Buon Giorno Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Calgary

Great food! Make that AMAZING food!! First some air clearing, then on to the experience.

FYI - Full disclosure, I had some issues when it came to booking my table and some cell phone issues during the meal. In retrospect, sometimes we all believe we are 'right'. However, we can also be equally 'wrong'. I believe in full transparency and giving restaurants every opportunity to shine. Sometimes the truth hurts, yet that's how we grow. I made mistakes.

After discussing my concerns with the owner, we recognized this was an excellent opportunity to reset and move forward again as friends. (I think we scared some of the girls working there with our gesticulating and directness LOL!) I found an owner who is passionate to his craft, his staff and his establishment. It was refreshing to have a good deep discussion and come out of it where we both learned more about one another, than the actual incident. Maybe that's why Buon Giorno's feels so much like family. You yell, you disagree, you argue, then you agree, shake hands, you hug and have some excellent food! What more can you want from a restaurant with heart driven from a man that cares? Thank you David Harrison.

*BE PREPARED: The restaurant is a noisy beehive of anxious activity, just like in Mama's house. So if you're adverse to conversation all around you and waiters racing from place to place, then you need to go somewhere quieter or ask for the best quiet times - and good luck. For the rest of us Sicilians, Italians and wannabe's, this is the spot to experience real world Mediterranean feasting.

I dined on fabulous Linguine Pescatore, which is a seafood pasta. They certainly don't hold back! There is plenty of seafood to go around:) Buon Giorno's allows you to have sauces and/or pasta choices that may not be advertised. I went with Rose Sauce and spaghetti for my pasta. This is not for the faint of heart as the portions are sizeable - and I'm a sizeable guy! After this 5 star dish, I just HAD to try a traditional dessert at which point, Buon Giorno's has plenty. Cassata Italiana, Italian ice cream cake. Tartufo, dark chocolate ice cream rolled in dark chocolate Tiramisù, ladyfinger biscuit dipped in espresso & Kahlua, layered in mascarpone crema. Zabaglione Al Marsala egg yolks whipped with marsala wine and sugar served warm. Crème Brûlée creamy custard topped with caramelized sugar. Crème Caramel creamy vanilla custard in caramel glaze. Which one? I had the decadent childhood favorite - classic Crème Brûlée. WOW! What a rocket to the stars and the perfect way to end a fantastic lunch experience. Once again, the NEW Buon Giorno Ristorante Italiano holds up their end of the bargain and created a wonderful food experience.

My only criticism, is that the hard working crew maybe...is hard working. So they seem a bit distant and not as happy as I would have expected. Then again, they are super busy and really rock stars ensuring food orders are correct, served hot and sides/bread is always available. We have a favorite waiter so I guess we are biased too! It is a little cramped. Again, this is traditional but it would be nice to have a bit more elbow room. Maybe I need to try one of the smaller rooms or the terrace? Let's see on our next adventure!

Sono affamoto, morto di fame. Ho fame, et sto per morire! Grazie a Dio per la pasta della mamma. Sono di nuovo...

The server and food where bad. At first every thing was good but it went down hill fast. The sever asked if we where celebrating anything because there was 3 of us we told him yes 2 of us are moving. He then responded why Calgary is the best city which we replayed well one is moving to Kelowna which he said why would you move there you’ll hate it. He then said he’s traveled all over and Calgary is the best place and that we don’t know anything about traveling. We responded we have actually all have done a lot of traveling which he responded like he didn’t believe us. Then my friend and I both had refills on our pop he asked my friend if she wanted another refill and she said no then I said I’d have another one and he quickly with a harsh tone said we are only allowed one refill. So how can she have more but I can’t. My friend said it’s prob because she’s a female and I’m not. He then came back talking French to my friend and when she said she’s not from Quebec he gave her attitude. The free bread came and it was so dry and bad. The food came and it’s not worth the money I had better at other Italian restaurants for less money. When the bill came we asked for separate bills and in a stern voice and said no. He said there’s one system and there’s a line up we said we didn’t mind waiting and he said no. After he left we decided to e transfer my one friend and she can pay it all. He then came and said if it was a problem he can do separate we told him it’s ok we already e transferred her money and he gave us attitude. We paid and did not tip good because the food was bad and his service was awful. He then came back and in front of all the customers yelled at us for a bad tip and how rude we are. We explained are experience was not good and he said he has to tip out at night and how bad we are as people etc so we just got up and left. His service was awful ! If the food was bad it’s not his fault but he was the worst ! Good thing I’m moving I’d never go back anyway. After this talking to friends they have told me similar stories with rude waiters there so now I know it wasn’t just us. Skip this place don’t...

SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE!!!! Sat down to eat, we ordered appetizers and pasta. Our server David brought us our appetizers and barely checked in on us. When we politely asked when our food would be ready we were met with a rude tone and were told that he was waiting on us to finish our appetizers and rolled his eyes , and said “that’s just how things work in here” And practically scoffed as he walked away in annoyance. When he brought over our mains, I lifted up my small dinner plate so that he could place the pasta in front of me and he placed the pasta and practically snatched the small plate for me and proceeded to ask “is there a problem” in an aggressive tone again. Maybe it’s because we were the only hijabis in this Italian restaurant that we were met with this ignorance and racism, when we were asked to speak to the manager, he walked away and didn’t even acknowledge us. We had to ask a waitress to grab somebody for us to talk to. The manager came over to talk to us. He started explaining to us how things work in a sit down restaurant, which was not appreciated, he was talking down to us as if we had never dined in at a restaurant before. and saying that he has never heard anything bad about The service his servers provide. after being told that we lost our appetite and asked to take away our food, clearly it felt as if we weren’t welcome in that establishment. as the server was walking away to get our take away boxes, he was scoffing and rolling his eyes and giving us dirty looks as he was walking away from our table. even while getting us our check, he placed it down aggressively and walked away, not asking how we would like to share the bill. when I let him know that we were going to be splitting he then again scoffed and went to grab the updated version. And when he was passing the receipt to my friend, instead of placing it in her hand that she had reached out, he put it on the table. again, very horrible service, did not feel appreciated, he was laughing, making jokes, giggling with the white couple sitting behind us, the service was definitely not the same when he...