Cucina Palm Beach — Restaurant in Palm Beach

MEATBALLS prime brisket & milk fed veal with tomato brasato, shaved pecorino, crostini, three for $19. This was one of the best meatballs we have ever had. Meatball was dense yet airy if that makes sense. This is definitely a must. Rating: 5/5 Recommendation: ORDER ORDER

CRISPY CALAMARI calabrese pepper tomato sauce & lemon sauce $25. Fried calamari was undercooked like not fried enough and the portion was extremely small. There was 7-10 fried calamari rings and the presentation was odd. The price did not justify the portion. Rating: 1/5 Recommendation: Do not order!

CUCINA HOUSE tomato, cucumber, mixed greens, onions, fennel, avocado 19 | large for sharing $25. The salad was just okay. The different flavors combined didn’t make sense. All veggies were fresh. I added a piece of my meatball and it was much better. Rating: 2/5 Recommendation: Do not order!

RIGATONI ALLA VODKA tomato, onion, parmigiano $29. Pasta was perfection probably one of the best we have had Cucina takes al dente to a whole another level. The alla vodka sauce lacked prosciutto and $30 for pasta is just tacky. Rating: 4/5 Recommendation: Order

AUSSIE WAGYU SHORT RIB fork tender, thirty six hour braised beef with black truffle pomme purée, exotic mushrooms & red wine sugo $55. These short ribs were to die for. The fresh parsley was very heavy. We picked off put to the side. The ribs melt in your mouth. Rating: 5/5 Recommendation: ORDER ORDER

SALTIMBOCCA tender veal or chicken breast cutlets with prosciutto, organic spinach and taleggio cheese, white wine pan sauce, vegetables & pomme puree $39. This was sneaky good. The three of us ended up loving this dish the best. Under the veal was a nice surprise mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts. The veal was so tender the sauce was so rich not heavy. Rating: 5/5 Recommendation: ORDER ORDER

We had 2 desserts I can’t recall what we ordered as I’m not big on dessert.

The food overall did not disappoint all of the dinners were rich and bursting with unexpected flavors. Service was excellent. Waitress provided recommendations and brought all the dishes out very quickly. There was a woman lurking in the corner on a laptop she might have been an owner pretending to work. Employees seemed to be walking on eggshells- the vibe was strange. The restaurant turns into a club/lounge. The drinks were very good just expensive.

Restaurant is very expensive especially the drinks $20-$50 each drink.

When I visit agin, Meatballs would be the only appetizer we would order and all of the dinners. Instead of mixed drinks I would probably do a bottle of wine. Hopefully that woman won’t be lurking/working in the corner.

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I was SO looking forward to this place seeing as I’d read such great reviews on the food and atmosphere. However, our experience literally just left a bad taste in our mouths. My husband and I arrived for our reservation and were seated right away by one the friendlier hostesses as the restaurant was still empty. While the young lady who seated us seemed sweet, our waiter didn’t so much as crack a smile towards us. Seemed cold and kept rushing off. Aggressively placing things on the table, reaching over and in front of our faces mid conversation, rushing through pouring our water so that it splashed over. By the time our appetizers arrived the place was filling up and that’s when the manager/owner (Asian/American looking since we didn’t get a name) lady appeared from the back. We noted how she approached and chatted up every other table except for ours. A group of young kids behind us got a warm welcome, asked if they’d dined there before (so we know she didn’t know them personally) and she proceeded to invite the group to stay late for drinks (as the place becomes a bar/club in the later hours). After overlooking us for as long as she could, this woman offered a forced, “How are you enjoying everything?” yet didn’t seem to care how we answered. As the restaurant filled we watched manager/owner lady kiss up to CERTAIN folks, enthusiastically greeting and shmoozing with what I assume are regulars and those well known to her and possibly the area while completely looking past others (a black woman with her spouse & anyone else that didn’t appear to be made of money). The kicker was when she walked up to our table as we waited for our dessert and snatched up the dessert forks our waiter placed in front of us followed by a tight lipped & snooty, “Thank you for dining with us” as she walked away. She did this so quickly and as my husband later expressed, she didn’t so much as LOOK at us as she said it which didn’t allow for us to respond. She didn’t speak TO us, she spoke AT us with the intent to get us out the door and out of the way. Discriminatory much? We’re from Connecticut, the home of the rich and RICHER and we’ve NEVER experienced such blatant disrespect and snubbery. We were in such shock and at a loss for words that once our dessert arrived (along with a new set of dessert forks) we ate it in silence trying to preserve what was left of our evening, paid our bill and left with our blood boiling. A note to my fellow brown/black/working-class folks… SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY...

This place is very interesting. It has an upscale vibe with beautifully presented delicious fancy food, and then there are TV's at the bar so you can follow whatever game is on while you sip your sparkling water and enjoy the biggest shrimp I've ever seen. So big that they sell them per piece.

I didn't get any photos except this one because we were here with my kids and some business associates, but man, it's all so pretty. Covered outdoor dining - we enjoyed an excellent meal while watching a real Florida thunderstorm, lightning and all - it was fabulous.

We had ahi tuna tacos - so tasty even the kids wanted more! The charcuterie board was a lovely selection, but could definitely use an extra side of bread. The Sweet and Spicy Organic Wings were cooked perfectly 👌 I'm really picky about wings. I really hate when the skin feels underdone or when the fry them to death so much so that you're trying to bite through petrified dry chicken. These were the right amount of crispy and juicy. The sauce was super scrumptious with caramelized onion and gorgonzola. Might have been my favorite of all the apps we got. We also had the meatballs which come served with a big dollop of ricotta and a side of bread for scooping up all the sauce.

Someone had a birthday and I might have mine there just because it was so fun: the lights dimmed, servers appeared with a huge birthday sign and strobe lights while "In Da Club" by 50 cent blared through the restaurant long enough to emphasize the lyrics "Go, shorty It's your birthday We gon' party like it's your birthday..." Super fun vibe!

The kids got pizza for their main course which was steal-from-the-kids worthy (and I did). I had the Ahi Tuna Steak entree with charred brussels sprouts. One of the guests at our table exclaimed "This is the best chicken parm I've ever had." High praise coming from someone who spends half the year in New York fine dining. I will be back with just my little family. They don't care about me snapping photos...