Cucina — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Had a recent trip to Cucina and once again, was delighted with creative palate stimulating experiences. Cucina is tucked into a residential area on the NorthEast side of Salt Lake City in a neighborhood called the Avenues. The restaurant has a cozy setting, warm lighting, and the wait staff were exceptional (shout out to Che).

For our dinner, we enjoyed one small plate (baby red oak) and two mains (sourdough pizza and spinach gnocchi).

The baby red oak was the winning dish of the night. It was a perfect salad. On presentation, a rich array of colors sparkled the plate. You have the shimmering green of the lettuce leaves, the brown of the candied walnuts, the red and yellow pickled beets, the ornamental pickled shallots (at least we thought they were shallots), and a deep red goat cheese drizzle sauce at the base of the plate. Each element on its own was a dance of flavor and in combination was balanced and exploratory. I’ve not had such tender and crisp lettuce before. Every bite was a delight and we cleared the plate and all remaining sauces.

Next in line was the spinach gnocchi. This dish again delights in presentation with a forest of greens and speckles of lemon hinted ricotta snowballs and hazelnuts. The flavors of this dish were so well balanced. The highlight were the maitake mushrooms which had a wood fired smoky and deep roasted flavor. A bite with each of the plate elements was warm, friendly, and took you on a gentle journey. I wanted to lick the plate clean.

Finally the sourdough pizza. We wanted to love the sourdough pizza, but it did leave us less enthusiastic compared to the other dishes. The presentation of the pizza was colorful and the flavor of the pizza was complex, spiced, and savory. Where we felt this dish lacked was the crust. We were hopeful for a light crust that was airy and soft. The crust of this pizza was a bit tough, possibly overdone in the oven, with little rise of the dough. It is unclear if this was a deviation from typical protocol or what is typical, but for us it was a miss.

We had to try a dessert, and after great deliberation, we chose the orange semifreddo. This was a world tour of flavor. You start in Italy with a delightful creamy ice cream with a hardened shell. A shell you have to crack to enter the dessert. As you bring in the side elements - crisped rice, miso carmel, and fermented honey - your experience leaves Italy and transitions to Eastern Asia. You find yourself is a swirl of umami, sweet, salty, and creamy and all the while you are getting notes of citrus rising through it all. It was a great way to end what we considered an exceptional night of...

Cucina 2/18/2023

I had the pleasure of visiting Cucina with my girlfriend this weekend. It was my first visit and I’d like to visit again.

AMBIANCE: The restaurant is situated in a lovely neighborhood on the North side of Salt Lake City. Parking is limited however, there is free street parking in the immediate area. The restaurant has a modern feel that is lit with low intensity overhead lights and individual table lights. The main dining hall appears crowded at first glance, however when seated, you feel ample amounts of privacy. Music volume is low and it is easy to carry on a conversation with your table mates.

We ordered the chicken confit and oregano fettuccine.

PRESENTATION: Both dishes were immediately pleasing to the eye. The oregano fettuccine pasta was colored a brilliant green topped on a creamy green sauce. The dish was accented by orange kabocha squash, deeper green arugula, and sprinkled bread crumb. The chicken confit was a mono-chromatic dish with the baby broccoli standing out as the main color differentiator. The Frenched chicken leg was a delightful surprise showing evidence of the refined techniques used by the chefs. I liked the crème fraiche dotted within the beurre rouge sauce as well.

THE TASTE: The fettuccini was well cooked, slightly al dente. The sauce was not overpowering and had a subtle bitter flavor. The squash and bread crumbs added to the texture of the dish making each bite interesting. The dish has a very pleasant smoky undertone from the smoked cheddar cheese which wasn’t visibly on the plate.

The chicken confit fell off the bone as expected. The flavor of the chicken was rich. A strong umami came from the porcini risotto and beurre rouge while the crème fraiche offered a palate lift. The dish took on a hint of Thanksgiving with a small side of pear and cherry mostarda. The heaviness of this dish was elevated by this hit of citrus, I probably could have used more mostarda. The star of this dish was in fact its side of baby broccoli. The broccoli looked ordinary as it lay on the plate, but as soon as it hit my mouth I was filled with a burst of lively flavors. Salty, spicy, and umami. As I contemplated, I realized this was the best broccoli I’d ever eaten. I’m afraid to say, it took over as the best item on any of the dishes tonight!

OVERALL We had an excelling dining experience at Cucina. Our dishes felt very French and Italian but were highlighted with flares of American creativity. The ambiance was warm, welcoming, and intimate. The food presentation and flavor make me excited to return to try other menu items. Will be...

My husband and I ate here for our anniversary. Since the restaurant said they allowed dogs on our patio, we brought our pup along and dined outside. The patio is nice, small, but very beautiful with lots of gorgeous plants and trees nearby. The major issue we had was a VERY noisy 4-top sitting right next to us. And being outside, on a quite street and without any background music playing... we were forced to listen in on their conversation the entire night. Maybe had the restaurant had music playing outside, or had we been inside and able to have the typical restaurant/kitchen noise to muffle other conversations, we might have had a better experience. I realize this is bound to happen at a public restaurant, but we've dined outside plenty of times at other restaurants, and no past experience stands out as problematic as this. I think most other places have music playing through the speakers to avoid such quiet settings where you can hear even the most quiet of conversations. The food was good, but definitely not worth the price in my opinion. My husband and I are both slim and never polish off our entrees at a restaurant without taking half of the dish home. However, these portions were significantly smaller than your typical restaurant, and in addition to the flatbread appetizer, we both were able to easily finish off our entrees. We've tried other fine-dining restaurants in a similar price range, and I feel like these dishes just weren't quite good enough to walk away and not feel any sort of buyer's remorse. I ordered the house made pasta and my husband ordered the chicken legs. It definitely wasn't a horrible experience, but I have zero desire to return here. The service was really great though. I've heard other people describe the entrees as a hit and miss, with it being a seasonal menu. So maybe that was just how our entire experience was. Had we not sat by the noisy 4-top, had we sat inside instead of bring along our pooch, had we ordered different entrees... this very well could have been a...