Cucina Rustica — Restaurant in Cranston

My mother and I went to this restaurant last night, we were here the same time last year, and it was great, but it definitely isn't the same restaurant. We should have known when we saw the lights half off in the food prep area and only three tables full in the sitting area. Reluctantly, we still sat down. We then had two different waitresses and didn't understand why. We ate the bread that was served cold (we were just so hungry) we had the salad that was less than appetizing and had no tatse, and we had a margherita pizza that gave us food poisoning. It tasted awful and it made us extremely sick with stomach cramps, nausea, abdominal pain, ETC. As soon as I ate, I immediately had to run to the bathroom, throwing up, etc.. We only ate half the pizza and asked for the check. The waitress asked if we wanted to wrap the leftovers and we declined. We then advisesd them that I started to feel sick. We told the owner how sick I had gotten from the food and she stated that she was "Safe Serve Certified", and we could not get food poisoning right away. My mother then explained that she was a nurse and yes you can. That food went right through me, making me extremely sick, and it was awful. And on top of it all, they still made us pay for it. I'm so disappointed and we will never go back there again. Additionally, my mother and I have been sick the entire night and day today so now we are both missing a day of work..... Definitely not the same restaurant as...

I ordered via Grub Hub.

I ordered Pasta Bolognese.....hardly any meat sauce and a mushy gooey, stuck together mess of pasta, and unseasoned sauce, flat and no taste. Too Bad.

I also ordered Chicken Marsala.......the pieces of chicken were large, thick and not properly sliced thin and pounded which is 101 for anyone who understands the correct method for preparing chicken marsala. Also, the coating on the chicken was THICK, as if someone used previously prepared chicken cutlets. Go to Italy and take a real cooking class and stop experimenting to cut corners, maybe hire some real italians from Italy, not central America.

I also ordered the calamari, they were fine, no issues, very difficult to botch calamari.

I also ordered Pasta Con Le Vongole (pasta with clam sauce), and once again, another disappointment. Someone educate these people about italian cuisine, especially seafood. Sliced onions, sliced peppers do NOT belong in seafood dishes. SMH.

For customers who have been to Italy or are native like me, and want real true-blue authentic italian cooking, this is NOT the place.

You can tell who's in the kitchen by the dishes they serve, save your money, unless you like places like Antonio's or Marchetti's or Pat Orlando's or Luigi's or Atwood Grill, if you like those places (UGH!) you won't mind the fake italian at Cucina Rustica.

If you have high standards, you could never eat in any of those places, let alone...

Went here for the Mother's Day brunch special, which was roughly $50/person and food was presented buffet style. The problem here was... the food stations weren't getting refilled. In short, I only ate a waffle and had a glass of orange juice because that's all that was available. My family and I kind of looked at each other the whole time thinking "is this really happening?" and we weren't alone in our displeasure. A woman at the table behind us politely, but firmly, spoke with the manager and informed her of how disappointed her group was with the service and their experience. The final straw for us was when my wife managed to fianally get something from the buffet, even though it was a dessert and not breakfast, which was a slice of pie. She bit into the first forkfull and immediately spit it out. The topping and middle was frozen solid... There was also the "bottomless mimosas" but there was nothing bottomless about it as none came after the first glass, and it was an additional cost. The grand total for our table was ~$450 in which the manager took off just 1 meal after hearing our experience. And at that point there were others waiting to do the same. My family and I all ended up grabbing pizzas and taking them to my in-law's house, as we were all hungry and disgusted. I never give an establishment a 1-star review. This...