
Warm, brick-clad outpost with high ceilings serving modern Italian cuisine alongside wine.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 601 W Main St suite c, Durham, NC 27701
Phone: (984) 243-8744
Website: http://www.cucciolodurham.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Reservations: cucciolodurham.comopentable.comtripleseat.com
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
Cucciolo Osteria Durham Restaurant – Durham, NC | OpenTable
Cucciolo: Home
Cucciolo Osteria Durham (@cucciolodurham) – Instagram
Reviews
My wife and I came here to celebrate Valentine’s Day and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. The atmosphere struck the perfect balance of cozy and refined, making it ideal for a special night out.
Service was excellent across the board. Our waitress, Maggie, was awesome, attentive, personable, and on top of everything all evening. Raul and Eldrin were also fantastic, and every staff member we interacted with was kind and professional.
For drinks, we started with the craft root beer, which had a creamy texture and nice vanilla/pecan flavor profile, and the Cozy Pear mocktail, which was also a great choice.
For appetizers, we had the roasted beet salad and the rosemary truffle honey bruschetta. The beet salad delivered great flavor and texture, though we would have loved a few more orange slices and a bit more arugula. The bruschetta was delicious, and as someone who loves truffle, it absolutely hit the mark.
For our entrées, we ordered the Tajarin Arrogosta and the spicy vodka pasta. Both were excellent, flavorful, and well executed. Next time, if the truffle pasta is still on the menu, that will be my pick.
We finished with dessert, starting with the flourless chocolate torte, served warm and absolutely fantastic. Honestly, if “warm” were in the menu description, we might have ordered two! The bread pudding was good, though it could have been a bit more moist, I think this was the only miss of the night. The pistachio gelato was a standout surprise. We were shocked to learn it wasn’t made in-house, as the texture was spot on and the flavor was full-bodied with a perfectly balanced sweet and salty finish.
Overall, every course was a delight, and nothing truly disappointed. We will definitely be back!
I had an appetizer, entre, dessert, espresso, and bottle of wine. I was there to enjoy myself… as they came highly recommended.
The bartender was awesome. Mushroom appetizer was incredible. The onions were undercooked and crunchy in the pasta sauce (Amatriciana) so it overpowered the dish a bit. Tiramisu and espresso were delicious.
When I left, there were (3) tables that were never used. They could have accommodated my ADA request, but no. They have a BS policy about not sitting single parties at tables. They sat me at the very end of the bar, sharing a space with an ice bucket. Nothing like listening to wine bottles being pulled the entire dinner to really set the vibe.
Complaint. (Industrial, brick. Fits with the area a whole, but doesn’t make for cozy feel) We felt Portions NOT shareable. We shared and I only got 2 bites of main dish. Would order my own next time. Had a beet salad-delish, and Tajarin was excellent! BREAD IS DELICIOUS-but have to ask for it. Not served otherwise. In a walkable area from our hotel. Felt safe at 9-10:00. Would go back again. Delicious!!
Front of house: I have to agree with those who said the hostess isn’t the friendliest. I called ahead to let them know I’d be about 15 minutes late; she accommodated but hung up without a goodbye, and she wasn’t particularly pleasant when we arrived (and the restaurant was empty at that point).
Service: The reviews saying the servers are wonderful were absolutely true in our case. Eldron was our server, and even though he had us, another two-top, and a seven-top, we never felt neglected. His timing was perfect—cocktails → appetizer → mains—with no rushing and no long waits.
Food warnings: Several reviews mentioned salty pasta, and unfortunately my daughter’s dish proved that point. Her pasta itself was fine, but the ragù was, in my opinion, nearly inedible—it was so salty, and I love salt. When the manager stopped by, I mentioned it; she was gracious and I felt she would have done whatever we wanted, but we didn’t ask for a replacement. She brought extra bread, and my daughter still ate every bite.
My carbonara was delicious, though I was surprised the pasta didn’t seem homemade—I would have expected that.
Overall: We had a genuinely nice experience, and we may return. I give 5 stars when I’ll definitely be back and 4 stars when I’m unsure—this was a solid 4.
Service was excellent as well: attentive, friendly, and never intrusive.
Cucciolo Osteria made the night feel special, and I’d absolutely come back again. Highly recommend!
I really wanted this experience to be better, but they just missed the mark for us. $150 for 3 people just demands a lot more.