Buona Sera Ristorante — Restaurant in Haverford Township

Overall, I thought that Buona Sera has strengths and weaknesses to it but the service and overall experience make me want to go back again.

When we first walked into Buona Sera, we were immediately greeted by a friendly host. We were lucky enough to be able to pick a seat of our liking. They quickly came out with water and menus. Unfortunately, there are no kids menus so kids have to pick off the regular menu. Appetizer prices ranged from $10-$24 and entrees ranged from $22-$34. They also have a wide range of options of specials each night. After ordering, they came out with fresh bread and softened butter. For our appetizer we got fried calamari with lemon and spicy tomato sauce (it was not spicy). The calamari was just the right balance of crunchy and chewy. After a short wait the entrees came out. I got the pasta bolognese which was very good with the meat cooked to perfection. If I were to change one thing about the pasta, I would have cooked it a little longer so it wouldn’t have been so hard. The rest of my family enjoyed their meals as well.

The restaurant is fairly small and we noticed it was pretty plain. There is nothing particularly special about decorations on the outside or the inside. The white table cloths make the restaurant look more fancy along with the wine glasses. The single use bathrooms were clean and ready to be used by the next person, except for the weird rattling noise when you turned on the lights. The lighting was soft and the music was at a nice level giving the room a nice feeling. There were many parties going on and the service still seemed to be good and people were having...

I had a horrible experience here on the evening of Friday, 1/6. I have never been treated so poorly in a restaurant and these people should be ashamed of themselves. After informing them of a severe nut allergy and triple checking that the appetizer we ordered was nut-free, they let me know (after I was finished eating it) that the dish "could maybe have had nuts in it." Direct quote. Not what you want to hear, especially being 9 months pregnant. The server was so condescending as I was quite literally panicking at the table, pulling out an epi pen and benadryl waiting for my throat to close. I frantically asked to please speak with the chef, but he never came out, nor did the manager. Then I was informed "it might have been peanuts or pine nuts, not really sure" big difference as peanuts are not even nuts!! Finally, he brings out a costco-sized bag of pine nuts and goes, "oh yea, it was these" in the most nonchalant way as if they mistakenly gave me chocolate when i asked for vanilla instead of a life-threatening allergen. When I reiterated that I was severely allergic and also pregnant, he no more than shrugged and said "ok" mockingly. Then he tried to blame me because my friend was the one who did the ordering for us, even though we asked several times about allergies. The night ended up with an urgent call to my doctor, benadryl, and agreeing we would NEVER return to this place. Truly disgusting way to treat another human being, let...

The family-owned ristorante is alive and well at Buona Sera, which we visited for a long, sumptuous lunch on just its second day of business. It’s one thing to talk about the restaurant’s list of good, classic Italian dishes, all of which were expertly prepared and well-presented. We began with buratta and polenta tartufata, followed by bucatini all'amatriciana, then a beautiful veal milanesa with broccoli rabe for contorni (prepared with an absolutely correct amount of garlic!). We rounded things out with two desserts, including a light lemon sorbetto, and a truly excellent bombe, comprising mango, passion fruit, and raspberry gelato dipped in white chocolate. The servings were ample, and very well priced. But beyond all that, the outstanding service has to be emphasized. This is a restaurant where every member of the staff is deeply invested in creating an atmosphere of welcome and comfort. You want to modify a dish, no problem. You want something that’s not on the menu - just ask! If they have the ingredients, they’re happy to oblige. And all the better, they’re open from early to late! They don’t just want to be your favorite new ristorante, but also your favorite osteria or Italian cafe for a morning espresso. Great time. Highly...