Cucina Alessá — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Great environment, good service, tasty eats. Reservations and dietary substitutes available (vegan and vegetarian friendly).

My significant other and I went here to celebrate our first anniversary. He is a regular and I'm new to the place, but the servers were very understanding and kind. Tables are available in the main floor, second floor, and sidewalk patio. There's also a bar on both floors. The dining area is clean and quaint, dimly lit and well ventilated. Dining here comes with bread sticks and olive oil dip. Water is free, iced and clean.

We ordered Calamari Fritti (light and crispy fried squid with a garlicky tomato sauce on the side). I had the Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina, thick potato pasta and fresh mozzarella in a thick marinara sauce (pomodoro), and my partner had the Rigatoni Toscana, featuring chicken and sun dried tomatoes in an earthy mushroom porcini cream sauce. We also had a glass of strawberry lemonade on the side. Portions are good and the food is well seasoned. There are meat and dairy substitutes available on the menu, ask your waiter/waitress for availability.

The calamari was very nice, fried beautifully and light in taste, paired with a fragrant garlic tomato sauce. Though the sauce was delicious, we were expecting something more similar akin to cocktail sauce. The squid is nice and springy. I would recommend giving it a try.

This was also my first time trying gnocchi and I have no regrets. I nearly finished my plate enjoying the plump chewy pasta, though the cheese was my favorite part as they were soft and semi molten from the heat. The gnocchi is a very simple and cozy homestyle dish, wish I can have more in the convenience of my home. (Maybe I'll learn how to make it myself.)

Both of us were looking forward to the rigatoni because it's one of the reasons we came to celebrate our special day at this restaurant. We love sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms, but I'm also glad I didn't order the same dish he did. Though it's cooked beautifully and he had little to no issue with what he ordered, I will say that the pasta is tougher than I would prefer. The chicken is flavorful, but the earthy aroma was very overpowering. Both of us also wished there were more sun dried tomatoes in the dish so that the flavors could be balanced. (We counted three in the plate.)

Honorable mention goes to the strawberry lemonade. It's refreshing, sweet and tart. Pairs nicely with the savory dishes available here. Although there's no drinks menu, our waiter said that they have all kinds of drinks, soda, tea, coffee, wine, beer, etc. Just ask for what they have or what you're looking for.

Would I come back? Definitely, especially on special occasions such as this. The prices are alright but a tad expensive for my taste. It definitely pays for the experience, though. Cucina Alessa gets very busy in the evenings, especially during weekends, so reservations are recommended. Parking is not available, so you'd have to park...

I loved this restaurant years ago when I went for the first time. I was up in HB and had time to kill so I thought I would stop by again. It was early, about 3pm and that may factor in but my experience unfortunately was not as great as the first time. The parking is difficult here and I had to go around before I found a spot. No big deal. The restaurant is very nice, super clean, very open, charming and well decorated with Italian music playing in the background. It is the kind of place that is both classy and yet comfy. I was greeted right away and seated right away. The service there is also spot on. Sadly where they lose points with me is with the pizza they served me. I worked in the industry for many years and managed multiple pizza stores and I was bummed with what I remember was amazing being down right bad. I would not serve it to anyone because I recognize the indicators of old dough and new dough mixed together, dough that has not had the opportunity to rise and if you look at the pictures you can tell too. I had half of the crust very crispy and sadly separating at the very middle, where the bottom half had the consistency of chewed bubble gum. I squished it with my finger to show the density of the doughy part. There were several slices that had only sauce and no cheese. I orders a Neapolitan pizza as that is the simplest (margarita style) and most authentic to me. I was born and lived in Naples, what do I know, right? Despite.the huge let down in the pizza, the wine servings were a little small but there was a good selection. The meatball I got after I stopped eating the pizza was very good and the house salad was fine. Kinda bummed though, don't think I will go back. I have had better pizza at hole in the wall places and that's not inspiring. Sure you can serve yesterday's pizza dough and get away with it if you want to but it won't help your business once the pictures get around. Again, most of the experience was good but the pizza which was in the past amazing was a huge let down and the fact that I stopped eating it and ordered other food went unnoticed and I think that speaks for...

5 star for a few reasons:

Place was clean, organized, and classy. I enjoyed the fact that there are two floors, and each have their own bar. It's slightly quieter upstairs, for a more intimate experience. Very well put together, laid out, and planned.

Staff was on point. Hostess and manager greeted me at the door, the manager suggested to the waitress to give a table upstairs, and I'm glad he did. My waitress was nice, she made some recommendations, and was happy and smiling the whole time, eager to help me and answer questions. Not once did she forget about me. I kept getting my plates cleared as soon as I finished them, almost as if they were keeping a close eye on me, waiting for me to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed that part. They were nice, and not overly talkative. The food came out fast too.

The food was ohhh la la! So I ordered the Heirloom Burrata for the appetizer. It was my first time trying burrata, it was definitely a new experience, a good one though, I enjoyed the cheese. It has a very soft texture, almost milky like, creamy, and melted but it was cool (temperature). Definitely will be order Burrata again in the future. I went with their Lasagna Napoletana, and I'm glad I did because it was OMG! No seriously, this lasagna was absolutely delicious, it was freshly made, cheese was melting and stringy. The sauce was just right, and the mini-meatballs were the perfect size, but lacked a flavor punch! I would go back to this place, just to have the lasagna once again. The complimentary bread and pesto was good too, the bread was warm and soft. I cannot complain about the food at all, and I'm hoping to visit again and try their pizza next time around.

I definitely recommend this place for good tasting Italian food, and a great overall experience...