We like Buca for informal family gatherings. Going to Buca means everyone will find SOMETHING they like. It means we will have leftovers. It means we won't have to clean up after ourselves.
The quality of Buca noticeably deteriorated after Planet Hollywood took over. We'd been going to Buca for years in various states and things we loved started to disappear. For example, Buca used to give you really good complimentary rosemary focaccia when you sat down. Now they give you a semi-crusty white bread with zero flavor. What do you want to bet they started selling more garlic bread and bruschetta when they stopped giving you the good free stuff?! The portion sizes also changed noticeably.
Still, you always have enough to eat (or more than enough).
You always also have a good time. How can you not? We always look forward to seeing the old pictures... especially of old Italian movie stars, The Pope and various mischievous children.
Is this the best, most authentic Italian food around? No.
But they do have a lot of Italian-American classics that your family will surely enjoy.
I can't give it a 4 stars due to commonly having received extra slow service (due to the kitchen) on busy nights and usually having a wait even with a reservation. But the food is definitely better than, say, Chili's or other like-priced places.
It's served family style for the most part, but you CAN get individual portions of most things at lunch.
Want a tip? If you're craving spaghetti but you don't want to order a full portion, you can order the SIDE of spaghetti for only $5.99! It is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the small spaghetti at a fraction of the price.