Cucina Toscana
| Address: | 282 S 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, USA |
| Phone: | +1 801-328-3463 |
| Site: | toscanaslc.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
LO
lori james
What a gem! I often travel for work and every city that I go to I like to dine at a local spot. This restaurant was suggested to me by a co-worker. Normally I dont do Italian since Im trying to stay away from the carbs, but after I read some of the reviews on Yelp, I could not resist...screw not eating carbs for a day, my body will deal with it tomorrow! When you walk in you are immediately greeted by the hostess, with a pleasant smile. This is refreshing because I have been to establishments where the greeting is lacking. We walked into the dining area and the ambience was perfect...not too dark and not too bright. The table was set up perfectly with nice white linen so that you would know that you are sitting at a clean table. Opening the menu, there are so many items to choose from! All the selections sounded wonderful but when I glanced over at the next table and saw what they ordered, I immediately made up my mind. Seafood with pasta in a chianti sauce....absolutely fabulous! The seafood was cooked to perfection, not overdone which is important because there is nothing worse than eating a well done shrimp or scallop. The portion was healthy, enough seafood where I could share with my dining companion and not feel as if I had nothing left for myself. This was definitely a hit! After dinner, I ordered the pistachio gelato...which was excellent! The server suggested it and Im so glad that she did. It was smooth and light with a hint of pistachio. It was fresh and nothing tasted artificial. Overall everything was fabulous....from the greeting, the food and the service from the wait staff. But I have to say that the thing that impressed me the most was the complimentary appetizer of bruschetta and a mini hot chocolate that came at the end of the meal. It lets me know that establishment wants the diner to have a nice dining experience and its that little touch that makes you want to go back. I will definitely be dining here again on my next trip back to Salt Lake City. I will also HIGHLY RECOMMEND Cucina Toscana to anyone that will be visiting here soon!
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A Private User
After hearing several rave reviews I decided to check this place out last night and was not impressed. It took at least 10 minutes to get a menu. They do offer free bread and what they call bruschetta which is really just mushy tomatoes on bread. My blind grandmother could make it better. The menu is somewhat large so it was bit difficult to decide on what we wanted. We decided to go with some avacado appetizer and the ravioli for the main course and my wife got the special seafood dish with clams, mussels, calamari and lobster tail over pasta ($38). Ten minutes later the waiter comes by and tells me that they are out of the ravioli so I switched to the lasagna ($34). I figure this has to be the best lasagna ever for that price. A few minutes after that, the waiter comes by and tells us they are out of avacados so we have to choose a new appetizer so we went with the capresse salad. The capresse salad was tasty and probably the best part of the meal. Finally, the entrees came and needless to say we were less than impressed. The lasagna was just meat and meat sauce between lasagna pieces. I couldnt spot any rocotta cheese or anything else that would have made it better. It is a bit rediculous that they are charging $34 for this crap. I could make a whole tray of lasagna for less than $34 and it would be ten times better. Maybe I should open a restaurant and charge outrages prices. My wife was not impressed with her meal either. She said it was very average and she could only finish about half of it. Once we were done, my wife asked to box up the rest of her meal. After paying the bill, I asked the waiter where her box was and he said it had been thrown out by mistake so they had to make another one. Ten to Fifteen minutes later we got the replacement and are allowed to leave. We certainly will not be heading back.
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A Private User
My biggest gripe about Cucina Toscana after eating there Saturday night was the layout. As you walk in, you walk down a row of assembly-line, way too close together tables all in a mind-numbing row; there are no dividers, no privacy, and its hard to navigate around the waiters on your way in and out. When the hostess first tried to seat us, she tried to put us at the very first table you see right on the corner- right next to the busy kitchen and completely out in the open. I asked if we could be put in the back, and we were, albiet right next to another couple when there were empty tables further away. I felt extremely uncomfortable being so close to other diners- there must have only been 8 inches or so between my boyfriend and I and the next party. I could hear everything they were saying- we might as well have been dining together. On top of that, the two seater tables are so tiny that the waiter had trouble fitting our plates of food properly, and had to remove glasses and the floral centerpiece to make it all fit. My boyfriend also had to lean over a little bit as the waiter removed items or poured drinks for the next table and was practically touching him due to the lack of space. On top of that, we were in the back section and some of the servers were hanging out in the back and being distracting. As for the food, it was good enough- I ordered the Ravioli and was disappointed to find out it was chock full of a sort of spinach squash filling that made the whole dish green- the menu didn’t specify what was inside. The anchovy dip they brought out with the bread at the start was divine, and I don’t like anchovies. But it certainly didn’t all feel worth the price, particularly for feeling so uncomfortable while eating. And why in the world is the entrance banner for some tire company???
JU
Julie
This was my first fine dining experience. The servers are very attentive and professional. Margarita made us feel comfortable even though we didnt know what many things on the menu were and were obviously totally new to fine dining. They have a wide variety of wines from $40 a bottle all the way up to $800 a bottle. The waitress took the time to give us personalized pairings for every course of the meal. Every pairing was perfect. The music was calming and beautiful. We tried the "Tuscan Tour" which was four amazing courses not including the complimentary bruschetta and bread/olive oil with spices. We added a basil infused creme bulee for dessert which was absolute heaven. I still remember the taste so clearly. I left feeling so incredibly full and satisfied. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for an absolutely satisfying fine dining experience in salt lake city with attentive and kind staff. ..oh and one more thing.. after eating half of his beef tenderloin, he realized he had been cutting it with a butter knife. Thats how tender and well cooked it was.
DA
David Yauney
I ate here during the Dine ORound, just in case you were wondering. The food, for such a self-important restaurant, was mediocre at best. They brought around a complimentary Bruschetta which was simple and unadventurous, which set the tone for the rest of the meal (as intended I suppose, because thats the only reason I see for a restaurant to offer complimentary appetizeresque pieces). For a restaurant that seems to take great pride in its appearance and giving off the air of high-quality dining with no holds barred, it really stopped at the sweet and simple down-home idea of Italian. Nothing was bland necessarily, but nothing was exciting. I couldnt care less about how well the menu names are pronounced, how well the table is set, or if the server always removes plates and silverware from the left and returns on the right. What I do care about, first and foremost, with a restaurant like this is if theyre going to impress me culinarily to the degree that my dollar merits. If not, there are better places to go.
