La Cucina Ristorante

Not fine dining at all and not authentic Italian. The food is underwhelming. Nothing spectacular. Low grade Italian and over priced.
Seafood linguini is really awful. Overcooked pasta saturated with thick heavy sauce. Linguini is supposed to have a nice light tomato sauce. The shrimp still had the shells on the tails.
Waitress not attentive at all. We were a group of 13 for a late night dinner. A group of people should not have to request bread on the table. We also required menus but not everyone received one. Had to ask for more and they were placed out of reach.
Service should not be just about taking the order, bringing the food to the table and then writing a bill at the end of the night. Wine glasses became empty and we were never approached by her for more. We had to flag her down most of the night and request more wine, bread, coffee, refills, extra cream, etc. A good waiter keeps their eye out and makes sure guests are looked after. We certainly didn’t feel welcomed here at all.
We were also charged 18% gratuity on each bill which was something the manager did not mention to me when booking. Had I known I would have definitely not booked here. There are so many better places to eat at better prices with better service who don’t charge gratuity and where management responds to customer issues.
Will not be returning and won’t recommend this place to anyone.

Had an enjoyable dinner at la cucina today. Italian appetizer plate was good. Veal marsala with fettuccine Alfredo was very good. My wife had a gnocchi special that I tasted and thought was very good. My wife likes her mother’s gnocchi better though — sorry! Had great service — we were given a free meatball appetizer and a free cannolli for dessert — both very yummy. A nice small cozy restaurant — good place for a date with your special someone. We will be back.

Went to La Cucina with a big group on Monday night and it was fantastic. If you can recall the former Isaacs that was here — this place has been gutted and redone — it is cozy, warm and inviting.
I had the Chicken Prassimo (which I am told by our lovely waitress it is named after the Chef) it was to die for, despite being full half way through eating it — I stuffed every last piece in — I was not going to share, nor leave any behind. The veggies and potatoes that went with it were just as good, but perhaps because they too were immersed in the drool worthy sauce the chicken was in.
We also sampled several appetizers which were amazing — the antipasto plate and the bruschetta were worth fighting over.
The only thing I would change is perhaps the wine selection — nothing really to write home about.
I will be back with bells on. I hear they have a great lunch too — perhaps that will be my next visit.

Summary: Small Italian restaurant with an intimate atmosphere and good pasta. Not overly pricey, but perhaps a tad more expensive than other options (take that with a grain of salt, I’m from Toronto so I’m not sure what Ottawa pricing is like).
The good: Pasta was great, and the offer whole wheat and gluten free selections. Calamari was good too.
The bad: Chicken breast in the chicken cacciatori was a bit overcooked and could have helped from more seasoning. The cannoli pasty cream wasn’t as rich as I like. Bigger beer selection would be nice.
The review:
Trip to Ottawa for the weekend to visit a friend, and we dropped by this intimate little Italian restaurant that was busy. Seems Unilocal isn’t oft used here in Kanata (common Ottawarians! get with it!) so we decided to go here based on the fact that it was hustlin’ and bustlin’. Busy = good, right? At La Cucina, the answer to that is yes, decent at least.
La Cucina offers a variety of pastas and chicken, veal or seafood entrees. Prices of the pastas are about $ 16 – 20, and entrees are $ 20 – 30.
Starter bread was nothing to write home about. Plain ‘ol bread.
Calamari was good, not overly breaded and cooked perfectly. $ 10 and you get a medium sized portion, good or 2.
I’ve trade a fettuccine with chicken in a rose sauce, and the chicken cacciatori. The chicken was a bit on the dry side, but the dryness was hidden by the MOUND of tomato bases sauce that sat ontop of the chicken breast. The other complaint would be that there wasn’t enough seasoning on my dish, so it came across a bit bland. Nothing some pepper and a pinch of salt didn’t solve, but I’m a believer that you shouldn’t need to add additional S+P at fine dining establishments… but I’m just picky.
The fettuccine with rose sauce was great. No complaints there.
The pasta was cooked well. They offer wheat and gluten-​free options too.
The canolis for dessert were ok. The shell was great, but I prefer the pastry cream a bit creamer/​richer.
I didn’t try any wines, but the selection was modest (~30 wines maybe?) and ranged from $ 25 – 80 for a bottle. Beer selection was lacking.