Cuoco Bello — Restaurant in Mayfield

We were quite sad when Smokin’ Qs closed but were eager to try the food here! It was busy Wednesday evening but were able to get seated quickly - they are fast to clean and re-set the tables. The hostess and servers were very welcoming! It is close quarters in the restaurant, understandable to accommodate the customers but can be difficult to navigate if you need to get up in the middle of your meal. Our server was prompt to re-fill our waters and clear the table for other courses. My boyfriend ordered a bourbon cocktail - he thought it was standard, well balanced. Their draft beer selection appeared more limited compared to the restaurant before them but I wash glad they still had many local beers to choose from. We ordered the toasted forest mushrooms - great taste, bacon was cooked well. We wished the order contained more! We shared the t-bone (bistecca Fiorentina) - it comes medium-rare but as you can see in the pictures it was more towards medium, even medium-well. The flavor was very nice, not overly salted and had some crispness to the outside. The t-bone does take awhile to come out (20+ minutes) - understandable but FYI. The side of brussel sprouts were very tasty - they got them crispy and charred and with just enough balsamic. I really enjoyed the garlic mash - it was super flavorful and the texture was light. Overall, we really liked the Brussels sprouts but the t-bone would not be something we would get again. One thing that didn’t really diminish from our meal but looking back was likely a “new restaurant figuring it out” was that they didn’t provide serving spoons with the mushrooms or the sides even though the t-bone was “for two.” The atmosphere doesn’t feel strongly Italian restaurant and you can still see remnants of the barbecue restaurant on the exterior and in some of their dishes/plates/bowls. Unsure if we would return, it can be a nice place for a drink and to share some appetizers...

My husband and I were disappointed about the closure of Smokin Q's, which used to occupy this spot, but decided to give Cuoco Bello a try, for our anniversary.

We went for lunch. The lunch menu (up to 4pm) is much smaller than the dinner menu, so keep that in mind before going.

Our server, Jamal, was excellent. Friendly and attentive.

It took quite a while for our food to come out.

I ordered the Sunday Sauce, and my husband had the pan seared salmon.

My dish was very good. It reminded me of the homemade red sauce my Sicilian dad used to make, except for it having some whole, uncooked grape tomatoes in the sauce. I love tomatoes, but those were an odd addition to cooked sauce.

My husband's salmon unfortunately was not quite cooked all the way through, so he didn't finish it.

The complimentary bread with black pepper honey butter was good. Although garlic herb butter would be better for an Italian restaurant.

I was disappointed that for almost $30 a plate that the pasta dishes don't come with a side salad.

We had the Grandma's chocolate cake and the Cleveland cassata cake for dessert. Both were excellent. Large slices. Better than average restaurant desserts.

4/5 stars over all because of the undercooked salmon and salads not coming with the pasta dishes.

Also 4/5 stars because the lunch menu shows cheaper prices for some entrees than the dinner menu, but I was charged the dinner price for my entree. The Sunday Sauce on the lunch menu is listed as $22 - I was charged the dinner...

We went to this restaurant thinking it was Smokin Q’s. We learned that the restaurant has transitioned to an Italian restaurant, Cuoco Bello. Hungry, we decided to try the food and experience. There is no host at the restaurant, so you do wait a little for a server or manager to take you to your seat. We started off with the calamari and the risotto ball. Both were delicious! For our main menu, we enjoyed the salmon, “sunday sauce,” cavatelli and the cioppino. All were perfectly cooked and good size portions. The pricing was a bit on the higher side. We did eat the cornbread, which was the one item kept from the bbq place; unfortunately, this was not as great as we had remembered. The interior of the restaurant has been a bit updated from the bbq place previously with new booths and decor. The dessert and cocktail menus were uneven cut paper menu with staining on them already. Our server, Maci, was great! She was attentive, polite, and gave us great recommendations. The manager, Z, was a bit rude and disorganized. Eating take out at the bar, while ignoring customers waiting at the host stand to be seated. She then walked directly to our table not greeting or checking in on our experience, even stating, “I don’t care about you” but went to my sleeping 3 month old son and lifting his blanket to see him despite me asking her not to. As a new mom out to lunch with her family, this really impacted our experience. Overall, we would probably eat here again or order take out as the...