Cucina Bella — Restaurant in Denver

We were looking for a new Italian restaurant with good food and excellent service and we definitely found it. This hidden gem located on Alameda is the perfect addition to our list of favorite places to eat. There is ample dine-in seating and a spacious, welcoming atmosphere.  From the moment we stepped in, we were greeted warmly and brought to our table. The waiter was very courteous and attentive to our every need. The atmosphere was low-key and lively but not overcrowded. It was an ideal location for an intimate dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  They are the first restaurant we've found in the Denver area that serves calamari like I used to have on the east coast.  The calamari rings were fresh, well seasoned,  thin, crispy, and tender on the inside. Served with a tasty chili aioli, it was a delectable way to start the meal. I had a house salad that was absolutely surperb, fresh and delicious. My husband had the Caesar salad and Margherita Pizza. The Caesar salad was just as fresh and delicious with a generous amount of croutons. The pizza was well prepared and not burnt or charred like we've experienced at other restaurants in the area. They used fresh basil that was aromatic and enhanced the dish well.  The only improvement we'll ask for next time was a slight wilting of the fresh basil to incorporate the flavor a little more into the pizza. I had the chicken picatta, which was generously portioned with whipped potatoes, artichokes, and capers. This is the first time I've had potatoes as part of a picatta dish. It was delicious and well prepared with tender chicken and fresh ingredients.  I would recommend requesting a little extra lemon juice/zest in the picatta for a slightly more tangy flavor. While we enjoyed the meal, the waiter brought us two champagne flutes of Prosecco on the house to celebrate a toast to our wedding anniversary! We were truly grateful for this touching addition to our experience. We ended the meal with two desserts that were both outstanding. The Tiramisu was perfectly prepared with delicious flavor. The waiter recommended a signature dessert of the chef, peach budino. I'm so glad that I decided to try it. This dessert was an explosion of peach flavor that tasted like summer in the winter. Warm and comforting, this bread pudding dish was filled with tender peaches and a sauce that was a memorable end to the meal.  I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for a great Italian-style meal in a comfortable place with...

My husband, Brian, and I gave this new neighborhood eatery a thorough test-drive on the Wednesday night, before Thanksgiving. Chef brothers, Luís & Beto Gutierrez worked the kitchen with panache. Service in the front of the house is still a little green, on their 4th night since opening, but ALL staff were friendly & accommodating. We felt welcome and appreciated as patrons.

The food NEVER disappoints. Chef Luís, formerly head toque at Cherry Creek's Cucina Colore (2014 - 2021) dazzles with colorful plates of food. (We eat with our eyes.) The Crispy Calamari are bronzed gems of flavor; NOT the pale, flabby fare that's all too commonplace at many restaurants & bars. The creamy Burrata melts in your mouth, accompanied with pistacio pesto & roasted red peppers. The PEI Mussels should be served with dense, crusty bread in order to soak up the rich saffron-garlic broth. The Grilled Salmon was seared to perfection in a skillet--still moist inside the crisp outer layer. The fish laid on a rich bed of saffron risotto and emerald broccolini. The Veal Marsala, bathed in a roasted garlic sauce, could easily feed two. Three large medallions were coupled with slivers of sliced portobello & sun-dried tomatoes. Creamy polenta served as its hearty base.

The hand-crafted gelatos rounded-out a meal of savory dishes, but the best desert is the Peach Budino; a bread pudding made noble with cinnamon-orange caramel & whipped amaretto-mascarpone.

Lastly, we took a couple of pizzas home for a casual, no-hassle Thanksgiving. The yummy crusts of both the Funghi & Capricciosa were rejuvenated after 6 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Use a pizza stone or a cast iron comal for best results.

Execution of this fine menu outshines the respectable Café Mercato (nearby Lowry neighborhood) and it is at par with Jimmy's Jersey Street Café, Osteria on 9th & Jersey. We plan to dine at Cucina Bella, often. (We MUST return to sample the pastas.) The dishes are generously portioned and priced fairly. The Brothers Gutierrez...

This place is located in one of the little mini strip malls. The restaurant is not badly set up with bright red chairs for good contrast. The kitchen in this restaurant is quite small which supports my theory that a lot of their food is pre-prepared. When we were served our flan it had some plastic wrap stuck to the bottom of the plate. Additionally some of the tomato sauce we received with one of our dishes had that orange color that is typical of store-bought or pre-canned sauces as opposed to Fresh made. Overall the food was not bad and I didn't really have any significant complaints. We did order dessert and it was good (flan and Panna cotta).

What was irritating was our waitress who never refilled our water. I asked her once and she went and grabbed a picture and refilled it by reaching all the way accross our table and accross our plates to refill our glasses (spillong some water in the process) and then in the ensuing time of dinner she revisited our table several times and our glasses were empty each time. We did not say anything hoping that she would recognize that our drinks including our soda were empty and that she would voluntarily come back to refill them. Sadly this was not the case. She never once refilled or drinks. As we were getting our check I told her I wished to provide her a little bit of feedback that we would have liked to have had our drinks refilled throughout the night. She went and got a pitcher and refilled our drinks. I said thank you as she turned around and walked away. The next couple of interactions we had with her to close out our bill were a bit icy. This was really unfortunate and we left with a little bit of a sour taste in her mouth. We won't...