We were there last Monday for dinner and everything was absolutely perfect. I hadn't been to cafe Del buono in years. Every dish was delicious. The place was very busy and the service was amazing. Already cannot wait to go back! read more

When you get to a restaurant before 6pm and the wait is about 20 minutes you know it's gonna still be good. Been coming here when Eric owned it and been back many times after and food and service has always been great. Sandy as hostess was excellent. Helping Lisa and Johnny on a typically busy Friday night. Lisa as our server, provided great service always friendly and attentive even though she was busy. It appeared Johnny was doing the same for his tables. Food. Shrimp provencale was very good. Shrimp were large and tasted great. Over pasta. LEMON Haddock was excellent great flavor, lightly breaded and over pasta. Their Green Del Buono were very good as well. Table next to us had Chicken Parmigiana and it looked amazing. Woman at another table had the Chicken Scarpetta and almost licked her plate. Ps I have had these dishes previously and yes they are great. Fried Haddock dishes went by our table looked liked very large pieces of fish were served. Highly recommend a stop for lunch or dinner. Private parking lot. Inside bar area with tables on the other side of the bar and waiting area. Not large inside. read more

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Back at Cafe Del Buono last night. Sat at the bar and ate. I've been on the Chicken Marsala kick now for some months and have had it several times here. But last night the Marsala was over the top crazy good with a pasta side. My hats off to the cook. My wife had the lemon chicken w/ baked potato, also very good. Heidi at the bar is exceptional and a great mixologist. This place is always consistent and is one of our go to places. read more

Amazing food consistently good. Excellent value for money and friendly wait staff. And by far hands down best utica greens I've ever had. And I've tried them all in Utica area. read more

I have ordered fettuccini alfredo, Steak, Ravioli, broiled salmon, egg salad. Chicken marsala.. And more . Excellent rest. Love this place.

Best greens around! Sat at the bar excellent service, old school charm Good portions warm hospitality read more

Consistently excellent food and service! I have been coming to this restaurant for decades and I've never had a bad meal! The staff is always welcoming and friendly even on those extremely busy Friday nights. The menu has a good variety of options and I love that there is a quiche of the day on the special board. I got the turkey club wrap on my most recent visit. It is a small place so I recommend going for lunch opposed to dinner. read more

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This restaurant does not have any gluten free noodle options at all. They were also out of baked potatoes so I had to get a rice side which I'm almost certain was Uncle Ben's Rice. My husband asked for hot sauce and they gave him a bottle of hot sauce that expired 8 months ago. We also waited a long time for a table when we could see open empty tables for 4. Perhaps it was just an off night for them which happens. read more

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This place was packed and poppin and I really kudos the staff for keeping us updated on when a table would be ready. Our appetizer- the cafe mozzarella bites- were wonderful and the spinach fused so well with the sauce. My friend loved her shrimp scampi- the shrimp was huge and perfectly pink, however I wasn't crazy about my sandwich. I didn't love the chicken but the sauce and bacon was great. Overall, I would come here again just wouldn't order the same meal. Great service I loved our waitress. read more

The greens are different. They were a sloppy, runny, terrible pile of over cheesed mush. HORRIBLE.

Always polite..good food and service..love this place..busy on thursday nites..and lunch is busy..always go at 11:30 a.m.

The food here is great. A weird thing we ran into was their cooking oil is processed in a facility with peanut oil so if you're allergic the fryer is off the table for you. Cuban sandwich was awesome. Large too. If you're getting a sandwich thinking you should get an app too, you're going to be taking some of that sandwich home. The service here is awesome. The waiter was quick with everything and super polite. This dude zips around and gets it done. Great place overall. read more

Great food and service always! Has a sports vibe but also great private dining if you're not into that. Would recommend taking a date there for good italian food, affordable pricing for the quality food you're getting. read more

I had a great time here, it was recommended to me by a coworker. I'm from out of town and here for work and the customer service was so amazing. It was just me so I sat at the bar and my bartender was Melissa, she was so kind and patient and just an overall good time. I asked many people sitting at the bar what was good there and they said everything, everyone said that, so I tried the teriyaki chicken. It wasn't bad honestly, not my favorite thing but it wasn't bad. It was served with pineapple which was amazing so I really liked that. I had a couple drinks and it was a good conversation and just an overall good time/meal to unwind to afterwork. I took my creme brûlée home for dessert and it was divine! Melissa is you are reading this, thanks so much again girl! read more

Cafe Del Buono - Teriyaki chicken - Italian Near Me - New Hartford, New York

One of my favorite restaurants. Food always good. Note it is small and there is a wait at peak times.

The food was ok the service was ok Please clean your walls after I seen food on the wall I didn't want to eat ewe the ambience ok read more

This was my first time there. I always drove past and saw a lot of cars so decided to stop for lunch. The dining room was full, so I chose to eat at the bar. The bartender was great, service perfect. The food was horrible. I love chicken riggies and when they were served with Penne, I was disgusted. If you are selling these as chicken "riggies", you need to use rigatoni and not penne. I could have lived with it, but there was very little chicken and no flavor whatsoever. I have had them at many restaurants and these were by far the worst. I may go back, but will order a burger or something simple that hopefully they can do without messing it up. Terrible. read more

Always a pleasure eating lunch here . We started with an order of Utica Greens appetizer which was perfect size and delicious. She had an egg salad sandwich, I got the rustic ham sandwich. Everything was delicious as always and our waitress was excellent. We must stop back for dinner some time . Have been going here for 10 years and it's always good. read more

Haven't been here since last year. We went for a quick lunch as we have, quite often, in the past. I cannot believe how far it has slid. It was filthy. Cobwebs, table filthy with dried food still on the surface. (more on this in a few more sentences) Plates dirty. When we placed our order we were advised that they were out of fries. Fries of all things! Go to the grocery store or call your vendor salesman to drop a few boxes off. Its not unheard of especially since 95% of your lunch sandwiches come with a side of fries. I settled on cottage cheese instead which was served warm. Usually we took our time but this time we didn't. We asked for our check and payed with my debit card. Signing the receipt and revisiting the filthy table comment. I signed it and their portion of the receipt literally stuck to the filthy table. I left it still stuck there hoping they would then wash the table. We will not be going back again and I couldn't get to a sink fast enough to wash my hands. read more

After reading the reviews and getting referral from the hotel, I had very high expectations. I was let down. It was okay. The food was good, not great. The menu was okay, not great. I would describe it as a 'dive bar vibe that serves italian food'. There was one waitress working the entire room. She was busy and was rushing around -- so she took our order, delivered our food and brought the check. Friendly, not great. Maybe if she had time to make recommendations, it would have changed our experience. So, good, not great. read more

Sadly some of the worst Italian food I have had. Bland watery sauce in the pasta and sausage. The sausage casing was tough as leather. The burger was ok but also bland . Service was good. read more

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The service and food are always excellent. It's a small restaurant and we've been going there for years. Sometimes it's busy during peak hours because it is a favorite spot for many people. It always meets my high standard. Friendly staff that work hard to serve you quickly. The menu has a huge selection and there are always delicious daily specials. If you can't find something you like, you don't know food. read more

They have delicious meals. The service is great. The atmosphere is great. People are down to earth and always make you feel welcome. I love going there to eat !!!!! read more

Food was delicious. It was busy on a Sunday night but food was ready when my friend arrived to pick up. They didn't charge my cc when I called so not only caused some confusion and for my friend to pay (which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Dinner was my treat & they ended up paying) but also had me question if they wrote my cc number down and then never charged it because they took it over the phone & said it was charged. read more

This rating is based more on the employees rather than the food (but the food was mediocre at best.) I felt very unwelcome from the minute I walked in the door, everyone just stared until finally someone asked if they could help me. After ordering, it was suggested that I "run some errands" instead of sitting there to wait for my food. When I requested extra bread, the look the bartender gave me was vile! She then slammed my credit card down and walked away. I am an educated, emergency department registered nurse. I am mixed with black and white and from Indiana, so I know racism, and this environment made me feel so uncomfortable that I would never recommend it to anyone. read more

since day 1 open. so many years ago every meal great! Eric is "ottiimo chef e proprietario del restorante". And the staff are excellent. A relaxing, pleasant dinning experience. read more

First time visitors, last time visitors. Steak is horribly undercooked. Asked for well done and wasn't even medium. Chicken breast is not cooked either. Still pink inside, not white like cooked chicken. Fries were not crispy at all. Very disappointing. read more

Came here for lunch. Was told it's the best place to try the world famous Utica greens. They were quite interesting. I didn't love them but happy I tried something new. The veal Marsala was the best I've ever had. The sauce was sweet and delicious with just the right amount of batter. Perfectly cooked mushrooms. Warm bread was a nice touch. Our waitress was very friendly. Bathroom was a little dumpy. Nice friendly atmosphere. read more

Cafe Del Buono - The delicious veal! - Italian Near Me - New Hartford, New York

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Very clean. Very friendly. Yummy food and amazing atmosphere. I got the chicken riggies. Not disappointing! So creamy and nice portion.

Nice little Italian restaurant. Food and service are very good. Had the Pasta with meatballs. I recommend trying this out. Especially if you're tired of the chain restaurant. read more

Warm family restaurant that most locals love. It was introduced by my coworker and the experience is always very good. Have been here several times, each time I had a different dish. They did not disappoint me. Flavor is good and the portion is good. Lasagna was epic, seafood was cooked just right, and the ingredients are always fresh and good. Chicken riggie was a go-to dish for most mod my coworkers. I will try the other items on the menu, and see how it tastes. Sometimes the complementary bread gets over toasted, but it is fine. Not everything can be perfect. Servers are so warm and nice, i can understand why people love this place. But I do need to get their desert! I always looked at their board and am enticed by its desserts. However I did not get a chance to try it. I guess next time I just need to skip entree and go for the dessert. read more

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WOW! The reviews were right. Cafe Del Buono is fabulous and not to be missed! OK, it's a basically a tavern with a small but lively bar and a small dining room. I travel in rather out-of-the-way places in the tropics, so I am not put off by this type of environment, and you shouldn't be, either. I called ahead and was told they were not busy. No wait, only one other patron at 8:30 p.m. on a Thursday night. The food IS amazing! The portobello mushroom appetizer IS to die for! The Veal Romano is outstanding. Next time I will try their Greens. Melissa, the waitress, is a true pro. She timed everything perfectly so that there was ample time to enjoy the mushrooms before dinner was served. Oh, and they make a damn good Dirty Martini as well! The price was right. Excellent value for outstanding cuisine. This restaurant topped the four I visited on this trip to Utica, and I will be sure to go there again when I am back in the area. read more

I ordered the "pasta del buono", I asked for recommendation to which should i add on, meatballs or sausage and the waiter stood there like " it's up to you" type of attitude. It came out bland and the too watery for a pasta dish (the sausage was good tho). To my friend part, she wanted to order a side of pasta and the same waiter really rolled his eyes at her. It's funny how he asked every tables "how's the food" except for ours.... so yea...this our first also our last time Disappointed, didn't quite live up to other reviews. read more

Traveling from out of town with a colleague, and after our dinner debacle the previous night, this was a pleasant change. Of course I hunt out the local restaurants and this one did not disappoint. Thanks yelpers for some positive insight, especially as this being a local favorite. Friendly staff, great food, nice menu selection. I'm sure there's not a bad thing on the menu. My colleague ordered the homemade chicken noodle soup and he said it was phenomenal. He also ordered the lasagna, which was a fairly large portion. Also came with a salad. I ordered the veal Parmesan which was enormous and came with a side Spaghetti. I also had a Caesar salad. Bread-and-butter was also served up, with Olive oil on the table. There were several patrons in the restaurant which is a good sign of a good place to eat. Someone told me many years ago that an empty parking lot in a restaurant it's probably want to stay away from. Even though they were fairly busy the waiting staff took good care of us and came back often. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone local and/or traveling.Don't let the outside looks fool you as this is a great establishment to patron. read more

Good is always consistently excellent. Staff is always attentive. You can rely on reasonable daily specials for lunch and dinner. If you are looking for quality food try it you won't be disappointed. read more

Steer clear all I have to say, save your money and time and go somewhere you'll enjoy

Very popular place. The cafe had a large selection of food, but the primary driver for the lower rating was the quality. The vegetable selection for sides included asparagus or broccoli, and my table got a couple sides of broccoli. It tasted like it was boiled which took away some of the flavor and over saturated it. For my dinner I had a salmon, which came well plated. However, the salmon was dry. Other observations were the sides of rice which included bits of string pasta mixed in and the side of pasta which was very red in color and sweet with sugar. A couple other people I went with liked their dishes including the the lemon halibut. The service was friendly and quick. Overall, it seems a little expensive for the quality and is small enough to get crowded quickly. I would not recommend it, but it looks like a local favorite. read more

This has to be one of the best Italian places in Utica!! My fiancé and I went here on a date night for the first time and it did not disappoint. Started with the calamari and bread. The olive oil on the table is nothing but fantastic with the bread. He got the veal parm which was and I got the chicken Romano (which wasn't on the menu, just something that the waitress recommended) and it was AMAZING! Everything was served hot hot hot and perfect! To finish the night off we got the Tiramisu (sp?) and it was the best we've ever had! Definitely going again to make it a permanent date night spot! (our waitress by the way was so much fun and recommended the best stuff!!) read more

Old decor, dirty carpets, and dark. Food was typical American Italian that was bland. Not good at all.

Food and service were outstanding! Chicken Marsala was awesome as well as the steak. Very affordable. From out of town, but would definitely go back again when in the area. read more