This place is special. The atmosphere, as well as the staff, is so inviting. The dim lighting and wood furniture all around the place gives off a hip and comfortable vibe, perfect for place bring a date or have a family dinner night. The food is to die for -- the giant meatball and squash appetizers are phenomenal!! Sean, our waiter, knew the menu like the back of his hand and recommended meals accurately and easily. Tracy, one of the nice managers, stopped by the table often to make sure my birthday meal was great, and it certainly was! My reccommendation? If you love quality Italian food and quality time with loved ones, eat here. 5/5.
First visit there and it did not disappoint! Our waiter, Ryan, was awesome. Jennifer gave us wonderful wine options. The food was superior. A terrific destination restaurant! Highly recommend!
Wow! Amazing! Food was excellent, wine was great, ambiance spectacular--- and Joanna, our server, phenomenal! She was amazing and watched the clock for us as we had a show at The Improv! And the company was fabulous!!! 😊
Service was great and the food is amazing. I had the beet salad with salmon. Omg it was to die for with the perfect balance of flavors and textures. Can’t wait to go back
Absolutely loved Cucina! We took our dear friend for birthday brunch this last weekend. It was many of our first times there. We all loved the food so much we are already talking about our next outing there. The linguine with clams omg! Amazing! The little pieces of pancheta cooked to crisp perfection and the clam sauce � was so full of flavor! We all started with the arugula salad (family style) and the carrot hummus. To our surprise the carrot hummus was simply divine! The short rib dish I was told was so good. There were no survivors on our table. The atmosphere and deco is so refreshing. Definitely one of my new favorite spots! Sal the manager and staff are so friendly and offer great service. Thank you for a great time �!
This was our first visit to CUCINA Enoteca and it was very charming! We came to celebrate Easter and we were all delighted with the menu offerings and the beautiful decor. One of our favorite moments was having my 11 year old son make his own pizza tableside then they baked it in the wood fire oven! Cool idea! Our starter was the Truffle Parm fries which we devoured and our main entrees were the Margherita pizza and Short Rib Pappardelle. All entrees were scrumptious! We’re looking forward to a return visit to try the other delectable entrees. This is now one of my favorite restaurants!
The Bucatini was the best pasta dish I’ve ever eaten.
Lida Azadi - Loukarsky
+5
Great food & great service. My new favorite place that reminds me so much of a cozy restaurant somewhere in Europe.
The food and service were good. I strongly recommend the establishment.
Just loved this place. Service was great, food was amazing. We had a party of 27 and service was just super and very friendly
Wonderful atmosphere for wine tasting or romantic dinner. They have nice patio seating which we always prefer.
Extensive wine collection and food is highly curated.
Reservations are recommended but not required.
Great food, good service and nice place. Their appetizers were tasty and the main dishes we ordered were all delicious. Everyone liked what they ordered. I highly recommend their Mushroom and goat cheese pizza and their fish. We got tiramisu for dessert and it was amazing! I think one tiramisu is good for 3 people.
Family favorite Italian place in Irvine. A Must! Sam is the best server we ever had here. Food is always delicious. We ordered the ribeye, pizza and their squash blossom is a must! I always order their branzino but it was not available tonight.
I was looking for a chance to visit this restaurant on the recommendation of a friend who has been here before, and finally visited with friends today.
The patio seats on both sides of the restaurant entrance looked good, so I asked the host for a patio seat, put my name on the waiting list, and while waiting, I chose the wines on display in the restaurant to go with food.
Finally, it was our turn, and we were guided to the patio.
Even though there were no pictures of food on the menu, I wanted to try everything as I read the descriptions of food.
The food we ordered today was Balsamic Glazed Octopus, 3 Cheese + 3 Salumi, Fried Squash Blossoms, and Bucatini Amatriciana with egg.
All the food we ordered went so well with the wines we drank together.
It was nice to be able to enjoy delicious Italian food, and my friends were also very satisfied.
I will visit again soon and try other food and wines.
Such a good atmosphere on the patio. I had a great server, I believe her name was Shannon. My drink was very good as well. I will be back soon. Not cheap, but also not insanely expensive. Plate was $25 before tax. Drink was $8 and is nonalcoholic. (Kind of high but tasty)
This was my first time trying this restaurant in person, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The ambiance is perfect to have a conversation without having to speak up in attempts to be heard over the loud music (pet peeve of mine at most other restaurants). Service was excellent also.
But the best part is, of course, the food!
I got Margherita pizza with prosciutto, and it was absolutely incredible! So authentic tasting, I literally felt like I was in Italy while eating it. We also shared a chopped salad that was fresh and delicious, and my girlfriend got a vegetarian mushroom pasta dish I don't recall the exact name of. She really liked it.
I've also ordered their short rib pasta with DoorDash twice, and I absolutely loved it!
I will definitely be back to this awesome restaurant. Highly recommend!
Our server was very helpful and nice. The octopus appetizer is a must! The rigatoni bolognese, short rib pappardelle and pepperoni pizza was a hit. The bucatini amatriciana was not a huge hit. Something about the sauce coats your mouth with this ....weird taste. We couldn't say what it is. Almost a pine nut...woody bitter after taste. For dessert we had the semolina cake with poached pear and the ice cream that came with it. The poached pear can never go wrong. The ice cream with its drizzled sauce was the best part. Some of us like that the cake is dense. Some didnt. And some said it almost has a rye after taste in the back of the throat.
Very delicious food..
We ordered Margherita pizza, chicken milanese, and a whole Branzino ...
Will be visiting again soon 😀
Good food and service. Everything we ordered was yum! We got the blossom squash, fig pizza, and 2 other dishes forgot the names. The dessert tiramisu was really good too!
Really enjoy this places. I had the short rib pasta and was delicious
This is a cool place to eat. High ceilings and plenty of room and lots of different seating options. We went with pizza and French fries. I ordered the the burrata pizza and added prosciutto to it. It was sooooo delicious. Also cooked well. I like my pizza charred and this had a light char. The waiter was attentive and patient. Small list of beer options but all local which is what I like when traveling! Highly recommend!
Had a reservation but still had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. Being a Friday night, that was expected. They offer a variety of dishes not just pasta. The drinks were a bit pricey for the size but good overall. The food came to the table quickly and the server was attentive the whole time.
Excellent spot to grab a bite in the Irvine Spectrum. Solid Italian food (salads are great), good service and a lively atmosphere. Good for adults and families alike. Will be back!
Excellent food. Everything is fresh and delicious. The service was very good as well. The only issue it was a bit pricey but the portions were big. The octopus was amazingly soft and the basil mint yogurt mix that comes with it was excellent. The polenta is very good but a bit simple purr salt and olive oil and a bit of parsley on top. I think it would have taken something more to elevate the taste. The wine list is very nice. Opt for a bottle than the glass. The bottle price is 1.5 times in stores which is excellent for a.store but the glass is half a bottle price in a store.
Came here for a lunch meeting. Food was great. I've been here before and the food was great then too. Service was mediocre, but honestly I've come to notice this is a trend. I know there is heavy turnover and lots of new staff at a number of restaurants so, especially the last couple years, I do lower my expectations. With that said, I think it took half an hour after finishing our food before we were even asked if we wanted boxes or dessert and basically only because we flagged him down. Then another half hour to get a bill. Normally no big, but when it's a lunch on a work day, that is a lot of extra time spent just sitting. Nevertheless, pizzas are yummy, pastas are delicious, and they have lots of good dessert options. Rice pudding was nice and lighter with the added citrus.
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