Loved the Gnudi! Pizza was really good as well. Ambiance very loud.

Arrived before an evening at the Old Globe in Balboa Park. Service was outstanding, the food was excellent, and the prices were very reasonable for what you got. Great location, decent street parking.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego.. always good. However this time I was disappointed. Made the reservation for my Birthday and when arrived I mentioned it was my Birthday and there was no special attention shown because of it. Gotten free champagne once for an Anniversary or a cupcake with a candle for someone else but for me absolutely nothing! Was actually surprised. Asked for Rebecca as our server and we didn't get her either. Although I certainly would go back I was surprised this time around.

Menu has been changed from my last visit and frankly took all of our party at least 20 minutes to choose something to order. We even discussed leaving and go somewhere else. In our party of 4, one had a pizza, one had the veal and two of us had the lobster clam pasta dish. We both stopped eating the clams after 2 or 3 as they were not cleaned and full of sand. Both of us with seafood dish were up most of the night with "intestinal issue". Feeling completely drained today. Will never go back.

I have had better food in Little Italy for a much better price. Pass on this restaurant. Ambiance and service were good though

I love everything about Cucina Urbana! I only wish they were open more hours.

Excellent for pre theater meal with shuttle to and from park.

We are so grateful that they were able to squeeze us in on a busy weekend- hubby and I miraculously had a free Saturday night together and he botched the reservations. They helped me sort things out and we were able to celebrate a milestone with dinner at our favourite restaurant!

We have been here a handful of times, and absolutely love it every time.
The food is excellent- great flavours, creative dishes, served appropriately when expected, and the service is fantastic. From the minute we walk in the door, the hosts are helpful (the entry can be confusing) the servers are great, the assistants are on point, the wine service is great.

We drive 45 minutes to go here- gladly. There are other places we want to try- even other Covina locations... but this one has yet to disappointment so it's tough to branch out.

Highly recommend it. Make a reservation!

Delicious food and amazing service! Definitely a great dinner date spot.

Food was outstanding, service was prompt, very helpful and friendly. Noise level, however, made it difficult for conversation.

3rd time dining here . We live in Phoenix and are on vacation . Excellent service . Love the food and ambience . Kid friendly too. Walked over to balboa park after dinner which was a nice addition to our evening out

Everything clicked at Cucina Urbana... from the shoe lasts on the steps going down to the hostess stand to the awesome server's stand in the middle of the room to the great wine list and excellent menu. Wine is served at retail plus a very modest corkage fee. We had a great sangiovese that opened up beautifully as we made our way through the burrata with roasted garlic vasi with a nice assortment of flatbread and bread for spreading on followed by the tasty burnt brussels sprouts. We shared everything and were delighted with fresh plates and silver for each new item. The Stuffed Squash Blossoms are marvelous. At our server's recommendation, we had the lemon verbena fazzoletti along with the pappardelle we picked on our own. Our server was refreshing and helped guide us through the menu - she always had time to answer questions - and even gave us a list of restaurants for us to try the week we are in San Diego.

We would go back in a heartbeat!

One of the best in San Diego, great wine selection good drinks. Pretty easy to get a seat at the bar on busy nights, otherwise make a reservation a few days ahead of time

I know I rave about Cucina urbana way too much but I've been here many times only to find they are consistently exceptional with their food, beverages, service, and ambiance plus a shuttle van to and from The Old Globe Theater.

I had a new server this evening, Brooklyn, who truly knew his stuff and I let him lead me astray with a cocktail, entrée and wine suggestions. I only chose a salad on my own.

The cocktail was a new one they’d recently concocted to use their huge purchase of white peaches. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, called the “Peachy Keen,” gin, Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry, muddled white peaches and an ice block, they called a cube, on which they had drizzled apricot balsamic. It was so incredibly refreshing, dangereously delicious, I wanted a pitcher.

I started with my standard, the chopped salad with escarole, radicchio, casalingo salumi, caciocavallo, shishito peppers, cherry tomatos, ceci beans, castelvetrano, croutons with an oregano vinaigrette. The best salad hand’s down and could be shareable. I brought half home.

I broke with tradition again, at Brookyn’s suggestion, and had an entrée, the bucatini pasta with guanciale, cabbage, tomato, chili, pecorino cheese and topped with a poached hen egg. With that he recommended a glass of Fornacina Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany. Wowza what a pairing and what a meal.

The Service, Pastas and appetizers were excellent. Octopus was outstanding... very tender and flavorful. Pizza just OK and Branzino was over cooked.

Overall a very good experience.

Food was delicious and service was outstanding. Would definitely go back.

I have been to CUCINA urbana now on a number of occasions and I am sad to say that each experience has been slightly worse than the last. My biggest complaint about this place is the service. The majority of the staff here treat you as if you are an inconveniencing them by showing up at the restaurant. Interactions are extremely forced and come across as being highly unprofessional and rude. My partner and I made a reservation and dined at the restaurant on Tuesday evening when there was only a handful of tables and the hostess stand was clear. We approached the stand where the hostess was engaged in a personal conversation with an another employee, she looked at us, I stated my name, and then she went immediately back to her conversation. We waited a couple of minutes for her to finish and were ushered to the table. Once at the table we waited and waited some more for our server to appear. We ordered a simple Margharita pizza and the burrata + prosciutto 'caprese' minus the proscuitto. The pizza came out correct, however the first time the burrata came out it had proscuitto and had to send it back. Second time it came out it had no proscuitto, but also had no burrata and once again sent it back. This time it was clear that our failure to just eat was placed in front of us was frustrating the expediter as he stormed back into the kitchen. We finally get our correct meal and have a decent meal, however no one in the restaurant would have known this as the floor was completely empty of staff and our waiter did not come back to check on us once. On a busy night I can have some understanding and understand that the team may be slammed, but when the restaurant is basically empty and your server only has one other table this is definitely not justifiable.

Creative menu, well prepared and always enjoyable

Cucina Urbana never disappoints! We went last Sunday for my daughter's birthday. The food was outstanding. The service was excellent. I highly recommend Cucina Urbana and will be back!

Food was great - but Kids Make Your Own Pizza was truly genius. My son loved it !!! Will be back. Excellent wine selection w fair pricing.

Great vibe. Noisy but in a good way! Food and service are good. A few more vegetarian friendly dishes might be a great idea in a health conscious neighborhood.

The service was great I went with the small group and we all shared our dinner. The polenta Ragu squash blossoms continue to be favorite appetizers. We will definitely come back soon

I want to preface by saying that I eat out 6-10 times a every, every week for business. I've been doing this for over 4 years now and couldn't begin to tell you all of the places I've eaten at. But what sticks are memorable meals. Cucina Urbana goes down as one of the most memorable. From the atmosphere, to the service (Kevin was OUTSTANDING and knowledgeable), to the wine shop (RETAIL PRICING!) to the food, it rates as one of the best meals I've had in the last 4 years. I can't wait to come back to San Diego so I can go back.

We had a table of 4, started with the octopus, the their pepperoni and fennel sausage pizza. After that Kevin recommended a family style chopped salad which was lights out. Once we had that each of us got a different pasta dish (all homemade pasta, delicate and beautifully tasting). Personally I had the Buccatini which, besides Marea in NYC, is the best pasta dishes I've ever had. After our pasta dishes we couldn't try dessert or a main dish. That being said, you can't go wrong with any of the pasta dishes. PLUS, as a reminder, the wine is retail. So you can have high quality wine without the typical 1-300% up charge.

I could go on and on about this place. But I'll leave it with you're missing out if you don't go there, truly. I can't wait to go back.

The food and the ambiance is amazing. This restaurant has amazing food and exceptional service. The pasta is made in house and is incredible. Highly recommended.

From start to finish our meal was fantastic. Service was prompt and attentive, informative and appreciated! Food served piping hot and the pasta perfect al dente with just the right amount of sauce. The stuffed squash blossoms are a great starter, and most small plates sized to share. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Had a great dinner before a play; our waiter was skilled at helping with the timing. Comfy chairs in the dining room. Delicious food. Easy for vegetarians.

Really enjoyed our evening here. Chicken Pate... YUM! Everything we ordered was delicious. Well prepared cocktail; nice wine choices. Great server.... Wish I could remember her name!

Great place for a dinner before a play at the Old Globe. Service is always great and the menu relies on fresh local ingredients. Highly recommend.

I love to visit Cucina on every trip to San Diego which is about every 6 weeks. It has great atmosphere, amazimg food and drinks. The staff are fun and make you very welcome. My two favorite members Arie and Rebecca were off , hoeever Ashley and Chelsea. are now on the favorite list too.
Amazing job well done

Had the most amazing dinner here last night. Amazing food, cannot begin to describe what a tasty experience it was.

I had a great time. Our server Jonathan was on point. Very courteous and attentive. The food was good. The wine was good. A little over priced but good.

Overall, it was a good experience.

Excellent food at the bar. A little tight on space. Must visit.

Everything we had to eat was great. Noise level fine for a table of 4 max for conversation.

If you're in the Balboa Park area, this is a fabulous choice for an excellent meal. Particularly recommended are the octopus appetizer, branzino, and steelhead trout

Sadly, the food was horrid. The place was half empty (in the past it was a hard rez to get). Could this be the end of something good? I really hope not. However, I don't want to take a chance again.

Fabulous fresh food. Wonderful service. Such reasonable wines !!

Good food, tables nicely spaced, good service & au courant ambience. A repeater!

Excellent menu and reasonable wine prices for bottles which you can select from racks in the restaurant. Lively and fun atmosphere!

Loved Kevin!

Love this place, always delicious food and excellent wine selection! Can't get better!