cucina

we won't be going back!. four of us went to cucina a few weeks ago; we had made a reservation long in advance. they gave us the worse possible table in the restaurant. it was very busy and the waiters were constantly in our space to get cutlery and dishes.

their wine list is limited and they don’t bother to decant a $140 bottle of wine.

nothing that we had picked ahead of time from their website was available. apparently, they had some technical problems with their website. fair enough. we ordered two appetizers to find out that they were out of them by 8pm. the meat balls were quite bland, the lamb shank was just pasta with no shank, the cornish hen prosciutto was overcooked. the fish of the day was good but it was soaking in maple syrup, too sweet for our taste.

the service at cucina is okay but the food is mediocre. overall, cucina is not worth a visit. 500$ later for 4 people, we expected a great dining experience but we did not get it. we all agreed we would not be going back to cucina. there are so many good restaurants in calgary, don’t waste your time and money here.

delightful eve. what a delight... with 4 friends who had not been there before and we left with glowing reviews. right down to birthday candles for 2 of our gals.... not even requested! thanks... we will all return.

breakfast sandwiches are amazing. the breakfast sandwiches are amazing. i get the vegetarian one about once a week. amazing ingredients, cooked deliciously

meh. why is it so hard for locally owned calagry cafes to actually have good coffee?! i swear the coffee here is one of the worst that i have tried. it's bitter and leaves a gross aftertaste that is hard to get rid of, even after you brush your teeth. the food is over priced for what you get, and isn't of very good quality despite being part of the "teatro group" the staff are also very snobbish. i won't be going back.

really want to like this place but they can't cook eggs to save their life. i have been here for breakfast at least 6 times and every time i have ordered eggs i have had to send them back. over easy always come out hard as pucks. i have also had the chorizo skillet and actually got eggs that were see through, sent them back and the cook over cooked the skillet so much the eggs were black on top. seriously, it's eggs not rocket science. hire someone from denny's to train your morning staff.

tasty but..... we have had dinner several times before at cucina but alas, this might have been our last. the salads ordered by our 4 diners were all tasty but to charge $16 for a handful of heirloom tomatoes and 2 pieces of moozarella cheese seemed excessive. at 8:00pm the kitchen had already run out of the only chicken dish on the menu so pasta dishes were ordered instead. again the food was flavourful but the cut up pieces of chorizo and the 5-6 clams in the bowl that garnished the pasta was certainly not enough for the 2 men at our table. the featured fish filet was ordered for $40 and although enjoyed was certainly overpriced.
the concensus amongst the diners was that there was not enough value for a return reservation.

the food and service were excellent and seamless. not flavours i'd fully expect in an italian inspired restaurant. liked the rabbit pasta, rhubarb crumble, & peach pie. the decor was nice too.

along with the rest of the restaurants in the teatro group (we have yet to try carne street meat), we came out with mixed feelings on our meal.  some dishes looked and tasted amazing while others, we weren't quite as impressed with…  

good choice. dinner club met here last month.
service excellent.
cannot comment on the menu as everyone (except me) ordered the daily specials, (lamb and haddock) everyone enjoyed orders. i ordered the gnocchi which was excellent.
only thing i can think that was not good was my coffee was lukewarm, and i asked for another cup.

i found the portions waaaay waaaay too big and the staff looked way too fresh and underworked. i know that because i go to a local school that tells me how to identify these things. i had the salad and the breadcrumbs with olive oil and i couldn't even do up my pants (because i was so full). i was so bloated, couldn't even enjoy a main course :( now that is bad management! i know that from school.

food is good, but will not return. nothing bothers me more than when places do not provide water free of charge. there is no excuse for this; customers paying for a meal should be entitled to a glass of tap water at no extra cost. aside from this, i found the food very good but not mind blowing. i had the porchetta risotto, which was tasty, if a little salty. lots of squash, not too much pork belly (which itself wasn’t overly flavourful), portion was a good size, although some might find it small. i'm not entirely sure it was worth the higher than average price. i liked the restaurant itself - it's small but i found the decor made it light and airy. service was ok but not remarkable. the extra $1 per person for water, combined with the fact that the food was on the higher end of the price spectrum and just good (not great) means i won’t return. were it not for the water, i would have been keen to come back to try some of their deserts or the brunch menu.

pretty good sandwiches. although i've eaten & enjoyed lunch in the restaurant, i found it a bit too cramped for my liking. fortunately for the to-go options, the sandwich bread has improved a lot since they first opened. sandwiches are usually very good (except for some unfortunate bits in the chicken salad occasionally!) maybe a little pricey but much better quality/options than anything available in the nearby food courts.

my best breakfast item has to go to the wild mushrooms on toast at cucina. i like mushrooms, ok? keep in mind that all of these places have plenty of "non-mushroom" options as well, that are just as good, if not better (depending on your tastes).

the waiters have beards. food was ok but terribly over priced.... as is everything in this outpost. decor was borrowed from so many design magazines in the latest authentic-fake brooklyn cum italy chic. had to wait 10 minutes to seat for our reservation next to the pos with a great view of the office lobby. clientele was mostly 20-30 somethings. : )

something different. you have to be in the mood for cucina. their food is very good, but is more on the creative side. don't expect to recognize every ingredient item on the menu. but, just go with it. decent grab and go items at their counter for lunch too. decent wine list. their staff could be friendlier. a little less attitude, especially at breakfast before i'm fully caffeinated, would be awesome.