Cafe Buonaro’s

Great, great find near the Dupage Children’s Museum. The staff was super, super friendly here. Very proud of the restaurant and genuinely kind. Really amazing considering we showed up with 11 people and five kids four and under today. Service was attentive and excellent. The food was really, really good-​baked spaghetti, meatball sandwich, lasagna. The lunches were served with a delicious salad (family style). We will be back for the food and amazing service!

Yes, 5 stars. Full disclosure, we were just looking for a place to grab a quick bite while the nearby children’s museum recalibrated and what a great choice we made.
Where do I start? We took advantage of the lunch menu (lasagna, baked spaghetti, meatball sandwich, bruschetta and three kids meals). They nailed everything, baked spaghetti was easily the best I’ve ever had. Lasagna was off the hook, meatball sub was phenomenal … EVEN THE KIDS MEALS WERE FANTASTIC. Meals come with bread for dipping and salads … will definitely go back, may even make a special trip from Oak Park, it was that good.
Service, and friendliness of the staff, was even BETTER than the meal (as if that were possible).

Café B’s deserves an update! Ever since my original review I have been a regular customer and couldn’t be more thrilled with the service and warmth of the staff here and the food! Oh the food! My friends and I have tried a TON of different dishes and have never once been disappointed. I am also blown away that they have come to know me by name; you can’t say that about many places anymore no matter how often you visit.
I really can’t say enough about this place! My fiancé and I have even opted to have our rehearsal dinner here next month and we can’t wait!

We had a gift certificate for this restaurant which is the main reason we went. We went about 3pm and were the only table in the place. I assume dinner is the busy time. =)
We had house salads (the Italian dressing was wonderful) and Fried Calamari for an appetizer and both were really good.
For the entrees we ordered a Steak Sandwich, Pasta (with tomatoes, fresh basil and onions), and Lasagna for our main course… We loved all of it!
We ordered the Homemade Cannoli’s for desert and we did not like those at all! Maybe it was a bad batch but they were really bad…
I would definitely go back for dinner but not for dessert! =)

Café Buonaro’s was a pleasant surprise! We had been visiting my aunt nearby at Edwards Hospital when the dinner hours rapidly passed us by. My uncle suggested a meal at Café Buonaro’s. I called to see how long the wait would be shortly after 8pm on a Friday evening and I was told to come on in.
We pulled up and I could tell that my parents were a little nervous. My stepmom even mentioned that if it wasn’t my cup of tea that we could leave. I think the warehouse appearance from the outside of the building may have caused the apprehension. Thankfully, we went inside, were greeted promptly and seated right away.
Our server was a sweet older lady. She hustled and stayed right on top of everything. Come to find out that she’s been there for twenty years. Wow! Café Buonaro’s has actually been there for twenty-​two years. Where have I been?
Side note: Once we were seated, I realized that I had been there about fourteen years ago. My employer at the time, brought us all out here for lunch. I think we had been participating in a team building seminar earlier in the day and stopped in to wrap things up. Turns out, she is still a regular!
Anyhow, the menu annoyed me a bit. It’s handwritten on a whiteboard in multiple spots throughout the restaurant. It’s a cute idea until you’re the patron who looks like she’s staring at some other patron when all she’s trying to do is read the bottom of the whiteboard menu. There were no descriptions, so I asked our waitress about a few items and she described them without a moment’s hesitation. We were impressed.
We started with crusty Italian bread and a family style salad. The bread is addictive. We joked that it’s because it’s imported… all the way from Chicago.
My son ordered shells and broccoli. This was a very generous serving. He couldn’t finish it all.
My dad had the four cheese lasagna. He was definitely a fan! And he openly spoke about plans to return, so they must be doing something right.
My stepmom went with fettucini Alfredo and added broccoli to the dish. She couldn’t make it through her hearty potion either, but was happy to take the leftovers.
I ordered the meat ravioli and a side of meatballs. The ravioli were very flavorful. The meatballs were really large. I only made it through about half of my meal. There was too much sauce on my plate for my liking, but that’s a personal preference thing. I’m a pain and I know it.
One of the owners checked on us at the end of the meal. She was a sweetheart and was the cherry on top of a lovely meal.
Overall, we had excellent service, very good food and a nice time listening to some of our favorite old school music. It is highly likely that we will all go back again.

Pretty good, kinda overpriced.
I had the cheese lasagna and it was decent, just enough sauce to go along with the insane amount of cheese. Good atmosphere, it was pretty empty while we were there but there were a few groups that seemed to be having a good time.
I’ll probably be back if I’m in the area, but I’m not going out of my way.

SO disappointing! After struggling to pick a good Italian place to go for my husband’s birthday, we picked this place because of it’s 4 star rating… what a let down. I was literally making a list in my head about everything I hated about this place as I was eating:
1. The menu on a white board is way too casual for prices like these and so confusing. You really need descriptions when there’s meals up there you aren’t familiar with.
2. Because of these prices I thought the portion would be huge like most other Italian restaurants, but not even close. My meal, their signature Chicken Marley, came with a tiny, tiny, tiny bowl of «mostaccioli». I can’t even call it mostaccioli because it was just noodles in a bland marinara sauce. If you’re this expensive… make a good meat sauce.
By the way, I was dying for chicken and mashed potatoes and since the waiter took my order without even offering side choices I assumed that’s what I was getting but nope… just a plate of way too buttery chicken and a kids side portion of noodles.
3. I also was disappointed that they don’t offer you a soup or salad option. I really wanted soup and was waiting for the waiter to ask us… again, assuming because I was paying $ 17.95 for chicken I’d be getting a little more than just that. He never asked and brought us a bowl of salad to share. The salad was good, an Olive Garden replica though, so nothing mind blowing.
4. The meal came out super quick. While this is usually a good thing, at a nice restaurant you kind of enjoy the wait and atmosphere. It is obvious the meal was not made to order when it comes out in 10 minutes… it takes 20 to cook sausage.
5. As quick as our meal came, it was taken away. Not even kidding. I was in the middle of eating and the waiter said, «Are you going to want a box?» I said yes, thinking sure, bring me a box and I’ll wrap my leftovers after a few more bites… he literally took my plate away and boxed it up… then quickly brought the bill, then quickly snatched it up as soon as I put money on it. I get it, it’s a Friday night and there’s people waiting outside… but let me enjoy myself for 5 minutes… I had an entire martini to drink…
The only pros: my husband said the Italian sausage was the only sausages he’s had at a restaurant and enjoyed, albeit cold (he’s Italian and really picky), my martini was only $ 8 and for their overpricing I expected $ 10.
I really wish I could say I would go back and give another chance, but for the money I’d much rather find some better options around here. The bland, meatless marinara sauce really killed it for me. An ITALIAN restaurant that can’t get sauce right? I hate giving bad reviews, but with this place, I just don’t get it.

This place does not have good food. My eggplant parmesan was covered in too much mozzerella cheese. The breaded eggplant had a «freezer» taste to it. It was horrible. My girlfriend’s father had pasta bolognese and the crumbled sausage tasted spoiled!!! My girlfriend and her mom split the pasta and peas which was mediocre. The calamari appetizer was very chewy as if it were either over cooked or dropped in the oil without being thawed out.
Over priced! one appetizer and three entrees was over $ 70!!! I felt sick to my stomach and vomitted up café buonaro’s food les than an hour later. Never again.
P. S. The waitress was spoke abruptly to us, was unfriendly and ate with other employees while we were waiting for our food at dinner time.

Always a damn good meal.
Try the rotolo, it is crazy good. I was also equally impressed with the linguine with clams and white sauce and red sauce. All of them are near perfect dishes. Desert is excellent too!!!
I have been going here for the past two years and will continue to frequent this spot.

Café Buonaro’s provided us a very interesting experience.
First, the restaurant is located at the end of what is, apparently, the old Naperville train station. And everything looks disconcertingly like a terminal: from walking in heavy train station doors to the high central building foyer.
We went there on a Saturday night when it was absolutely packed. We had to wait for thirty minutes, which was actually shorter than I would have thought. While waiting, our party had a few drinks at their bar which is essentially a see-​through closet partitioned off of the main restaurant area. It was very bizarre and very cramped but the bartender was a funny type of surly and the regulars were hilarious.
The menu is actually written on whiteboard found spaced around the restaurant interior. I felt a little weird without holding something tangible in my hands while making a decision, but I got over it pretty quickly.
I went with the chic, edgy Spaghetti & Meatballs. It ended up being pretty good and the portion was humongous.
Café Buonaro’s is a good Italian restaurant change-​up: it is a physically different experience than your average restaurant.

We had a
outing here. This place has been here for 21 years but we never made it in here til now. It’s a convenient location, being in the 5^th Ave Station building, with easy parking, and a friendly owner (the wife anyway) and servers. We tried their two main specialties –chicken marley ($ 16.95) and baked spaghetti ($ 14.95). The chicken marley was a nice, filling dish with two large battered and oil soaked chicken breasts, and a side of ordinary quality spaghetti. The baked spaghetti was ok — very cheesy with a sort of shredded spaghetti pasta, but I found the tomato and mushroom sauce too tangy. If not for mixing in with some of the wife’s chicken breast, I might have found the entrée by itself somewhat lacking for my appetite. The oreo ice cream pie for dessert was store-​bought quality. CB was ok to try, but no rush back.

I have the opportunity to visit Café Buonaro’s for a business lunch, and I glad that I did. Being of Italian heritage, and I pretty tough on Italian restaurants. Fortunately, Café Buonaro’s fit the bill quite well.
For appetizers, we ordered a salad, calamari, and stuffed mushrooms. All were very delicious. For my entrée, I went with the veal parmesan. It was excellent! The atmosphere is cozy and the service was knowledgeable and efficient. I would certainly return.

Excellent service, food!

Disclaimer: We dine here for lunch on occasion, so I am only writing about lunchtime.
Excellent vino. Good pasta, lunch specials and other fare at reasonable prices. Service was attentive and fast every time we’ve been here. I declare Buonaro’s the best lunch choice for Naperville if you like Italian cuisine.

We had pizza, lasagna and chicken marley. My daughter liked the pizza except the crust since it was a little burnt. I thought the lasagna was ok but nothing like Maggiano’s. The chicken marley was good. Ambiance was good. Pricing was ok. Service was slow but I didn’t mind.

Went with my Grandma and aunt for dinner. First, it’s in a gorgeous once-​furniture-​warehouse, now filled with small businesses and restaurants with lofts in the upper floors. Weathered brick and exposed beams definitely add to the mood.
Arrived around 5:30−6, no wait for seating. It was not busy (it was a Wednesday), but as we got our meal it started to get more lively. Bread and salad (a little oily, but had lots of vegetables as well as fresh lettuce) for the table, full wine list, and the menu was on white boards posted around the restaurant. In big letters in the bottom right corner, they posted «If you don’t see it on the menu, just ask and we will try to make it for you!»
So we got 3 Chicken Carbonaras and 1 Chicken Parmesan. Mine had baked on cheese (not a microwave heating like some bad Italian places), and was delicious. With 3 sodas, and a glass of wine, it came out to about $ 75. Since none of the meals were actually on the menu, they turned out wonderfully. I usually eat small portions, but this was good enough that I ate my leftovers later in that night!
At the end of the meal, the owner’s wife (I can only assume) came to our table, asked how our meal was, and offered us a coupon basket to choose from for our next visit. My grandma got half-​off a bottle of wine (which is right up her alley).
So all in all, beautiful restaurant, great atmosphere, and good food. I will be going back the next time I’m in the Naperville area.

On our way to the Union for a concert, we decided to get some local Italian food. I’m pretty sure my wife and I were responsible for 3 sticks of butter last night between the two of us. Yikes. Ah well.
I have nothing bad to say about the service. It can be slow at times. That’s all right. You’re eating Italian food. Take it slow. The server and manager were both very friendly and refilled our drinks in good time.
The dinner started with bread, and whatever olive oil they serve is great. Most olive oils, you can’t taste the olives, but the oil they serve on the table has a prominent olive flavor. The bread was pretty good, too. At some points I wished they had freshly grated parmesan (reggiano — the stuff that’s imported from Italy) but that’s also $ 18 /​pound cheese, so it’s understandable.
For the appetizer, we picked up the grilled calamari. For the most part, it was very good, as it was served with a melted stick of butter with a whole bunch of garlic pressed into it. The last one was bit sandy, and I’m not sure how much control the restaurant had over it. Any hesitations I had about charring calamari were off the table as soon as I had my first bite — it wasn’t too tough, and while calamari can taste like rubber (texture and taste) this dish had a good balance of calamari and spices.
If you get this, steal some of the garlic butter to use on your bread. It’s fantastic.
For dinner, I ordered the chicken marley. This dish has so much butter, it would make Paula Deen proud. Two chicken cutlets, breaded, pan-​fried in butter, served over butter, with a touch of honey. If there weren’t two sticks of butter in my dish, I would be surprised. Is it possible to get this dish wrong? Maybe. But the chicken cutlets were cooked perfectly, and the breading wasn’t crunchy like I expected but still held on to the faint honey flavor. Good stuff. The side of spaghetti with tomato sauce was a good touch, and helped me rationalize that this was a healthy dish.
My wife had the gnocchi. At times, gnocchi has reminded me of bad dumplings with tomato sauce. Fortunately, here the tomato sauce was bright, and the gnocchi, while still not my favorite pasta, did not offend me.
So after butter and more butter, we decided to try the homemade cannoli, of course. Now, maybe it’s the mascarpone talking, but *this* is an assertive dessert. The cannoliitself was crunchy. The textures – cottage-​cheese like from the mascarpone, crunchy from the cannoliand pistachios — were great.
Overall, Café Buonaro’s is a wonderful place to grab some excellent homemade Italian food. Definitely leave room for dessert if you go.

I have been to Café Buonaro’s a million times, give or take. I went earlier this week; I thought I had already Unilocaled them. Oh well. Buonaro’s a wonderful 5-​star experience for me.
Buonaro’s is small, family-​owned, with menus on whiteboards, huge portions, and yes, get the lasagna. The wait staff isn’t going to refill your water after every sip. It’s a more relaxed environment. That’s half the fun.
The other half of the fun is the food, which is wonderful. It’s tough for me to go and not get the lasagna (with a hot saus-​eech, thank you), but sometimes I’ll get one of the specials. Yum!
I don’t really mind all the chain restaurant; hey, lots of them are yummy. But Buonaro’s is a unique, friendly Italian place here in the Ville.

A friend at work had mentioned this place and I’ve heard that it’s a perennial Naperville favorite, so my date and I checked it out for dinner on a Wednesday night.
We were both surprised at how small the space is, coming in from the gigantic lobby of 5^th Ave. Station.
They do cleave to the whiteboard menus, which is commendably «green,» but can be hard to see depending on where you’re at. At the table we were at I had to crank around awkwardly in my seat to read the menu on the wall (so it appeared i was staring at the people right behind us…). They also don’t give any details so I had to ask the waitress about half a dozen questions about the different items of interest.
One item not on the menu, but which I’d read about on Unilocal,was the blue cheese risotto, so I asked; the waitress said they can indeed make it and said there are a lot of things they can do in the back, so just ask. My companion got the lasagna. Both were stunning amounts of food, particularly for the price. I make risotto frequently, and this one hit the perfect al dente note. I don’t usually put blue cheese in my risotto, but it was a nice sharp contrast to the molten rice.
Unfortunately, service was pretty lackadaisical, even as the place cleared out (and it wasn’t terribly full to begin with); all the staff were sitting at one table near the front and not being very attentive to things like refills etc. My date could never get a second beer, and I never got a refill on my water.
Overall, a tasty meal (and one for the next day), but you apparently can’t expect much on service. Maybe get the food to go.

This family owned restaurant with authentic home cooking is wonderful. When it first opened you could not get near the place. I had not been here for years and was invited for lunch. No problem. Daily specials and, of course, their famous chicken Marley, YUMMY.
I do not know how busy it gets at dinner, but this small place was perfect for lunch.