cucina

i have been to cucina numerous times for their grab & go sandwiches and desserts but never dined at the restaurant b/c it gets really packed at lunch, and they don’t take reservations outside of dinner time.  i have always wanted to though, and was very happy when k chose this restaurant to celebrate.

tiny portions. the people who worked there seemed really overworked. i felt like they were really understaffed. because of my studies at sait, i know that's bad management. they should too! the food was really tasty, but portions were tiny. i had the beef osso bucco, and dessert and i was still hungry!

great food, terrible service. despite sitting right beside the servers station we seemed to be wearing our harry potter invisibility cloaks. it was a beautiful atmosphere and the food was great but the experience was still ruined by our waiters aloof attitude and begrudging & rare stops at our table.

amazing. great food,winelist, and service! my wife's favorite restaurant now. definitely will be back!

cucina is a very cute room. small with a great ambiance, even at lunch. the food is very good. very pricey; but very good. decent wine selection. definitely worth a visit.

so good. i've eaten at cucina several times since its opened and i keep going back. its great to see a place like this open up in calgary. the food has been excellent every time and i like the feel of the place. try the stuffed pasta shells and the chicken liver pate.

they have had their last chance....... this place can't seem to get it together. their service when making and serving coffees is very slow. maybe they need new front staff? i have had a luke warm latte, a hard pecan tart and this week on jan 21st they didn't have change at 9:00 am??? what? every time i give them another chance i get disapointed yet again. never going back!


-----27 nov, 2012-----

not worth it. i just went to cucina. i ordered a small non-fat latte and a pecan tart. the non-fat latte was only mildly warm and 3/4 full of milk. i had to put it in the microwave at work to heat it up. the pecan tart was hard as a rock. patries should not be this hard. overall i felt ripped off. that and there were only 2 people in front of me who had already ordered and i still had to wait for about 10 minutes for my coffee that wasn't prepared right.

had lunch here this afternoon and seemed to have a good first impression (service, setting, food). however, i had the beef tartar which was great, but about 12 hours later i am very well acquainted with the facilities. so the good first impression is now far from.

great decor..... beautiful interior, however the service and food was average at best. the room (for once) was half empty at 12:00 for lunch and yet it took our average table of four, 45 minutes to get only half of our tables lunch (which was very under seasoned). as someone who works in the downtown core, this is not acceptable to us that have limited time for lunch. however, everyone else around us got their food in a timely manner so maybe it was just an off day, the servers seemed to be standing around chatting on the end of the bar, and their was not much movement going on in the kitchen, i guess you see it all when you go with the open room concept. overall not that impressed, it will be a while before i go back.

expensive for mediocre food. had dinner there yesterday with a group of 6. ambiance is extremely nice, and the setup is interesting, intimately, but pleasant. food was pricy and so so. as we had to make a reservation, we had to have the daily tasting's menu. normally i don't have a problem with that, but this time there was nothing really that i liked in the menu. it started with pumpkin soup, nothing special. next a mixed salad, plain and boring, followed by mushroom risotto. i normally never order risotto in a restaurant, as it almost impossible to make for larger groups in a short amount of time, and this was proven again; it was way over cooked, smushy, and salty.. just not nice. entree was swordfish, again, overcooked. dessert was a browny and some chocolate... nothing special. we did have some really nice wine though (but we could pick that ourselves of course), and ended up with a 1100$ bill, for 6 people (of which 215$ for wine). might go there again for lunch, or just with 1 other person to try the rest of the menu, but will never go again with a group.

easily one of the best meals i have ever had in calgary! fresh manitoba pickeral was so tender and flavorful! my wife had the risotto which was amazing! great server, great atmosphere and design! our new fav spot in calgary!!

the bistro’s interior is warm and rustic, as if grandma’s quaint countryside cottage was converted into a bustling restaurant. adding more charm to the space are the design accents throughout that have a story: stools have been fashioned out of salvaged wooden pews from a church in wales, while table tops were created from rafters of the same church. bright red bathroom doors were recovered from an old farmhouse and the long harvest table was formerly a cheese-pressing table at a shop in europe…

cucina is the new venture by the owners of teatro, lead by chef john michael mcniel (twitter: @zeolobsterboy). cucina bistro is warmly lit, furnished with vintage pieces from around the world, and boasts an open kitchen with a rotisserie, pastry case for daytime, and two beautiful crafted lamarzoco espresso machines. as if that were not bling enough. there is a story behind almost every piece used in the restaurant; for example, the long dining table is an old cheese board used to age wheels of cheese, the bathroom doors are from a welsh schoolhouse. i can’t believe how much i love this place!

mad love for cucina. i love this new bistro on stephen ave, i have been 3 times in the last month. once for dinner and twice for lunch. each time the food has been fantastic, the shell pasta cioppino and market risottos are my favorite items so far. i love the attention to detail in both the food and decor. can't wait to visit again.

...the porchetta on my sandwich was moist and juicy, with just a hint of rosemary flavour. the slaw, made with sour apple, celery and grainy brassica mustard was very subtle - i almost wished i had more, or at least a little more acidity in the slaw to cut the richness of the porchetta...