Due' Cucina Italian Restaurant - Lakewood — Restaurant in Dallas

Hello, gentle readers. I address you this evening from my toilet, where I will be spending the foreseeable future.

I don't want to write this, but feel I must, for the restaurant does not state this anywhere nor does it reliably inform customers when they order:

DO NOT EAT HERE IF YOU ARE GLUTEN FREE. Hard stop.

Their menu says "may have cross contamination" - my toilet bowl says the MAY part is a lie .... and so does their staff. (Anyone who is GF is well aware of any risk they take when they eat out, and this type of boiler plate language is standard at pretty much every place you eat)

They cook their gluten free pasta IN THE SAME WATER they use to cook their regular gluten pasta. They make their gluten free pasta in the same pasta machines WITHOUT ANY TYPE OR DEEP CLEANING OR STERILIZATION first. Their staff told me this TO MY FACE like it was not absolutely insane.

I was informed of this AFTER I had eaten 2/3 of a bowl of their "gluten free" pasta and found a gluten-containing shaped pasta at the bottom of the bowl. I went inside to inform the staff (this was actually the second time it happened - my first bowl of pasta was taken back when the clearly gluten shaped pasta was on the top of my bowl) and talk nicely about safe allergen practices.

The chef I talked to was fantastic and understood my concerns. She saw that it as an issue, took down my number, and gave me a refund. The dude at the order stand? Argumentative and acted like I was an idiot for not knowing something that says GLUTEN FREE is not, indeed, even gluten-free-ish. Zero apology for not informing me when I ordered (I would have left!!! And not gotten sick!!!) or the fact that their website AND menu in the store are extremely misleading. Using Gluten - Free when you do not practice any gluten-free-safe practices is the most insane thing I've seen in 15 years of being gluten free.

My bad for not asking, I guess, but when the first bowl came out the person who brought it out was like omg I'm so sorry I'll have them remake it so that, along with their literal touting of serving gluten free food gave me a clearly false sense of safety.

Honestly it's 2024 and people know what gluten free means, and them using Gluten Free widely and liberally and using it as a selling feature while ignoring the reality that it isn't gluten free is probably a legal liability - any lawyers reading? Call me.

I wouldn't trust a single allergen they label. They don't take literally the most basic allergen care of cooking in a separate pot for gluten free pasta and they surely aren't taking it for...

Scroll to the bottom for my dish recommendations

I cannot express enough my love for this restaurant, the workers, and the remarkable flavor of the food. It's unbelievable that this concept (undeniably clean and fresh Italian food) has taken THIS LONG to arrive on our shores. Yes we have Eataly, and we have the $30+ per dish fine dining restaurants, but this brings REAL ITALIAN quality to the everyday person. How have we not done this sooner?

As a child, I'd visit family in Napoli. Coming home, I was shocked at the difference in quality of our food. Yes, it's the food system in the United States, but it's also restaurants cutting corners because, frankly, they have to.

Due' Cucina doesn't cut corners. When they first opened, I had already read about the owners' story and the restaurant concept. I was hooked. Only 3 minutes away from my house, I dined myself and told everyone I knew about this restaurant. Here's why: it's clean (almost all EVOO), it's fresh (the best quality ingredients they can find), and it's undeniably authentic Italian - for a good price!

Now that I live far, I'm stuck with the usual Americanized Italian food (additive- and preservative-heavy nonsense, it pains me to even say it's Italian). I told Davide, if he opens a restaurant up north, I'll do everything I can to keep customers flowing. There's nothing like Due' Cucina in this country, I can tell you that (don't tell me Piada, it's not even in the same league).

Now onto my recommendations (yes, I've tried everything):

Short Rib Ragu - my favorite, hearty and full-bodied. Delicious. Porchetta Sandwich - I'm a sucker for a good sandwich, and the pork belly on this bad boy is unreal. Amazing option if you want to get filled up. Mushroom White Truffle - perfect vegetarian option, just the right creaminess and very flavorful mushrooms. Cacie e Pepe - the embodiment of the simplicity yet sophistication of Italian cuisine. The quality of their 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano really shines.

Some notes: The Kale Pesto is very kale-y. If you're not a huge fan of kale, maybe steer clear. Although I have a friend who LOVES it (and she's gluten intolerant). Do NOT get any red sauce dish without the Sourdough slice on the side. You'll miss out on the Italian experience, "fare la scarpetta" - you MUST use the bread to dip and scoop every last bit of that sauce at the end. Nothing goes to waste. If you're looking at appetizers, the Suppli and the Burrata are absolute musts You can't go wrong with the Cannoli or...

My partner wanted to visit this new restaurant in the neighborhood, and I agreed since I was in an adventurous mood. Unfortunately, our experience was not great. I gave it an overall rating of three, but it would have been a four had the bread been included with the meal and there been actual salt and fresh pepper not little packets available. The value proposition is just inappropriate for the format. Our meal for two including the lasagna, the carbonara, one slice of bread, two side salads, and the smaller size wine was approximately $50. This at a walk-up counter restaurant, where they did not automatically deliver your food and they expect you to self-buss tables. The food was overall good, but not great. My lasagna had been cooked too long and the lasagna noodles were mushy and although I like the brown edges of lasagna, on the piece I got it was dried and hard to cut through. The flavor was good though, and it was interesting that it had both regular and spinach noodles although it wasn't described that way. The carbonara was good as well with excellent actual pasta, although my partner felt it was very salty. The side salads were the highlight of our order with Bibb and other lettuce that was fresh, with olives and a balsamic vinaigrette. The bread that incurred over a dollar charge was pathetic. It was two very, very small thin slices of sourdough bread that had it been fresh and more generous would have been pretty good, but that had been cut for too long and dried out a bit, drizzled with a very small amount of olive oil. The service was helpful and friendly, but our entrees did not arrive even with our salads; our salads arrived after the entrees, and were apparently made only after one of us reminded the line folks that we had ordered salads. In addition our wine order was forgotten, which was promptly remedied upon being brought to the attention of the person minding the bar who was very apologetic, but.... The atmosphere of the physical space was very fast food like, with music played very loud, not cozy or homey like one would expect of an Italian restaurant. All in all, a disappointing experience. I wouldn't refuse to go back, but wouldn't be the one to suggest...