Buona Sera Ristorante & Bar

We always come here for family celebrations and have a wonderful time. The food is not cheap, but worth the... more

We always come here for family celebrations and have a wonderful time. The food is not cheap, but worth the price as everything is so delicious! ... more

This place is not even close to being a classy place..The help is marginal at best...If you have a complaint & take it to the owner,don't expect any resolve..The man obviously does not take much pride as to who he hires..But what do you expect from a guy who walks around with a lit cigar..There are many nicer places in Red Bank to go....Leave this dump to the undesirables.. more

Huge portions of delicious food. Bartender Mike simply the bomb! Free Parking adjacent to the theatre. Enjoy this gem of Red Bank more

Our experience here was horrific. I'll start with why I use such strong language. Toward the end of dinner, my girlfriend decides to use the restroom. The rest of us eat our desert. After a while, we start wondering where my girlfriend was. She had been gone a while. She comes back nearly in tears. She explains that while she was downstairs, a bus boy groped her. She tells the owner about this, and his response is, ""I'll have a talk with him."" After nothing is done, I demand to speak to the owner. In the interim, several employees apologize to us about what happened. I'm still demanding to see the owner. After about a half hour, the owner comes upstairs. In a nutshell, he accuses my girlfriend of lying, conducts his own ""investigation"" wherein he determines the bus boy did nothing and says that there's nothing that could be done. After being dissatisfied with his response (amidst having to hear that we were being rude for bringing up the fact that my girlfriend was inappropriately touched by one of his employees) , I ask this buffoon whether he would like me to call the police. He urges me, ""they're right next door."" We exit the restaurant and I call the police. Now, the idiot wants to talk to me. At this point, I tell him, ""you had your chance to resolve it; you basically had no interest; hopefully the police can help; goodbye."" The police promptly arrive and arrest the employee for criminal sexual contact. It was amazing how the only English the employee knew was the alleged alibi the owner had told us, i.e., he couldn't have done this because he had dishes in his hand. The employee had no problem uttering these words, but apparently, ""Hi, my name is...."" was too difficult for him--that required an interpreter. Long story short, an absolutely disastrous night out. With respect to the food, it was average at best. We order four separate appetizers for the table, only two of which were any good. The veal I ordered as my entree was rubbery. I couldn't enjoy my desert because that's when the above happened. One of the worst wastes of $300 per couple that I've ever experienced. The only positive from the place is the decor; very classy. Too bad the class from this place ends there. Don't go. There are far better Italian restaurants. more

6 PM SAT.SEATED,RUBBER ROLLS,FLAT WINE & 4 OZ.DIET COKE PRESENTED QUICKLY.SMALL DINING ROOM 1/2 EMPTY.BASIC DISHES ORDERED.6:30 WAITER SAID 10 MORE MINUTES.645 ASKED FOR A NEW ETA..GOT A GUY IN A SUIT TELLING ME I SHOULD EXPECTHE WAIT & THEN A LECTURE ON HOW HE MAKES RESERVATIONS.BEGGED HIM TO LEAVE,HE WOULDN'T .SO WE LEFT $10 & HEADED OUT 7: PM EXIT GM TOLD ME I WASN'T BUYING A CAR,IT'S NO BIG DEAL & NO REASON TO GET EXCITED.MY OPINION OF BS,NO BIG DEAL & NOTHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT. OR NO PLACE TO GO TO.. more

One thing I know being married to an old school Italian is great food. The service is outstanding. We booked two dinners for 19 people in the last 2 months here both experiances where top notch. We are trying to come up with another special event so we can return again. The decor is classy. You will not be disappointed. more

I took my family to dinner to celebrate my daughter's first communion. It was a total disaster. The food was lousy. Worst than the food was the service. The waiters and the management team was not very professional to downright disrespectful. The place is not very well maintained. It was dirty to the point that I questioned how it could pass an inspection if there's such thing in Red Bank. There are probably mice and cock roaches all over that place. more

Red Bank is a great town and I've always enjoyed the local dining whenever I'm visiting the Jersey Shore. I've traveled extensively through Europe, and in particular, Italy and I'll say without reservation....this food is NOT Italian! The owner is arrogant and rude and intimidates his employees. We were a party of 8 and I ordered the Seafood with linguine - it came out like soup (almost boiling) which makes the pasta go from 'al dente' to mush in a matter of seconds. The seafood was so over done that the shrimp was chewy and hard. It was terrible! So, I asked to see the owner/manager. He came over so I explained that this food was unacceptable and told us to LEAVE!! Yes, you're reading this correctly .....he told a party of eight to LEAVE!! His words were, ""Leave! Get out! No one comes in here and tells me my food is bad!"" If I knew I wouldn't get arrested .....I'd have dumped that entire bowl of boiled seafood soup w/ mushy noodles in his arrogant New York head!! NEVER NEVER go to this place!! Tom at Gaetano's Restaurant - 10 Wallace Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701 is 10 times better food and he's a nice guy! Spend your money $$$ wisely! Good Luck :) Pros: Red Bank Cons: The OWNER and the FOOD! more

We ate at this place a few weeks ago and we were absolutely blown away at the arragance that the owner of this establshment had. I think his name is Chris. He seems to enjoy treating his help like crap. This is the second time we experienced this. He was yelling at a server and actually said you should be working at Outback...actually Outback has better food then this place and the management is professional and makes your experience pleasant. The women who was serving us looked horrified and left our table crying. Who does this ass thing he is. What is his qualifications. Mine CIA grad, chef 20 years exp. Never seen anything like this in my whole career. This clown was sitting at the table smoking, yes smoking a big fat cigar with his friends inside, thats against the law. Do your self a favor...Don't go here. YUKKK Pros: The service help did the best they could, food over priced Cons: The owner, totally unprofessional, abusive more

I'm surprised at the many negative comments...We are ""foodies"" from Manhattan and decided to try Buona Sera this winter---have gone twice so far and have been impressed with the quality of the food, the selection, the service, AND the prices....did not find it particularly expensive, even compared to NJ restaurants. In addition to many meat, fish, and vegetable dishes, the pastas are varied and creative and the pasta portions are huge....I generally value these anonymous Internet reviews, but I suspect that perhaps someone has ""an axe to grind"" with this place and is generating multiple complaints..... Pros: Variety, Quality, and Portion Size Cons: [nothing we've noticed yet!] more

We have about 50 people group party on Jan 2010. The placed was on second floor but was so cold, they keep open and close the Back door next to our table. The food was cheap, It was a dinner but the style and dish like lunch. The service is very bad, never fill up your water unless u ask for it. we were waiting for more than 1 hour before the main course to come in. Worst Italian ever, very disappointed, will never go there again. Cons: Noisy, Bad service, Cheap Food, Expensive more

We all got the $50.00 prix fix dinner. It actually cost $100 per person - not included was the soft drinks at $10.00 a pop and the cappacino at $10. I expected more - you would think the dinner came with beverages - wrong. The food was ok nothing special - the pasta w vodka sauce was terrible. The deserts - ugh! Pros: The music, the waiters Cons: Prixe fix dinner more

asked for a second serving of bread (best part of the dinner) they brought warmed stale bread and when... more

asked for a second serving of bread (best part of the dinner) they brought warmed stale bread and when complained they said they will not serve fre... more

Let me tell you one thing, this place is so expensive and the food is average. There were 4 of us and with a modest bottle of wine we paid close to $400 !!! dollars. The food was at best average. For $48 dollard an entree (the dinner special?) one would expect superb food. We are all from an Italian background, and we know Italian food. It was so loud that we could not hear each other talk. Also the service was slow and Unattentive. If you want to throw your money away in this though economy you better off donating to a charity than wasting it on medioger and soooo EXPENSIVE \r Dont go\r Italian Food Pros: Italian Food Cons: Expensive, average food, Noisy, Rude service more

Why wait for a table, get seated, and then be treated poorly? With all the restaurants in Red Bank and down... more

Why wait for a table, get seated, and then be treated poorly? With all the restaurants in Red Bank and down the shore you would think restaurants w... more

You know, I read these reviews of people with their attitudes towards restaurants and there are completely removed from a good dining experience and a bad one that they have no idea what they are talking about. The owner of Buona Sera is a wonderful caring person. For some reason people think he's someone who thinks who he is and that is the farthest thing from the truth. I'm not rich but when I go in there I'm treated like royalty. Everyone there is so warm and courteous, maybe if you had a bad experience, it's because you're a total ****. The accomodations there are above and beyond. For appetizers order the broccolli rabe with garlic and try the mussels, they're exceptional. It's a great place to go for lunch as well. Also, try the sausage or calamari arrabiata, it's out of this world. Oh and by the way, exceptional wine selection. Great job Chris! Pros: Five star service ambience and personal attention Cons: Parking, very limited more

I think the title says it all. Had planned a nice group dinner and make a big mistake by picking Buona... more