Cucina Bambini — Local services in San Jose

We had awesome experiences for the first 3 days of camp. On the 4th day, the owner singled out our 7 year old son to stop him from interacting with 3 other boys playing the same game. She grabbed his hand and pulled him, not to mention, scared him immensely and didn't stop until our daughter stepped up for her brother. She reminded the owner it was not ok to touch her brother, asked her to stop embarrassing him and what she was doing wasn't fair to him since they were all playing the same game throughout class.

The owner called me about the situation before I came to pick them up but when I got there, my kids' side of the story was not aligned with her's. My children were so shocked from the situation. The post conversation I had with her with my kids was not comfortable She kept dismissing how they were feeling. The owner was adamantly defensive and even her tone was making me uncomfortable. My kids were over the top in emotions. They're pretty resilient and take so many extracurricular classes, this was the first time I've seen them so affected by an adult.

The owner decided to give me a refund for the day of the issue as well as for the last class which we advised we would not be attending. That's as professional as it could be and I thanked her for it. I realize this is a women owned business and I wasn't going to leave a review about this. But when I found out this next part, I was so upset...

It wasn't until after we got home, my daughter which is allergic to peanuts, told me they used peanut butter that day in a group cooking recipe. I listed on the intake form of this allergy as well as spoke to one of the instructors on the first day.

They used peanut butter and chocolate in one of the recipes. With all the kids taking turns before her, the spoon used for the chocolate had peanut butter on it. She mentioned it but the instructor said it's fine, she doesn't see peanut butter on it.

She literally could have had an anaphylaxis reaction. I emailed the owner about the peanut butter being used but there was NO RESPONSE.

I dropped my kids off each day with complete trust. It started out so well... I am disappointed. This review is to advocate for my kids. Thankfully they shared everything with me.

Definitely not going to be a "recommend"...

We recently had my daughter's birthday party at Cucina Bambini. We selected the Tablespoon option and had 11 kids total. We thought that the staff was very helpful and friendly, and the kids loved the pizzas they made.

The one thing I would change is the method in which the kids made their pizzas. I was under the impression that each child would work on his/her own pizza from scratch starting with the dough. Instead the children were divided in two groups of 5-6, and took turns in completing a step. This leads to a lot of waiting around by the other children. For example, one child pours water, then the next child pours yeast. The only time in which all the children were finally working on their pizzas at the same time was when the dough was divided up among them, and they were able to knead, shape into a crust, then apply toppings.

Also, only one tray of toppings was brought out, and half the children sat and watched while the other half used the toppings. That half almost didn't have any toppings on their pizzas until a parent spoke up because her child didn't get to have any toppings.

My daughter enjoyed her party and so did her guests, but I think it would be great to streamline the teaching procedure so that all the children are actively working on their pizzas the whole time. Each child should get their own ingredients so none of them will have to wait...

We were there for a birthday party. The owner set up markers and a chef hat for the kids to color. Of course, the kids colored the table, too! The nasty part is that she doesn't bother to wipe the table before making the dough. She instead gives out plastic cutting boards to knead the dough, which I guess it is fine up to this point. Then, she takes all the cutting boards and sets the dough ON the TABLE. At that point, I tell her that the ink of the markers are all over the table and ask if she could wipe the table, thinking that maybe she forgot. She replies it is fine because she found a spot where there isn't. Now, I know she didn't forget.

I am wiping my side of the table before setting down the dough, and she wants the piece of wet paper towel I used and says, "Here, if this makes you feel better." At this point, I know I am not coming back.

She picks up ALL the dough, lets the kids make the noodles, and MIXES EVERYONE's into a pile. Then, she, very conveniently, makes pasta for everybody.

If she can not be hygienic in front of her clients, I wonder what she would do behind closed doors.

And she is rude to even polite requests, so what will she do when you have a real problem?

I don't think she realizes she is in the service industry. There are better alternatives out there than...