A great Italian restaurant across fork balboa park!! We came here to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of dating and they were very welcoming. We were quickly sat with our reservation. Great open area and vibes! This is a wine store with restaurant so they tell you if you're interested to grab a bottle off the wall, drink it with your meal, then pay for it and take it home you're more than welcome! The waiter was very kind and answered our questions. Kind to also give us glasses of champagne on the house to celebrate. We were given some focaccia bread as a starter along with the meatball we ordered. We devoured them both - bread was nice and fluffy and salty and the best all was moist and lots of sauce. After each part of the dinner they clear the table and bring new table settings for your dinner and dessert! Our entrees were nice and hot and well seasoned. We couldn't finish either so we had leftovers which they boxed up for us. We weren't going to do dessert but the tiramisu sounded so good so we got that and the lady got a glass of red wine to pair with it. It was all so delicious and we didn't feel rushed to leave or hurry up. Lots of parties and groups so they are able to accommodate larger parties. Highly recommend this spot it also wasn't too expensive - $150 for appetizers, entrees, dessert and 2 drinks.

Had another wonderful meal at Cucina urbana. Always tasty. Get the French fries. And service is on point.

We had a beautiful dinner. The squash blossoms with goat cheese were wonderful. Loved the little baby squash attached... please see photos with dishes we enjoyed. Mafaldine is awesome & new to us. The ruffles hold the sauce & meat. They do a good job with gnocchi too. So good. We had an excellent cocktail too - try a Negroni with your pasta. The pizza look wonderful & we will try one next time. As we left, we saw the Michelin star... not surprised at all. Our service was excellent when we arrived. Not as good when it got busy. Make a reservation.

We had been wanting to try this for the kids make your own pizza but thought it would have bad parking and it was usually booked when we thought to try to go. Finally went on a Wednesday night and parking was a breeze. The place is cute but very loud inside which made me feel more comfortable bringing my kid to, but then she also complained about the noise. We got the goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, bucatini, a spicy sausage pizza, and kids pizza. The timing was a little off in the courses but I'm sure it was hard to time too. Her pizza came out early and we all snacked on it before the rest of the meal came. I actually liked the kids cheese pizza more than the spicy sausage which was delicious and had a lot more going on. The crust was very tasty and it shone through more for hers. She loved making it and would do it again for sure. The squash blossoms were delicious and the honey and pesto on them were fantastic. The bucatini was delicious-we got the poached egg on top which was a nice addition. The sausage pizza was spicy and had a delicious oil that might have just been from the sausage, or added on top, we couldn't tell. It was very flavorful and good, but I think I would have probably enjoyed some of the other pizzas more. They have a lot of great looking options! We also got a chocolate budino and the lemoncello tart and they were both excellent. The budino had lots of textures to it and was super rich and creamy. The tart was a perfect contrast and we all went back and forth between the two, unable to pick a favorite. We couldn't finish them all and we ended up taking some pizza home. The service was friendly and good, the meal was delicious, and we look forward to returning sometime.

Aesthetic was 5/5, Food maybe a 4/5 Pepperoni Pizza pepperoni + ricotta + mozzarella + roasted tomato + calabrian chili + hot honey A delicious pizza here. I didn't think ricotta would be such a game changer but oh no, it was really really so good! Added some chili flakes on top because we like it a little bit spicy and it was so so perfect. A little too heavy on the tomato for me but husband said it was good. Tempura Fried Stuffed Squash Blossom (+ goat cheese + pistou + orange blossom honey) Really crunchy and the goat cheese was delicious as well. Absolutely love the balance of the flavors here with that pistou and the orange blossom honey. The pistou on its own was delicious as well. Burnt Brussels Sprouts + ivan's hot sauce I would probably rate this 0/10 We asked for less oil on this but this was still very very very oily. Yes it was crispy and everything but just too much oil. I had to use the napkin to try to press out the oil but it was still not good enough. Ended up leaving half the dish. Hot sauce on the side wasn't too great either to be honest. Would have been a little better with hot honey. Chocolate Budino (with salted caramel vanilla whip chocolate crumble + cocoa nib tulle This was actually ordered by our friends who we were with but they couldn't finish it all. So husband and I got a taste as well. So rich and delicious! Smooth chocolate and that slight crunch from the chocolate crumble..... Really yummy and hard to stop eating after one bite. Haha

my husband and i truly enjoyed our date night at this restaurant! the bartender, bob, took his time explaining the most popular dishes to us and the food was really good! the pizza is a must! so yummy! i didn't like my drink because of the strong taste and bob made the drink more sweet with no hesitation! it showed great customer service skills! if i had to give one improvement, it would be the short rib pasta did not have much short rib! i wish it had a little bit more short rib, but overall it was tasty!

The Tomato Focaccia, Waygu Steak, and the Torchio Alla Norman were all incredible. The steak was perfectly cooked and tender. I was floored. I never write yelp reviews but the combination of the food and the wonderful service we received from Jason made it impossible not to. We will come back again and again. Plenty of seating and we were seated fast. Not to mention everything is extremely reasonably priced.

Came for a bday dinner Monday night. To my surprise, there was plenty of street parking available although dinner was set for prime time at 730 pm. Perhaps because it was a Monday. The restaurant is super cute. Upon entering, you must go down a short set of stairs. We began our evening at the bar with cocktails and mocktails as we waited for our table. They have a good selection of drinks. I will say, when my boyfriend closed out the tab, the handheld card reader began the tip at 20%, 22%, then 25%. Shouldn't it start at 15%? Well my boyfriend always tips well and he chose the 22%. When I got home that evening and looked at the bar receipt-I did notice it also had an additional 3.5% service fee added to the total which was not displayed on that reader-and I had ordered one mocktail. That's ok I guess, just it was not disclosed. Not sure about the restaurant bill, I assume it did the same but I did not look at that receipt or take a copy home. For the food, we ordered the stuffed squash blossom for the table. It looked like a stuffed chicken wing and was tasty. Anything fried with cheese is good :) My bf got the squashed potatoes which were mediocre to me. It did come with a white cream sauce which I was not a fan of but he said it made it taste better otherwise yes it was bland. He got the Branzino and that dish was a 5/5, the best dish of the night! Light but delicious. I got the Magherita pizza, also super tasty and the crust was just perfect. Our friends ordered other dishes I did not try but all looked great. For the desserts, we got the mango and yuzu sorbet. OMG you must try the YUZU- i didn't think I'd like it and it was soooo fruity/tart/delicious. We all agreed on that one. The other two desserts we got were just as good, just depending on the mood you are in. The pie-can't recall the name was my second favorite. Overall, I had a great time here. Staff was friendly, interior was rustic and clean and overall the vibes were great. I would come back for the fish and desserts!

alvin was the best host! amazing drinks and dessert will return for dinner!!!! The Carajillo is what we came for and it was the best I've ever had!