CUCINA urbana — Restaurant in San Diego

Cucina Urbana (B or 3.5 stars ): Another decent, but not great Italian restaurant on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list. Good option if in the area and there’s a table available, but not a destination restaurant.

Took my daughter for a nice dinner Sunday night before she heads back to Irvine to start year 2. I debated between Cucina Urbana, Ambrogio15 @ Del Mar, and Catania. With no tables at Catania till 8:30pm, and having been to Skydeck Food Hall just a couple months ago, I figured I’d try out another Bib Gourmand restaurant.

Ambiance & service (B+ ) : Open, airy, modern vibe, basically one of my preferred styles of a restaurant. The downside given all the concrete and hard surfaces, it’s pretty loud, even at 50% capacity. Not easy to hold a conversation without shouting at each other, and made totally worse when right behind me was a table of 10-12 guys downing alcohol like no tomorrow. In addition to noise, the large table also had an adverse effect on service because we shared the same server, and they were pretty high maintenance with such a large party and I’m convinced some were half drunk :) So we didn’t get our plates changed or waters refilled as quickly as expected, but she was very nice and pleasant.

Food (B ) :

Grilled octopus (B+ ) This was the strongest dish. If it was octopus alone, I'd give it an A-; cooked perfectly, fragrant and smokey with a delightful savory crunch on the outside, while still tender and sweet on the inside. Unfortunately, the accompaniments were overly salty and acidic, overpowering the wonderful octopus.

Cucina meatballs (B ) A decent meatball, but a touch dry and denser than I prefer. I guess I have a bias for Chinese meatballs like lionhead (獅子頭) or even XLB where the meat is typically much juicer. That said, I really enjoyed the whipped ricotta & spicy tomato sauce.

Rigatoni bolognese (B ) Nicely cooked pasta with a well balanced bolognese sauce. I definitely would have given myself a pat on the back if I made it at home, but for a bib gourmand rated restaurant, sure it tasted fine, but I expected a “wow” and there wasn’t any.

Fig prosciutto pizza (B- ) This was a bit of a let down primarily because the crust was definitely on the tight end, making it feel pedestrian rather than gourmet. The toppings were quite nice, a sweet savory mix with prosciutto & fig, although more prosciutto or something savory would have been nice to tamper the sweetness more.

Tiramisu (B- ) This tasted more like a tiramisu flavored cake than a tiramisu - both the cake on the bottom and the cream on top were too heavy & dry. It was decent flavorwise - maybe a touch light on coffee - but the texture, even the appearance, screamed cake in a cup rather than a creamy, gooey, light tiramisu.

So, a reasonably good experience, but not great and in my opinion, Catania is still my fave among the Italian restaurants I’ve tried so far. If in the area, go for it, but definitely not worth traveling to.

Food Grading Scale:

A+: Life changing. You remember these bites for the rest of your life. Occurs very infrequently and when it does, you’ll know it. You don’t even know how to further improve it with a magic wand. A: Wow! Excellent. You felt happy biting into it. You’re considering whether it’s life changing, but know it misses the mark. A-: Very very good. Whatever it is, it’s one of the best, but you can think of further improvements. B+: Very good. Very enjoyable, not to the point of “impressive,” but worth revisiting. B: Good. A solid example of whatever it is, offering enjoyment, but not enough for making an effort to get. B-: Not bad. If in a pinch to eat something, this offers some enjoyment and is a reasonable option. C+: Mediocre plus. Pretty average, but with one or two positive characteristics you can identify. C: Mediocre. “Meh”. Very average. Not bad enough to make you angry, but nothing good about it at all. C-: Bad. You recognize it for what it is, but a very bad rendition. Your foodie self is a...

Cucina Urbana offers a Californian take on Italian cuisine in the Banker's Hill neighborhood a few blocks from downtown, adjacent to Balboa Park. It is tough to get a last-minute reservation at this restaurant for prime weekend dinner hours, so do be sure to book a few weeks in advance. Casual dress is OK at this location, though be prepared for a special meal with attentive servers and staff at the top of their game.

I've been to Cucina Urbana a few times and have had the pleasure of sampling the following dishes:

Ricotta-Stuffed Fried Squash Blossoms: Juicy squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and deep-fried in a tempura-like batter. This is a vegetarian's dream appetizer, and exceeded expectations with its melted, warm and mildly-salted ricotta cheese pleasantly complementing the vegetable and deep fried coating.

Burrata & Roasted Garlic Mini Mason Jar w/ Tuscan Toast: Although this appetizer didn't rock my universe, there was nothing offensive to it -- I may have been expecting the burrata to be blended with the roasted garlic, and the process is more DIY.

Mediterranean Mussels: This is my favorite of Cucina Urbana's appetizers that I've tried. Mussels are cooked in a surprisingly thick and spicy tomato oregano soup with chunks of chorizo. A few pieces of somewhat smoky Tuscan toast with grill marks accompanies the dish and you absolutely ought to use the toast to mop up every last bit of whatever delicious spicy tomato soup/sauce remains in the bowl when you're done with the mussels.

Short Rib Pappardelle: Tender bites of perfectly-braised short rib are mixed with carrots and mushrooms in this comforting homemade-style pasta dish that will remind you of something your grandmother may have made. I plan to return to Cucina Urbana regularly just for this.

Baked Arctic Char: Sizable piece of arctic char (I'd guess 8-9 ounces) is covered in a tangy limoncello butter sauce and served over cannellini beans with kale. The flavors work great together, and the fish was fresh and well-prepared, though I honestly think the beans and kale steal the show. For the price of this entree, I have no complaints. Would definitely re-order.

Burnt Brussel Sprouts w/ Ivan's Hot Sauce: I wouldn't consider these sprouts to be burnt as much as they are "crispy." The hot sauce served on the side definitely kicks this up a notch. I wouldn't come here just for the brussel sprouts, but they pair well with the Arctic Char.

Averna Manhattan Cocktail: Slightly sweeter than a typical Manhattan, but every bit as "classic"-tasting. The Averna also adds a more floral note hidden beneath it's unique combination of caramel and bitterness.

Red Jalapeno Tequila: Cucina Urbana's hot-pepper infused tequila is on par with similar offerings around the city. I wouldn't re-order, as I believe there are better cocktail options available here.

I've avoided ordering off the dessert menu, as I find the descriptions to be too fruit-laden for my preference. Also, I'm totally stuffed by the time the dessert menu is handed to me.

This is probably even a better place if you order full bottles of wine regularly (I don't), as they have one of the most affordable wine list I've seen in San Diego. They charge retail prices (vs. restaurant prices) for wine, and add an $8 corkage fee.

This is an easy place to get to for me, as it is a 15 minute walk from my home downtown, but I'd drive for an hour to get this kind of Italian dining experience in Southern California, especially for the value -- for an insanely popular restaurant with excellent food, their entrees remain relatively low-priced...

One of the main reason I chose to eat here was it's proximity to Balboa Park, where I was staying. That and it looked pretty good in most the photos. Happy that I ended up having dinner here.

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Tempura Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Pepperoni, Hot Honey Pizza

Crab linguine

TASTE:

The food in general was all hot, fresh nothing was bad, which is always a win.

The appetizer of the Tempura Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms was probably the main letdown because you only get 3 blossoms which is a pretty small portion. Nice overall flavor thought with the goat cheese but I just wished I look at a Yelp photo before ordering this one. Comparing the price of this appetizer and the entrees I find this one a little pricey, or the entrees on the lower side, depending on how you look at it.

The Pepperoni pizza with the hot honey was the highlight to me. I was already impressed when it came out because it was larger than I thought it was going to be. There really was a nice balance of the salty, sweet and little spice. I ate the entire pizza, minus the one shared slice because I wanted to enjoy it at it's prime and not as leftovers. My one critique is I would like it with a little more spice, so it could do with more of the calabrian chili. But you could just add some crushed red pepper like I did.

The Crab Linguine was somewhat on on the smaller side, as is most seafood options. I will say it's big on the crab flavor for all you seafood lovers. Beyond that I found the the sauce and other flavors really subtle.

SERVICE:

The service overall was really good here from the hostess to the server. It was quite busy but they were all friendly. While we were eating the manager or maybe owner even checked with us how the food was.

LOCATION & PARKING:

I really like the design of the place. When you walk in from the street and enter the restaurant you go somewhat subterranean. It's a nicely sized restaurant that is very spacious. I think there is a little wine store inside at one end since I saw an entire wall of wine.

You are in SD, in Bankers Hill so there is no parking lot, but it's not too difficult to find some nearby street parking and if you cannot find something that close you should be able to find parking adjacent to Balboa Park which is just a short walk away.

WRAP UP:

Considering my pizza was just a little more in cost than going a chain these days, and that it was that good, I can definitely see myself coming here again. That along with the great service and nice build of the place make me want to come back. I'll probably just skip the appetizer...