Cucina Urbana, San Diego

Cucina Urbana goes for a rustic appeal in appearance, with the big barn-like doors welcoming you in, but the food leans more toward gourmet. The wait staff is friendly and warm and our waiter was extremely efficient during our visit.

My friend and I started off with stuffed squash blossoms, which turned out to be absolutely delicious. They stuff the squash with pesto and herb ricotta, then fry it, so when you take a bite, the ricotta cheese oozes into your mouth. I ate more than my fair share of the plate and I don’t feel bad about it.

For the main course, I decided to give the short rib pappardelle a go since I’d never had it before. Short ribs with pasta seemed like an odd choice to mix, but it ended up working surprisingly well. I will say that as someone who likes his sauce dripping from the plate, I was a little disappointed with how sparingly they delivered with the pasta.

That seemed to be a theme at Cucina Urbana, as the plates were smaller than both my friend and I were expecting.

My friend ordered a burger and truffle fries, and I’m glad he did. The truffle fries were a great treat, though my friend reported the burger was somewhat mediocre. I blame him for ordering a burger at an Italian restaurant.

He also ordered a cocktail called My Pear Lady, which I stole a sip of. It was passable, but not the best cocktail I’ve ever had.

Overall I had a pretty great experience at Cucina Urbana and look forward to returning again.

Cucina Urbana

505 Laurel St

San Diego, Calif. 92101

tel 619 239 2222