Cucina Enoteca Irvine

Our server was very helpful and nice. The octopus appetizer is a must! The rigatoni bolognese, short rib pappardelle and pepperoni pizza was a hit. The bucatini amatriciana was not a huge hit. Something about the sauce coats your mouth with this ....weird taste. We couldn't say what it is. Almost a pine nut...woody bitter after taste. For dessert we had the semolina cake with poached pear and the ice cream that came with it. The poached pear can never go wrong. The ice cream with its drizzled sauce was the best part. Some of us like that the cake is dense. Some didnt. And some said it almost has a rye after taste in the back of the throat.

Food is delicious. The place is clean and organized. The staff is friendly and they serve the food with no delay. They have paper and crayons for children, which is great.

Not super impressed. Hostess was not very polite and we had to wait for our table even though the place was empty. So first impression off the bat was not great. We finally get seated and ask for water as it was a very hot day. We got room temperature water and had to ask 3 times for ice. Again the place was empty, our reservation was 4:30pm so lunch was long over and the dinner rush had not begun. We finally order and honestly the food was mediocre at best. Both my daughter and I did not care for what we had ordered and ended up switching with each other. They bring out a decent size bowl but its more then half empty, so its a tiny portion of food. On top of that the dinner comes with nothing, not a dinner salad or even bread. Way over priced for the amount of food you get. We will not be back.