La Cucina Italiana — Restaurant in San Miguel de Cozumel

The most intimate and unique restaurant setting, and such delicious food! (Note: Cash Only) The chef prepares your meal in a homey open kitchen like you are in nonna’s (grandmother’s) house. The chef curates 6-7 main course or pasta items per meal (different for lunch and dinner), and you choose your desired item. Each meal comes complimentary with minestrone soup, balsamic salad, and garlic bread. As someone who gets overwhelmed with large menus and decision paralysis, this was such a welcome change! We enjoyed our lobster tortelli (large ravioli) and carbonara pasta, and the sangria was fantastic, as good as in Spain. For dessert, the lime custard was fabulous, and the tiramisu looked delectable! They also have an authentic Napoli pizza oven, and the Neapolitan pizza looked amazing. Beautiful for a date night, small group of friends, or solo dining. Lovely place to have a conversation, great acoustics where you cannot hear other tables conversing so it feels like you are in your own little bubble. Felt very European, and we were transported to Italy tonight! Can’t wait to return. *so good we went back for lunch the next day with friends and enjoyed the lasagna, gnocchi alfredo, shrimp fettuccine, four cheese napoli pizza,...

Wow. That's all I can say. First time trying La Cucina Italiana last week and it most definitely won't be the last. This is now a must-do each and every time I am on the island! We actually went twice for dinner. It was a little different than I imagined - when you walk in, it's a house turned restaurant and there are trays on the counter. The owner/chef shows you each of the meals they have available for the day (about 6-7 choices each day). We had (in no particular order): Lasagna, Spaghetti Bolognese, Stuffed Chicken Breast and Chicken Stuffed Cannellinis. Oh. My. Gosh. Everything was amazing. Each dinner comes with Minestrone soup, salad and bread. Be sure to save room for the tiramisu! It's not like any I have had before and it's incredible! The sangria was also wonderful - probably the best I have ever had. Also, it's so cheap! Around $150 pesos for soup, salad, bread and entree. I believe the first night we paid $27 (before tip) for two meals, two desserts and two cokes. This would easily cost 4x as much in the states. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint), is that they close at 6 pm. If you are on the fence about trying La Cucina Italiana...

I really wanted to like this place. It's really cute (and air conditioned) inside and has a nice patio area. When you walk in, there is a counter full of cake pans with the food (all at room temperature) available that day. You make your choice and then you are seated. You order your drinks and then you are brought your soup and bread sticks which come with your meal. Then a small salad is served. Your entree is microwaved and brought after the salad. I ordered the chicken parmesan ($180), and although it tasted ok, it was a really thin piece of chicken and I'm not even sure it had been heated at all because it was still room temperature when I received it. It came with a side of pasta. My fiance had the lasagna ($168), and it had definitely been heated more thoroughly than mine. The soup needed salt, but was full of vegetables. The salads were good and had what tasted like a raspberry balsamic dressing, and the bread was tasty. The entrees were ok. We also had a liter of pineapple water ($90) with what appeared to be basil (or mint? I couldn't taste it), and it...