CUCINA — Restaurant in Bucharest

I had high expectations when booking a Valentine’s Day dinner at JW Marriott Bucharest’s Italian restaurant, but what I experienced was nothing short of a masterclass in poor communication, disorganization, and lack of basic hospitality.

I made my reservation five days in advance and was well aware that the restaurant was promoting a special five-course Valentine’s Day menu. That’s not the issue. The problem is that nowhere in the advertisement, on their website, on social media, or during the booking process did they disclose that the à la carte menu would not be available.

This was a critical detail—one that completely altered the dining experience—but the restaurant failed to communicate it at any point before the day of the reservation.

Instead, just hours before my scheduled dinner, I received a call from the restaurant asking me to "confirm" my booking, which I found odd since I had already confirmed it via email the night before. That’s when they casually dropped the bomb that the à la carte menu wouldn’t be available.

At this point, I explained to the staff that my wife does not eat raw fish or beef, which made their set menu completely unsuitable for us. I expected them to offer some kind of solution.

Instead, their brilliant resolution was to urge me to cancel my reservation entirely—as if it was remotely possible to book another restaurant in Bucharest at the last minute on Valentine’s Day.

And then came the most ridiculous suggestion of all: They recommended I try the steakhouse.

Let me recap: I had just finished telling them my wife does not eat beef, and they suggested... a steakhouse.

The lack of foresight, transparency, and professionalism was staggering. If the restaurant was only offering a set menu, that should have been made clear at the time of booking—not hours before dinner. Instead, they blindsided me at the last minute and left me scrambling for a solution that didn’t exist.

After my evening had already been ruined, I complained about how they handled the situation. And only then did they suddenly offer me a "tailored special menu."

At this point, it felt insulting. Why was this never offered when I originally voiced my concerns? Why did it take me complaining for them to suddenly realize they could accommodate us?

This wasn’t an act of hospitality—it was the equivalent of an adult handing a crying baby a piece of candy, hoping it will quiet down and forget what happened. Except I’m not a child, and this wasn’t a tantrum—it was a completely preventable failure of service.

To make matters worse, their response asked for my phone number. They already had it.

Someone from their team called me earlier that day to tell me that my plans had just gone up in flames, so why pretend they needed my number now? It felt like a pointless formality rather than a real effort to fix the situation.

And what exactly was I supposed to do? Drop everything, rush over, and accept their last-minute offer like a dog chasing a bone?

The fact that they only offered a solution after my complaint proves that guest satisfaction is an afterthought to them, not a priority. A true hospitality brand doesn’t scramble for damage control after ruining a guest’s experience—it ensures the failure never happens in the first place. And on that front, they failed spectacularly.

This experience was beyond disappointing—it was frustrating, inconsiderate, and entirely avoidable. JW Marriott Bucharest does not operate with the level of professionalism expected from a luxury brand.

Instead of clear communication and proactive service, they waited until the last minute, failed to accommodate me when it actually mattered, and only tried to patch things up after I complained.

If you’re considering dining here for a special occasion, do yourself a favor and book elsewhere. This restaurant does not value its guests’ time, and if something goes wrong, don’t expect them to handle it with care or...

Pretty solid, honest Italian restaurant located at the Marriott, in Bucharest. While staying at the hotel, I ate at Cucina several times, never disappointing (and I'm Italian, born and raised). The only underwealming dish tonight was dessert (tiramisu) which was overly sweet, no coffee flavor, and mascarpone only as an added sauce. The atmosphere tries to recreate an Italian feel, with Italian songwriters music, all the staples... Personally, I felt more like I was in a cheesy Italian-American restaurant than in Italy. But I'm sure they didn't style it like this for their...

We had dinner here after arriving at the hotel late. We ordered octopus (yummy) seafood pasta (good), lasagna (good), pappardelle with mushrooms (delicious), and carbonara. The carbonara was not typical and VERY salty. Not only the bacon (should’ve been prosciutto) but the pasta itself. Everything else is was good and cute decor. Should invest in more menus though. We got two for a party of four and the restaurant wasn’t even half full (we did ask for more and...