Cucina Market Bistro

Awesome bacon breakfast sandwich! Easily the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had. Slight problem is that it is only on the takeout menu and doesn’t appear on the sit down menu. If you perservere with your waitress she’ll let you order it anyway at your table (usually). Cucina is very small so make sure you make a reservation unless you just want take-​out. Highly recommend.

Had the trout special and cherry pie. Both were delicious. Thr trout was cooked perfectly. Perfect place for a business lunch and reservations are necessary.

One of the most overlooked and underrated restaurants in Calgary. A small, sophisticated yet comfortable décor echoes the sophisticated yet comforting food. I would go here just for the liver pâté, but everything I’ve tried here is delicious, from the paninis to the risottos. They also have a roasting device you can see from the dining room to devilishly tempt you with their delicious meats. It’s somewhat pricey here, but you get a much better quality and better non-​pasta choices here than at a typical upscale Italian joint. Good for dates and refined get togethers.

If you are like me and have been cooking delicious comfort foods for many many years and consider yourself pretty picky now, this is the place for you!
They make THE best risotto and all the other dishes are sprinkled with all the seasonal ingredients I’m usually craving so it’s always hard to choose. They make a chicken pâté that is to die for, today there was a Ragu pasta which is my favourite, and everything is always seasoned perfectly! I’m always trying to get hints of their recipes (mascarpone is the secret to the risotto BTW).
I gave up eating out for Italian years ago for the most part but I’ve never had a bad meal here and I would definitely give this a try if you haven’t yet! All the Italian food you normally don’t get in everyday restaurants are executed really well, from pan fried sweet potato gnocchi to the fire roasted quails.
PS If you work nearby, their croissants and coffee are delicious for breakfast as well.

As the only place I take clients to for breakfast downtown, I’d like everyone to know the reason… because this place not only has the best breaky in town but the staff (Terra) is absolutely amazing!!!
If you’re looking for a beautiful décor, locally grown eats, friendliest staff, decent prices, the best coffee and a place where you can hear your own conversation then this is where you must go immediately!
It’s kind of cozy but that’s part of the charm! I wish there were more of these restaurants in Calgary but then they’d have to try and clone the staff too… love it here!

I had an awesome meal with my boyfriend tonight! The service was amazing, thanks Megan! Great flank steak and wonderful Cornish hen. Beautiful experience

Great first time experience here. Went for a later dinner on sat night. Tried some unique dishes of the rabbit pasta and sweet bread market risotto. Delicious despite first initial thoughts. Also tried the bison tartare and duck which was perfectly balanced in taste and texture. Ended with the family recipe of tiramisu and upside down corn rhubarb cake with pistachio ice cream and candied pistachios.

So after watching Top Chef Canada last night and seeing the fancy-​pants dishes the chefs were creating on TV, I realized my homecooked lazy dinner wasn’t going to cut it. The bucket of popcorn the fiancé and I devoured filled us up a bit, but we definitely needed some proper food.
SOME FANCY FOOD.
We decided to try Cucina because it was close by and was on our list to try for a while.
We arrived around 8:30pm, and they seated us right away because the restaurant wasnt too busy. We told the waitress we werent that hungry, so we ordered just one appetizer and one main dish to share.
The appetizer we got was the Vitello Tonnato. Thinly sliced veal drizzled with ttuna confit emulsion and topped with fried crispy capers and arugula. It was steep at $ 14 for a small portion, but the flavour was there. Everything worked so well together in every bite. The softness of the veal worked well with the crispy capers, and the sharpness of the caper was balanced by the tuna emulsion. Really tasty way to start!
For our main, we got the Beef Osso Bucco. Thank GOODNESS we got one to share because this was MASSIVE! Believe me when I say that the size of this beef shank was bigger than my head and there would be NO WAY I could finish that by myself. The beef shank was sitting on a jus and creamy polenta, and was topped with a gremolata. The beef was soft on some parts, and a bit dry in some other parts, but nonetheless it was great when dipped in the jus. Perfect size for two, we finished it and were both comfortably full.
The interior of the restaurant was really cool — they got the ‘bistro’ feel just right. Their attention to detail was also great because they even gave you tiny little spoons to use to scoop out the bone marrow :)
Good addition to the food scene in Calgary!

Um, delicioso?
Picture eating a meal inside the ANTHROPOLOGIE Store in Chinook and you have CUCINA. Located on 8^th avenue near THE CORE, Cucina is an Italian restaurant that’s actually quite quaint and enjoyable. The furniture is kind of aged and gorgeous and the kitchen is wide open for all to see.
My cousin was in town from the Land of the Newfs and we HAD to bring him somewhere new and fresh. They have a great beer menu bringing in lots of different bottles from around the world, and everyone was very much enjoying their wine selection.
Everyone with us loved this place so much. The Anti-​Pasti plate is a MUST to start and share! Delicious cheese, meats and olives. The Blue Cheese was served with this organic honeycomb which is the perfect offset for a strong cheese like that. Very smart, and very delicious.
I finished with the vegetarian risotto (which was the special that night) while everyone seemed to have ordered the short-​rib stuffed shells and devoured them. I made a mistake!!! ORDER REMORSE!
For dessert we shared the ANTI-​PASTI Lemon and it was amaaaaze baaaalllllls. Little slices of cakes with a passionfruit drizzle. A Pot de Crème that seriously tasted like lemon meringue pie, and a pistachio pâté that tastes like fudddggggge. There was a Tiramisu going around too that was creamy and to die for. A great spot to come and eat at about $ 50/​person, you’ll have a great time no matter what the occasion.

I am wavering on my stars for this one… somewhere between a 3 and a 4. I will definitely give them another try to see if they can hit the 4 stars.
I went here for lunch with a friend. We sat at the little bar which was nice — the chairs were very tall and narrow which took some getting used to. The bar is a pretty high traffic area so there was always movement around us. You do get used to it though.
Pros:
* Great location, easy to get to
* Nice décor. I love the style and the little details they have like the collector spoons they serve with coffee. Very old school
* Menu is pretty extensive for such a teeny place with great descriptions
* The food looked great and was plated with care
* Service was pretty quick and very polite
Cons
* I had a coffee after lunch… it was kind of watery and wasn’t as great as I expected it would be
* Noise: Wow was it loud in there. Like 8^th Ave mid-​day seemed quiet when we stepped outside after. I am glad we sat at the bar or else conversation would have been impossible.
* Crowded: I get maximizing tables in there but you can hardly move without being in someone’s space. Like really in their space.
* The bartender/​our server seemed stressed. He was very polite but seemed worried. The whole time.
* The entrance area is crowded. You walk in and you are practically walking over people at the first table behind the curtain.
In between:
* The food… my friend had the fish special. It looked great and she said it was delicious. I had the crab baguette. Initially I loved how fresh the crab tasted… there was something so bright to it. But it didn’t seem to taste exciting all the way through. There was also to much baguette to filling ratio for my liking
* I felt like things were a little over priced… some, not all, for what you were getting. I don’t mind paying for a great meal… this was okay. I also don’t mind paying for ambiance or the experience… but again I thought it was just «okay».
Hopefully I will have the occasion to go back, and maybe try them for breakfast or dinner. I do appreciate maybe I chose the wrong menu item and that they might be more than «okay» with other meals/​dishes.

Two colleagues have frequented the market/​grab & go part of Cucina and rave about the sandwiches so they wanted to try the bistro for a sit down lunch and I was totally for it.
Space is really limited, even in the «dining» side they’ve only managed to squeeze in about 5 or so tables. We got seated right by the street entrance door, and although heavy drapes and a heater were set up HUGE blasts of cold wind would come barreling through whenever anyone opened the door. This was really irritating and it got worse as it got busier — there wasn’t an option to move tables :(
Our server was really great, she read us the specials, gave suggestions and even checked with the chef for gluten free options for my celiac colleague. We all settled on the specials — two orders of pan seared Scallops and one order of the pork roast.
We started with the pear and prosciutto salad — it was good, nothing too amazing.
My scallops arrived and the aroma had me drooling! The perfectly cooked scallops were topped with a cream sauce reduction with mushrooms and potatoes, the chunks of grapefruit and springs of arugula were a refreshing touch!
It is a bit pricey for lunch, our dishes were around $ 30 each. So if you’re willing to splurge I think it’s worth it.

I’m loving Cucina! It is definitely worth the little jaunt from my office in Bankers Hall. I haven’t been to Starbucks in a couple of weeks — I’ve been coming here almost every day. There are not crazy line-​ups like at Starbucks or Café Artigiano! (Shhhh! Please keep this a secret!) It’s nice to have an alternative for coffee — they brew Phil & Sebastian — and healthy little treats as well.
Their food is also delicious — I’ve only had food to go, but their Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich is great! Wonderful fresh ingredients!
My only comment — and this is partly due to Eighth Avenue Place being under more construction with the 2^nd tower going up — is that they need some spots to sit and drink your coffee if you’re getting it to go. Even having some little bistro tables outside in the lobby would be nice.

Great service and good food. Went for dinner but it looked like it be a great place for lunch and breakfast. Can’t wait to return earlier in the day.
They also serve Phil & Sebastian coffee.