Buon Appetito

If you're looking for a semi-casual and laid back BYOB with your special someone, this is the place. Atmosphere is relaxed, food is comforting, and the staff is fantastically friendly. A single talented chef prepares all the meals with care and attention, bring your appetite because portions are large! Especially well prepared chicken in a variety of dishes, but plenty of eggplant and mushroom with amazing flavor.

Been meaning to write this review for a while…I wanted to make sure they got all the stars that they deserve. We dined there a month ago as a party of four. I’ve lived local my entire life (50 years of it😳), and never even knew this place was there. I’m an Italian restaurant snob and this was one of the best Italian meals I’ve ever had (like North End of Boston good). It’s tiny and cozy, not over the top in decorations in any way, nor are the prices. Service did take a while, but it was understandable knowing it’s a one man show; we knew that going into it. Honestly it was such a good time, we hardly noticed. BYOB with a minor corking fee (I think $3?) was a big plus. Waitresses were a hoot. Fantastic experience, and we will be back.

What a delightful find! This hole-in-the-wall restaurant doesn’t look like much from the street. But the menu has an excellent variety, the portions are generous, and the food is delicious. The risotto was cooked to order! The meal came with a large bowl of freshly grated parmesan. And the chocolate decadence cake was divine.

The owner told me that they’ll be celebrating their 30th anniversary this coming January, and I can see why they’ve lasted this long.

My husband, in-laws, and I dined here for my husband’s birthday dinner. Open for dinner only; recommend calling for reservations. BYOB. Extensive Italian menu with fresh, delicious food!!! One of the best risottos I have had. The owners are also very sweet.

One of the BEST Italian restaurants I've ever had the pleasure of dining at. Its BYOB and the food is fabulous. Chef has been there for 31 years. We dined here when we lived in CT and dine here now when we're visiting from AZ. If you like a casual atmosphire, good food, reasonable prices with ample portions, this is the place.

Consistently good food and service. No liquor license, so BYOB. Very small establishment with limited seating, so be sure to make reservations on popular nights. Servers were very friendly and knowledgeable about ingredients (for food allergies). Definitely recommended.

This was my first time here with my partner and our friends. It was a great and amazing experience that I just can’t say enough about. I honestly wish I could have taken the time to share the photos of everything but We just wasted no time getting into everything. We were happily greeted by the owner and I assume to be his wife. He welcomed us into the restaurant and guided us to the perfect seats to accommodate us 4. The restaurant isn’t big but it provides the perfect ambiance for a date night. Especially when you can bring your own bottle of wine and or alcohols of choice since it’s BYOB and it’s only a $2.50 per person charge and your glasses, cups, and ice are provided. It’s a wonderful thing and not many restaurants do that anymore. A total hidden gem

We started off with the garlic bread. It was phenomenal to say the least, absolutely unlike anything I’ve had before. It was like a mini baguette that had slices diagonally and the sliced parts had cheese in them and the bread and everything was smothered in this delightful garlicky butter. Careful it comes out hot, I just couldn’t wait to dig in. The next thing we had was a special on the board called Grilled Italian Sausage. That was great, I love sausage and it was grilled with onions and peppers. And for a third appetizer, I chose the hot Buffalo mozzarella. Before you assume it is not the spicy Buffalo some may think, it is breaded mozzarella di bufala that is covered in sauce and baked to melty perfection. The cheese is amazing and so fresh. Everyone loved it. It was hot, melty, gooey, saucy, and just the right amount of crisp from the breading. For our main entrees me and my partner ordered the chicken parm to share since we had so many appetizers. So pictured is only a half portion.. I can only imagine the normal portion and plating would be quite large and you would never even think of leaving hungry. Before our shared entree came, we got our house salads with their house made garlic dressing. One comes with the meal and I ordered another one so we could both each have one. The greens were fresh and crispy, no soggy or expired salad bits here. The dressing was garlicky and creamy and the chef/owner put on just the right amount. You’ll definitely have to try it! Onto the entree, we asked to split the chicken parm and he plated and split the meal for both of us and we were just in awe when it came. Absolutely bigger than anyplace I’ve ever been to. The chicken was cooked perfectly, the right amount of cheese and pasta. The sauce was sooo good! You could tell it’s homemade and made with soo much detail, love, and care. Just an amazing experience on my tongues palette. As you can imagine we scarfed our meal down. We were just absolutely stuffed. But, I just had to try one of the homemade desserts. We chose to share the chocolate decadence cake with raspberry sauce and was just blown away. It was this thick gooey chocolate cake with not much of that normal cake in it you are use to buy a much better twist. It definitely lived up to its name and was very decadent. It wasn’t overly sweet and was just absolutely chocolatey. The raspberry sauce which I normally don’t like, but I liked this one. It added a hint of that good berry sweetness that doesn’t remind you of that cough syrup you had as a kid.

My final thoughts of this place is, I will definitely be back! I might go alone just so I don’t have to share!! Lol, I’m an only child so sharing isn’t something I’m very good at, especially food but I’ve learned to do it with people I love. But yes, the service was spot on, so very attentive, I loved the atmosphere, the food was phenomenal and it was just an amazing experience I hope everyone will come to enjoy!!

I have been coming here for many many years and it hold such a special place in my heart. I will ALWAYS order the tricolored tortellini, garlic bread, and the house salad (creamy garlic dressing). The Cesar salad is also amazing! You really have to love garlic to come to this restaurant. The people are the best and become like family if you keep coming back. BYOB for dine in. Take out is also amazing. Large portions and pasta always reheats very well. LOVE IT!

We finally had the chance to experience this gem of a restaurant after having read so many awesome reviews and were not disappointed! In fact, we were blown away! We opted for take out (although Buon Appetito does have dine-in), and our meals were excellent. From the super fresh garden salad with house made dressing (loved it!), to the parmesan garlic bread (do NOT forget to order this bread, trust me!!!), to their authentic Italian homemade pasta entrees made expertly and with a lot of heart and soul, EVERYTHING was absolutely delicious! Prices are great for the quality and quantity of food you receive. In addition to the fabulous food, the waitstaff was equally fantastic and a pleasure to deal with when we came in to order and were so funny, kind and helpful! We have found our new favorite Italian restaurant and will definitely return to Buon Appetito again and again!

We don't live in the area but had a craving for Italian food, stopped here on a whim, and Buon Appetito didn't let us down! In fact, it was THE BEST pasta dish I've ever eaten and we've been to Italy! Both the carbonara and spinach ravioli in a tomato cream sauce were outstanding. Cathy was our waitress and she made the experience even more enjoyable. Highly recommend!! Despite the hour drive from home, we certainly will be back!

Overall a very good experience. Delicious appetizers and main course
Very friendly and helpful staff.

Maggie and I ate dinner there the other night and my dinner was excellent! I wanted to have the veal parmigiana but with bolognese sauce instead of the marinara sauce and the chef/owner made it for me! Outstanding! When does that ever happen that a chef makes something you specially requested? Only here! You have to try this place!

What an awesome little place here with amazing food. The husband and I went on a spontaneous child free date and stumbled upon this place via Google maps. I called for a reservation after looking them up on Facebook. So glad we did. Small and intimate. The waitresses were super sweet. What you should know is they allow BYOB, or wine. The portions were large and the food was superb. We will definitely be going back!

Very large selection of Italian dishes. Shrimp and scallop was excellent with lots of scallops and Shrimp. Seafood risotto was also excellent and large portions.

Great food and service with a bit of a twist. It is BYOB and only a $2.50 corkage fee per bottle of wine. The Carbonara was delicious, and it also tastes great as leftovers the next day. Highly recommended.

Buon Appetito is my favorite Italian Restaurant. My personal opinion is it is the best Italian food in The Valley. The menu is interesting and has a wide variety of excellent meals to select from. The garlic bread is an essential accompaniment to every meal. Their staff and the chef are also excellent.
Whether you are dining in, or ordering to go, I highly recommend Buon Appetito.

We finally used a gift certificate from an anniversary. They gladly honored it from 15 years ago. So glad we used it. We don't live close. We had a fantastic dinner. Loved the coffee with a hint of cinnamon. The service was awesome and the restaurant very quaint. We will definitely be back. Thanks for a great evening.

Totally forgot about taking a picture - I was diving into the food too quickly! This is about the fifth time I have eaten here over about a 5 year period. I am not someone who goes out often, so when I do, I really hope the outing will be special. Buon Appetito has never let me down! It is so welcoming and casual, delivers 5 star service without any "fluff" and the food is likely some of the best food I have ever eaten, anywhere. The servicing are huge, but I love left overs, and trust me it tastes as good again the next day. The only thing that prevents me from becoming a regular there is fear of an expanding wasteline. That being said - DO NOT SKIP THE GARLIC BREAD. If you allow yourself carbs/gluten on very special occasions - eating this bread should be one of them.

Great first time experience! Six of us had tickets to a concert at Foxwoods and were looking for place to eat nearby. Buon has great reviews on yelp so we made an early evening reservation this past Saturday. The restaurant is situated between two small parking lots and an open field. Despite being a busy time for dinner, it was pretty easy to find parking. Right outside the entrance is a pretty fountain that is a nice welcome to guests.

My husband and I were the first to arrive. We expected them to tell us that we couldn’t be seated until our whole party was there. To our surprise, they welcomed us to a table even though we warned them the rest of our party had just told us that they were about 30 mins behind. Tables are nicely spaced apart and it isn’t too loud. There was a nice buzz of happy guests all around which was a great start to our evening. We had the pleasure of having Sandra as our waitress. She made recommendations and did a great job describing any menu items we had questions about and talked about how they make their bread in house. I ordered the Raspberry Prosecco Martini and it was delicious! It’s strong but not overpowering. We were served fresh warm bread and some olive oil while we waited. This bread isn’t your standard run-of-the-mill bread. It was perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. It’s clear that it’s homemade and incredibly fresh. Even though it was meant to be shared among the table my husband and I devoured the entire basket. It was REALLY good.

We were getting a little anxious when the other two couples were approaching 40 mins late. We asked them to text us their order since we were on a time limit for the remainder of the evening and the waitress was super nice about it. She didn’t bat an eye when we told her what was up with our friends. She said no problem and remained genuinely helpful as we needed water, etc. Our friends finally arrived and the timing was perfect. Sandra brought more bread and told them they should give it a try before their meals come out. They loved it just as much as we did. Our friends were also give enough time to eat it and not rush the rest of the food.

Dinner was served piping hot. I had asked for the gnocchi but with alfredo sauce at Sandra’s recommendation. It was phenomenal! The fresh and creamy alfredo was a perfect balance to the gnocchi. Best of all, the portion size is just right. I’m not a person that eats a ton and I hate when you get too much or too little. The price is good for what you get and it’s made with high quality ingredients. My husband got the Chicken Parm. He claims that you can tell a lot about an Italian restaurant by how good their Chicken Parm is. It’s one of the most basic Italian meals that if done well, chances are the others are going to be just as good. It was a nice big piece of perfectly cooked chicken. The sauce was clearly house-made and well-seasoned. It didn’t overpower the flavor of the chicken.

Once we were finished, someone came over and asked us if we’d like to try some Limoncello shots on the house. Boy were they good! It had a nice kick but really refreshing.

We had such a wonderful experience that I called right after we left to tell the manager how pleased we were that they were so accommodating. I highly recommend Buon Appetito and will absolutely be back.

Wonderful Italian cuisine in a cozy atmosphere. The owner/chef is a very interesting man if you can catch him at the end of the night. Vietnamese, but he is in love with classic Italian cuisine. They've been around for over 20 years with the same three people who run the whole show.