So worth the drive from Laveen! They have a large patio, with misters AND screens which means even in the middle of our Phoenix summers the patio would be doable (for those brave souls). The only negative comment would be the direction of the table we were sitting at. My only scenery was the back wall; well, and the person sitting opposite. But that's what I get for being late. LOL! But if the direction of the tables were turned 180 degrees, at least I would have been able to look sideways at the restaurant, instead of having to turn my head like The Exorcist to see what's behind me. LOL! Other than that, everything else was exceptional: food, staff, adult beverages.The bread they brought to the table was hot, soft, and was gone very quickly. As for as the cocktails, I definitely preferred the Italian Dream to the Monsoon Madness. Our server was punctual and courteous, and very attentive. She made it a point to come around a few extra times simply to tell us "your drinks are coming" or "your meals will be out shortly". I like being kept in the loop like that. Makes me feel like they didn't just take our order and forget about us.I would definitely visit Cucina again.
Decor is beautiful like Italian should be! Server was excellent as was food. Best ziti I've had in ages. Loved the fried zucchini. I had smaller plate but regular size comes with soup or salad. Great garlic bread with every order.
I chose this restaurant for dinner because the hotel I was staying at offered a 20% discount and the reviews were mostly positive. I ordered my go-to choice for evaluating Italian restaurants: Chicken Parmesan (small size for $14.99) and upgraded the accompanying side salad to a caprese salad for $5. Like many Italian restaurants, sadly, this one deep fries the chicken before adding the sauce and cheese instead of pan frying, the traditional method. This is an unforgivable shortcut, but since I was expecting it I wasn’t terribly disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce they used, frankly, it tasted like it came out of a jar. But overall it was decent and the pasta was cooked correctly to al dente. The caprese salad was modest in portion but at least the tomatoes were fresh and ripe, The mozzarella cheese was not dried out and they did serve it with large whole fresh basil leaves. The service was friendly and prompt. So, I rated this experience very good on the strength of the value, the quality of the salad and the service. If I were to come here again I would order something different.
We had a wonderful late lunch on the patio - Gluten free pasta with a Strawberry Goat cheese salad - and my companion had an oval sausage pizza with a cracker style crust along with an antipasto salad. We had a really nice server, who very kindly made sure we felt welcome.Wish that I could have tried one of their specials like the seafood rolls but had to stick to GF items.Features: The outdoor patio is really nice during cooler weather.
Papa B's Fav was was $27.99 and WORTH every penny of it.Lasagna, Spinach manicotti , veal parmesan (Extra veal parmesan 15.99) I substituted the veal for check parmesan.
Although very nice, I waited about 15-20 minutes before anyone came to my table to welcome me.Be aware of the price inflation here. If your craving meatballs and spaghetti your better off making them yourself. Very overpriced. I do love the ambiance here. The food was extremely under par.
Visit to have great Italian varieties of food. I like the soups and spices chicken pasta :D
The server was fantastic, friendly, welcoming, and attentive. However the food was disappointing. The lettuce in the salads was brown and wilted, vegetables were just sad. The pasta itself was cooked perfect but that Alfredo sauce on the pasta was flavorless which tells me it was made from a mix and not from scratch as they advertise - no notes of butter, fresh parm cheese, pepper, cream. The parm they sprinkled on top was also premade and not fresh grated as it sits in bowls covered in plastic wrap. Having a hard time justifying the price they charged for such a sad meal. Doubt I'll go back as it's no better than olive garden.
My first visit and I will go back! Our waitress was Tracy and she was very attentive, to my coffee refills, friendly and just a pleasant person. Now the food, it was AMAZING!!! I had baked ziti it was so good! Got the lunch portion and I could barely finish it, hate to see how large the dinner serving is!!! Everyone there was very friendly, all around great place! ?
Awesome service. Great food. We come here just once per year because we save our visit for a special occasion. The quality of the food and the service is always top notch. Be back next year.