LA. CUCINA — Restaurant in Nice

I’m going to start off by saying this is my first ever Google Review! It’s crazy because I’ve eaten at hundreds, if not thousands of restaurants throughout my life, but I’ve never felt compelled to review a place because they’ve never gripped me like I was gripped tonight.

La Cucina came highly recommended by a friend who visited Nice and had a marvelous time. We spent 2 days in Nice and tried to immerse ourselves in the La Cucina experience right off the bat, but unfortunately we arrived around 8:50pm and the wait time was over an hour (makes sense) so we couldn’t enjoy what they had to offer the first night. Our second night we made it a point to arrive as soon as they opened (Pro tip: get there around 6pm if you can!) we had a small wait, which was no problem. We took the opportunity to order some drinks and BOY was it worth it! Do yourself a favor and order a Cocktail Maison, you can thank me later.

My friend and I while backpacking Europe created a tradition of splitting 2 dishes while dining to capture a more robust variety of each menu; This time we ordered the truffle pasta & the ribeye to split and WOW…. I’ll get back to the main course in a second, you’ll want to know about this next point…

We got bread delivered to our table that was A1. We tore it up like we never ate bread before (it was that good for real) and my boy Leo showed up like an absolute superhero and replenished our bread seconds later! (My heart was stolen by this point).

The main course: I’ve had truffle pasta & ribeye before, but NEVER life this… every bite had my eyes rolling to the back of my head as the flavors pumped dopamine through my body like I was eating straight love. The salad had no business being as impeccable as it was, the ribeye was a perfect pink, and the truffle pasta felt like it was made by a wizard in the kitchen. (Do NOT forget to get the buratta with your pasta!! Again, thank me later)

Every element of this dinner was magical! Leo our server navigated this place like a maestro as he informed hungry guests that it would be a wait as the exclusivity of their seating arrangement doesn’t permit for rushed cuisine (you’ll want to take your time with your bites).

I couldn’t recommend La Cucina more highly, bless yourself and your party here and you’ll elevate your Nice experience beyond what you expected!

10/10 would dine...

Too Long; Didn't Read - A brilliant little restaurant with outstanding food and excellent service.

Full Review - A small, eclectic Italian restaurant just outside Old Nice with great service and excellent food.

I walked in and was able to get a table for 2 for a late lunch though I imagine doing this in peak tourist season would be nigh on impossible.

We were given the menu and the options of specials which included a burrata & tomato salad, lamb shank, and mushroom ravioli. We opted for all 3 with the burrata to share as a starter.

We ordered an Aperol Spritz to accompany and as a self-proclaimed mixologist with exacting standards, the drink was generously portioned and well mixed. It's difficult to get an Aperol Spritz wrong but this excellent.

The burrata salad swiftly followed and was excellent. Generous portion work 4 different types of tomatoes, green leaves, pine nuts, pistachio, truffle and dressing. This was accompanied by bread and some delicious oil. All was excellent and can't be faulted.

This generous sharing starter was followed by lamb shank and mushroom ravioli. The lamb shank was tender and just fell apart. Absolutely perfectly cooked and delicious. On a bed of mashed potato work a rich jus, it was just outstanding.

The mushroom ravioli was again a generous portion in a rich creamy sauce topped with large shavings of parmeggiano and hints of truffle. Just exquisite and it was difficult to find a winner between the 2 mains but suffice to say both were excellent. The mains were accompanied by a beautiful side salad.

The excellent starter and main were finished with a single tiramisu to share. The theme of excellence continues with the tiramisu being absolutely brilliant, though the portion was very small considering the; for €8, I would have expected the tiramisu to be larger. However the only minor gripe on an otherwise excellent meal.

On requesting the bill, we were given a glass of limoncello and some sweets to finish. The service was excellent, the food outstanding, and I would have no hesitation in returning and recommending this excellent restaurant.

Setting - 4/5 Service - 5/5 Starter - 5/5 Main -...

A little off the beaten trail, this hidden gem was one of the best meals we had in France. The entire experience of finding this place, waiting to eat here, and then the meal itself were all great.

As with many other places in the area, the restaurant opens late, around 6:30 PM. There was no obvious way in which to make reservations, so the strategy was to arrive early and wait for a table. We arrived at 6:35 and observed that they had clearly opted to open earlier; every seat of the 10-ish table restaurant was already at various stages of ordering and some were already eating.

The host, who doubled as a server/expo sat us in a group of chairs in the alleyway and brought us drinks while we waited. We were told it would be 90 minutes but it was a beautiful day and the people watching was 10/10. This was perhaps one of the most entertaining parts of the day because the host was managing a growing horde of interested diners, taking orders, clearing tables, taking breaks to chain-smoke cigarettes all without skipping a beat.

Once sat, we were tipsy, happy and relaxed. The sun has just begun to set and some local buskers were completing feats of athleticism for cash a few feet away from our table.

The food was excellent. There are some strangely named dishes (probably more a product of poor translators) on the menu, but we were very pleased with our choices.

The Hot Goat Cheese Salad was very big - big enough to share between 4 people as an appetizer. It was flavourful and fresh. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe, the cheese was rich and creamy.

The mushroom ravioli was another hit: savoury, umami-filled pockets of goodness.

Two of our party had the Arrabbiata, one with and another without the Burrata. Both thought it was some of the best pasta on the trip!

We shared a Creme Brulee and Panna Cotta to wrap up and both were perfectly sweet and balanced with fresh fruit.

This place is cash-only, so make sure to bring enough...