Cucciolo Osteria Durham

A new gem in the Durham area. The food tastes very good and the price, compared to price of everything these days, is very reasonable. Both entrees were $21. Definitely give it a try if you're feeling italian or take a date there. I'd definitely visit again!

Delicious! Italian deliciousness! We had dinner and drinks at the bar. Good service, good food. Ambiance but could be a little more. Very noisy, hollow sounding, my only Complaint. (Industrial, brick. Fits with the area a whole, but doesn’t make for cozy feel) We felt Portions NOT shareable. We shared and I only got 2 bites of main dish. Would order my own next time. Had a beet salad-delish, and Tajarin was excellent! BREAD IS DELICIOUS-but have to ask for it. Not served otherwise. In a walkable area from our hotel. Felt safe at 9-10:00. Would go back again. Delicious!!

Very very loud place Very narrow Sat in high tops mostly. The food was ok and a lot of it was too creamy and missing acid or an element to break it up Kinda struggled to hear each other Waiters were kind We were told the truffle pasta would taste like truffle and olives, the olives were not prominent as an fyi The aracini missed acid The beef that everyone raves about has too much mayo, it's all you taste Overall felt like a lot of fat missing acid Also we left hungry and didn't want to eat here anymore

One of my favorite meals in Durham! If you’re dairy free ask for their dairy free pesto! Cocktails are also delish!

Took my vegetarian partner to dinner for his birthday, great food selection and ambience. Ordered vodka pasta and eggplant parmigiana. Both were delicious but definitely would go back for the vodka pasta. They have a complimentary panna cotta for dessert which was sooooo good!

Cucciolo Osteria is one of Durham's culinary gems that never disappoints. The dishes are always amazing, bursting with flavor and creativity. The restaurant's downtown location near the train tracks adds a nostalgic charm that I absolutely love. The space is cozy and intimate, and they are always busy, so reservations are a must. If you're in Durham, this is a restaurant you simply have to check out!

A Downtown Durham neighborhood little gem of a restaurant to not pass without indulging in the experience, at least once. Cucciolos is Casual-Chic Industrial vibe that meets modern Italian-inspired food + beverage. The menu is filled with shared small + large plates, pastas, and sides to tag along to any dish. There are thoughtfully crafted cocktails, and a robust curated wine list. Let’s talk interior, high-ceilings, ambiance is cozy, yet offers upscale setting. The back room offers a private dining room for dinner parties. The team: Carl, Maggie, and Ian we know best, but the entire team gets recognized for always being attentive, personable, and assisting in providing impeccable service experience.

Overall a pretty good experience. 4/5 All of the food I had was good, though I am not sure it's as good as the price would suggest. Food overall, 4.5/5. Food, for the price? 3/5. I'll give it 4/5 for this review. The service was great. We had two waiters and our water was refreshed regularly without being intrusive which is great. 5/5 My main problem here is it's excruciatingly loud. By the end of the evening I had a growing headache because it was hot and LOUD even when there was only a single other table left around 9:30. The concrete/brick building is tall, long, and narrow so it turns into an echo chamber. When we arrived at around 8:10 for our reservation, the volume in the building was *thunderous* and we couldn't hear each other despite sitting next to each other. I really think the dining room would benefit from acoustic tiles, tapestries, or even canvas paintings along the upper walls. 2/5 for atmosphere.

Came for dinner on a Tuesday night with a friend, we were very pleased with our meal! We each got drinks and shared 3 appetizers - I would say the bruschette was one of the best I've had. So flavorful and fresh! I also really liked the mushroom appetizer. I ordered the tagliatelle bolognese for my entree and it was great, I thought portion was perfect. A little bit on the salty side but not egregious. I saved room for dessert and got the bread pudding - highly recommend! Overall a great place for a date night, girls night, or even group dinner (I noticed they have a larger table in the back). One note about parking - I paid $7.50 for two hours of parking, the hostess mentioned they're working with the parking company to get something sorted out so that patrons can get their parking validated. Make sure you park in spots marked for West Village!

REALLY enjoyed this Italian restaurant! Loved that I could make a reservation directly at the bar (often times the entire restaurant is booked because there is very limited seating inside; combination of bar and table seats). For appetizers we tried the walnut pesto arancini (with chili aioli) and the burrata and hazelnut bruschetta. I thought both apps were 10/10. Unique flavor profiles that I haven't seen before, but totally worked together! The tajaran is their only homemade pasta- it's similar to a fine angel hair noodle! I tried my spouse's white ragu tajaran (beef and pork ragu), which was pretty tasty, but the sauce was a little too rich for me! For my main dish I ordered the spicy vodka tomato cream rigatoni (with ricotta)- pretty "basic" dish, but was executed perfectly. Pasta was al dente, sauce was thick and creamy; I would say it was a LITTLE spicy for my taste buds! Would love to return and try the linguine all carbonara or the truffle tajaran! No complaints at all, service was great, dishes were tasty; I just would've loved more of the pastas to be made in-house!

We ordered the rustic Tuscan pate and burrata and hazelnut to start and the tajarin aragosta and the truffle tajarin for our entree. The food was good, but definitely not my favorite. The pate in my opinion was a little too grainy. I liked the sauces of both the pastas as well but I do think they would pair better with a thicker noodle shape. The truffle tajarin also definitely did not look like what I expected it to look. I think maybe they could add a small colored garnish or something to make it look a bit more appealing. The host was also very aloof, but our server was amazing and checked up on us often. Lots of parking in the front.

Our first time and we were mostly charmed by this restaurant. The food was delicious; we had the special fig and prosciutto bruschetta, meatball, and carbonara pasta. All excellent. We sat at the bar and our bartender was friendly and attentive. The main detraction was the unfriendly hostess who was unpleasant when we came in and then said nothing to us as we left. Need to find someone who knows how to leave a better impression.

My favorite fresh pasta restaurant in Durham! We always start with the bruschetta for appetizers and this tomato with the homemade ricotta was a favorite. The beet salad was flavorful and refreshing. And a new dish to me, the creamed mushrooms was outstanding and definitely worth trying. Their vodka rigatoni is one of my favorites, light and creamy but full of flavor. Tried the eggplant for the first time which was also delicious, not a crumb left on our plates. It's beautiful space for small groups, very intimate and cozy. And the service is always phenomenal. We love bringing our out of town visitors here.

Overall a nice Italian place in Durham! The service was excellent, but my fiance did feel that his pasta was very salty. I liked my dish, but definitely didn't feel like it was as flavorful as I was expecting it to be. I think if I went back I would probably order differently as the appetizer meatball was delicious, so I wonder if other main courses would be better

Yaaaaaaaas! This place is EXCELLENT! This West Village spot is tucked into one of the Walker Warehouse buildings, now gentrified into mixed use. The restaurant is long and slender, bar to the left, tables to the right, front and back. High ceilings, exposed ductwork and brick. A modern industrial vibe. Service from Carl, doubling as bartender, was outstanding. He orchestrated the platoon of service masterfully and kept the meal moving at the perfect pace. Thank you! Arancini was great. Crispy outside, moist and flavorful inside. With an excellent dipping sauce. Tried the tajarin arragosta - seared shrimp over tajarin (similar to tagliatelle, but made with more egg yolks to give it a unique consistency and flavor), tossed in lobster tomato cream sauce. WOW was this good! Shrimp with a nice crunch to each bite - not rubbery of mushy. Pasta perfectly al dente. A wonderful medley of flavors and textures, each complementing one another. We were treated to a (complimentary) Panna Cotta to honor a birthday. A very nice unexpected (and delicious) treat. Equally delicious was tiramisu - a huge square of creamy, fresh heaven. The tab was $218 for 5 people including wine. I highly recommend Cucciolo Osteria for the quality of the service, food and atmosphere. Go!

I don't get it. You have to pay for parking riding around for a space The most unfriendly hostess tells us we need to sit at the bar, and after we complain enough, she finds a table by the kitchen for us, even though we have reservation Then after ordering a bottle of wine the waiter up charges us almost $20 for the bottle for a basic adequate wine. Place our order and we're missing the pasta. After the waiter tells us it was delivered to a different table and never came out. Then we get an alert that our parking space is due. I don't get why anybody would come back here for dinner with the ambience pour wine service , messing up the order and a hefty check If this is Durham's best I just don't get it all around not a pleasant experience

We had a lovely dinner at Cucciola Osteria. We were celebrating a birthday and really enjoyed the ambience, service and food. We had an appetizer (basically a giant meatball) and it was delish. We both had pasta dishes, mine with shrimp, and his with a beef and pork white ragu. The pasta is made fresh...and that makes a difference. Additionally, the wines we selected were lovely and the server sent us a panna cotta for the birthday boy! I highly recommend this restaurant for a lovely meal, especially if you are celebrating a special occasion.

This place is a beautiful date night restaurant in Durham. Definitely make reservations because it is a pretty small restaurant with a limited number of tables so if you don't have reservations you may be at the bar. Reservations also require a card to hold. It is dimly lit and in a great area that you can walk around and hit some bars or dessert spots after. Both the hostess and our server were nice and inviting too. The food is fairly priced, however the portions are small. We got the white ragu tajarin and truffle tajarin pasta. The flavors in both sauces were incredible. 10/10 for both sauces! I just really think the spaghetti noodles it was served in didn't do the pasta justice. The sauce wasn't sticking to the noodles like it should've and this kind of flavor profile needed thicker noodles like pappardelle and it would've been a perfect dish. We also got some drinks and they were great, especially the espresso martini. The menu is small so we only got pasta because we didn't agree on anything else and we ended up still being hungry afterwards.

Wonderful ambiance. Limited seating, so it's important to make a reservation. We loved much of the food. The beat salad, bruchettas and tiramisu were great. The pasta dishes were tasty but too salty. Excellent, friendly service.

The entire selection was exquisite. From appetizers to desserts it was truly fantastic. I highly recommend the Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Rigatoni. Our appetizer was the Burratta and Hazelnut. It was AMAZING! It took me on a sweet and salty adventure. Our server was extremely friendly and very attentive. The inside was an industrial chic.

Went here on a Sunday for dinner without a reservation. We were able to get 2 seats at the bar. Our waiter came over and was very attentive. Ordered the ravioli appetizer special and it was very good. The reviews all said the spicy vodka rigatoni was awesome and they were correct. Loved it. Cute decor and fairly upscale ambiance. Would recommend.

Delicious food, arincini balls, ravioli, eggplant parm, pasta for the baby all excellent. The clams were delicious, pasta could have been more flavorful, the pasta for the baby was amazing. Our waiter was so accommodating and had a grandkid too so was super friendly. The ambiance was warm inviting and you could see the chefs Working in the back. I highly recommend this restaurant.

I give Cucciolo Osteria four stars (good). My wife and I had high expectations of this place given everything we'd heard. While the food and drink were good to great, service could've been better (this was our main gripe) and the atmosphere wasn't as nice as we'd hoped. However, I still think this is a solid restaurant for the food alone. It's one of the better spots we've been to in Chapel Hill and Durham for Italian food. That's all you need to know. Keep reading if you want the details. I'll get our criticisms out of the way first. The main thing was we felt rushed. We had barely made a dent in our appetizers when our server came over and asked if it was OK to bring our pasta course out. After looking at our table, it was obvious what our answer was. Also, there was no room to fit the pasta on our table anyway. While we were still working on our apps, our server again came over again and asked when he could tell the kitchen to start the pastas. We felt rushed and pressured. Did they have to turn our table that quickly? My wife and I were hoping to have a nice, enjoyable night out. This isn't a cheap place. Regardless of price, at most sit-down restaurants, very rarely have we felt rushed like we did here. Our server was friendly and attentive, but I think this is a detail that the staff can be better trained on. Next regarding the service, while transporting our drinks to our table, the lime on the rim of my wife's cocktail fell onto the floor. The server went ahead and served the cocktail to our table without the lime. He returned with a lime wedge in a bowl. This was disappointing because the fun of ordering cocktails, especially in this price range ($15-20), when going out is the presentation. It's little things like this that set the great restaurants apart from the good ones. In this situation, I'd expect a server to go back to the bar and have the drink fixed/re-done -- it seems like an easy fix. Finally regarding service, I originally made our reservation for two people. The day before our reservation, I called the restaurant and asked if they had room to expand to four. They did. Before I hung up, I made clear with the hostess to *not* change the reservation to four until after I confirmed with our friends. We understood each other before we hung up. Later that night, I got an email saying our reservation had been changed to four people which was exactly what I was trying to prevent. A miscommunication happened somewhere. Ultimately, not a big deal, just a little annoying. As far as the atmosphere went, the space itself was fine. Modern rustic. In other aspects, we were expecting something a bit more on the nicer side. We know Durham isn't known for having "fancy" fancy places, but some people rolled in dressed like they were headed to McDonald's. It was a strange mix of elevated and casual. And the music was weird too. For example, songs included YMCA and Escape (The Pina Colada Song) and artists included ABBA and Barry White. Not things you really hear at a nicer Italian restaurant or maybe I'm the one that's confused and this is supposed to be a casual joint. Here's what we had: Cocktails * Barrel Head Smoked Old Fashioned ($20.00) - smoked rosemary on Buffalo Trace barrel head, Buffalo Trace, toasted almond bitters * Jalisco Grapefruit Sunset ($16.00) - 21SEEDS Grapefruit Hibiscus tequila, marg mix, Pamplemousse liqueur, grapefruit juice Cicchetti * Rustic Tuscan Pate ($11.50) - fresh sage, baguette Antipasti * Creamed Mushrooms ($15.50) - sauteed cremini, shiitake, oyster mushrooms, cognac, Reggiano, multigrain toast * Burrata ($15.50) - cherry tomatoes, lemon/white wine vinegar, pesto, walnuts, olive oil * Filet Mignon Beef Carpaccio ($25.00) - with aioli and truffle paste Primi * Lemon Tagliatelle ($19.50) - garlic, Reggiano, lemon juice, lemon zest, chili flakes, arugula * Truffle Tajarin ($23.00) - fresh black truffles, truffled paste, Reggiano Dessert * Tiramisu ($11.50) In the Triangle, the smoked old fashioned I had at The Waiting Room was better, the pate we had at Bluebird was better, and the burrata we had at Pizzeria Toro was better. In all of these instances, the flavors were more complex at the other places. Cucciolo's versions weren't bad by any means, however. The pastas were excellent. They had outstanding texture and flavor and the sauces had a lot of depth to them. The beef carpaccio was very good. We both really liked the tiramisu -- creamy, light, and a good balance of flavors. Reservations are recommended. Book using OpenTable. Interesting fact: Cucciolo's original location opened in Seoul, South Korea in 2015. This second location opened in Durham in July 2018. Free parking is located on-site. If it's full, I suggest parking in "Lot 32" at 111 W Chapel Hill St. You do have to pay for parking there Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm. Otherwise, free.

If you want a delicious Italian meal, you found your restaurant! The server was knowledgeable on drinks, let me try a couple of red wines before I settled on a bottle of Cabernet. I'm gf and ordered the gf pasta and vodka sauce, wow it was delicious! Was daughter who sampled not one but several bites said she would never have known it was gf. She had the truffle pasta which she loved. We ended with tiramisu and I had an amazing scoop of pistachio gelato.

I was in town for a short work trip and sat at the bar for dinner. It was so good! Everything we ordered was GF - many options and the pasta was so good! I started with the French martini which I loved. For apps we got the green salad, beet salad and carpaccio - all very good. We each got a GF pasta - they have two types a spaghetti and penne. Loved both! Especially the spicy rigatoni. Highly recommend this place!

We had a nice dinner with good service at this Italian restaurant in downtown Durham. We tried the following dishes: pumpkin arancini, raviolo and linguine alla carbonara, chocolate torte, and tiramisu. The food was good but the arancini did not have a pumpkin flavor to it. For the pasta, we wished there were more vegetarian options. We enjoyed the chocolate torte over the tiramisu a little more for dessert. The staff were kind and brought out the cake with a candle as it was for a birthday celebration. The inside is great. It does have limited seating so definitely make a reservation. If you at or near the bar, you also get to participate in some trivia with your party while you wait for you food.

My finance and I went for Valentine's Day where they had a 4 course meal set at ~$85 a head. She had previously been here and enjoyed her experience which prompted her to make a Valentine's Day reservation. Food: overall their Valentine's Day menu options were lackluster (especially in comparison to their traditional menu). Unfortunately, the food options we selected were also disappointing from a frasee perspective as well. For our appetizer we had gotten the meat ball and ricotta w/ honey glaze. Both were fine but nothing special (certainly not worth the price). We then had the spicy rigatoni which average and the lobster ravioli which was very disappointing. The portion was small, the noodles were poorly cooked, and the lobster flavor was masked by a very strong lemon flavor. We then had the pork chop which was horribly undercooked w/ meh flavor and the halibut which was on the other end of the spectrum and too dry. The final items we received were the raspberry sorbet (which was great) and a coconut sorbet which was terrible texturally. Service: our waiter was great, he was attentive and kind. No complaints. Ambiance: a small restaurant with limited seating. Clean, not too noisy.

Can't stand places that have reservations at the bar. Absolutely ridiculous. Goodbye! I'll go elsewhere.

It was decent. There was nothing spectacular about it, nor anything bad. But, also not "good" enough to recommend to someone. Service was very drawn out. Our reservation was at 5pm (opening time) on a Saturday but we could have spent an hour less there. The timing between drinks, appetizers, meal was very spaced out. It's a very small location, nothing spectacular to report with the ambiance either.

what a great meal :') the food was delicious, a little pricy for the portion size but still not too bad. definitely a good date night spot we got the eggplant parmesan, the special tajarin, and the bruschetta!! honestly each of them was a well balanced combination of flavors but the bruschetta could have had a little salty element. would strongly recommend!!

We chose those spot to celebrate a birthday and the food, vibes and service were all fantastic. I finished my white ragu pasta so fast that I was tempted to order a second plate. The rigatoni that I tried from my friend was also very delicious. Perfectly al dente. Dishes were slightly on the saltier side but nonetheless still so good. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed the strawberry habanero drink, it was definitely my favorite drink of the night. Since it was a friend's birthday, our server made her a special peppermint mocha cocktail (on the house) which was also really tasty. The staff were wonderful. Overall, it was a great time with no complaints--I would definitely go again.

Busy Saturday night. Sat at bar. Service was good but the food quality was poor. House salad was 15.00 . It was just lettuce greens with a few arugula and lacked much dressing. Linguini carbonara was overcooked and mushy19.50 Catch of day was Chilean bass at 46.00. The fish was good and was a generous portion but it was swimming in oil as well as the veracruz veggies swimming in oil. Being busy on a Saturday night was not an excuse for such poor execution. We wont be back

I went back and forth on writing this review for some time as I don't like giving poor reviews. However, I slept on it for a week and think that this rating is deserved. My husband and I had been excited to try Cucciolo Osteria as one of our friends said it was her favorite restaurant. We finally made it there recently, and sadly it didn't live up to the hype. We checked in for our reservation on the dot and were met by a very unenthusiastic hostess (she also didn't even glance at us when we left after the meal and said goodbye). The ambiance and decor were nice--best described as modern industrial with a lot of exposed brick and pipes. Our server was mediocre. She was friendly enough, but it took over 15 minutes for her to come by for us to even order. Several times during our meal, we were in need of additional water but did not have anyone come by to ask for it. The service wasn't the reason for the 3 stars, but it was a little frustrating. Our meal started on a high note with the appetizers but fell flat on the entrees. I had a fun strawberry jalapeño soda, and we started with the polpette and tomato basil bruschetta. Both apps were delicious and must-orders. If the meal had continued in this manner, this would have been a glowing review. Unfortunately, the pastas were not worth it at all. Interesting because these were our server's favorite two and some of the most commonly ordered ones. My husband's tajarin arrogosta (shrimp in lobster cream sauce) was the most disappointing. There were 3 mediocre-tasting shrimp, the sauce not only did not taste of lobster but rather had a one-note flavor of salt, and oddly enough the amount of pasta was substantially less than mine. My white ragu tajarin was slightly better (and slightly bigger), but still had underwhelming flavor that was mostly just of salt. The pasta itself was fine and cooked al dente but very well could have come out of a box (contrast this with Vici's pasta, which is outstanding). We decided on our way out of the restaurant that we won't be back. All 3 stars given are earned for the appetizers that were delicious, but the entrees and service are not worth the time or money.

My new favorite date night/special occasion spot in Durham! The customer service was outstanding from start to finish. The manager Betsy was an absolute delight and was our server for the night. With 5 years of experience at the restaurant she provided incredible recommendations. She allowed us to taste test several wines before selecting one and even comped my birthday dessert. The decor is beautiful with lots of exposed brick and strategic lighting and a candle on every table to make for a really romantic atmosphere. - Wine: Antolini Corvina (red) - started with a glass but ended up buying the bottle and taking the rest home because we loved it so much - Antipasti: Creamed mushrooms - amazing - Primi: White Ragu tajarin - fresh pasta made in-house (similar to angel hair) with a decadent sauce / spicy vodka rigatoni - still having dreams about this dish! It was the perfect serving size to fill me up without leaving me feeling gross - Desserts: the expresso martini was so fresh and light. We tried the bread pudding dessert special for the night. Warm cinnamon brioche bread topped with vanilla gelato and caramel (INCREDIBLE). The chocolate torte was delicious with the orange slices and salt creating perfect flavor combinations.

Great Italian spot. The bruschetta appetizer is a must have. My wife and I split the mushroom ravioli and the pasta bolognese. We could not decide which one was better. Enjoyed a nice glass of Chianti S well. If u are looking for a good Italian pasta meal in Durham NC, u will not go wrong here

Reservations for 4 on a Thursday night to celebrate a daughter's birthday. She wanted some good pasta and I have to say that Cucciola Osteria delivered some delicious perfectly cooked pasta. I wish they served a bigger portion of it, but our server did warn us of its size! We started with drinks which is one of only two pics I managed to take. I was too busy eating! The carpaccio was divine. The barrata and roasted hazelnut with truffle honey is a must try. I'm not a huge hazelnut fan, but I was quite surprised by the balance of the flavors. And if you love mushrooms, don't pass up the creamed mushrooms. Of course I couldn't say no to the beet salad. I never say no to beet salad! One of us ordered the braised beef shank, which was good, but I think that may have been our only mistake. We should have just stuck with pasta. I think my favorite was the spicy vodka rigatoni. We also ordered the linguini alla vongole and the fresh catch of the day. The sommelier was not working that night, but the manager or assistant manager, can't remember which, helped us select a bottle of wine that disappeared way too quickly! Then we got a bunch of desserts to share on top of what they brought for her birthday I did get a pic of that! The restaurant was quaint with dim lighting. It definitely filled up as the evening progressed and the noise level did rise, but not so much that we couldn't carry a conversation. Service was attentive, but not overbearing. I'd definitely return to try some of their other pasta dishes! May try a weekend night to see if things are different...

The restaurant is on the smallish side. My table was smallish and the seat not overly comfortable. The lighting was a little dim and the noise about average. Although i was impressed that there were a few specials, I thought the menu was a little thin and it was hard for me to find something I was excited to order. I tried the bolognese (my son ordered it) and I thought it was delicious with tender noodles well appointed with delicious sauce that had more than sufficient meat. It was fantastic. The portion was just right-- a medium bowl. I got the chicken and it tasted delicious too. It had a nice coating and was well spiced. A little on the small size but a pleasant meal just the same. Overall, i found this restaurant to be average.

I've said this many times but I'll say it again (in case Yelp is listening), I wish Yelp would allow for half stars. I give it 3.5 stars because sometimes, my experience here is a 4 star experience and sometimes it's a 3. 4 stars because the food is usually very good. 3 stars because it's inconsistent. Sometimes the meat ragu and truffle mushroom pastas are amazing, and sometimes they're too salty. 4 stars because the bruschetta is typically fresh, flavorful, yum. The ambience is great. Dimly lit, classy, great for date night. 3 stars because it's pricey and portions are small given the cost. I prefer Goccialina but put this place on par with Mothers and Sons so would still recommend!

This was our second time here and it was just as amazing as the first time. This might be one of our faves in Durham! Our server was amazing and had great wine recommendations. She was attentive and the service was good for dinner time. We got the burrata & hazelnut with truffle honey bruschette (not pictured) to start and it was absolutely delicious! Only wish they had more than 2 pieces and that the bread pieces were bigger for the price. Also, i wished that they had complimentary bread like most other italian restaurants. We were disappointed that they didn't have any. Otherwise, All of our pastas were delicious. We got panna cotta and a chocolate torte for dessert. The torte, however, was extremely salty and had chunks of salt on top. Overall, would still highly recommend this spot! The ambiance is great and relaxing. Would recommend making a reservation. Definitely a great spot for a nice dinner or date night. There is a parking lot, however it was full when we came around dinner but thankfully there was free 2 hr street parking after 7pm

An Uber driver told my boyfriend and I about this place and I owe her a huge thank you! The best date night we have had out in Durham. For appetizers we had the mushroom bruschetta. Every single thing we ordered was spectacular. Our waiter was an absolute gem and he gets major points for helping me pick this entree that was the best thing I've eaten in a restaurant for years white ragu tajarin The portions were perfect! Oh yeah and that tiramisu was great. The ladyfingers had been well soaked in espresso and the flavor was on point!

Food: Absolutely Amazing!! Service: Excellent! Ambiance: Warm & Inviting! This Italian restaurant by far is one of the finest I have ever eaten at! Looking forward to our next visit!!

Within walking distance from our hotel, we found this highly rated Italian restaurant. Yelpers never disappoint! We did not have a reservation and felt lucky to get seated immediately. Our server was quite genuine and attentive. I had my classic Manhattan, up with rye which came out right away. We shared a Burrata as an appetizer, with the pesto on the side due to a garlic allergy. It was delicious as expected. My wife thoroughly enjoying the Butter Chicken with dressed arugula. She was in the mood for pasta so added a side of butter pasta with parmigiana (not on the menu). It was excellent and made for plenty of leftovers for the both of us at the hotel. I had the Bolognese which was rich and complex, fantastic recipe with house made pasta. Well done, we'll be back!

Came here with a large group for our friends birthday. My favorite was the truffle tarajin and carbonara. What stood out was the fact that it was rich and flavorful without being too heavy or salty. This place is super cute for a date or celebration & if any friends/family was visiting me this would be a great option as a place to bring them.

Don't sleep on this hidden gem of a restaurant. Wish I could give this more than 5 stars. All of the food was beyond delicious. The butter chicken literally melted in your mouth and the pasta was just as good, if not better, than what you'd get in little Italy in NYC. Bonus is that it's a nut-free restaurant so it's great for people with food allergies. Our server Ian was attentive and so thoughtful. Highly recommend visiting this restaurant if you're in the area.

Sometimes hard to get a reservation so definitely plan ahead! The service, ambiance, and food were great. Love the bruschetta options and can't go wrong with their truffle pasta!

Dishes were fresh and delicious. Small portions for the price but all was handmade, fresh quality.

This place is outstanding from the service, to the atmosphere, and the food. Inside has a rustic, industrial feel. The lighting is dark with candles at the table. They have a long bar with ample seating at it. The service was great. They are attentive but not hovering. Now the food and drinks. The drinks are delicious. I got a dirty martini and it was well made. My only feedback would be to have Gorgonzola stuffed olives. We got the carpaccio and burratta for the appetizer. Both were so delicious. Then, we shared pasta dishes for the main course- family style. We shared the spicy vodka rigatoni, the carbonara, lemon tagliatelle, truffle tajarin, white ragú tajarin. I can't say enough how well made every pasta dish was. The pasta was cooked Al dente and was just perfect. I will definitely be going back.

My boyfriend and I had a really bad experience here last night. We've been here before and usually we love Cucciolo, and it was one of our favorite restaurants in Durham. But yesterday was really bad and has made us question when/if we will go back. So we had reservations at 5:45 and were sat at our table. The host was nice, but as soon as we were sat, the vibes from our server were off. When she walked up to our table, there was no smile, no friendly greeting, just a "I'm your server, can I start you off with tap or bottled water" and immediately walked away. Now, my boyfriend and I have both worked in the service industry, so I like to give servers some grace. I didn't say anything about it at first and just brushed it off, thinking that maybe she just had an RBF and I was reading too much into it. It wasn't until halfway into our meal, after we had received our appetizers, that my boyfriend mentioned that he didn't like our server and I agreed. Outside of just generally being cold, she was pretty inattentive. It took a minute for us to get our starting drinks (not cocktails, just had to be poured) and there were points when we needed something and hadn't seen our server in 20 minutes. I can't really be sure of this, but we suspect that we were treated this way partially because of how we looked. Admittedly, we were pretty underdressed for this restaurant. We were both wearing jeans and my boyfriend had a tshirt on. However, we didn't look sloppy--we looked presentable. Our suspicions were confirmed, in our eyes, when we saw other tables being served by the same woman and her tone and demeanor were completely different. It wasn't until my boyfriend and I had racked up a bill (over $200) that we both noticed that she seemed to treat us a little better. I know this is a nicer restaurant, but if there's no dress code, you can't treat some people better than others based off appearances. The rest of the meal didn't get much better. After we finished our appetizers, our entrees came out on the colder side of lukewarm, and we just knew that they had been sitting in the window for a minute. We had put all of our food in at the beginning of the meal because we trusted our server to course our meal based on our eating speed, and we know that nicer restaurants appreciate knowing early what all we'll order. But it seemed that they didn't account for how long it would take us to finish our three appetizers. Maybe if the server had been around or checking on us, she would have been able to better gauge our meal progression. Anyways, the pasta that I had ordered had a piece of plastic in it. When we told our server, she didn't even apologize which I feel like is standard in the industry. She thanked us for letting her know and took it to her manager. The manager did come over and was very nice. He apologized and explained what happened which we appreciated. He comped it off our bill and remade it for us. However, at that point, we didn't feel very welcome and just took the rest of our food to go. The worst part is that because we were two of the only people of color in the restaurant, we tipped 20% for what we felt was poor service. We didn't want to confirm whatever our server thought of us when we walked in and allow them to perpetuate a narrative of poc being bad customers. We didn't make a scene and handled everything as gracefully as possible. But I feel like what happened wasn't ok which is why I've written this review.

I've tried to snag a reservation at Cucciolo several times now, and they're always fully booked. Tonight I finally found out why. I took my family out to dinner here and was delighted with every course: appetizer, entre, and dessert. The three of us split two appetizers to start off. The house salad was light, with a delicious dressing and a slight crunch given by the pumpkin seeds. The bruschetta was fairly standard but still good. For the main course, I had the spicy vodka tomato cream rigatoni. It had a perfect level of heat and the dollops of whipped ricotta really added to the dish texturally. The pasta was cooked a bit more firmly than I was used to, but not in an unpleasant way. The tomatoes and basil were also a nice touch. Finally, dessert. The tiramisu was absolutely divine- possibly the best I've ever had! Decadent, rich, but without being heavy. I grabbed a bite of pana cotta as well and it was delicious. Overall, though portions were fairly small, my dad, sister and I had a fantastic experience tonight. If you're in Durham, you have to stop by!

If we could give C.O. a 6 STAR RATING, we would!!! Of the 10 or so Italian places we have tried in the triangle area, this is THE BEST PLACE. We started the dinner with the Carpaccio which was absolutely delectable. So flavorful, so tender, so delicious especially when paired with the aioli and truffle. We ordered three pasta dishes, each of which was nearly perfection. We couldn't believe how amazing everything tasted. The flavors all worked so well together, the food was cooked perfect, and we would not change a thing. BEST PLACE IN TOWN.

They have the best carbonara in NC (and is the second best I've ever had). And the truffle tajarin is the best truffle flavored pasta I've ever had. The condition of the noodle is perfect. I like the pasta to be al dente. I don't like them soggy or too soft. Cucciolo Osteria cook them perfectly!! The sauce of pasta is also very nice. They are rich and tasty, but never makes me feel too heavy or too salty or too much oil. The appetizers are also extraordinary. Everything is so delicious, which makes it so hard to choose among all good choices lol. My favorite ones are creamed mushrooms, burrata & hazelnut bruschetta, and roasted beets salad. In my latest visit, I tried Rustic Tuscan Pate, which is also surprisingly delicious! Highly recommended.

Stopped in for early dinner; ambiance was very nice- young professional with big wrap around bar as the centerpiece. Ordered aranchini and burrrata bruschetta as apps! They were good but nothing exceptional!followed with two pasta dishes, diavolo and the truffle angel hair! Truffle pasta was wonderfully rich but with both meals we should have asked for protein! There is something incomplete about the primi dishes I can't place or describe! Pasta dishes were very reasonable prices; felt the old fashioned and the selected Chardonnay were tolerable!

Read some Yelp reviews and decided to give it a try over our usual, Pizzeria Toro. The service was incredibly slow and disinterested. The dishes came and they were mediocre at best. Sent back one dish and the replacement pasta was just as bad. Maybe it was an off night but no reason to go back. Poor prep and weak flavors - except the mushrooms, which were the only saving grace.

Absolutely loved this place, and the atmosphere! Service was great, and we were seated pretty quickly. I loved the food from here, very flavorful. The lasagna was very tasty and probably the best lasagna I have ever had. I do want to say the portion size was small or maybe I eat a lot in general. Would love to come back again. One of my fav Italian restaurants here

The ambience, interior design and staff are super amazing!! Definitely have to book in advance to get a dinner reservation. Got a cab, bruchette (grape), burrata, white tajarin and truffle tajarin. My favorite was the bruchette. Second time getting it, and won't be my last! Burrata was great, but nothing special. Personally, I didn't really enjoy the tajarin. I felt like the texture was too strong, but my personal preference, and the pasta paired well with the cab.

I'm not sure if we ordered the right dishes but I was very disappointed. The problem was that the truffle overpowered everything! We started with the filet mignon Carpacio which was overall very delicious- tender meat flavored well with butter and truffle center. By the time our main entree arrived, the pasta flavor was too overpowering. I felt like I needed a gallon of water to dilute the taste after a few bites. I really longed for some bread or other carb to soak up the sauce and salty flavor, but unfortunately, it didn't come with any. The panna cotta here came with peaches and it was a very nice end to a very salty meal.

The food: I'm gf. They're are many options for allergen prone folks. Ordered the linguine with clams, gf spaghetti. So salty it was barely edible. Strong garlic but not overly so. Pastas was firm and chewy. Would not go back. My son loved the lamb shanks. And butter chicken was also good. Neither gf option. Service: was fine. All slow even though we were the first ones there. Our server was really nice, efficient. My meal was 10 minutes after everyone else's. Ambiance: l little loud. We were seated by the door in February, so many cold breezes. Not kid friendly. Has only pasta, buttered or w cheese. My kid didn't eat it.