cucina

great. probably the best pork belly sandwich i've had in downtown. the atmosphere is really great.serviceis good too.

so so... soup of the day was tasty . the braised pork shoulder was ok. not the best. but definietly not the worst. loved the tiramisu. andservicewas great. i would like to come back to try more items on the menu

so worth it. the food was impeccable. everything was made fresh with high quality ingredients. i had the ravioli: beautifully presented with three large raviolis and citrus bursting flavor; asparagus was shaped in a star on top with crunchy bits of crostini-unbelievable journey on the palette. not only will i come here again, but i will return simply for this dish. we also had two sides: the ratatouille and green beans: delicious. i had a glass of french rose to accompany the meal and it was balanced and perfect. the berry pie with vanilla sorbet was outstanding. berries were left to reveal their own taste without a ton of sugar added. the crust was not overbearing: healthy, wholesome and artisan. this place is a new found love for me. friendlyserviceand rustic ambience with contemporary flare. they also serve phil and sebastian coffee. i'll be back!

this place is a joke. they wanted to charge me 2 dollars for a 30ml ramekin of salad dressing. are you kidding me!!?? this place is a rip off. i'v ebeen in theserviceindustry long enough to know this is just a money grab. i often go there for lunches with clients etc, morning coffee...will never go there again.

too pricey. there is no complain whatsoever with theserviceand the menu, in fact they are very good and 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, theservicewas 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 a good looking menu and even a 3 course menu for $35! i’d love to go back with my boyfriend for a nice evening. theservicewas 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!      

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.  good experience overall and really want to try one of their pastas next time. serviceis good as well, non intrusive and friendly.

i recently had dinner at cucina in support of restaurants for change. the arancini were to die for and while our mains (lamb chops and pork belly) were delicious, they were not particularly memorable. theserviceand atmosphere were lovely and the decor is beautiful, including the wine cases built into the tabletops. unfortunately some of the tables are crowded so close together that it was sometimes difficult to concentrate on what my friend was saying over the conversations happening on either side of us. i do like this place and would come back, but i don't think i'd bring a companion with whom i want to have a private discussion or long-overdue catchup.

calamari was delicious! and bread basket. friend had kale salad and had to ask for a vegetarian entree pasta to be made but they complied. he really liked that pasta. i tried the pappardelle alla bolognese with beef ragu. i found it a bit too salty but otherwise good. full portions are large!
customerservicewas ok. i think they are trying to change their approach based on some negative reviews online. a pricier place like this definitely is affected by negative reviews.
the place is too cramped. the waitress/waiters slide between tables and their hair almost gets in your food. . and just to get to the washroom you feel you need to say excuse me to the tables by there because if they are leaning back in chairs you will bump into them to get by. it was busy but no one checked in to see how food was. tried to get attention of other staff to get pepper and for a bag for to go items and did eventually get it. even though i gave a full 15% tip the waitress seemed disappointed. not sure why. also note that the menu has changed a bit from what is posted on their website. there are even less vegetarian entree options.

went here for breakfast and theservicewas 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 was good but badservicemade 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. theservicewas 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.

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.servicewas great and food was fatastic! ceasar insalata was very tasty and chicken liver parfait was good as 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 eaten here twice and twice came away with a good memory of solidserviceand 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.

i wasn't blown away by the food here. it's not on my top 5 list of italian places in calgary. the atmosphere was good,servicewas okay. probably won't try it again

great atmosphere andservicehowever 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 a good sign for longevity.