Review Camp Cucina - San Diego

Good Italian cuisine. Very good and broad vine variety, especially the local choices. Plates are quite small and the vegetables were cooked with too much oil for my taste.

Whenever we have an event at or near Balboa Park, we come here. It’s convenient and has good food. We always get to where we need to be on time. All the plates seem to be on the smaller size except for the “pizza” and “large plates”. My friend and I ordered 2 pastas and 1 app to share. The pasta plates are not that big and we could have ordered another plate if we had time. Our other friends each ordered a pizza and large plate for themselves. They change out their menu periodically but in Oct, we ordered: -grilled octopus -braised short rib mafaldine -oxtail agnolotti -mushroom pizza -branzino -Brussels sprouts The pizza was way too big for one person. The branzino was doable for one person but both dishes could easily be family style. All the food was delicious and great vibes. The prices are on the higher end and they charge 3.95% surcharge automatically. Parking in this area is all street parking.

This Italian/French restaurant is Walking distance to BALBOA PARK. The FOOD is excellent, and so is the SERVICE. It is loud indoors, maybe because it’s one large room with concrete floors. The appetizers of MUSSELS and BRUSSELS are excellent and enough to make a meal. My husband enjoyed the large salad.

This place has such great and fast service for a busy place. Inside was a little loud but the outside was great. The pizza and pasta were both good. The sauce for the pastas weren’t heavy and the pizza crust was nice and the toppings combos were tasty.

This place has been putting out great food for a looong time now! I love coming here and enjoying the food which is always first class. I do want to mention the wine. We paid $130 a bottle for it but it was excellent and my friend said it was the best wine she ever had. That’s a little expensive for me normally but since it was really good it was with it.

I love pizza. This place is one of my top 3 favorite places in the continental USA. This is a brick oven style of pizza. There are a few really great options to try. I recommend starting with the Margarita. My party also had the mushroom goat cheese pizza and the pepperoni (with hot honey). This place takes a lot of pride in the quality of the food they make. During our meal the lead chef was dissatisfied with how our first pizzas turned out and made us two more (on the house). This level of service and dedication was above and beyond our expectations. Another great thing about this place is the selection of wine. Not only do they have a large selection, but you can also buy a number of bottles to take home at a great price. Our server Daryl G was awesome. We will definitely be eating here again!!

Came here to celebrate Father’s Day. Had a reservation through Open Table and got our patio seating table on time. A couple of us ordered the Short Rib Pappardelle, which was highly recommended in the reviews, and did not disappoint. It’s very flavorful. It is really a rich meal though with the beef, so if you want to keep things lighter, I suggest to order the Bucatini with the egg added. Worth mentioning is the small plate Fried Squash Blossom which was surprisingly good, and lastly you can’t go wrong with the Tiramisu desert for two. Overall it was a good meal but slightly overpriced for the portions. Also note the 3.95% surcharge added on to every bill. We didn’t know until the bill came.

This restaurant becomes one of my favorite Italian restaurants in San Diego!!! Firstly, the interior design and atmosphere are so modern, beautiful and comfortable. I love the vibe. The foods here are well displayed and very well cooked. All the things we ordered are delicious! I highly recommend the lamb shank, mushroom & truffle pizza, and short rib pasta, we also loved the Parmesan fries a lot. The cocktails are delicious as well, I loved my red sangria very much. We definitely would love to come back for more delicious foods and drinks! By the way, the service is amazing too.

Cucina Urbana (B or 3.5 stars ): Another decent, but not great Italian restaurant on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list. Good option if in the area and there’s a table available, but not a destination restaurant. Took my daughter for a nice dinner Sunday night before she heads back to Irvine to start year 2. I debated between Cucina Urbana, Ambrogio15 @ Del Mar, and Catania. With no tables at Catania till 8:30pm, and having been to Skydeck Food Hall just a couple months ago, I figured I’d try out another Bib Gourmand restaurant. Ambiance & service (B+ ) : Open, airy, modern vibe, basically one of my preferred styles of a restaurant. The downside given all the concrete and hard surfaces, it’s pretty loud, even at 50% capacity. Not easy to hold a conversation without shouting at each other, and made totally worse when right behind me was a table of 10-12 guys downing alcohol like no tomorrow. In addition to noise, the large table also had an adverse effect on service because we shared the same server, and they were pretty high maintenance with such a large party and I’m convinced some were half drunk :) So we didn’t get our plates changed or waters refilled as quickly as expected, but she was very nice and pleasant. Food (B ) : Grilled octopus (B+ ) This was the strongest dish. If it was octopus alone, I'd give it an A-; cooked perfectly, fragrant and smokey with a delightful savory crunch on the outside, while still tender and sweet on the inside. Unfortunately, the accompaniments were overly salty and acidic, overpowering the wonderful octopus. Cucina meatballs (B ) A decent meatball, but a touch dry and denser than I prefer. I guess I have a bias for Chinese meatballs like lionhead (獅子頭) or even XLB where the meat is typically much juicer. That said, I really enjoyed the whipped ricotta & spicy tomato sauce. Rigatoni bolognese (B ) Nicely cooked pasta with a well balanced bolognese sauce. I definitely would have given myself a pat on the back if I made it at home, but for a bib gourmand rated restaurant, sure it tasted fine, but I expected a “wow” and there wasn’t any. Fig prosciutto pizza (B- ) This was a bit of a let down primarily because the crust was definitely on the tight end, making it feel pedestrian rather than gourmet. The toppings were quite nice, a sweet savory mix with prosciutto & fig, although more prosciutto or something savory would have been nice to tamper the sweetness more. Tiramisu (B- ) This tasted more like a tiramisu flavored cake than a tiramisu - both the cake on the bottom and the cream on top were too heavy & dry. It was decent flavorwise - maybe a touch light on coffee - but the texture, even the appearance, screamed cake in a cup rather than a creamy, gooey, light tiramisu. So, a reasonably good experience, but not great and in my opinion, Catania is still my fave among the Italian restaurants I’ve tried so far. If in the area, go for it, but definitely not worth traveling to. --------------------------------- Food Grading Scale: A+: Life changing. You remember these bites for the rest of your life. Occurs very infrequently and when it does, you’ll know it. You don’t even know how to further improve it with a magic wand. A: Wow! Excellent. You felt happy biting into it. You’re considering whether it’s life changing, but know it misses the mark. A-: Very very good. Whatever it is, it’s one of the best, but you can think of further improvements. B+: Very good. Very enjoyable, not to the point of “impressive,” but worth revisiting. B: Good. A solid example of whatever it is, offering enjoyment, but not enough for making an effort to get. B-: Not bad. If in a pinch to eat something, this offers some enjoyment and is a reasonable option. C+: Mediocre plus. Pretty average, but with one or two positive characteristics you can identify. C: Mediocre. “Meh”. Very average. Not bad enough to make you angry, but nothing good about it at all. C-: Bad. You recognize it for what it is, but a very bad rendition. Your foodie self is a little pissed,

Came here after seeing so many good reviews. We weren't disappointed. Started with the fried brussel sprouts, then we proceeded with entrees. I had the shirt rib pappardelle, which was amazing. My wife had the bucatini, which she said was good as well. To finish it off, we had the butter cake, was topped with almonds and caramelized apples. It's also a bonafide wine shop where you can buy wine to take home. Our server Shawn gave excellent service. Truly a gem in the neighborhood. Highly recommend.

Had a delightful evening at this establishment recently. Both the food and service earned a solid five stars. However, dining indoors presented a challenge with occasional noise hindering our ability to converse, even though we were just three feet apart at the table. Convenient paid parking, reasonably priced, is available just a block away. I highly recommend giving this restaurant a try. Don't forget to inquire about the specials!

Fresh and crispy squash blossom with great cocktail and amazing apple dessert. Ragu pappardelle was good too but feel like there could be an extra layer to the flavor with maybe more umami taste

I was pleasantly impressed by CUCINA urbana amidst my birthday celebration. Upon entry greeted by Marcos, I was well served until the end. Thank you to the entire team for perfect service and atmosphere. Will visit again indeed!

Had a wonderful experience the other night at this location. The food and the service were both five stars. However, as we ate inside, sometimes the noise did not allow us to hear each other when we were three feet apart at the table. Inexpensive paid parking is a block away. Highly recommend you give this restaurant a try. Be sure to ask about the specials.

We had a wonderful night, with my husband here, celebrating his birthday. The service was excellent. There are different place to seat, at the bar, pizza bar, window seating at the front, and a nice lounge area and outside. if you're sitting inside the restaurant during a busy hour it's so loud it's hard to have a conversation. So if you're on a date or a group of 4 you are good to go but if you are on business or a bigger group maybe request a patio table. The food service and atmosphere was amazing. The chicken was juicy and delicious. We ordered Margarita pizza and Fried squash blossoms.No matter what you choose to have you cannot go wrong with anything on this menu. The drinks are also amazing! I definitely recommend to all. Whether you are looking for a date night or a night to celebrate this is the place to go! The staff is truly there to provide a great and relaxing experience!

All the dishes were excellent! Excellent service

I ordered the burger even though it’s an Italian restaurant. I had a little taste of the other dishes that were ordered, but I was honestly most please with what I ordered. The burger was cooked just the way I wanted it and was so juicy and flavorful. It’s also not too big and not too small. So don’t be afraid to order the burger.

This is an old time favorite in downtown San Diego! The service and the food are always top notch! Definitely recommend for a nice night out with friends/family and good wine