A couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I had a double date with one of my best friends Liezel and her boyfriend. I’ve been wanting to check out Cucina Urbana after finding out that it used to be Laurel. My boyfriend and I went to Laurel on our very first Valentine’s celebration (hmm.. it may have also been our only Valentine’s celebration! Haha) Anyway, no longer is it this high-class, quiet French restaurant. Still under the same restaurant group, it is now a “California inspired Italian Kitchen and Wine Shop” where the menu items are all under $20. I love the look and feel of the restaurant. There’s the bar area, maining dining, and wine shop toward the back.

A beautifully designed work station separates the bar area from the main dining area

More importantly, the food was delicious! We started with a vasi of ceci bean hummus and piquillo jam with toast as our appetizer. I love hummus so I definitely loved this! I had the Braised Black Cod with a side of “Giant Meatball” (I like meatballs!), my boyfriend Justin had Roasted ‘Jidori’ Chicken, Liezel had huge Lasagna Al Forno, and her boyfriend Ranelle had the Grilled ‘Duroc’ Porkchop. I tried everyone’s entrees and they were all so good! For dessert, Liezel and Ranelle ordered the bread pudding. I forgot exactly what kind it was. I resisted the temptation of trying it, especially after Liezel said it could very be her #1 bread pudding! We both really love bread pudding so to hear her say that means it was irresistably mouth-watering delicious!

Bar seating facing the pizza oven in the main dining area

I definitely intend on coming back to this restaurant, especially to treat myself with the bread pudding! If you do plan on going, it’s practically a must to make reservations at least one day in advanced as it is always packed!