First time at Buona Sera, great service here, water was filled comedically fast. Food pricing was ok, expect to pay a modest 20-30 for pasta, 40-60 for red meat, 30-60 for seafood, and 60-90 for multi course surf and turf specials. All meat entrees come with both salad and pasta, making it a decent deal. Now on with the food itself, the pasta is amazing, the marinara sauce is some of the best I've had, the salmon is incredible, the lobster is ok, and the steak is some of the best I've had. I've had steak everywhere, from Florida to Alaska, and I have never had a steak like this, it was strangely tender, melt in your mouth, the fat was also a more meaty texture, probably due to the dry aging, overall one of the better steaks I've ever had. The atmosphere is quite casual for the quality of food, my group wore just T shirts. The actual building is nice, but quite old, could use a new ac, but the patio space is magical, with service just as quick. Before I conclude my review, I should note that there was some sign of mild mold in 2 of our waters, likely due to the ice machine, this is a common issue, and as far as I know, had no negative health effects. Overall the food was decently priced and quite good, not mind blowing, but delicious none the less. Small locally owned restaurant with fantastic service. Give it a try! read more

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Hidden gem Italian place in Champlin! Such a nice dinner ambiance and decor. It feels like a little hideaway as it seems nestled amongst a residential area. We loved everything we tried! The mozzarella sticks were the best. Not overly heavy or greasy. Most everything is housemade ( not the pasta though) They even had a housemade limoncello but with tangerine! And the toffee cake and ice cream was warm and delicious. Chef Raffaele visited our table. I think he has amazing place and should be on everyone's need to visit list! They are only open for dinner. Private parking lot read more

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Cute ambiance and the food was good. We really enjoyed our dishes, burrata caprese, and the soup. We'll be back!

Been hearing about this place for years, recommended by friends. Cute little restaurant, space is tight but they offer reservations. Looks like they have patio dining in the summer months. We came NYE so service was a little slower but friendly. Someone was making sure our waters were filled and used plates taken away. Food was definitely freshly made. We ordered the mussels for appetizer. We chose the spicy tomato sauce and it was yummy. My husband ordered the veal Marsala and it came with choice of soup or salad and a side of pasta. Penne with red sauce was the standard or upgrade to fettuccine Alfredo. Creamy clam soup was delicious. Nice and rich. Fettuccine noodles were over cooked but the cream sauce was so good. You can taste the fresh cream. It was slightly under seasoned but nothing a little salt didn't fix. The veal was nice and tender, lots of mushrooms, and a side of steamed green beans. This dish was also slightly under seasoned. I ordered one of the specials, a pasta bolognese. Supposed to come with penne but I requested it with fettuccine. Noodles were cooked better than the Alfredo but still slightly overcooked. The bolognese sauce was so delicious. They give you bread for the table but it was dense and lacked flavor. Glass of wine, appetizer, and two entrees came out be a little under $100 before tip. Overall, we enjoyed our experience. Not a knock your socks off place but nice and cozy with freshly prepared dishes. read more

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We ordered Filetto Gorgonzola of Pork or Beef Tenderloin, medallions sautéed in garlic,onions and mushrooms topped off with gorgonzola cheese and a touch of cream sauce. Pork $24.99 Beef Market Price (this came with beans and carrots and a side of fettuccine Alfredo) Spaghetti Spaghetti noodles smoothered in our house marinara sauce complimented with Italian sausage or an Meatball. $18.99 The house Italian dressing is robust and tasty. Spaghetti was the winner of the various foods we brought home I would definitely order that again. The Filetto had too many mushrooms and not enough beef or Gorgonzola for us. Alfredo was tasty enough, but not as good as the spaghetti. Service was good and the staff were very friendly. Ambiance is small, family, local feel. It is a small space inside so definitely suggest reservations if you're dining in. read more

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My meal (chicken cacciatore) was delicious and very reasonably priced. My only problem was that there are so many items on the menu that I really like, it makes it hard to choose. My wife was a bit disappointed in her shrimp scampi. The shrimp were very large, but were pretty much tasteless. This restaurant has a great practice of including a salad (or soup) and side dish in the price of the entrée. Service was professional and attentive. We will go back. This is my favorite Italian restaurant in the Minneapolis area. read more

Special occasion night at Buona Sera, the restaurant has been on the corner of a low-key area not in the city. We've been here a couple of times and it hasn't disappointed. We were in a group of four, each of us had a different entre with the calamari appitizer. Each of us had either a salad or the soup, all delicious. The entre's were fabulious with good portions. The place is on the small side so I'd recommend making reservations. We went on a Wednesday and it wasn't too busy however we made reservations "just-in-case". The servers, a joint effort from everyone, was very good. No rush and efficient service. The beer and wine selection is good. My only caution is make sure you understand the pricing of the daily specials can be a bit steep, the menu items are VERY fairly priced and, again, delicious. read more

Buona Sera - The salad... - Italian Near Me - Champlin, Minnesota

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Delicious Italian food. Old school setting. Good service. Easy parking. Generous portions.

My Fiancé and I had an exceptional experience celebrating our anniversary here! Their food was delicious and authentic! We tried three of their specials. The app was walleye cakes with a Chipotle sauce and bruschetta. I got the Pasta Bolognese with a meatball and my partner got the lobster stuffed ravioli with a creamy pesto sauce. Then the dessert was an espresso creme brulee. Everything was fantastic and will be back soon! read more

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We went here for our anniversary and were excited to try a new spot. The ambiance was cute but we were first disappointed by having to wait when we first arrived, even though we had a reservation. Then were further disappointed by the food. The mozzarella sticks were actually pretty good and we shared the Gorgonzola beef medallions- and were surprised that they had a split plate fee that was not noted on the menu. Since there was a lot of food, we didn't want separate dishes so we had to live with it. Since the price of each plate assumes that you will have the sides, to not get them would make the cost of the food far less reasonable. We waited about 30 minutes for our entree to arrive. The meat was cooked okay, but the sauce over the top was pretty bland and had a slightly unappetizing color. The side vegetables were undercooked, and not something we would want from a restaurant. The side of pasta was overcooked and very bland. The highlight was the side of tomato soup, that was actually pretty good. The bread was dry and lacked salt. This place feels like it came right out of the 80s and never left. It may be the case that a lot of the people who love this place might be a little bit older and might appreciate some nostalgia. The crowd skewed a bit older. I think that overall, for the price, you could get something a lot better in Minneapolis for a similar price point. We are sorry to say that this fell flat for us. read more

Another delicious dinner at Buona Sera. Your choice of soup or salad, potato soup was the choice tonight but we opted for salad and both got the Pork Saltambucca with a baked potato. Super delicious and loaded with flavor, one of my favorite dishes from this establishment. Good service tonight too. Ok prices, maybe a little high but love this little place. read more

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LOVE this restaurant. Always have amazing service and an excellent meal. Prices are VERY reasonable, you get multiple courses. Stand-alone building with plenty of parking. Very charming Italy vibe. Unique spot. Owner is amazing and friendly. read more

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Returned to an oldie but goodie after many years for date night. Ambiance was a little different as we were seated in a room off the main dining area that was an addition since visiting last. It was a little loud and not the same experience as being in the center of all the activity. However, we learned afterward you can call ahead to request a table of your choice. The dinners were still amazing and desserts heavenly. One of them was a mini bundt cake with a carmel sauce and ice cream. Service was good as it was extremely busy. Dined on a Friday 7 PM. Raffaele hasnt skipped a beat. Highly recommend! read more

Great food and such a cute cozy atmosphere. The service was wonderful as well. Will definitely be back.

A very nondescript location that you'd never find if you weren't looking for it. The inside is quaint but with lots of nods to its Italian theme throughout. I will say that it's maybe not the MOST kid-friendly place, but they accommodated us OK. We started with the Walleye Cakes, which were good but not great. Somewhere around a 3.5/5. Could have used something to spice up the flavor a notch. For mains, I was suggested the Veal Porterhouse, which did not disappoint. Cooked nearly to perfection and plenty of flavor in the very tender cut. The filet (surprisingly) was also pretty good, although you're basically paying steakhouse price for it, and I'm not sure it was either big enough or good enough to quite validate that. On the side was the fettuccine Alfredo and it's a very good version (well worth the upgrade). read more

Buona Sera - Walleye Cakes - Italian Near Me - Champlin, Minnesota

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Pretty good Italian food in the burbs. You get fresh bread with (what i believe is ) tomato basil butter. The calamari was decent, and your pasta entree comes with a side salad (which was fresh and the house dressing was very flavorful) or a side soup (I believe it was a tomato basil soup the night we went.) I got the Spaghetti del Pescatore, which had mussels, shrimp, calamari, scallops, onions, garlic and a broth, which is delightful because I love broths and sauces. It was definitely something that I would order again. Servers were friendly, but be warned that if you were celebrating a birthday or special occasion, this is not a spot that offers any gimmicks or desserts. ( Not that we expected them too, it was just something we observed). Also, I'm not sure why, but the spot we sat in the patio attracted a lot of flies, which I haven't had happen in other patio spots I've visited (including places that served calamari) so I would recommend sitting indoors. Overall, it's a good, locally owned pasta spot. They apparently specialize in steaks so I will need to come back and try some. read more

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Loved that the establishment isn't a chain and that most of the food tasted homemade. We had the walleye cakes as an appetizer that were very good. The bread and spread were mediocre. I had a staple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. The homemade sauce was pretty good as well as the meatball, but a bit watery. Husband had some sort of steak medallions that were just "okay." All in all I liked the ambiance, the wait staff was excellent and knowledgeable, and the price was reasonable. read more

Our 2 person dinner was around $75 plus tip with only an iced tea and water. The food was mundane at best. We each ordered a salad and a pasta dish. The salad was wilted bagged greens with a few stale croutons. My pasta was supposed to be Carbonara but what I received was penne swimming in some kind of thin cream sauce with a little pancetta mixed in. I added shrimp as an extra protein and they were well cooked but I was charged and extra $6.00 per shrimp which doubled the price of my meal. Honestly I've had better for much less so many places in the metro. I won't be back. read more

This was my first visit to the restaurant. I wanted to take my wife to an Italian restaurant for our anniversary and found this in my search. I made reservations, which I highly recommend since it was packed. From the moment we walked in the door, we were treated like we were the only people in the restaurant. I ordered the chicken parm, and my wife ordered the spaghetti. It has been a long time since I had sauce this good. And the portion, I'm not a lightweight, and I could not finish my meal. But, I did split a dessert with my wife, a chocolate lava cake. Overall, great service, great ambiance, and great value. read more

We had the opportunity to try a new Italian restaurant and we were glad we did! I had to make a reservation a week before to get the time convenient for us. We still had to wait for a while. It was worth it! I had a seafood pasta loaded with mussels, calamari, shrimp and scallops. It was a large portion with a flavorful tomato sauce and plenty of seafood. My girlfriend had tortellini with meatball. It was also delicious. We couldn't finish since the portions were so large. We did take a wonderful tiramisu home for later. It was delicious. We Enjoyed the experience and will make it a regular stop. The service was excellent. Even sitting at the bar while waiting for table we had a very pleasant conversation with the bartender. She was very friendly and helpful. Looking forward to going back. Try this restaurant! You'll enjoy the food and atmosphere.it was also nice to have the owner stop by to make sure the food was good. read more

First time visiting this restaurant. We were sat at a very small table next to a very dirty air vent pushing out very cold air right at my wife's side. She froze. The overall restaurant is in dire need of a refresh. Chipped a peeling paint. Very dusty dirty dated decor. Dirty worn carpet. That being said. The food was very good. Portions large and the staff was accommodating and friendly. Great wine menu but the pour was pretty small in the glass for the price. We would go back if we sat at a better table. Not a great experience but the food did make up for everything else. read more

My favorite spot for authentic (as opposed to American style) Italian. Great service and the owner is very friendly. The fettuccini alfredo and lasagna are among my favorites. Be sure to either call ahead or use the website for reservations on the weekend though as it's always hopping. read more

Buona Sera was very busy on the night we went for dinner. We were seated outside on the lovely deck. The service and food was fantastic. We enjoyed our salads and entrees. The bread was dry, but we were able to sop up the pasta's sauce with the bread. We would definitely return. read more

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Have never had anything but a great meal here, cute, quaint little place that I believe used to be a home transformed into a great Italian place!! I would be surprised if I haven't written about this place on here before, A+ food and atmosphere. Went with some girlfriends tonight and I had the Lobster Ravioli, which I have had before and is superb, 2nd pictured dish. I think they have it as a special most nights, My friend had the pork Saltambucca which is pictured first, super mushroomy and creamy and each bite just melts in your mouth, comes with chef vegetable and pasta or baked potato, she ordered the potato as it is such a treat to have a real oven baked potato with crispy skin. The last photo was a tortellini, Each entree comes with a soup or salad, tonight was Tomato Bisque but we all had a salad, choice of garden or Caeser, I had the Caeser and it was delicious and nice size salad. their bread basket is more of a hearty bread and a flavored butter. Rafael (the owner) was their tonight saying hello to all the tables which I see him more often then not. Off the beaten path in a neighborhood of homes, Nice kept secret! read more

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My husband is Italian and grew up having an Italian feast every Sunday and holiday. Moving from Chicago to MN was a huge change in the lack of good Italian food available. Well we are no longer sad, because this place was amazing. The food was amazing. Sauce has great flavor, pasta is perfectly al dente, the Alfredo sauce was PERFECT- not too salty like most can be. Their desserts... just Yum. I recommend this place to everyone. read more

This place is always amazing. Anyone that has given this place bad reviews doesn't know what real Italian food is. Period. If you live in Champlin you are lucky to have this in your back yard. read more

Food is phenomenal, but I also have to compliment the staff who were wonderful. Great wine selection. The owner/chef is Rafael and is a super friendly guy that seems to know everyone makes it seem like you are family. Couldn't recommend this place more. read more

This is the place to go if you want delicious Italian food. I've tried a variety of foods here on several occasions, and each time has been amazing. Every time has been fantastic, from the meal to the service! Strongly advised. read more

The cutest Italian restaurant, in a small house. The ambiance is just so enjoyable. The food is even better! And the service is impeccable, the owner came out to our table to ensure we were enjoying our time. 10/10! read more

We traveled quite a distance to visit and were not disappointed at all. The food, service and ambiance were exceptional. If you're looking for authentic Italian cuisine rich in flavor then this is the place! read more

Very great experience with amazing food and professional staff. Great ambiance and Italian themed 80s television playing, which added to the overall experience. Will be back 100%. read more

The sauce was incredible but I had to put it on risotto rice as they didn't have any gluten free choices. Wish they did. The serving size was plentiful. Also had some great wine choices. Servers were very knowledgeable. Had the authentic feel throughout. read more

Great Italian offerings with hearty portions and intimate ambiance. The chef greets people and asks how they enjoy the meal, the tomato soup was creamy and delicious. The pasta arrabiata was maybe a little less al dente than what I had in Italy, but the sauce was spicy and delicious. My girlfriend had the filet with a gorgonzola mushroom cream sauce and beans. And it came with a side of pasta too. Prices were moderate and portions were hearty. Highly recommended. read more

Buona Sera - Italian Near Me - Champlin, Minnesota

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The garden furniture is a little gem. Fantastic experience fit for our unique event. Highly recommended.

Family owned Italian neighborhood restaurant. This isn't commercialized American Italian food, chef is cooking his Italian grandma's recipes handed down through the family. Everything we had was made from scratch except the pasta. Cannaloni cream is made in house. Chef/owner walked the dining room and checked every table at the end of dinner service. Portions were typically bigger than one can eat so everyone leaves with to go boxes. Prices are too high, sadly, for this to be a weekly stop. read more

Love the food, it is always amazing; and the variety of options on the menu make it difficult to choose what to get to eat. Please do yourself a favor and go eat at Buona Sera. Oh and the service rocks!! read more

Great food and service at this quaint establishment! We ordered apps and entrees. You can definitely go home with leftovers.

What a little gem! The service was so welcoming and helpful. The food was delicious and the ambiance was so charming. I got the pollo cacciatore and the chicken was so tender, with a bright vibrant sauce. Highly recommend read more

Yes, restaurants can have a "bad" night. To start, the room had a chill in the air and we bundled up my mother-in-law like a burrito during the meal. Our group of eight was thoroughly disappointed with five of the seven different selections we chose, with the exception of the perfectly prepared New York Strip Steak and baked potato. The lobster tail was so tough we honestly couldn't cut it with the provided steak knife. When I told our server the lobster was not edible I received a, "sorry about that". Hmmmm. My wife's tortellini was marginal and my lasagna only fair. The walleye cake appetizer was a whole lot of bread and not much fish. Typically I enjoy writing favorable reviews and will go out of my way when a destination deserves kudos for a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, I cannot do so for Buona Sera. The doubtful food and total bill for such a subpar evening prompted this memo. Obviously others will disagree, I only wish my group had had their experience last night. read more

This is a great family owned restaurant. Had a wonderful business dinner. The pasta was perfect.