If you look at my reviews, you'll see I don't often give restaurants only one star. This place, however, earned it. When we walked in, we waited several minutes before anyone acknowledged us, even thought plenty of staff walked by. When we were finally seated, we weren't brought water or bread for an unusually long time. The bread was very tasty, and our waitress offered to bring us more. We agreed, but the bread never came. Our food arrived and was underwhelming, to say the least. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I expect a $15 plate of noodles to be good. The only prompt service we received was when the waitress promptly took our bill. I will not be going there again. read more

18 of us gathered for dinner at Cuginis last night for my nephew's 13th birthday. We took up nearly half of the restaurant and ordered every variation of pizza on the menu. Beer and wine were also flowing, as were the calamari appetizers and Ceasar salads. Once the entrées came out, we all shared how wonderful things were going there, (as far as service and quality of food), until, to my misfortune; I bit into what I thought could have been a hard piece of meat, turned out to be a piece of solid plastic. I still have a toothache from biting down on it. The manager on staff never bothered to come to my table and apologize, nor did they intend to take anything off of our tab, which is commonplace everywhere else I've ever been. Perhaps they figured the 18% gratuity fee was an immediate guarantee- so why bother asking me if I was ok, or if perhaps I wanted something else for dinner. Instead, they ignored the simple fact that our group of 18 people will not ever be coming back to their restaurant- because it was very clear that they do not know how to properly take care of their customers. Overall, I did enjoy the intimate ambiance of the restaurant. I really would have liked to see genuine customer service from the staff members. read more

This restaurant isn't that bad overall, but it's quite clear that the menu was priced far above what it reasonably could be considering the quality of the ingredients. I'd say that the prices are around 30% higher than they should be. However, as a new restaurant, I see potential if they focus more on quality cooking and trying to attain more authenticity as an Italian restaurant. First off, this was my first experience with food poisoning. PLEASE do not order the seafood pasta entries. As a longtime seafood lover, I had the Penne con Pesce ($23), which was penne pasta cooked with white wine, with scatterings of calamari, squid tentacles, scallops, clams, shrimp, and rockfish fillet (I think). Although the shrimp seemed fresh, the rest of the seafood was bland and tasted frozen. I'm 99% sure that everything but the fish and shrimp come from the same frozen seafood assortment bag that my family has tried a couple times before. Anyways, just avoid this dish. I ended up not sleeping last night and kowtowing to the porcelain throne this morning, so... just don't end up like me. Anyways, onto the meal. We started off with Acme bread (Sweet rustic dough, if I recall correctly) and olive oil. Pretty standard, but props for getting fresh Acme bread. We also ordered two appetizers. I recall the salad (Insalata Finocchio - $9) being pretty fresh, and the other (Antipasto Misto - $12) with decent selection, with the sheep's cheese more memorable than the other offerings, which seemed like cheap deli standards. Either way, we were hungry and the appetizers were satisfying. The food arrived pretty quickly. Right after we finished the appetizers we got the two special entrees (Calzone - $17 and Chicken Involtini - $26) and my seafood entree, of course. The stuffed chicken was a little overcooked and subsequently dry with a grainy texture, but the accompanying squash was pretty good. My mom could barely start the Calabrese sausage calzone, so no word on that. I'd probably eat it if not for this sh*tty nausea. I probably shouldn't have tried to write about food. It's not quite helping. tl; dr: Food is overpriced. They do some things well, but most aren't up to par to the standards set by their pricing and by other Italian places. Probably would not try again. Also, DON'T ORDER THE SEAFOOD ENTREES BECAUSE THERE IS A CHANCE THEY MESS IT UP AND YOU GET FOOD POISONING. 3/10 read more

A hidden gem in Albany. I would have to say that Cugini's is def the best Italian restaurant on Solano, that is if you are looking for authentic Italian cuisine of course. Everything about this place is great, other than the fact that it is a tad on the small side and can get crowded every night it opens. I have had pretty much everything on the menu throughout the years, and have never been disappointed. The service here is quick and friendly and the fact that the lighting here is dim gives this restaurant a great feel overall. This is a great place and anyone that enjoys great, authentic Italian food must give this place a try. read more

Yes, this is a bad Solano restaurant - who would have thunk it. Where do I begin? Let's start with the loud Kenny G muzak. This place is loud, the tables are oddly cramped, and the craptastic choice of musical ambiance is off-putting in a dental sort of way. Our server sucked. Really. The inattentiveness, the lack of interest, the pedestrian way she answered our questions - she even ignored a far table that had spilled some wine, and just went about her sloth-business while the embarrassed women were left to their own devices and paper napkins for cleanup. Now on to the food - bland and boring. Al Dente pasta with jar-tasting sauce. The meatballs were tasteless and had the consistency of Nerf toys. My wife's cannelloni was a soupy, oily mess of reddish MSG paste. Somehow the lasagna noodles were both under and over cooked - how is that possible? Well, they defied Italian Food physics and just mucked it up as a miracle of science. Anything good? The bread was nice - but I could get a nice loaf from Safeway, no big whoop. The coffee was good - but come on now. I'm reaching. Bottom Line: This is a giant sense of false hope. Avoid it. p.s. There are two unisex bathrooms. One was completely clogged, and the other one smelled like an ass-conglomerate. Uch. When my wife mentioned it, they shrugged. Lord help us all. read more

This was the worst dining experience I have had in many years. The server Angel was absolutely useless. We waited over 40 minutes for our entree to arrive and when we asked what was the delay it was there were take out orders...sitting in the restaurant I did not see a large volume of food going out the door. Angel had opportunities to salvage the evening and did nothing. I requested to speak to the manager and the "owner" came to speak with me...again no attempts at all for service recovery. We paid and left our food untouched. Do not spend your money or time here, this establishment is not worthy... read more

The pasta was great. I especially enjoy my salad. Great spot when you want to get out of the house and don't feel like making pasta at home.

Maybe it's my angst about moving back to the East Bay from SF but if I spend $40/person I expect some fairly solid food. Doesn't have to be great but it has to be good. Food was just slightly mediocre - pizza undercooked, too much cheese (and do you know how much cheese needs to be on a pizza for me to complain about it?). But really what puts it over the top was the bill - seems like a nice casual dinner place but ends up being pretty blah and incredibly over priced. If I had cugini like this I would disown them. read more

The waitress was really mean in the way she talked down to the training bus boy. The artichoke appetizer was greasy, flavorless, and gross. My partner's chicken marsala was decent, but nothing spectacular, and was almost $30. I am sorry but that is WAY too expensive for a simple dish. I also felt that way about my lasagna. Although it was good, it was $20. It should have been $13 or $14. I eat out enough to know fair prices. The waitress at the end of our meal was too busy eating her own meal to even notice we were trying to get the check for about 10 minutes. The way superiors here treat their staff is not ok with me, and made me incredibly uncomfortable. I hate to say it had something to do with race, but it seemed that way. read more

This is one of my boyfriend's and my "stand-by" restaurants, when we want to eat out but can't think of somewhere new and exciting to go. It's easy to get to, parking ain't bad, especially on a side street, and we have never had to wait for a table (although I have seen others waiting, so it clealy depends on time of arrival). The restaurant is usually pretty full, so a lot of locals hit it. I like their Ceasar salad, their spinach salad (a lot!), and a new delicious discovery is the salad with mixed greens, fennel and green olives. Yum! I love fried calamari, but theirs almost always smells fishy, so I don't order it anymore. I've even smelled it from other people's tables. I tend to order the same things over and over again, and my repeats here are the pizza-- the Quattro Formaggi, the Margherita, and the pepperoni. The pizzas can be shared but are great for one person, and have a lovely thin crust. We've had their specialty of the day pizzas, and they are routinely good, cooked in the wood burning oven. I also like their fettucini alfredo with chicken. My boyfriend branches out more than I do; he likes the pasta dishes with red sauces. We've never had room for dessert. It can be a bit pricey for a quick dinner out. Last evening we had one drink, one salad and one pizza each, and the bill (including tip) was just over $70. You can expect to get a decent meal and it's a good restaurant if you have friends in town and want to take them out without breaking the budget. read more

Service: Excellent. Your water glass will never be empty for more than a minute! The hosts and hostesses are friendly; waiters and waitresses answer questions and don't roll their eyes if you fail to correctly pronounce the item(s) you order :) Food: I had the Vegetariana Pizza (14.50) which comes with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, mushrooms, and eggplant. The tomatoes were exquisitely fresh as stated on the menu, but there was barely any eggplant on the pizza. I don't eat pizza often, and I think I remember why; after two slices my jaw felt as if it was ready to unhinge and fall off! I don't know if the crust is too thick, but it was tough to chew so I ended up using a fork and knife. For dessert I had the tiramisu which was really good! Probably the best I've ever had, and it was a generous serving of a slice/cube thing. Also, I had a cup of coffee. The cup was kind of small but the coffee was good quality. I wish it was a little more strong though. Atmosphere: The art is neat to look at! I like how the canvases are all large and relatively the same size and the bright colors that are used in the pieces. The noise level was kind of high, but I do talk quietly and am going deaf in one ear so I'm not the best person to consult on this! I'll definitely come back soon to try the pastas! read more

Ordered the manicotti and it was still cold from the fridge. There's nothing I hate more than paying for a meal I could cook better myself. :( read more

Exceptionally delicious food with big portions!! Service also great! Hard to understand the negative reviews.

We stopped by here for lunch and glad we did! The calamari was one of the best we've had, lightly seasoned and not greasy at all. We also had the Cobb Salad with chicken, Salmon Salad, Pesto Pasta and all were enjoyed very much. Great food and service! We will definitely be back again. read more

We have dined here many times through the years & food is consistently good. Saturday we came in for an early dinner. We ordered some wine, an appetizer & couple of pizzas. My husband had a Capricciosa Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, pecorino, artichoke hearts, prosciutto, garlic) & I had a Pizza that was on a Special that evening. It had tomatoes, garlic, goat cheese & portobello mushrooms. After a wonderful meal we had couple of desserts & espresso. Everything was absolutely delicious. Brook was our waitress. She is amazing. (I actually remembered her from several years ago, so she must be doing something right!) We had a lovely evening & will definitely be back. * A tip to the hostess - don't greet people with "Can I help you??" People obviously come into the restaurant to eat, not do their nails or take dancing classes. read more

I was craving pasta so we came here for our date night. We also had a gift certificate so that didn't hurt either. ;) The service was great and the hostess was very cheerful. We ordered fried calamari, crab ravioli, and cugini calzone. For the price, the food was pretty good! It's not the best pasta that I've ever had in my life (not homemade) but it was satisfying and the flavors were right. I loved the calzone though. The crust was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside and the flavors of the filling were on point. I've never had a calzone that I liked (maybe I will when I go to Italy next spring) but this one was a keeper. Portions are american sized so we had plenty for lunch the next day. read more

Why does this place not have more stars??? This is one of my favorite italian restaurants. Still working my way thru the menu though... Fettuccini Alfredo---DELICIOUS. Probably the most fattening thing on the menu, but absolutely delicious. Rich & creamy with flavor. Seared ahi tuna salad--something I CRAVE! Everything is super fresh, they give you a decent amount of tuna. And the avocado is the perfect addition to the salad. Grilled steak salad--Another perfect salad. Ahi tuna is still my favorite, but the steak salad is very savory, meat is perfectly done, and for a little extra, they'll add avocado to it :) Each salad is served with some tasty bread. I've tried the Massimo's Club, and Grilled Chicken/Avocado Club sandwich...you can't go wrong with either. Everything here is good. Service can be slow sometimes, but the food is worth it. I'd definitely say it's about $$ to $$$ in terms of pricing. Good place to have lunch or dinner on Solano ! read more

First visit -- staff was very nice. Sat us at a table near the back door which was open -- we were freezing and asked to be moved which we were promptly and with no complaints. It was still too cold, though, and all of dined with our coats on. But we seemed to be the only people uncomfortable so maybe it was just us... For food, I can only guess sticking with salad, pizza and pasta are the way to go. The sandwiches appear to be on the menu as a concession to people who don't want Italian food. My chicken sandwich tasted like it was from KFC (that's not a compliment) and my friend's burger looked like a premade frozen patty. The Cobb salad, on the other hand, had fresh ingredients with great blue cheese. The pizzas are made fresh in a pizza oven you can see from the dining room and looked great. The restaurant itself is comfortable (aside from the temperature) and the bar looks great so we'll give it another chance. But next time we'll try the pasta. BTW, lunch on the weekend offers bottomless mimosas! We'll have to give that a shot. :) read more

If you want good, honest, Italian food without the pretentious Bay Area bullshit, then this is the place to eat. If you want delicious pizza without the over-priced hipster nonsense, then this is the place to go. Now this place can get really busy on the weekends and the service can be spotty, but don't let that deter you. Be prepared for it. read more

This is a great little restaurant situated along Solano with excellent and fast service, nice decor and ambiance. We came here at 8:00pm on a Friday for a ladies night out. We were having such a great time that we didn't notice how much time had passed until we eventually noticed we were the last ones left in the restaurant and were just a few minutes short of closing! The waitress never came over and tried to rush us out or anything. The price was fairly reasonable for the quality of food. There is nothing bad I can really say about this place except for the fact that if you're looking for a quiet place to enjoy a meal this definitely is not the place....it's loud. The food was fabulous. We ordered family style and shared the following dishes which I have ranked from my most favorite to least favorite. 1. Risotto of the day -This was the clear winner and favorite of the night by all! Sausage, onions, peppers with a creamy risotto...heavenly. This place clearly knows how to make a good risotto, so I imagine ANY risotto would be delightful to order. Highly, highly recommend! 2. Insalata finocchio- Amazing salad! The dressing is what really makes it superb. Highly recommend. 3. Tomato Fresco (weekly special) -Amazing. Nothing beats tomatoes, avocado, olives, fresh mozzarella sprinkled with fresh basil. Highly recommend. 4. Margherita pizza -It was really good for pizza. I tend to like to order pizza only at pizzerias, but if you are in the mood for pizza, then it's worth it. 5. Ghocchi (creamy pesto) - Not the best creamy pesto sauce I've ever had, but good regardless. 6. Rigatoni alla Calabrese - Large portion, good sauce, tastes good. But in comparison to everything else I think this was the least favorite amongst the group because people didn't go back for seconds. 7. Prosciutto e frutta -My least favorite thing we ordered (although others seemed to like it). I probably wouldn't order this just for myself, but it was ok to share between 6 people. Overall, I would high recommend this restaurant based on ambiance, flavor and quality for the price you pay. The only reason why I gave this place 4 stars is because of the lack of affordable menu options for carnivores. Regardless, would definitely go back again. read more

Excellent food & I love the way it's the children of the owners that do the serving. Only downside it that the bar is very close & it's often really loud. read more

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Definitely a solid Italian restaurant. Nothing over the top special or fancy, but a good place to go for home cooked Italian fare. The calamari appetizer and clams in wine sauce were great and the bread they serve is delicious. Good wine list and nice atmosphere. read more

Would have been 5 stars, but the HOSTESS IS THE WORST EVER. She brought the experience of the restaurant down considerably. Her offenses: - Neglecting to send a waitress... we waited about half an hour to order food, and only after the busboy was so kind as to find a waitress for us. - She turned her back to me and faced the television when I tried to get her attention about sending someone to take our order. - She threw the bill on the table. It landed with a thump. - I tried to stay optimistic until the bitter end, even thanking her - to which she responded with an "Uh huh." It got even worse when some guys walked in and grabbed her butt (ew!). I have no idea why someone this incompetent and classless is at the forefront of this restaurant. I've been racking my brain the whole way home, and all I can surmise is that she must either be the owners daughter, or maybe this is her first job that she doesn't give a darn about. The food was very good, cooked in an open fire oven. We had a caesar, the manicotti, and a calzone, which was puffed huge and was just beautiful. The busboy was the best part of the whole experience, going above and beyond to find us a waitress, bringing plenty of bread to keep us from starving to death, and even a dish of water for our dog. He was attentive and professional - everything the hostess and waitress should have been (but were not!). If I was Cugini's manager, he would be my first pick for host. read more

Their food wasn't good at all. Not to mention their menu is very limited. I actually went there for chocolate lava cake as its my favorite dessert. Let me just say it was NOT a chocolate lava cake, it was simply a warm cake. Chocolate lava cake is cake on the outside and liquid childcare in the inside that pours out when you cut into it, hence the name chocolate "lava" cake. I would also add the waitress never came back over to ask how the food was. I had to raise my hand several times for her attention. I will never go back to this place. read more

**update** this place has gone way south. Also raised their prices enormously. Food was just ok. WHAT ARE YOU GUYS THINKING?!? You used to be great... so sad love this place! Great food! Great atmosphere! I love everything we have ever ordered here! I buy their balsamic vinegar all the time to take home! read more

I love most the food here. Really excellent pizza, Caesar salad and many of their other dishes. Am a frequent customer ... However, last time I was there I had the risotto and was SHOCKED by the bill when it came... they charged us $30 !!! For a plate of rice. It didn't have any shrimp or lobster or salmon in it... no reason to over charge by that much. Won't be back for quite awhile. That is ridiculous. read more

This place is just OK. For the same price, I'd much rather go to Rivoli instead. The bar was great -- the bartender was very generous with my drink, and the Peroni beer was delicious; but the food was nothing to get excited over: - bread was tasty, but the olive oil provided on the table was not - I ordered the clam appetizer, which lacked salt. and for the small number of clams included, 2 of them were closed - date ordered the rib-eye (again, just meh and nothing to get excited over) I'll probably go back, but just for happy hour drinks. read more

Good, not great -- I would give this place 3.5 stars if I could (as a sidenote, why aren't there half-stars? i feel like people say this all the time) Anywho, I went to Cugini because I had a coupon and I felt that I definitely got my money's worth when it came to the food. I got a pesto "wood-fired" pizza and my boyfriend got the margherita. The first bite of my pizza was divine -- yummy, perfect temperature, cheesy, pesto-y goodness. A little oily, but i was in the mood for a calorie splurge, so that was ok. The crust was thin and crispy and the tomato sauce/cheese ratio was right on. However, by the time I got to the 3rd slice of my individual pizza, it was already cold. That was a bummer. I took slices 4-6 home with me, so maybe they will reheat well. We also got a glass of wine each and shared the chocolate lava cake dessert. This may be just me, but i have a really hard time paying for wine at restaurants. I usually like it when they have house wine specials or carafes or something that makes me feel like i'm getting a deal. At Cugini, the house wine is $6 a glass and is not sold by the bottle. In fact, the cheapest bottle of red that they have on the menu is $31. I understand that the restaurant is billed as "fine dining", but if pizza is part of your main draw, I think that something more reasonable could be added to the wine menu for the budgeted crowd. Just a thought. Back to the good, the chocolate lava cake dessert was probably the most memorable part of the meal. I'm still salivating thinking about it, and have described it to no fewer than 6 people since last night. Warm decadent chocolate cake with chocolate syrup paired with super cold vanilla bean gelato (with the black specks and everything!). How can you go wrong? You can't. On it's way to our table, our dessert seemed to catch the eye of everyone in the room, with one couple even stopping the waitress to ask which one it was. With the coupon (which ended up saving me $11.50) I thought this place was priced perfectly for what I got (keep in mind i'm a cheapsake). Without one, I probably won't return -- except maybe for dessert. read more

This is one of my all time favorite restaurants in the area. I have gone here on dates and for girls nights out and family dinners. It has a full bar and an amazing menu that is super quality and has rotating specials. It also has outdoor seating for the nights when Albany/Berkeley actually has nice weather. If you're looking for a family owned restaurant with a quality selection of food and boos and a great atmosphere to boot, come here! read more

We had a nice dinner here last night. The ambiance was fine, the bottle of Barbera on the specials list was excellent and the staff was very tolerant of us arriving nearly half an hour before our friends. While we waited we started in with the wine and ordered the antipasto plate (meat on the side for DF). The olives, roasted garlic , roasted red bells, and roasted zucchini and mushrooms were excellent, as was the warmed bread on the side. However, the cheese cubes were stale, obviously not diced to order. Also, dicing the cheese seems weird to me - it should have been sliced for eating with the bread and other nibbles. For dinner, my friend and I shared the spinach calzone and four cheese pizza with mushrooms added. The calzone was excellent, the pizza blah. The blend of cheeses just wasnt right somehow and there was too much of it, which eliminated that nice crisp crust that is the hallmark of the woodburning oven. My DF said that his meaty calzone was 'ok' and our fourth dining companion didnt like his steak much at all, and didnt touch the polenta piled up on the side. The menu was interesting but the chef really likes to use meat as an accent, which meant there weren't as many vegetarian-friendly choices as there are in most Italian restaurants. However, the server didnt bat an eye about my request to add mushrooms to my pizza choice, so I bet they would be flexible about any substitutions for elements that are not made in advance. For dessert we had the chocolate lava cake which came with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream on the side. It was pretty good. The affogato of vanilla ice cream with espresso at the table near us looked really nice, especially with the amaretto he had to go with it. I might try that next time Im in, although I was very happy with our cake too. I think all in all this was a 3.5, and we might be back. But, we would probably hit Ristorante Raphael first to see if we can find parking. read more

Was actually trying to go to Ravoli's across the street, but for some reason it was closed, so we walked across the street to this place and decided to give it a shot. Before I get into the good and bad, I'm not bashing their pizza, but it lacked a 'wow' factor to me. While it was good, it wasn't anything to write home about (but Yelp about). My opinion on this place varies, so bare with the back-and-forth banter here. The good: Stuffed artichoke appetizer. Delicious. Would come back just for this. Tiramisu: Incredible. Not sure if they made it themselves, but I don't care. The bad: Service: It was terrible. Waitress couldn't have cared less about us and looked miserable just being there. Once we got our food, we weren't asked a single time how we were doing until we were finished. I'd be flexible with this if I knew she were busy but given we were one of about a half dozen tables in the restaurant, she clearly wasn't. She spent much of her time texting on her phone and messing around with the bartender. I'll omit names for her sake, but if this is you and you're reading this, you're not good. At all. read more

Typical rest. on a busy street, nothing to rave about really... Food was good, ambiance on a week night after work was nice- relaxed, dim lighting and close tables. However we got the impression the wait staff was trying to rush us out even though there was no wait. Also, even though I didn't bring my little one, this isn't a place where I would bring her. read more

Staff is always amazing accommodating my aunt who has mobility issues. For that alone, they get 5 stars. Now the good is awesome. The portions are big enough to share and not overpowering. Even though this is an Italian restaurant, I always order the rib eye. They do an amazon job grilling that steak to perfection. We ordered 2 bottles of merlot and the owner /manager suggested a nice alternative which went perfectly with my steak. Other favorites--calamari appetizer. Light airy and not greasy and battery Risotto with Prawns -- lotsa of prawns and the Neal is enough for 2! Lasagna was good and just the right portion. It's made correctly not stuffed with a lot of mozzarella and lotsa of ricotta cheese. Deeelishus!! Dessert---lava cake and affogado. Nuff said... Thank you to the wonderful staff and chef. Always a great dining experience. read more

Great ambience, service is excellent. Grilled artichokes are a great starter. Have had many of the entree's, never disappointed. Crab ravioli tonite was pretty darn tasty. Travel from Castro Valley because it is worth the drive. Tom L. read more

My wife and I have eaten here only a couple of times, but we've gotten take-out countless Friday nights (when you'd be hard pressed to get a table anyway). We almost always get the spinaci salad (with a nice light dressing, pine nuts, and shaved parmesan) and the patate pizza which, like most of the food at cugini is also light and fresh tasting, comes with a limmited number of basic ingredients (the innovative ingredient with the patate pizza are the thinly sliced potatoes). As other reviewers have noted, the cost at cugini is quite reasonable. Even though it has a very slight chain restaurant feel (I felt that, by the way, before I knew there was a second cugini out in Orinda), the woodfired grill and small space give it a pretty warm feel. Cugini is a nice fallback if you get crowded out of other restaurants on Solano, but it's also worth going to as a first-choice when you don't want a big night out, the kind where you splurge a bit at a place like Fonda or Rivoli. read more

I was shopping in the area and decided to stop for dinner. I called Ann N. since she lives nearby and asked if she wanted dinner. She said yeah and told me to pick the place - I picked the first place I saw. This one. Solidly 3 stars. Nothing impressive - in any area. I stood around at the front door before the hostess finally said: are you waiting for a seat. I was seated soon after, but then sat at the table for 10-15 minutes (ann was meeting me there) before the waitress came over and asked if I wanted a drink. The service for the rest of the night was basically kinda slow like that. Our food was similarly meh. Nothing on the menu was overly exciting or inventive, so I got the appetizer special which was mussels (of course). Once again meh. There were like 10 in the portion and the broth was nothing special. It was okay. Nothing memorable. Ann said that her salad (which looked awfully dull to me) was also just ok. So all in all - an ok place. For a friday dinner just to bop in and grab dinner with a friend, not bad - but not great either read more

My husband and I decided last minute to come eat here for our anniversary and we were pleasantly surprised since the reviews were so mixed. We were greeted promptly and seated right away. The bruschetta and calamari appetizer were really good and the portions were quite generous because we were quite full after this. Nonetheless we still ordered our entrees, I believe I had the cannelloni and my husband ordered risotto. They were both really delicious entrees even though we both had only a few bites before we were stuffed. Overall wonderful experience, food is a little pricier, but portions were pretty good. We would definitely return for special dinners. read more

Everything we ordered was delicous and was surprised thay even had a kid's menu. Pizza, Spaghetti, and kids mac &cheese. yummy yummy Yay!! Found a new local italian spot. read more

Cugini's offers a romantic dining experience, either on the sidewalk or in the candle lit dining room. I've always had terrific service with Brook as our server. The hot bread is worth waiting for, but you never have to wait. And the terrific salads, which are surprisingly under $10, never fail to be exquisite. I've sampled several entrees, and all have been delicious. But the LAVA CAKE...omg...sinful and dreamy with a cup of their well balanced coffee. read more

What a find! I love this place! I am a little hesitant to write a positive review because I don't want to end up waiting in a long line to have dinner here. The food is absolutely delicious. Everything I've had from pizzas two pastas to chicken Parmesan has been top notch. It is definitely a neighborhood restaurant that appreciates their neighbors. Looks to be family run with a professional waitstaff. Certainly one of the best restaurants on Solano Avenue. If you've never been go now! read more