cucina

dine in is great, do not recommend the grab n go menu. quality of food is superb when you dine in - worth the premium.lunchtime can be very busy and on 3 occasions i have had to wait 20-40 minutes for a reserved table. would not recommend if you require fast service.

grab n go menu is of poor quality. the cold sandwhichs are very soggy and the bread is tough, definitely not worth the premium price. they should consider adding the dressing when the custoemr orders/ or giving it on the side to keep the integrity of the bread. quite shocking the difference in quality between the take out menu and eating in. this part of their business can use some work.

hadlunchat 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 was good but 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 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 a good wayl. 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.

atlunchi 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.

decentlunchservice. very nice spot. fresh and chef inspired dishes. a little tight for any intimate or private conversations. make a reservation.

i've been here a few times, forlunchand 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. good attentive service. the tagliatelle is also one of my favourite.

my new favoritelunchspot - i had the special (trout), and it was cooked to perfection.  the décor is beautiful, and overall we were both very happy with our meals, wine, service, etc.  happy enough to book anotherlunchat cucina next week :)

pretty good sandwiches. although i've eaten & enjoyedlunchin 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.

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 forlunchtoo. decent wine list. their staff could be friendlier. a little less attitude, especially at breakfast before i'm fully caffeinated, would be awesome.

hostess not accomodating. i was hoping to try this place for a team lunch. it's close to the office and the menue looks delicious...but then i met the hostess. i asked for alunchreservation..she said "we don't dolunchreservations"...even for a large party..."how many"...10..."it would have to be at 11:30 and you would have to be here at 11:30"...what about a late lunch...say 1:00pm..."can't guarantee that we would have room"...what if i made it 1:30..."still can't guarantee room"...really a 1:30lunchon wednesday...i told her not too worry there are plenty of places to havelunchin the downtown. what is wrong with this city and the lack of service.

hadlunchhere 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 forlunchand yet it took our average table of four, 45 minutes to get only half of our tableslunch(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.

sandwich letdown. i'm a fan of a quick grab-and-golunchduring the work week so i was excited at the prospect of cucina becoming a new go-tolunchspot.

unfortunately, based on my experience there today, i can't say i will rush back. the potential is certainly there, after all, their takeoutlunchmenu is actually called "grab-and-go" and it lists a variety of delicious sounding variations of meats, chesses and veggies. on this visit, i opted for the italian meatball sandwich thinking it was a foolproof formula of marina, ground beef and provolone cheese over fresh bread. but, the bread did not hold up to the other ingredients and became soggy, which, coupled with the square-shaped bun, made for difficult eating. the meatballs were also a tad dry and the marinara lacked zest.

although i won't be rushing back, i will certainly give the place another shot. as a major fan of their sister bistro vendome, which almost never disappoints, i feel like cucina will eventually achieve the same standard. the well-crafted space and eye-catching pastries also call my name.