Cuginis Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Merrill

I had never expected to find such rich and authentic Italian cuisine out in Merill, IA. Let alone a muscles appetizer that brought me all the way back to a restaurant my family had frequented till its closure back in my childhood.

In the three times I have been there I’ve never been let down. I had the Farfalle Alla Luigi (the name might be a little off) on two separate occasions. Each of which the dish was 1:1 to the quality and experience as the prior time, the same delicious rich taste, perfectly prepared, tender salmon hot and ready in a reasonably swift amount of time. Speaking of time, I was here on my birthday recently and it was reasonably packed (as I would imagine Fridays are) and at nearly full capacity our appetizers and entrees were delivered at the perfect time.

On my birthday they just so happened to be serving a wonderful Portabello, spinach, ricotta stuffed ravioli. Chopped scallops and a brandy cream sauce and the part I was most excited about, a lobster tail.

I have had lobster at fine resteraunt in New York City with smaller portion sizes and it did not disappoint. Not only was it well prepared but it infused the sauce with a mouthwateringly powerful lobster taste.

Had I not skipped lunch I would have had to take some home. The portion sizes at Cuginis are incredibly generous especially considering the price. There are places in New York City I have enjoyed for far more with the same quality experience.

From my visits to cuginis I have been hit with an incredible time after incredible time. For the price points of the menu items and the sheer quality of the food. Cuginis is providing our small slice of Iowa with an incredible Michelin star worthy experience. My only negative is I’m moving soon, had they opened sooner I would have had more time to enjoy them. Then again, nearly every entree is worth flying out for.

Thanks...

Quick service, sometimes they were grabbing an empty plate before you set your fork down. Had to ask 3 times for additional bread though. I wanted the mussels as a meal and not an appetizer our waitress asked which pasta I would like. Win! Hubby got chicken parmesan but had to take his to go. He said it was delicious even though he had to heat it later to eat it. One friend we were with also got pasta instead of potatoes in their dish. The portion sizes were generous. The tiramisu is probably one of the best I've ever had and the cheesecake that was also boxed up 2 days ago was absolutely delicious tonight. There was music playing that was at the right sound level that we could converse and enjoy the music too. We were given a choice of table or booth and took the table. It was a little small for...

My husband and I had such a wonderful meal here. We started with bruschetta- so good and fresh. I ordered chicken cacciatore (one of the specials) - delicious! Chicken & vegetables cooked perfectly. My husband got fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp- that was delicious as well! Comes with warm crusty bread and butter. We ordered desserts and split them- cheesecake and 7 layer chocolate cake. Oh my gosh- do yourself a favor and save room for dessert. Both were great. The chocolate cake had layers of chocolate mousse- you get a chocolate fix without it being heavy. Wish I would have gotten a piece to go for the next day! Everyone was so welcoming and the service was excellent. It’s real food cooked the right way. We will for sure...