Vaooooo! -as someone I dearly love would say M picked for our date night, and Gocciolina really impressed, and we (he) are (is) pretty tough. Ambience was cozy and romantic on a cold winter night, and we were seated immediately at the bar without a reservation on a weekend night. We loved the bartender, who was quite gregarious and helpful with food and drink recommendations. Glad he asked for our IDs ;) The homemade bread was soooo good, very soft with slight crisp to the crust just how I like it. A palate teaser with butter alone, but we also added the nduja spread, which was OK, not needed. The cocktails were also lovely, would order any, as was the selection of wines. Donatella and Lis Neris were recommended to us and paired really well with our pasta and seafood. Now the menu changes frequently, so while we can't promise that the delicious items we had will be on your day's selection... - Slow cooked butter beans with sautéed spinach and jammy egg: egg was cooked perfectly and fun to gently open, and the runny yolk with spinach over the beans, perfectly cooked and not over done as many are, was a surprisingly well-suited combo - Carnaroli risotto with NC shrimp and toasted almond pesto: my favorite, so smooth and flavorful - Hand-cut noodles with NC lump crab and roasted pepper with tomato sauce: generous portion of crab mixed into the dish, and the hand-cut/made noodles really added a slightly sweet taste as well as a special touch - Pistachio gelato: an ambivalent dessert person, I admit that this was good... - Cannoli: with chocolate chips and pistachio dust, so fun to watch the pastry chef create these I am impressed with this restaurant selection, if you're reading this, M. We will have to return on a special occasion... or any night we'd like :-) read more

This is a solid choice for a pricey, low-key romantic date. The restaurant has quaint decor and warm dim lighting, and has a few different seating areas that make the settings more intimate. The food is properly done, but I wasn't particularly wooed by any of the flavors; some of it felt a little flat and could have used more seasoning. All items are a la carte and quite pricey, so be prepared to spend in the ballpark of $30 per person if you want a main dish with a side, more if you want appetizer, drinks, etc. Their daily menu is available online at 6pm. They did bring out a little cheese stick for the bread, and half a slice of bread per person for the bread. They brought us another half a slice per person after we asked. The carnaroli risotto was okay; a little dull and monotonous on the flavor. The spaghetti all amatriciana was a good al dente and had a light pleasantly spicy kick, but was mostly pasta and did not have much of the bacon flavor present. One of our party ordered the whole fried fish, which looked quite dry. The ravioli dish was composed of 3 pieces of ravioli and left a little to be desired. Service was A-OK. We were seated on time for our reservation. We had a group of 7 so they did make efforts to accommodate us and have all the food coming out around approximately the same time. They did start off pushing that we do family style since the dishes tend to come out at different times sporadically, which really does not work for the small portions of dishes that they had, and definitely did not work for us given some of our group's dietary needs. They also did not accommodate splitting checks individually. Over all, a solid place to try once, but given the food flavor/food quantity/price ratio, I don't think it'll be a place I return to. read more

This the best Italian restaurant in Durham/Chapel Hill hands down. You absolutely need reservations but it's really really worth it. Been here about a dozen times and it's always been excellent. read more

A little evening in Italy! This restaurant lived up to its hype, from the outstanding service to the quaint family style ambience, Gocciolina has earned its spot in our rotation. Makes me want some Olive Garden! read more

Gocciolina - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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I've been here three times. I don't know why this place is popular. Today there were four of us. 1) One of us got their entree 5-20 minutes before the others and we asked him to eat. We all ordered pasta for our main course. 2) They had two white and two red wines by the glass. That's it. 3) They only had two vodkas Tito's and Ketel One. I'm no expert but Ketel One was terrible. I asked for a martini with olives. They came floating in my drink. No toothpick so I used my fork. 4) When the check came it was messed up (separate checks). The waitress refused to fix it! "We don't usually split checks." Well you did the other two times. 5) The carbonara was really basic. Not much bacon. It was like eating spaghetti with cream sauce. This will be my last visit. Brixx pasta is better than this. read more

My husband and I have been going to Gocciolina for over 10 years and unfortunately we won't be coming back: Ambiance: We arrive at around 7:30 and are sat at a table right next to the front door. It's cold out and on multiple occasions the door was left wide open with cold air coming in. Multiple patrons, including my husband, had to get up to shut the door throughout the night. I had to wear my jacket I was so cold, but the restaurant is small, there was no where else to sit. Service: We weren't greeted at our table for over 10 minutes. There also used to be fun little breadsticks at each table, not anymore. Our service was ok after we finally were greeted, but we had to ask what dishes they were running low on (having been there multiple times before, we know this). Food: The pork ragu with hand cut noodles was running low, so we said we definitely wanted that dish, we had no idea it would come out first before our apps. This dish was good, and that's what my 1 star is for. Then came the apps, aged Parmesan with basalmic, we get this dish every time we come. The cheese was terrible, very chalky. Then we got wild ramp with pork belly and eggs. This dish was so odd, like eating spinach, bacon and eggs. All the water comes out of the ramp though, making it very soupy, not great. Finally for dinner we had rubbery meatballs with al dente beans (again terrible) and baked gnocchi which was again very mushy. They ended up comping the meatballs and beans dish as it was almost inedible. We left without dessert. This restaurant was always one our favorites and I'm sad it's no longer in our rotation for date night. Just too many things went wrong for us to want to come back. read more

Solid local Italian place, always requires a reservation because it's really small. Simple dishes, fresh pasta, it's really a wonderful neighborhood find. read more

I have never had anything that I ordered, not be nearly perfect. The food is always excellent. I highly recommend that you order the whole fish whenever possible. The service both at the bar and at the dining room tables is always pleasant, friendly and efficient. Even as close as you are to your fellow diners, when sitting at the bar, the atmosphere is great allowing you to either interact with your fellow diners or not as you watch the bartender and expo work to get everything out to where it is supposed to go. A bit expensive for a nightly hang out, but definitely becoming a biweekly dining experience for me. read more

Great service! Super knowledgeable and friendly staff, delicious dishes (both specials and regular menu items), and loved the throwback music playing in the restaurant. We will be back soon! read more

Ambiance in the side area, was much less impressive than the main area leading to my 4/5. Started off with a glass of wine, salami, and fried eggplant. The eggplant was maybe my favorite course of the meal. Had the carbonara and ravioli, carbonara was phenomenal. Ended with the cannolis and would recommend them again and again. read more

The food was very good, but.... I'm not a big fan of food runners who arrive at the table auctioning the plates they hold in their hands, but I especially don't like it when the meals arrive before the starters. We decided to go with the flow and eat the starters after the meal.... The server never came by until we were half way through our meal. When she did, and we explained we had not received our starters, she informed us they were out of one starter. What I did not like was the attitude. We were told by the server they wanted to "make it right" by offering a dessert, whereby we explained my partner was a diabetic with an insulin pump and a dessert was not something we wanted. It was explained my partner had taken insulin according to what he was going to eat. We were not offered a gift certificate, a break on our bill, just the standard 2024 perception of "I really don't care because I don't have to". Why the comments turned to sustainability when we are are discussing the fact someone made a mistake and we did not get our starters, I don't know and no longer care. We won't be back. We don't need someone to fawn over us or be effervescent with apologies, but some compensation for their screw up would have been appreciated, especially on a $100 bill, and we did not get what we ordered. It's good they are doing well and are contributing to Durham's culinary explosion, but they won't be receiving money from us or our clients or family when they come visit in the future. In Italia non sarebbe mai successo e, se fosse successo, il proprietario o lo chef sarebbero venuti a porgere le loro scuse. Lo so perché ho vissuto in Italia diverse volte per diversi anni dal 1973. read more

Lovely local Italian! Great black board daily menu! Can't wait to return! Wine and cocktail choices excel and definitely get the 23 month old Parmesan. read more

Gocciolina - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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We arrived with my son excited to take me to a favorite restaurant of his. When we said yes to having a reservation, the hostess said and you are aware of the fixed menu. We told her we weren't, and she explained it was the only option because of graduations, and would be $85 per person, not including wine. She showed us what we would select from, and it was their regular menu, but they were inflating prices greatly and forcing us 2 choose things like 2 antipasto each as well as an entree and desert and I believe side search. Way more food than we could imagine, and much higher price that we expected. We decided to leave and she told him, I front of all of us, he would still have a $25 charge on his card. The next morning, he awoke to find they'd charged him $25 per person, which had not been communicated. It felt unfair to charge anything when we didn't expect anything except the normal menu and weren't given a choice. Very disappointed, because we had looked forward to trying the restaurant. read more

Ace our waiter was wonderful! The wait staff, food runners, buzzers were attentive. Food portions were a bit too small especially for entrees- too much ala carte. We felt rushed due to the small portions and were out in 45 minutes!! Way too quick with table turnover. The fried eggplant appetizer was so good we had 3! Overall ambience was good, too many high tops. We would go back for a later seating to not feel rushed. read more

So I have made my reservations several days in advance. I get to the restaurant and the receptionists says my table is on the patio. There was no mention of patio on the reservation site. Its summer in NC. Its 95 F outside and the "patio" is beside an asphalt parking lot that is probably 115. I tell her that I have no interest in eating outside so she shuttles me off to the side room. Now you have to use your imagination here a bit. This side room looks like an overflow area for private parties. The sun is toasting me through a window but the blinds do not work on the window. I move around to the other side of the table. A waitress appears and we order drinks and mussels. I ask for a piece of bread. She tells me the bread is too hot to cut so I will have to wait. I orders snapper and my wife orders ravioli. The snapper is overcooked on a skimpy bed of eggplant and tomatoes. Three ravioli with a light sauce are very good. Hardly a satisfying meal. I really don't have the patience for poor customer relations and small portions that seem to be of variable quality. read more

First time here in a couple years. Remember it being very intimate, the dishes outstanding and the service very attentive. This time though... meh. The food was okay at best and the prices were a bit high considering the portions and taste. The staff were fine although not as refined as I had remembered. Would I go back? Maybe. But certainly would give pause and consider other restaurants first. read more

Y'all this place is SO good, and I truly don't feel like enough people are talking about it. The restaurant is absolutely adorable. The menu is constantly on rotation though, so I am warning you not to get too attached to the foods you see here on Yelp. However, I know you will be happy with whatever you end up ordering! We had loads of oysters and pasta, and I went home a very happy girl! Side note: they do have a cork fee read more

A little late, but I came in for a lovely dinner date with my boyfriend. They are currently doing indoor dining but tables are amply spaced out. They are clearly very invested in their customers and made an effort to make us feel special throughout our meal. Indeed, our waitress spent a significant amount of time with us explaining every dish with her recommendations. They have a changing menu that is quite extensive and serve it in a pre fixe format for $38. You choose two small dishes, two entrees, and a side. Now that seems like a lot of food, but actually the portions are small (the appetizers were truly bite size). It ended up being a good amount of food overall but not overwhelming. Standouts included the baldwin farm beef meatballs, the spaghetti carbonara, the dawnbreaker farm duck breast (+$6), and the side of brussel sprouts. If you're not full you can also order dessert which I'd recommend! We also ordered a bottle of wine - I wish they had some of the general categories of the wine for ease of ordering as I personally don't know each type of wine by brand name. However, they have quite a few to choose from which is nice and the waittress was happy to describe them to us. Overall, very lovely little restaurant - the format of the menu is incredible and very creative. Love the idea of a ton of bites of different dishes. I think this is a great spot for a date. read more

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I made a reservation for 7:30 and I was not sat until 8pm. I ordered the fried eggplant, oysters, tortelloni, and bass. The food was visually appealing but when it came to flavor, it was very bland. For the price point, I expected to be wowed. For half what they are charging, I could see the appeal. read more

Small, Overpriced, And Disappointing. 1.5 stars My wife and I went to Gocciolina the other night with another couple. At the risk of sounding terribly negative, I have to say that the food was mediocre and overpriced; the restaurant was small and noisy; and the chairs were terribly uncomfortable, giving both of us sore backs. The couple we were with, who are regulars, ordered three or four small sides - think tapas - then a salad and their entrée. My wife and I ordered the same sides and then a salad which consisted of about three pieces of Bibb lettuce and light balsamic dressing. For entrées, my wife and I ordered gnocchi with a Ragu sauce (the least expensive entrée on the menu) the taste of which - forgive me! - reminded me of the wet canned dog food I tried a bit of when I was a kid. The menu is limited in terms of the number of entrées they offer. I went there expecting a pork chop I had seen online, but they did not have that; nor did they have two or three other items that were on their daily menu. Finally, their bread is good, but they seemed stingy with serving it. All of this on top of being way overpriced. We could've gone to a much nicer restaurant for the same amount of money. Needless to say, this will be our only visit. read more

They have some amazing seafood. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Definitely worth stopping by

Having spent some summers in Tuscany, I was really looking forward to having some good Italian in Durham. A previous visit to Mother and Son's Trattoria set high standards, but Gocciolina's menu certainly looked much more affordable. As I stepped in, I felt transported away to a little slice of Italy. The decor was wonderful, and the waitress was very confident. Then she became a touch too confident. I didn't want to drink that day since I was driving, but the waitress kept waltzing over to "make sure" that I didn't want some wine. For appetizers, we got parmigiano reggiano with aged balsamic vinegar and ratatouille. The cheese was quite good, but the ratatouille was a touch undersalted and honestly looked like something I could have stir fried together by myself. For the main dish I got the carbonara, which came well prepared but on the small side. I've had carbonaras double its size for half the price in Italy, and I thought the US is known for its large portions! Lastly, I got the cannolis and stracciatella gelato to share for dessert. There was so much cocoa powder on the cannolis that both my boyfriend and I started coughing, and there was also some rum at the bottom that made the cannoli quite soggy. All in all, not a good cannoli. The gelato, however, was quite good. It was creamy with chunks of chocolate as it should be. I might be nite picky here to say that stracciatella is meant to be mostly thin chunks of chocolate and not just chunks of chocolate thrown in, but if you sell yourself as an authentic Italian restaurant at these prices, the details should all be correct. read more

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Gocciolina is one of those places that I'd really miss if I moved away. I love the weird strip mall location, the quirky decor, the tiny chalkboard menu. It is just the right amount rough around the edges. But, the best part is it's authenticity. I'm not talking about authentic Italian... I mean authentic in the sense that they are serving real food made with a ton of integrity. No smoke and mirrors here. These people give a shit, and it shows. read more

The bread is perfect accompany with anything！！Really love the Spicy Seafood Spaghetti & fried eggplant!!! Everything here is worthy to give a try read more

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Gocciolina has some of the best Italian food I've ever tasted outside of Italy! The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because we called ahead on a Friday night to ask about the wait for 2 people and they told us there was no wait at all, but when we arrived, we waited for 45 minutes...lesson learned, don't come here without a reservation! The dining area has a wonderfully charming ambiance but has limited seating. The waiting bar area is a separate room next door to the restaurant and the bartender offered us the appetizer and drinks menu, as well as complimentary chips. We were pretty hungry and ate a lot of those chips!! After the waitress finally came to the waiting area to bring us to our table, we ordered spaghetti carbonara and the special for the day, bottlecap-shaped beef ravioli with mushroom sauce. Each table gets complimentary long thin crunchy breadsticks which we munched on while we waited for the food. The spaghetti carbonara was so, so, delectable! The sauce was the perfect consistency with bits of savory bacon and cheese and didn't feel overly heavy like carbonara can sometimes be. I was so sad when I finished this pasta! The ravioli arrived small though mighty. The beef inside was tender, not tough or chewy, and the mushroom sauce that it was tossed in, was bursting with flavor. I do wish we'd ordered an appetizer or another pasta dish because the servings are really small and we came away still a little hungry. The menu is affordably priced and the pasta dishes ranged from $10 and up, but I'd recommend you order more than one entree if you're feeling hungry! Gocciolina's food was definitely topnotch and extremely well done, but given the slow service, long wait, and small portions, I might consider takeout next time, or plan to allot a few hours for dining here. read more

Gocciolina - Spaghetti carbonara - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Dined one evening with my cousin, the service was simply wonderful. Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable of the menu, made wonderful suggestions. The atmosphere was picturesque. The food was amazing we started with the meatballs and croquettes and they both were amazing. START WITH THESE PLEASE. Afterwards we tried the spaghetti carbonara which was also amazing, followed by the lamb chops which were seasoned to perfection and melted in my mouth. We ended with the "Damn Fine Affogate" which, yes you guessed it, was amazing.. read more

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Spritz in this place is just wowww.Though the bartender gave us incorrect information ($6) about the price and later we were charged more ($10) than we anticipated. On bringing it to notice the staff paid no heed at all and was quite rude in behavior even when none of us argued with her as we were ready to pay since the drink was sooo good. But she behaved in a way that suggested we we were lying. I do not whether it came from racism. This killed the whole nice dinner mood. This is the only reason i am giving less stars. Carbonara was probably the best we had in Durham. We got a table pretty late so some of daily specials were not available. I didn't find the Gnocchi to my liking but the broccolini was perfect. Our group enjoyed the anchovy wrapped olives more than crispy fried eggplant. The house wine was absolute worst. read more

Gocciolina - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Pros : Food was fair to excellent. Cons: portion sizes are too small good meatballs The steak was disappointingly tough. There were no chicken entrees???? what ??? They had a strange way of serving salt... They were stingy with the butter. The bread was good and they were generous with it... read more

Food was excellent, very authentic pastas. The small plates are indeed small, but that didn't bother me. The service was excellent! We had to wait 15 minutes for our reserved table to be ready, they apologized and gave us free cheese antipasto and a free sorbet for dessert! The waiter was very attentive. Ambiance was also nice, not too loud, good lighting, all the tables full even on a Wednesday. Would love to return soon! read more

From the time walked in the restaurant, I knew I would like the place. It's a busy spot and fairly cozy. There is a waiting room with the bar at the next door so if you are the person who can enjoy a drink or two while you are waiting, this is your spot. Food is fantastic. Plates are not so big when you see them, but you will surprise how fulfilling they are. I like the simple and beautiful presentation. Will be back with more friends and family! read more

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Ciao bella, new 2nd home in Durham. I'm loving everything about Gocciolina: -Cool vibes including a cute little lime tree outside (please don't die this winter) and a relaxed bar area with free chips where you can grab a drink and apps while you wait for a table. Also hilarious old folks who are clearly regulars. -Excellent service from start to finish, feels very homegrown and high end at the same time. Get it Durham. -Very reasonable drink and menu prices, including $6 Vermouth and $18 half carafes of wine. You can even choose three appetizers for $10. Perfect for a date night and branching out beyond standard spirits like vodka and bourbon. -Mixture of seasonal and rotating items, and obvious use of local NC ingredients throughout. It's very much tapas style, where you can mix apps, entrees and desserts throughout. What we ordered: -Speck ham/Olives/Anchovy on sesame crackers app combination. Ham was very good quality, olives were a mixture of sizes and flavors and anchovies were generous and intentionally very salty to compliment. -Fennel shallot ravioli and bottlecap pastas. Perfectly cooked with plenty of sauce to soak up with the yummy bread. -A specialty cheese on NC apple, really an appetizer that I had as a dessert. Highly recommend. -Hubby tried the cannoli with videri chocolate chips. A bit too sweet if you aren't used to eating a lot of sugar. read more

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everything about this place is wonderful. from the very best old fashion that we ever had to the carbonara that takes us back to Rome each and every time to any of the chalkboard specials....and you also cannot take away from the wait staff...all top 'shelf' read more

This is a little 'hole-in-the-wall' restaurant in a shabby strip mall so when you drive up, you'll probably wonder if you're in the right place. Trust me, you are! The menu is varied and creative, showcasing local items and putting a fresh twist on classic flavor combinations. This is the kind of Italian comfort food that will stay on your mind long after the meal is over. We ordered anchovy wrapped olives, a chickpea pancake, gnocci, Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, and Brussels sprouts. Everything tasted delicious and it's obvious that each ingredient was thoughtfully selected. The spaghetti was my favorite. The combination of chiles and spices, along with the piquant tomatoes and sharpness of the cheese really made it a standout dish. The dining room and the bar are both pretty small and tightly packed but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. They book up quickly for weekend seatings so I recommend making the next available res and marking your calendar. You will be glad you did! read more

An anti-inaugural survival party, ending with house made limoncello. Wes made it all flow easily. Foot and wine was great! I had the Green Button Farm pork, which was pan seared after roasting, and finished with a Marsala sauce and fresh mushrooms. The Lively Bride had Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, a spicy pancetta tomato sauce. (€2 per plate goes to rebuild Amatrice, Italy.) Tasted a friends pancetta - very nice. The housemade limoncello is so, so, good! I may make my own! Great food, well-timed, no hassle. But be sure to make reservations - its loud and crowded - the perfect Italian food experience! read more

Gocciolina - Current menu - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

"Upscale Italian in North Durham" We came to try this new restaurant on Guess Road in North Durham on a Friday evening for dinner, during its first week of operation. Our family was very split on impressions, so I'll try to relay all perspectives. Setting: Good overall. Music playing in background, but barely audible, so good for conversations. Good lighting without being offensive, and fine decor. Spacing between tables a little close but reasonable. Food: We ordered 3 different dishes: I had the spaghetti all'ametriciana. My wife and son had the herb & cheese ravioli, and my daughter had the skirt steak. My wife and I also ordered the wax beans with balsalmic red onions as a vegetable side. + Spaghetti all'ametriciana-- this was probably the best dish on the table. Good quantity, fresh parmesan, spiciness that's noticeable but not detracting from the good flavor, etc. And all for only $7. I'd happily get this again-- it was delightful. The wax beans I ordered as a $4 side were good, too. - Herb & cheese ravioli-- the ravioli was very tasty (and built nicely), as was its sauce, but you got literally only SIX pieces, and not super large ones either. For $9. Hence, $1.50 per ravioli. Um, no... (see picture) - Skirt steak-- the olive oil on it was nice but somewhat excessive. Taste was good. But again, quantity was very small, and for $9. (see picture) Frankly, this should have been labeled as a "tapas" or antipasti, not an entree. Service: Everyone was helpful. We felt a slightly uncomfortable high caste air from the male server, but he certainly answered any questions we had (and often refilled our water and brought more breadsticks). There was some delay on paying, but this was understandable given they're still figuring things out. However, one thing really bothered me. We were overcharged pretty significantly on the bill-- basically two entrees were "doubled", hence increasing the total by $20 before tax. It took a minute to explain the problem, and the server/ owner then just gave us $20 in cash (which resulted in some net loss given tax, but no big deal). However, I was disappointed that, to my recollection, he never actually apologized. Not cool when I almost paid an extra $22 (and still paid a little extra) due to a staff error. Synopsis: On the positives were everyone's food quality, the value for my dish, and some aspects of service. On the negative were the values of the other dishes and some aspects of service. 2-3 star border, but since my family was literally hungry as we left after eating entrees, I think I have to go with 2 at this time. read more

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Ahh, Italian cuisine! One of those main-stays that you eat so much of, it becomes hard to rate it fairly. But I think I may have found some of the best Italian food in the Triangle at Gocciolina! I finally made it over for a visit with friends to try the N&O's 2014 Restaurant of the Year... From the outside Gocciolina doesn't look like much and it's only slightly better inside but let's not judge a book by its cover. It's humble but comfortable and cozy in an old-school, throw-back fashion. Specials on the chalkboard ranged from a seafood arancini to tortellini in brodo (broth). All apps and large plates are in the $5 - $15 range and are good for sharing! Our table orders up a ton of food, I love my arancini which is perfectly fried and delish, while my baked gnocchi and bistecca (sliced steak) was wonderful. We capped off our dinner with a great torte and cannoli. Service was solid at Gocciolina and this place is busy but they are doing a good job keeping up with the crowds now that they're really popular. All I can say is go out of your way to give them a try and make reservations unless you plan on visiting in off-hours. Gocciolina delivers the goods for real along with a lot of deliciousness, buon appetito! read more

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We recently located to the Durham area and were looking for a small, homey restaurant to try. We came across Gocciolina (only to hear that many other people love this place) and they did not disappoint! Our reservation was early in the night and we had the place to ourselves for a while. The waitstaff were very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. The food was top notch quality and the menu was very well curated. We got a few dishes to share and couldn't pick a favorite because they're all great! We are looking forward to go back! read more

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This place is no Olive Garden! Lol! So don't expect a fettuccini Alfredo guys! Haha this place was awesome! Came here on a whim to see if there were even available reservations and thankfully there were! Apparently there's always a 2 week wait list! Crazy! The hostess was very nice but our waitress was even better! Being our first time here, she explained everything in full detail and gave us lots of recommendations! She was amazing! We had a few of the specials that they had that and for our main dishes we has a shrimp and ham pasta with trumpet mushrooms, carbonara and my personal favorite was the spaghetti all'amatriana! Personally, I think this was the star of the whole night! All their pasta's were cooked perfectly al dente and every flavor that was in every was delicious! The pricing is very reasonable too! This is definitely a great place for a little date night or even dinner with group of friends, the menu isn't ginormous and everyone can choose 2 or 3 things each off the menu and everyone will get a taste of everything! This is definitely worth the wait if you can get a reservation! Go!! read more

Gocciolina - Italian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Amazing Italian place. I finally tried it after reading so much about it. We parked in the lot and asked for a table for 2 during dinner time on a friday. The wait was around 30-45 mins long but they do have a bar on the side of the restaurant. It was the cutest bar I have seen. There were not many people there and we were able to try different champagne and/or amaro drinks. It was great! Love the atmosphere and the friendly staff. One of the host staff came and let us know that our table was ready. We took our drinks, you must close your cocktail tab in the bar before heading over to dinner since the tab does not carry over. Anyway, we sat on the bar, one of the best places to sit since you can see the kitchen and talk to the friendly bartenders. They gave us great recommendations and ordered a couple of dishes. The dishes are almost tapa styles so you have to order a couple of dishes. It's a great way to taste the menu. They also have specials on a chalkboard. The dessert was amazing and I could eat many of those desserts. Great place and I am definitely coming back. read more

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we had a wonderful birthday celebration. the food and drink were wonderful, and service A++++. The 6 of us sampled most of the small plates as appetizers, and still had room for the wonderful entrees and a little dessert. Thank you for a special evening. read more