I Cugini

Went in early January with great expectations only to be disappointed by a very poor quality of food, in fact may have been responsible for a bout of food poison, my suspicion anyway. Avoid. Pros: ambience and location Cons: food quality more

I went to I Cugini last Saturday night for dinner and the food was pretty awful. My date and I shared the grilled Calamari and it was gross. I've had grilled Calamari before and although nothing compares to it being fried, their version tasted bad. We then shared a Cesar salad and it was fine. We also split the Shirmp Risotto and it had like a sandy grit (sand maybe) in it. We sent it back. The manager was super friendly and felt horrible and asked if we wanted to order anything else. Since the cooked food was so bad we said no. He then sent over a delicious chocolate desert - best thing we had the entire meal. I would never go back as there are too many good restaurants in Santa Monica and our meal tasted pretty terrible. Interestingly the restaurant was packed. Pros: The Manager was nice and wanted to fix our issue Cons: tasteless food, patio was quite loud more

Went there Saturday night with one of the restaurant's investor's no less. The place looked nice, then we sat down with the menus, and they looked the menu's at a ridiculous family restaurant, with illustrations and a wacky font. That's fine for Applebees, but this it seems like this is trying to be a top tier restaurant, or at least, its prices scream that. Overall, it seemed like Olive Garden quality food at 5-Star restaurant prices. more

To give a star to these guys would be an extravagance..... based on today's experience. We felt ashamed to treat our guests from Italy to such a poor quality food. All was substandard ...we might as well hvae taken them to McDonald's. We all feel sick now. These guys are not seving Italian cuisine! The service was so bad with this arrogant waiter. This is not about knowing or not knowing about seafood or pizza dishes and presentation ..this is about stealing our money. I feel bad for even paying for the junk they served. Funny ..there was a Zagat survey box there .... makes me laugh! Pros: Location Cons: Quality more

Obviously, no one here has ever been to the East Coast. Does anyone know real seafood in California? I have yet to find a good seafood restaurant in this entire state, and I Cugini continues that quest. Pros: the view Cons: the food more

Brunch is great! Service is outstanding! When the weather is nice get the patio seating with the view. Pros: Romantic, Great food more

Fantastic atmosphere, both inside and out on the patio. I first dined here for my friend?s rehearsal dinner, I had such a great time that I came back with my family. Great view of the Santa Monica pier :) We started the evening off w/ a classic? the Caprese salad: fresh buffalo mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, and basil (my fav) & the peppery mussels: this dish was great because the mussels weren?t drowning in white wine, it really showcased their true flavor. My brother had a thin crust Margherita pizza (outstanding!), I had the Mezzi Rigatoni (great for vegetarians), My dad had the Chilean salmon with a Chianti reduction sauce.... sooo delicious, and my mom had ravioli stuffed with sweet potatoes. We all LOVED our meals. Our server, Jordi was one of the best servers I've had in a long time (wish there were more servers like this around). We all had dessert, my favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake, but of course the traditional Italian dessert tiramisu was great. There need to be more restaurants around like i Cugini. Great date restaurant as well and right around the corner from the 3rd st. Promenade. I will definitely be going back to I Cugini, & they have happy hr. 7 days a week!!! What more could you ask for? honestly?! Pros: location, view from patio, close poximity to 3rd street more

I had the best brunch Pros: hospitality more

This is our favorit Italian restaurant, it never fails us with there quality of food, service, presentation and atmoshere and specialy the fresh whole fish that they offer, the wine list is wonderfull with varieties from the new and old world. Do not miss out on the desserts and make sure to dine on Sunday's with there deliciuse brunch with lots of varieties to try from. I will always recomend I cugini to all my friends as it is the Best Italian Rerstaurant in Los Angeles. Pros: Great Location Cons: Valet Parking more

We had some calamari appetizers that were ok, and we had a caprese salad which had barely any basil on it. There was no balsalmic on the table which was strange for an Italian restaurant. Pros: location Cons: everything else more

this restaurant is at the top of every category Pros: food and service more

this place is wonderful. I just love it. The srevice is great and the food is excellent too!!!! more

I was reading the reviews from a ""taylordk"" and had to roll over laughing because this person has the nerve to try to criticize food when they can't tell the difference between arugula and spinach, fennel and pickled onions??? I've had the same whole fish and it was amazing. The arugula and fennel salad is a typical delicious italian side dish. You hated Mo's as well... maybe you should dine at home only! Pros: Romantic evening, outstanding food more

I absolutely loved i Cugini's staff! Our server was great and very informative, the manager even came by and talked to us about the restaurant. The food was great, I had a baked whole fish. ( watched them take out the bones!) We had such a calm and enjoyable meal, I know we will be back on more of a regular basis. Pros: Valet right in front, because parking is crazy in Santa Monica, Wonderful setting, beautiful patio Cons: I don't like valets more

Service is the best. more

I can't think of one positive thing to say about this restaurant! The drinks we got at the bar were overpriced and tasted awful (The Peach-Tini) and the food was flavorless (blackened cod) and our waiter was never anywhere to be found! I have no idea why this place gets such a high rating. Don't waste your money here. Pros: It was clean? Cons: Bad Service, Poor Quality Food, Overpriced more

Service was not that great and food was rather average. I dont know why it is ranked so high! Must be the location Pros: Location Cons: Service and Food more

The dining room is charming in its old school elegance, perhaps that's why I assumed that i Cugini would be outrageously expensive. Or perhaps it was the fantastic location with oceanside/sunset views. So imagine my surprise when dinner consisting of appetizers, entrees and dessert did not break the bank! The food was expertly prepared and the service was just the right blend of attentive but not hovering. Pros: ambience, food, service Cons: not enough veggie options more

Had a very nice dinner here on a recent Friday night. The outdoor patio filled with plants and an Ocean breeze, plus the minor celebs at the bar inside, make you feel like you're really going ""out"" for dinner. Our entrees were great and not as expensive as I feared they'd be. Our appetizer never came, which surprised me for such a fancy place, but our waiter was abundantly apologetic about this and gave us two desserts on the house! Which were incredibly delicious! Overall a really nice place, go for a special dinner or just for a treat. more

Two of us visit them today - Sept 10th for their so called famous ""sunday brunch"" with FM radio 94.7 Jazz music. The music was good with the band, but the food was not worth $49.95. I have had better with lower costs. Made to order omelete could include more item selection. They are lack of cheese selection, but they have nice smoked salmon and king crab; peel and ea shrimp. The smoked trout was just ok. The cooked seafood pasta and whole cooked salmon was a nice selection. Desserts were very nice touch with carrot cake, chocolate tart, lemon tart, raspberry tart, chocolate cake, baba rum, zupa mixed berry, canoli (pistashio with chocolate), pecan tart, tiramisu and cookies that can feed a sweet tooth - not very gourmet thou. They offer bunch of all sorts of cold salad. The patio seating was very nice. The orange juice and champion was very nice. more