La Cucina — Restaurant in Denville

July 30, 2022 - Eight of us had dinner to celebrate Mom's 84th birthday. Food and service were, as always, wonderful. We shared the Mozzarella in Carozza, Fried calamari and the Cold Antipasto appetizers. They give you mild and spicy sauces for dipping. Everyone enjoyed their various entrees. Mom had the stuffed Bronzino special, many had the chicken special and I had the Pistachio breaded pork chops special. All were amazing. Always look to their specials first. Desserts were had by all with the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday to Mom. A night she will never forget. Thanks La Cucina Family. March 2, 2022 - Did another takeout meal to celebrate my wife's birthday. I was greeted like family when I walked in. Food was packaged perfectly and ready to go. We tried 3 of their appy specials that night. The Carciofini, fried artichoke hearts with honey mustard, delicious. The Crostini Di Parma and a wonderful Burrata with sweet red peppers over arugula. Our entrees were the Chicken Casalinga - a long time favorite, their wonderful Chicken Francese, and two new for us dishes, the Rigatoni Christina and the Chicken Saporito, both we would order again. Everything was delicious and we all are looking forward visiting real soon. May 9, 2021 - Did takeout for Mother's Day dinner. I was told food would be ready in about 30 minutes. Arrived 35 minutes later and everything but one dish was ready and that came out a couple of minutes later. Everything was packed nicely and all dishes were still hot when I arrived home 20 minutes later. We had the stuffed Mushrooms which we hadn't tried before and they were perfectly cooked and filled with a wonderful stuffing. We will be having them again. For entrees we got some of our usual dishes; Chicken Casalinga - a long time favorite, Penne in Pink Vodka sauce, and Sausage Giambotta - another long time favorite. Everything was delicious as always. They also included plenty of bread. All in all it was a great Mother's meal at home. 2019 - Love this place. Building was recently updated but still has its General Store charm. Food is wonderful. Mostly Italian. Be sure to try their nightly specials which always seems to take their great food up a notch. Stopped in last minute on a Wednesday night and Michele was able to seat us and took care of us. She remembered my wife being there a week earlier and asked the kitchen to prepare an appetizer special that wasn't on the menu that night. Those are the little extra touches that makes this place so wonderful. It's a BOYB so...

I have been wanting to visit La Cucina for a long time, since I live locally, and I finally had the chance to try it out this past Saturday. Knowing the space is limited and I'd be going on a Saturday evening, I made reservations (It's not a very large restaurant since it occupies a quaint space which once served as a general store during the days of the Morris Canal). The gentleman on the phone was very nice and I booked for a party of three. We were warmly greeted when we walked in and brought to our table. Although the table's position wasn't ideal (you could see into the kitchen area if you sat facing the entrance into the room) it was fine, since the incredible hospitality made up for any aesthetics in terms of a view. Our waiter, Flavio, was excellent and you could tell he was a pro. He quickly brought the board of specials over to us and I was impressed by the options. Innovation-wise, the list wouldn't knock you off your feet, but after all, this is a cozy, casual, family style Italian restaurant offering classic Italian dishes, so my expectations were certainly met. There is something for everyone on the menu. I was torn between a few dishes but ultimately decided on rigatoni with vodka sauce and a side of Italian sausage. Both dishes were delicious and served promptly and hot. We ordered salads and found the ingredients to be fresh and the portions very accommodating. The fact that it's a BYOB makes this a wonderful venue. We brought a bottle of Cabernet as well as Prosecco so we were prepared with the vino! We were served warm delicious bread, which is always great when you're sipping wine pre-meal. Everyone was very friendly and again, warmly said goodbye when we left. The only minor thing I would mention is that it is not clear which door you need to enter when you get there. At first, I thought I'd made a mistake when I opened the main door because I thought it was a back entrance but it turned out that yes, that is the main door! All in all, great experience and I am looking forward to returning with family and friends again. Do make reservations and do use the door to the side all the way to the left! :) Delizioso, Grazie La Cucina! Ciao,...

True New Jersey (authentic) Italian BYOB. COVID thankfully hasn’t taken a hit on the quality of the food here, like many restaurants.

Come ready and come hungry. This isn’t fancy Italian, but the best kind isn’t. Like your Italian grandmother, she’s going to stuff you with amazing food, and then still refill your plate…again and again. But it’s worth every bite. The bruschetta is large and fantastically flavorful (four large pieces on fresh bread). The fried calamari is with big “O”s and without tentacles; the two sauces - sweet snd spicy - are a nice touch. The chicken parmigiana and eggplant rollatini come essentially in the same format - massive and with a LOT of cheese (expect leftovers). The clams linguine is accompanied with 20+ baby clams and great flavor; just be careful, the sauce will splatter if you’re not careful. The unexpected winner was the rigatoni Christina (swapped out the rigatoni for capellini which soaked the sauce right up chefs kiss) - the mushrooms add an umami complexity to the prosciutto and plum sauce with an added touch of peas. Can’t wait...