please tell me about La Cucina dining

[dustyroad]

I would love to read what you really liked to eat there. thanks so much. :)

Edited August 3, 2013 by dustyroad

[CapeCodCruiser]

NOTHING! We ate there on our Epic TA - the food was horrible. The pasta was stuck together in a big gloppy mess, the chicken parm was soggy like it had been pre cooked and reheated, the sauce was flavorless - I could go on. We spoke with MANY folks who had the same experience as us. I did hear the calamari was good.

 

The pasta station at the lunch buffet was fantastic - fresh & yummy!

 

For me - you can't beat Cagney's or Le Bistro

 

The Noodle Bar was very good

 

Unfortunately we did not try Teppanyaki & Churriscaria

 

JMHO

[rajones007]

^^^Ugh. Please don't use Comic Sans for your font. Please! We're not in the 2nd grade. Go here for more info: http://comicsanscriminal.com/ ^^^^

 

Back on topic...

 

I've always liked La Cucina on the 3 NCL ships I've been on (Epic, Dawn, Star).

 

It always gets a bad rap around here though, which I find unfair. I suspect it's because most people don't know what true Italian pizza is like and are expecting Domino's or Pizza Hut or Papa Johns or something of that style. So when their pizza arrives, they're like "well, this is crap!" and then have a bad attitude for the rest of their meal.

 

On the Epic, La Cucina had a 14 oz Ribeye that was melt-in-your-mouth good. It was extraordinary. I didn't even need a knife to cut it. I could have just used the side of my fork. They also had the best Caesar Salad this side of the moon.

 

I had to laugh at the people we met on BOTH the Dawn and the Star who scoffed at La Cucina when we told them that's where we were going to eat (or had already eaten there). Then they go on to boast about Le Bistro and how much better it is. We just rolled our eyes. Little did they know that both La Cucina AND Le Bistro come from the same kitchen on those ships. It's just a different menu.

Edited August 3, 2013 by rajones007

[wvfrogg]

:)I love La Cucina -- love it! I've eaten there on 4 cruises -- twice on two of them. My favorite meal is Carpaccio to start and then I love the seared salmon with white beans. Yum. Usually I have their special ice cream with espresso pour over the top. I don't normally do the pasta -- I can do that at home easily. Their steak, the one time I had it was very good, as was the Osso Bucco. Go and enjoy it!

[ocean12ny]

We loved it on the Gem. Atmosphere was the nicest. Everyone is our party of 6 loved the food. 4 waiters came over and sang Happy Birthday to my teen daughter.

[catlady461]

We have eaten at the Italian restaurants on all the ships we have sailed(Dawn, Star, Majesty & Pride of Aloha) and have love the food. The carpaccio is terrific and so is the chicken parm. We plan on eating there again at least 3 times on the Dawn repo Nov 1st.

[Magickpyggie]

We ate at La Cucina on the Star last week, the food was superb, the bread and oils really enjoyable and the Calamari and the Chicken both excellent.

 

Be careful if at the end you order "nothing for dessert" This is what my DW got on the Star last week

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/magickp...6484/lightbox/

 

(Already posted on another thread)

__________________

[david_sobe]

Hmmmmm let me say this the most positive way I can.

I LOVE the specialty restaurants. La Cucina is my least favorite of the list.

[fishywood]

This spring we were on the Norwegian Star transatlantic followed by a B2B on Cunard's Queen Mary 2. From 33 dinners at sea by far the best entree I had was the Osso Bucco at La Cucina. Admittedly the pasta carbonara is the same as in the dining room, but mine was clearly cooked fresh to order in La Cucina. And I did think the way they serve the soup by bringing a bowl of the filling and then pouring the stock over it was a distracting gimmick. But the bread with the four olive oil dips and the carpaccio appetizer alone are worth the cover charge! And when you add the wonderful desserts...

 

(For the record, the only other specialty restaurant we tried was Le Bistro, which was just a small notch below. I am a huge fan of duck confit--and theirs was just as good as on Celebrity which charges double [$40] for its Continental restaurants)

Edited August 3, 2013 by fishywood

[roger001]

We ate there on the Pearl last time. Was great. I really liked the chicken Parm. All the other stuff, bread and such, excellent. Service was great and the staff super nice. I think it's a bargain.

[tinkandpan]

We just ate at la cucina on the breakaway. I wasn't expecting much. Basically prepared myself for a night at the Olive Garden, but my dad picked it and it was his birthday after all. Let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised. The waiter was nice as can be. The service was one of the best experiences we had all week. The breads Abd oils are fantastic. I couldn't decide whether I wanted calamari or carpaccio and when I decided on the carpaccio- the waiter also brought a calamari for the table. They were both good, nothing to set the works on fire but good. I had the Osso bucco which surprised me. It was really fantastic. Dh and my mom had the lobster fettuccine which wasn't great and consistently gets bad reviews so maybe stay away from that. My daughter had the grilled shrimp and it was very very tasty. All in all a much nicer meal than I anticipated.

[dustyroad]

thank you all so much for the honest good and bad replies. I am going to give it a try and im sure I will like it. I cant wait to eat there.

 

thanks again

[FLAHAM]

I'm not so sure you will like it. I found it to be the least satisfactory of NCL's specialty restaurants, possible in a close race with the asian restaurants.

[johnsak123]

I have eaten at La Cucina on the Jewel and the Gem and was pleasantly surprised byt the taste and quality of the food.

I am a NYer and have eaten Italian food all my life and I really liked La Cucina.

I dont remember what i ate but enjoyed all the dishes I had.

[3DBeach]

My DH had a ribeye that he liked better than the one at Cagney's.

We also had calamari, carpacchio, caesar salad, chicken parm and the pasta carbonara. We were pleased with all of it.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[younglegend]

I've never liked La Cucina. The menu was too limited for me and the food flavorless.

[alrichards4003]

I always like the calmari. On the Epic with the old menu I had the chicken mushroom pizza, the best pizza I ever ahd, unfortunately they got rid of it with the new menu. Bothe DH and I liked our appetizers better than the entrees. Mine was calamari and his was minestrone. I had the pork marsala which andhe had chicken parm, they were good, just not as good as the appetizers.

 

Not crazy about the tiramisu.

[travelerpair]

Thank you for telling it like it is. We have only had 1 acceptable meal at Cagney's and Le Bistro is a comp for Platinum Latitudes and the food is main dinning room at best. Our most enjoyable upcharge meals on the Star were in La Cucina. The steak was better that the $30 one at Cagney's and if you do not like it send it back and order something else.

[NLH Arizona]

Ate there on my last cruise on the Jewell. I had a caesar's salad and the spaghetti with the bolognese sauce. Both were very, very good.

[welove2cruise*]

We have been disappointed in La Cucina. I think this is a restaurant that could use an overhaul of the menu. We love Le Bistro and feel that is a much better choice. I agree with others that the menu is too limited and the food lacks flavor.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[LrgPizza]

We hated every single morsel of food we tasted at La Cucina - the rubber shrimp risotto, the nasty overcooked steak, the pepperoni and cartilage pizza, the dishwater minestrone, the bruschetta with anchovies the size of sperm whales... We hated it all.

[njitalian76]

I have eaten in Italian eateries from Germany to Italy all over the east coast! I'm an Italian American and a food critic twitter foodcriticTFC . I have eaten at la cucina twice and it was the worst Italian food I have ever eaten. In fact I would never call it Italian food. Go to la bistro instead!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s

[buckeye82]

Ate in La Cucina on the POA and enjoyed it very much. Therefore, I was looking forward to it on the Spirit, but it was not good at all.

[lhugheshome]

We are ther twice on my b2b Epic. It iwas never crowded and the atmosphere wa very pleasant. One night I did not care to order any of the desserts and the waiter managed to find me some orange jello...which was really appreciated.

 

Like others I really enjoyed the appetizers and the bread with 4 different flavoured olive oil dips was delicious. But....Be careful not to fill up on appetizers. The entree servings are large.....both times I was way too full and did not feel well after having the chicken parm. Next time I will choose something lighter in order to maximize the enjoyment of the meal.

[sjbdtz]

We've eaten at La Cucina probably 20+ times.

 

Always enjoyed, even though occasionally not our favourite.

 

 

 

The anti-pasti are enjoyable, and the pizza isn't awful (cooked-to-order). I enjoy pasta, so that's generally been good, and the 3-some of creme caramels (I can't remember the Italian term for it) is pretty good.

 

 

 

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