Restaurant review: Buon appetito at Cucina Rustica
Now the nights are drawing in and we’re swapping our flip flops for coats and scarfs, we’re replacing our evenings in beer gardens for cosy restaurants. On a particularly windy evening, Cucina Rustica was the answer and mamma mia, I was in for a real treat.
Cucina Rustica, which sits on Ludgate Hill on the approach to St Paul’s Square in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, prides itself on fine Italian food in the heart of the city. The restaurant offers a wide range of starters, mains and desserts as well as drinks and side orders.
Sitting amongst beautiful architecture in Birmingham’s last remaining Georgian Square, the restaurant offered a very warm welcome and it felt like stepping into a restaurant in the middle of Rome. Candles scatter each table and the dimly lit restaurant brings a real element of roma
nce to the meal.
The staff during my time at Cucina Rustica were truly wonderful and they couldn’t do enough for me. They were friendly, pointing out what dishes they recommended and often asking if they could get me anything else. Restaurant staff can sometimes be a bit too much, but they got the boundaries just right and didn’t interrupt me during my meal at all.
Alongside my drink order, I was also brought an appetiser of bread, olives and oil which lined my hungry stomach nicely. On the menu, I opted for the Capesante for starters. This simply stunning dish consisted of gratinated king scallops, parmesan, parsley, garlic butter and shrimps.
The dish was incredible and it genuinely felt like I was sat in a dreamy restaurant by the Mediterranean Sea. The presentation however was my favourite part. The dish came in shells and looked more like a piece of art than a meal.
For my main, I chose Tagliatelle con anatra which was made up of duck, porcini mushroom, truffle oil and cream. This dish was incredibly tasty but surprisingly filling and I found that I could only eat half. Despite this, it was a beautifully put together dish and again, looked stunning.
It was clear from both starter and main that real thought was put into how the dish should look, which gave it a high-end restaurant vibe, despite the fact that the prices were incredibly reasonable. Starters ranged from £5.50 to £8.60 and mains were between £9.50 and £13.
The dessert menu included ice cream, sorbet, cheesecake and an Italian cheese board. Recommended to me was the Tiramisu, but unfortunately I was unable to taste it as I was so full from the previous dishes!
Cucina Rustica had everything an impressive Italian restaurant should have; exquisite food, wonderful staff and a romantic vibe. However, the only thing I would change about my experience at the restaurant would be the décor in the restaurant itself. The layout and the different designs and artworks just didn’t suit the restaurant and a bit of modernisation could transform the place into what it deserves.
Despite that, Cucina Rustica doesn’t get the recognition it deserves and it is thoroughly recommended.
Cucina Rustica rating: 8.5/10
