Buca di Beppo is famous for its large, family-style portions of Italian-American cuisine. The restaurant’s menu features popular dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, chicken parmesan, and pasta. Its lively, eclectic decor, filled with vintage Italian-themed decorations, family photos, and colourful murals, creates a unique and festive dining atmosphere.
The chain also stands out for its casual, communal dining experience, encouraging guests to share dishes at the table. Buca di Beppo’s banquet facilities make it famous for hosting events and parties. The restaurant’s connection with Planet Hollywood International adds a touch of celebrity and entertainment culture to its brand, further enhancing its appeal.
The question is, does Buca di Beppo have vegan options on its menu? While it is pretty easy to make vegan pasta dishes since basic marinara and tomato sauces are usually vegan, I would still like to see something more than a plain pasta dish. What’s the deal with Buco? Well, nothing extraordinary, unfortunately. Everything comes with cheese or meat and even their signature Italian dressing contains eggs.
So, what is left vegan at Buca di Beppo then?
What are the vegan options at Buca di Beppo?
While most dishes contain meat or cheese, with some modification, there are a few considerable vegan options at Buca di Beppo. Here is the short list of potential vegan items:
- Spaghetti Marinara
- Green beans
- Mixed Greens (substitute the Italian dressing)
- Apple Gorgonzola Salad (substitute the Italian dressing, exclude gorgonzola)
- Italian Broccoli Romano (no Parmesan)
- Bruschetta (no mozzarella, parmesan crostini)
- Garlic Bread (no parmesan)
- Margherita pizza (without mozzarella)
- Soft drinks
- Oliva oil, garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar are substitutes for the Italian dressing.
Is bread at Buca Di Beppo vegan?
Yes, Buca Di Beppo’s bread is basically vegan. However, it regularly comes with parmesan or mozzarella, so you must specify that you don’t want dairy.
Best vegan options at Buca di Beppo
In my opinion, the following menu is the best vegan option at Buca di Beppo
- Garlic Bread is always welcomed for appetisers, even without cheese. It is incredible with some EVO.
- The restaurant does not offer a real plant-based entrée, so I went with Mixed Greens sprinkled with garlic olive oil. I bet this is much better than the Italian vinaigrette.
- I could choose between Spaghetti marinara and Margherita pizza without cheese as the main dishes. I chose the Spaghetti Marinara. I don’t like pizza without cheese, but the spaghetti with the signature tomato sauce was better than I expected.
- To be honest, mixed greens with balsamic vinegar were a pretty good side dish. Broccoli Romano looked pretty plain without parmesan, so I skipped that.
Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing vegans can eat as a dessert at Buca di Beppo since every sweet contains dairy and eggs.
Is there anything else?
There are acceptable vegan options at BdP, but who doesn’t want something more? I read their menu very carefully and talked with the staff, but I couldn’t find any notable might be plant-based items.
What should a vegan avoid at Buca di Beppo?
There are a few items that sound like vegan options, or you can make them so; however, there is no point to that, or they can’t be made vegan.
- Eggplant Parmigiana: Baked eggplant would be cool, but unfortunately, cheese is crucial to this dish.
- Caesar salad: Caesar salad is an elementary side salad which is available almost everywhere. However, if you exclude the animal ingredients, it will be nothing, but some greens tossed together.
- Brussels Sprouts and prosciutto: Like at eggplant Parmigiana, the prosciutto is too essential to remove, so leave it alone.
- Penne Basilica: If you exclude all animal ingredients, it would be plain broccoli with pasta since even the pesto cream contains dairy.
- Double Dark Chocolate Cake: Dark chocolate should be vegan, right? Well, not at Buca di Beppo. Buca di Beppo’s Double Dark Chocolate Cake contains dairy and also eggs.
Buca di Beppo as a vegan in a nutshell
While going to Buca as a vegan isn’t that bad, it is still not the best choice. There are some basic vegan items, such as Spaghetti Marinara, which is quite cool, and some of the side dishes are pretty good. Still, it is not a big deal since plant-based protein and cheese options are missing. Overall, it is the same as Old Spaghetti Factory. If you want some good vegan Italian food, you should head to Blaze Pizza, where you can order delicious vegan pizza with plant-based cheese and spicy chorizo.
