SPRINGFIELD — Delaware County’s restaurant scene has gained another exciting option with the opening of Buona Sera Ristorante at 801 W. Sproul Road, Springfield.
The opening of the new Italian restaurant marks a second location for Buona Sera Ristorante, which opened at 2126 Darby Road in Havertown in 2022.
Unlike the Havertown location, the new Springfield restaurant will offer lunch in addition to dinner. Its menu includes mouthwatering, traditional old world Italian dishes, with everything made from scratch using fresh, not frozen or canned, ingredients.
Menu items include such entrees as Pollo Alla Scarpariello E Salsiccia (chicken breast with sausage, garlic, lemon, red vinegar),Saltimbocca Alla Romano (veal scalloppine sautéed with prosciutto di parma, sage), Dentice All’ Aurora (red snapper sautéed with clams, shrimp, garlic, fresh tomatoes, wine), Filetto Di Soglia Adriatrico (filet of sole sautéed with capers, lemon, white wine sauce), Costoletta De Maiala Alla Griglia Al Barolo (grilled pork chops with red wine sauce, spinach), Penne Alla Vodka Con Spinaci (penne pasta with vodka sauce and spinach), Bucatini All’ Amatriciana (bucatini pasta with fresh tomato sauce, sautéed onions and pancetta), Spaghetti Mediterranean (spaghetti with shrimp, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and olive oil), Linguini Alla Vongole (linguine pasta with clams, garlic and olive oil in white clam sauce), and many more.
Buona Sera Executive Chef Pedro Perez puts his advanced culinary skills in action in the kitchen of the new Buona Sera Ristorante in Springfield. (PEG DEGRASSA/ DAILY TIMES)
“All of our meats and seafood are premium and top of the line and that sets us apart from many other restaurants,” remarked Buona Sera co-owner and manager Luis Genaro of Marple Township. “We serve premium top round veal, not veal medallions like most of the places I’ve seen around here. We cook everything old school, from scratch, the way your grandmother used to make it.”
Genaro said patrons who recall their parents and grandparents making traditional Sunday dinners will be impressed with the food at Buona Sera, since it’s all made the old-fashioned, homemade way, from simple, fresh ingredients, without trendy twists and far-out concoctions. Their sauces are made from real chicken broth, real tomatoes, all ingredients from the earth and not out of a jar or can.
“Also, our menu prices are fair,” Genaro stated. “Prices are competitive with what I see in this area, and ours are maybe even a little less, considering the high quality of products that we offer.”
Menu items can be easily altered to accommodate a diner’s dietary requests, and all entrees can be served in small bites for children. Kid-friendly options, not listed on the menu, like chicken fingers, are also always available.
Genaro — who has four children, including two serving in the military — and five grandchildren, said he knows how important it is for families to have food options available that children of all ages can enjoy as well.
“We just want to satisfy the community by giving our diners a comfortable experience and have them enjoy our good food,” Genaro said. “We are grateful for the community’s support.”
Buona Sera Ristorante team members, pictured in a section of the main dining area, include, left to right, Rene Quirizumbay of Aldan; Luis Genaro of Broomall; Dario Perez of Upper Darby; Joseph Quirizumbay of Havertown; and Rosa Llangari of Aldan. (PEG DEGRASSA/ DAILY TIMES)
It’s all in the family for the hardworking Luis Genaro and his co-owners and employees.
Perfecting the art
Almost everyone who works at the restaurant is related, from the owners and chefs to the hostesses, managers and servers. Although the family members are all natives of Ecuador, many immigrated to America as youngsters and spent their formative years and early adulthood learning to cook authentic Italian food in New York City.
Buona Sera executive chef/co-owner Pedro Perez came to the United States with a dream 30 years ago.
Perez worked in numerous different restaurants in the Manhattan District of New York.
The first restaurant that the chef ever worked at was named Buona Sera. Perez started as the “pizza guy,” dishwasher, then chef, and now his dream is fulfilled at Buona Sera Ristorante in the heart of Havertown and the newest location in Springfield.
Perez is joined by another head chef, relative and co-owner, Joseph Quirizumbay of Havertown, who also learned to cook Italian-style in the restaurants of New York, as well as by spending time in Italy to hone his Italian cooking skills. The chefs perfected their dishes, mostly influenced by Sicilian and Tuscan cuisine.
“Both of our chefs, and I, learned to cook in New York City, where there are many restaurants in a single city block,” Genaro said. “If you make your restaurant successful in NYC where the competition is fierce, you can make it anywhere. You have to constantly do better, do more and make your meals better than the competition. This is how we learned to cook so well.”
While they were working in NYC, a cousin, who lives in Lansdowne, encouraged the family to come look at Delaware County, as a possible location to open a restaurant.
“When we came here in 2020, we immediately fell in love with the area, and have been living and working here ever since,” Genaro shared. “After 25 years in New York, our family all lives here now. It’s calm. It’s nice and it has nice people.”
Building the business
With the Havertown location thriving, Genaro shared, the family looked to open a second location.
When Cascata Café closed in September, Buona Sera acquired the building and went to work remodeling and refitting it to serve their vision and needs. In under three short months, the family was ready to welcome hungry diners to enjoy some of the best Italian food in town.
The beautiful, remodeled dining room of Buona Sera Ristorante in Springfield comfortably fits dozens of diners. Newly opened this week, the Italian restaurant is located in the former home of Cascata Café. (PEG DEGRASSA/ DAILY TIMES)
In addition to a newly remodeled dining room and kitchen, Buona Sera Ristorante’s new location also has a banquet room that can fit up to 60 diners comfortably, making it ideal for funeral luncheons, since it’s located down the street from SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery.
The banquet room can also accommodate private parties for birthday and anniversary dinners, baby and wedding showers, graduations, Holy Communions and other special occasions.
“We want the community to try us, judge us, and let us know what they honestly think” Genaro said. “We guarantee that customers will love our food and like the way we will treat them like family at our table.”
What to know
• New Buona Sera Ristorante, open for lunch and dinner at 801 W. Sproul Road, Springfield.
• Hours are Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• For information, call 610-548-3810.
• Parking is plentiful and free.
• Buona Sera Ristorante’s Havertown location, open for dinner, is at 2126 Darby Road.
• For information, call 610-744-1830.
• Both locations are BYOB and offer dine-in and call-ahead express pickup services or delivery through Uber Eats, Door Dash and Grub Hub.
• Reservations can be made through Resy or by calling the restaurants.
• Those interested in planning a larger, private party, which can be accommodated at either restaurant, should call to speak with a manager.
• For more information, visit: http://buonaserapa.com.
Making sure everything in the kitchen is mouthwatering and exceptional are, left to right, Chef/co-owner Joseph Quirizumbay, Manuel Llangari, Fernando Beltran, Chef/co-owner Pedro Perez, and co-owner/manager Luis Genaro. (PEG DEGRASSA/ DAILY TIMES)