Before this I always found Cucina Paradiso a nice place to dine. Quality food, competent servers, neighborhood vibe. Not this time. My dish, a rigatoni with chicken in a thin cream sauce, was so distasteful that I brushed my teeth the moment I returned home. Yuck! My dining companions seemed to have better luck with their orders but I noticed they left well more than half on their plates. The noise in the nearly empty restaurant was excruciating. A party of ladies, not sitting near to my table, carried on an endless shouting match -- not angry, just very loud as though they were in the stands at Wrigley Field. We asked the waiter to try to quiet them, and he agreed that they were extremely loud, did not want to intervene "in case they write an negative review." He said he reported our discomfort to the manager on duty, but she didn't intervene or visit my table to commiserate. I concluded that my review of the restaurant wouldn't matter. Nor would my future business.
We love dining at Cucina! It's a local gem. The food is always great and the service is excellent. Jose is one of our favorites- he is always pleasant and remembers my drink orderð
This was one of my favorite Oak Park Italian restaurants in the past. I had not been there for at least 15 years. Sadly, it is not the same. The lovely peach-toned decor, crisp white linen tablecloths, and beautiful bar lighting are gone. Now the whole interior seems brown and dark. The hostesses and our server were friendly and attentive. The busboy was a bit surly. When he asked if we wanted to take home the leftover calamari, we debated momentarily. He impatiently said "do you want it or not?" The menu had most of the same dishes I remember from the past, but the food is not what it was. The fried calamari with a light tempura-like crust used to be the best around. Now it looks and tastes like pre-breaded frozen calamari that they dumped in a deep fryer. We shared a house salad with vinaigrette. It had too much dressing, and the dressing just didn't taste that good. I also had the grilled shrimp on a bed of sauteed spinach with a light wine sauce. The spinach saute was fine, but the shrimp were overcooked and almost burned in spots. My friend's dish had the same flaw. I know that COVID and inflation have hit all restaurants hard, making a tough business even tougher. During COVID, Cucina switched over to more of a burgers and pizza carryout place. Now it seems that they are trying to revert to the fine dining place they used to be. If so, they're not there yet. I might go back if only to try the pizza or a pasta dish, but it would not be at the top of my list.
The food is always great. We were told we couldnât order another drink at 8:50 since they were closing at 9. Disappointing to feel so rushed out.
Outside seating nice but u do need consider the noise of the train. Service was great and didnât rush the meal.
Excellent dinner and drinks for a wonderful date night!
The service unfortunately was very poor, our waitress seemingly left in the middle of dinner. We had to ask other servers for the check. The ambiance is nice outdoor, however, it is right next to a train track which can be wildly intrusive each time a train goes by. The food was good and speedy.
Great food. Service polite, albeit slow and at times inattentive
Go and discover for yourself. Great kitchen, service, ambiance. Fills up fast. Loved our experience there. We were inside the center at the front window. Perfect spot.
Beautiful ambiance. Great wine and apps. Good date spot.