Cucciolo Famiglia Southpoint — Restaurant in Durham

A new Italian restaurant in the Southpoint area has opened up, it’s time for the Toyotomi “The Shogun of Snaxx” Shibayoshi to put it to the test. If memory serves me correctly this is a sister restaurant to Osteria and Terraza both in the Raleigh and Durham areas. Let’s start with the visual esthetics, lovely color scheme inside and at the bar area, huge outside patio seating area as well. Now with what you and I are here for the FOOD. Toyotomi decided to sit at the bar and have a few cocktails to start, the pistachio lemon sour cocktail was phenomenal, just the right amount of acidity and sweetness, plus that mouth feel of the drink hits just the right notes, this drink was the salmon swimming up stream in delicate waters to a destination far away but alas it came to an end when the glass was empty, we yearned for another one but there are other drinks to try. We now move onto the Banana Daiquiri, this drink took the Shogun to a tropical jungle filled with ripe bananas falling off the tree into the palms of your hands, not overly banana 🍌 flavored but the perfect balance of Giffard Banane mixed with rum and orgeat, refreshing and smooth. Toyotomi moved into the Caesar salad with precision and determination, a excellent experience was had and might still be one of the best Caesar salads he has had in the area. Now to the mains, a assortment of delicacies were waiting for the main attack, Toyotomi drew his Katana/Fork and charged in. The lasagna was meaty and crisp on the edges, just how we like it, love the more classic style of it and that it’s not a bowl of sauce like in most American Italian places. The shrimp scampi 🍤 fought a hard battle but was taken quickly by the shogun, lightly sauced and full of flavor. The potato cacciatore gives you the full flavor of the the tomato with the other components bringing in the textures and subtle flavors to complete the dish. As the battle ensues the chicken marsala brings in great flavor from the mushroom based sauce and great textures from the chicken and the polenta, but the real star 💫 is the Piccata, perfect flavors attack your tastebuds like a wave of soldiers cresting the hill in the final battle as you have beaten your enemies. If you go to Famiglia and you are only getting one main dish, this is your guy. Toyotomi is not a piccata type of Shogun, but I think this one will change him. This piccata he will battle with again and again. Maybe he will make a reservation right after writing this review so he can meet the tastes back on the battlefield of flavor once again. Cucciolo Famiglia gets a. 5 out of 5 on the Imperial Katana of flavor scale. Toyotomi says “Yo...

As someone who eats Italian food regularly, I am truly shocked by the five star reviews of this place. It’s neither impressive nor authentic. It seems unclear what it is. It’s like it’s trying to be a family Italian eatery but it’s not that comfortable or homey inside. The outdoor patio is lovely and where we requested to sit after we noticed the indoor seating felt kinda sterile with no good mood lights and just an open space with no true atmosphere. You’d think they’d have nice classic bowls for their pastas or cute grandma inspired plates. Something special. But instead, everything was served on plates that looked they should be in a diner. Aesthetics or a clear coherent concept seemed to be an afterthought and clearly was never realized.

The food was forgettable. It wasn’t awful but nothing noteworthy except for the beet salad. The presentation of the dishes was lacking. The bruschetta was just two random slices of toast on a cutting board. They should serve it with the spread on the side with a knife on the board or something. They may as well have served it on a side plate. I ordered the truffle mac and cheese which came with rotini pasta and very little cheese flavor. So a mac and cheese that had neither the Mac nor the cheese. The arancini was the worst I’ve had in the triangle. Mushy, not seasoned well. And while it was a more unique flavor attempt, it still very clearly needed tomato sauce. My husband got chicken parm that didn’t even come with pasta. The server was very friendly and seemed like he wanted to be attentive but our waters weren’t refilled and someone else had to come take our order when they realized no one had yet. We spent over $100 for mediocre food. We spend the same at Mothers and Sons or Osteria Georgi for infinitely better dishes.

We question if we would ever want to try the other Cucciolo restaurants after...

I’ve been a fan of Cucciolo’s sister spots, Osteria is one of my favorite restaurants. So I walked into Cucciolo Famiglia with reasonable expectations: not the same elevated vibe, but still solid. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst meals I’ve had in years.

The atmosphere doesn’t match the name. It’s not cozy or family-friendly, it’s just an open space with tables. The patio is cute. Drinks were decent. Service was genuinely good. But service can’t save food this bad.

From the complimentary bread to the appetizers to the mains, everything fell flat. The ricotta and honey starter was dry bread, bland ricotta, too many pine nuts, and barely any honey. The white ragu was salty and bone-dry, nothing like the rave reviews claim. The “mac and cheese” wasn’t macaroni, wasn’t cheesy. Portions were large, but presentation sloppy.

Definitely recommend Osteria but Cucciolo...