For one of my birthday dinners with family and friends, we went to Cucina Urbana since I had enjoyed my previous visits so much. We got a big table reserved for us near the back of the restaurant, giving us a great view of the wine collection and the kitchen.
Cucina Urbana focuses on using local produce (organic when possible), and offering affordable food. No dish is priced over $20 and the wine is sold at retail.
We started the night with some appetizers. We ordered truffle fries.
It counts as a side, but it’s a huge amount of fries. Thin, crispy and with the aroma of truffle oil.
We also ordered one of the vasi, with are small jars of spread. We chose the smoked trout. I really liked the smoked trout flavor and the gold beets added a little texture and sweetness. I normally don’t like beets, but I didn’t mind these gold ones.
The smoked trout spread is served with some toast. We didn’t have nearly enough toast for all the spread, but the waitress was quick to give us refills. I think they should have just given us more toast to start with though instead of having to get so many refills.
We also ordered the bbq octopus. I liked the smokey flavor and the tender texture. I did wish that there was more octopus on the plate.
For my entree, I ordered the whole roasted brook trout. Most of the bones are removed from the trout, except for the ones around the edges. The fish was very moist and tender, with a strong citrus flavor. I loved this fish. It was as good as the bite I had previously sampled. I think this is my favorite dish here.
One person ordered the pan seared sea bass. The skin was nice and crunchy.
Baby Bro ordered the beef shortrib pappardelle. The first order was actually a little on the lukewarm side. Baby Bro asked for it to be reheated. Our server was very apologetic and instead of just reheating it, she brought him a whole new one. The second one was steaming hot.
Foraged mushroom pizza. I had liked this pizza when I previously ate it. I thought this one was a little too salty though.
lemon ricotta pesto sun dried tomato pizza
spicy shrimp puttanesca angel hair
Since we were celebrating my birthday, the server presented me with a cake at the end.
We had a good time though I didn’t enjoy this visit quite as much as previous ones. Some of the dishes were a bit off compared to my previous visits. Also a lot of the pastas were presented in deep bowls which didn’t look as appetizing.
You can read about my previous posts here and here.
Cucina Urbana
505 Laurel St,
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-2222
