalo chicken sandwich with the pasta salad is one of my favorite lunches. The service here is always great, too.

Been going to this place for 3 years now because its just a hop, skip, and a jump from my place of work. Their little miniature pizzas are excellent-- specifically the Margherita pizza! But what you really need to get is their version of italian beef... entitled so appropriately: Buona Beef. And of course add mozz! Oh and their fries are oh so good too... Definitely recommend this place if you want some great food with a nice atmosphere... Basically an upscale fastfood place similar to Portillo's. read more

Better then Portillos! Italian beef and a canoli, awesome fries

This is simply the best Italian Beef sandwich in the suburbs, providing you order it with Giardiniera. The sides are somtimes imaginative - try the Pasta Salad. Sometimes, though, the "Chips" can be a letdown. Salads and individual Pizzas are also surprisingly creative and great values at about $7.50 each. read more

Great beef sandwiches and the best combos around bar none!

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the immediate area. From their pizzas to their hot dogs, everything they serve is near-perfect. I especially recommend their buffalo chicken pizza. Ask for a side of barbecue sauce and dip the slices in. It's simply phenomenal. read more