cucina

great. probably the best pork belly sandwich i've had in downtown. the atmosphere is really great. service isgoodtoo.

too pricey. there is no complain whatsoever with the service and the menu, in fact they are verygoodand although it looks rather low level due to the lack of space, you quickly forget about it and start focusing on th efood.

the food is nothing special, some dishes (mainly pastas) are well made some are incredibly bad (rissotto) and some desserts are superb (tiramisu is a must). so it is a rather average restaurant.

but it is too pricey. they charge you as if they have given you a great table, the service was flawless and the food was exquisite. for those prices you could have gotten a much better experience in other high end restaurants. it is simply not worth it.

may 7, 2015 / by t_topcat / in restaurant reviews / post comment i joined a friend at cucina on stephen ave on a monday after work – i chose the location because i wanted to try something new. it was a bit of a walk from my office, but it was a nice day and the restaurant was a pleasant surprise! such a cute little place, with agoodlooking menu and even a 3 course menu for $35! i’d love to go back with my boyfriend for a nice evening. the service was quite good, but there were only 2 or 3 tables throughout our time there so there wasn’t a large demand for the staff’s time. cucina kitchen we shared the stuffed calamari: calamari stuffed with chorizo, green curry, parsley, garlic, onion, braised in tomato sauce. i was actually disappointed – the calamari was rather tough, and the chorizo was regular dried chorizo sausage cut into small cubes. i was expecting it to be fresh ground chorizo sausage (fluff style) with a smoother texture than the chunks of dried chorizo. the flavours were nice, but i wouldn’t order it again. stuffed calamari i ordered the feature of the day, and it was delicious. it was scallops and a veggie purée and roasted veggies. i couldn’t tell you what the veggies all were, but they were all awesome – if i could have licked the purée off the plate, i would have! scallop feature of the day i recommend cucina and plan to go back, for sure!      

nice deco,goodservice! beef tartare was good, personally i think to add a bit of lemon taste would be even nicer. risotto is tasty, but strictly, as you can see from the photo, it had too much moisture. gnocchi was not bad but a bit too salty. generally speaking, we enjoyed the dinner and will go back sometimes, hehehe

very interesting menu that seems to focus on pasta and fish.  i had the sablefish and it's cooked just right --- delicious!  for dessert i shared the tiramisu and cheesecake with my friend, both are good, especially the tiramisu. goodexperience overall and really want to try one of their pastas next time.  service isgoodas well, non intrusive and friendly.

had lunch at cucina yesterday and ordered the saltimbocca - full size $24. it came with 5 shells stuffed with braised short ribs and a piece of crispy porchetta on top. the food wasgoodbut a bit pricey. i was full after the dish but if you have a bigger appetite, you will probably need an appt to start or else a snack in a few hours.

i loved coming here! it really small inside but it wasn't busy surprisingly, maybe because of stampede. it has a really cute interior going on in black and white. their portion sizes are actually a reallygoodsize, i got a half size in both the market soup and the pasta. and i was already filled up after the soup -- which was one of the best soups i've ever had. it was a leek corn soup with spicy sausages. it was both flavourful but not overwhelming. their pasta wasn't too bad, i liked the risotto that my friend got.

after hearing reallygoodthings about his place, i finally got the chance to take the plunge and give it a try.   ordered the mussels and they were bland.   tried 2 kinds of pasta, and they were both good, but nothing to really rave about.  also tried the scallop appy which was surprisingly very small.  cucina is a small cute place,  i would come back and give it another try...

went here for breakfast and the service was awful.  we had a waitress who was so beyond rude who replied with snide remarks if we asked her for something she had forgotten.   i was unable to eat what i wanted because they were unable to accommodate making an omelette without bacon and mushrooms as apparently everything is premixed.   when she brought the bill she made other crude and unnecessary remarks.  if i am paying for a meal i really do not need the staff to belittle me in front of others.  the food wasgoodbut bad service made for a really terrible experience.

i ate at cucina twice recently and have dined there several times before. for the money, it is simply not worth it--despite the reclaimed wood and the faux hipster appeal. the service was friendly and exceeded expectations, and the ambience was pleasant. however, the food was a disaster. at breakfast, i tried the $16 feature eggs benedict. it was a "blt" benny, which i thought sounded unusual but in agoodwayl. its was a complete disaster and should never have been on the menu--an utterly terrible combination of ingredients (romaine lettuce does not belong under hollandaise). the biggest infraction was that they forgot the bacon--one of several kitchen mistakes for our table. the kitchen remade my dish but poached the eggs for such a short time that both white and yolk were an inedible, liquid mess.

at lunch i tried the $14 kale salad followed by the porchetta entrée. the salad hardly contained anything but plain kale and a few crumbs of cashews. what little dressing there was had an unpleasant bitterness. when the "porchetta" arrived, it was a slab of tasteless, fatty meat accompanied by uninspired, limp roasted peppers and a few unseasoned potato wedges that looked like they belonged next to the rotisserie chickens in a grocery store. at over $24 a plate, this was a huge disappointment.

bottom line: the food at cucina has gone drastically downhill and is totally out of line with its exorbitant price tag. save your money and time and go to one of the numerous other restaurants or pubs downtown where the kitchen knows how to execute a menu properly.

came here for a bday party and there was 20 people. service was great and food was fatastic! ceasar insalata was very tasty and chicken liver parfait wasgoodas well. i had the crispy duck breast entree and it was delicious! duck was perfectly cooked and risotto was yummy. menu is a bit pricey but will definitely be back again for a special occasion.

i've been here a few times, for lunch and breakfast. the food is consistently tasty and well presented. the pate appetizer is one of my favourite in calgary. the interior has a cool euro feel to it, well done considering they have a small corner of an office tower. the downside is that they are always fully reserved, even though the restaurant doesn't have every table full. goodattentive service. the tagliatelle is also one of my favourite.

i've eaten here twice and twice came away with agoodmemory of solid service and fresh food. it's not a big place, and serves as a (popular) coffee bar as well, but that lends a certain old world kitchen charm you don't expect in dt yyc. wait a minute - it is called "cucina" do you think that's intentional? the calamari is uniquely treated and delicious. the pastas are like woah.

great atmosphere and service however the food is lacklustre at best. everything was under-salted. the dessert and cappuccino were good, however still overpriced for the quality. the restaurant was only 1/4 full on a saturday night, not agoodsign for longevity.

both of us had the friday off and decided we would do date night. so scrolling through zomato we stumbled upon someones photo of a lamb dish and knew we had to try here. we were both dressed pretty casual and i actually wore a baseball hat and wasn't sure if it was appropriate at the time, but the staff were so nice and welcoming, they didn't even mind!

we were given the features of the day (not on menu) and the main menu was all on one-sided page. i got the feature and waiter explained it as slow cooked stuffed pork over bed of polenta and cauliflower... and the boyfriend ordered the spaghettini. we also ordered the calamari to start and tiramisu for dessert. let me just tell you how blown away i was with my pork dish! it was sogoodand the flavours of the polenta mixed with the pork was perfect. the spaghetti wasgoodbut the feature was 👌🏽. we both will always order tiramisu if its on a menu, and this individual cup did not disappoint and we could actually taste some of the coffee that was on the bottom.

the interior is quite cute i must say... almost has an urban barn feel to it.

we will definitely be returning and highly recommend.