Cucina Rustica

Every time we're in Blue Ridge, people rave about Cucina Rustica, but we haven't been able to dine there until this December. I love Italian food, and my girlfriend is first-generation Italian, so we were excited to try Cucina Rustica. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype. We were expecting a little more breadth to the menu. Restaurants have been hit hard with COVID, so I can't fault the proprietors for cutting back on the menu or supplier constraints forcing a more limited selection, so I NOT taking off a star for the limited menu--just helping other visitors who might expect more options set realistic expectations. The harvest salad was okay. It was a bit sparse, the ingredients were not balanced, and it wasn't well-mixed. I chalked this up to a hasty assembly on the line, sipped some of the wine, which I ordered from a similarly limited, but impressively varied menu, and moved on to the entrees. The meatballs were savory and exhibited each flavor evenly. The parmesan was a tad heavy for my taste, but it certainly didn't detract from the overall flavor, texture, and quality, which was great. The Fish-of-the-Day was good, if perhaps a bit underwhelming. I have a general rule of never ordering the fish special unless it's Friday or Saturday, and broke that rule when I was assured it was fresh off the truck that day. I have no reason to doubt it was fresh, other than it was unremarkable and bland. Fettuccine is a staple, and a reliable indicator of how well a kitchen knows its craft, so I ordered it with the Chicken Parmigiana. On a scale of 1-10, that night's dish was a 6. The pasta itself was underdone, even for al dente, but the presentation, which was far better than the salad, made up for some of that. The chicken, like the fish, was unremarkable and left me oscillating between being grateful to afford the luxury of eating out and feeling crestfallen for the restaurant which has an exceptionally polished brand, and charming ambiance, but is obviously struggling in the kitchen. A word about that ambiance: There were tables closed for social distancing, but not obviously so. I appreciate that the subtlety of their compliance didn't distract from the rustic and warm country feel. The diversity of guests in the dining room was also a testament to Cucina Rustica's appeal to all audiences. The service was--compared to other restaurants in the area--stellar, and left nothing to be desired. Our server was attentive and anticipated every request. She was welcoming, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu with a quiet reassuring confidence that leaves you feeling like you always made the right decision. Her recommendation for a bottle of wine which paired equally well with the dishes we ordered was spot-on. Unfortunately, our dinner was cut short when another party was seated directly behind me with only inches between our chairs. Feeling a bit COVID-conscious, we got the check in lieu of sampling desserts. Even the best restaurants have "hit or miss" evenings, and I sincerely hope mine was a rare "miss." I'd be willing to try them again next time I'm in the area if I find myself without dinner plans, but I wouldn't go out of my way to plan around a reservation here.

We were looking forward to checking out this place. It was just ok, nothing super special or over the top. It seems like this place has been hit hard by the pandemic and is struggling to keep quality in the food. The pasta dish was nothing special and wasn't really hot when it came out. The fish of the day special was good, but again nothing super special. Our server was lovely. One thing that was a total miss for us, was that another large group was seated too close to us in the dining area. It made us uncomfortable and we ended up leaving. I doubt we will return to this location.