Reviews for 2051 Cucina Italiana in Carlsbad, CA

Saw all the stellar reviews and heard great things from friends. But we were massively disappointed. Two of our three dishes... were pretty bad ? one of the two was borderline inedible. We started with the fried squid and shrimp with veggies appetizer. Itcame to the table and was a comically large mound of food for two people. The squid was overly breaded and had no flavor, theshrimp was extremely over cooked, and it all came on a bed of mostly sweet potato fries and some fried carrots. The veggies weretasty but strange pairing with seafood. We left probably half of it uneaten. For dinner we had the meat stuffed tortellini inParmesan cream sauce and the lasagna. There?s no other way to say it ? the lasagna was awful. Visually, it was shockinglyunappealing. Then we dove in ? the texture was mushy and mealy and chunky all at the same time. The taste was just inedible. Weeach had a couple bites then politely put it to the side. The tortellini we were split on ? I thought it was overly salty andtoo dense. My boyfriend thought it was pretty good. We both agreed the sauce was too thick and almost paste-like. Not the mostimportant thing but the bread was really disappointing too. Maybe supply issues because pics of bread from reviews are not atall the same as what we got. Maybe the kitchen was having an extremely off night, who knows. Service, like everyone says, waswonderful and the wine list was great. The patio is beautiful at night. Unfortunately all that doesn?t make it enough to return. Read more

AWESOMENESS!! One of the Best Italian Restaurants in San Diego. What a excellent experience. Definitely not your typical... restaurant layout. But it works so well for this restaurant. All of the staff members were very helpful, attentive, andfriendly. Our waitress, Benedetta was the best. She was knowledgeable, she was quick, she was attentive, and very kind andfunny! We had very good conversations when she could! The atmosphere here was just perfect, good amount of noise and quietness.Lots of families eating here tonight. The restaurant is family owned. They opened up about a year ago. They are doing such anincredible job. The food did not disappoint one bit. The octopus, the soft bread, the salad, the lasagna, the tortelloni, thedessert?. Everything was so fresh, so delicious, so tasty, so good. Easy one of the Best Restaurants in San Diego. Thank youall for this excellent experience! Read more

Came for lunch and was not disappointed. Clean and open atmosphere with exceptional service. The food was authentic and... delicious. I had the italiana salad and their scratch-made lasagna. Portions were filling. You can tell a lot about the qualityof an Italian restaurant by the lasagna. I will be back. Read more

Well hidden restaurant but so worth finding! The walk-in wait was not too bad but I do suggest making a reservation ahead of... time. The pizza is great but the pasta is where its at. Perfectly al dente and the cream sauce was made to perfection. Not toocreamy and not watery, just right. They ran out of panna cotta by dessert time so we opted for the coconut mango cake. Verylight and airy. The flavors were not too sweet which was perfect for the savory dishes. Perfect way to end the night. 10/10recommend!! Coming back to bring the family ?? Read more

Very large spacious ambiance for a great Italian restaurant. One true outstanding food feature is the soft pasta and gnocchi:... one can easily tell that they are not packaged and boiled. I like the grocery store pasta, but the ?home made? is anot-often-done experience to treasure. My friend and I (both with Italian heritage) enjoyed reading the Italian menu items. Theweather was perfect Southern California Coast Evening for our dinner. Our ?cameriere? had a lot of Italian style fun with us!Absolutely? the food was delicious! Read more

Really good food, homemade style Italian food. Pasta is made there, delicious. Pizza crust is fluffy inside and crunchy outside,... really good. The menu is not long although they have a good selection of dishes. The prices are not low nor high. It's a goodplace for a date night or lunch with friends. Read more

I ordered the Mele salad which was pretty delicious. The staff was friendly and attentive. The environment was perfect for a... work meeting, large open floor plan and the tables aren?t too close together. The restaurant was a bit out of the way so I don?tknow if I would go back specifically for this salad but if you?re in the area it?s worth a try Read more

Love the outside atmosphere here! The service is the absolute best and so is the food. The location is a bit interesting but... they have done so much with the space, both indoor and outside. Go support this local, authentic Italian small business it willnot disappoint. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of our entrees (got too excited and started eating, ha)! Read more