I love Henley Beach in the summer. It's a an effort to get to from where I'm living but the beach is wonderful. So after gazing out over the sea and then dancing at a wine bar in the afternoon with friends I decided to grab a dinner from Cucina Nuova before heading home. It's not on the waterfront, rather on Henley Beach Road but a quick and easy walk.
Like many Italian style restaurant/cafes in Adelaide the menu is familiar sounding. Cucina Nuovo has familiar dishes, reasonable prices, and lovely staff. The food is nothing revolutionary but it's yummy and service is lovely. My waitress was a real gem.
The only real bone I have to pick (the lack of originality is only a minor point) is that one of the menu items was listed as gluten free, as a coeliac I ordered the meal but asked my lovely hostess to specify to the chef that I really needed everything to be GF.
I was then told that one of the sides which comes on the plate with this main (the pollo royale) actually contained wheat. It was an easy enough swap to rice and I was so glad they picked up on it but I don't ever recommend that an institution advertises a GF meal that actually isn't gluten-free. It's a warning to always double check for the consumer as well.
After that issue the meal was prepared and I haven't been sick at all so they were very careful.
The chicken was tasty and free-range but I would loved a teensy-little bit more moisture, the sauce was very nice (cream-based), the side salad fresh. I seasoned my meal with chilli oil which was lovely and it was nice to be able to add my own, personal level of heat to the dish.
I can imagine coming to the beach with a bunch of friends, throwing on a cute summer dress after swimming, and settling down to some (gluten free!) pizzas and white wine. read more