Great cozy spot on S.Lamar! Ample parking in the building. We had a large group reservation. I think our table host was over extended as she was running many tables but was very attentive to our group. Calamari was perfectly crispy, French pork chop was delish. The lobster ravioli is a appetizer dish but my hubs liked it so much they made with into a dinner plate. Only setback was when the bill came out server wasn't able to split up so it was awkward to just split everything. We even asked ahead of time and they said they could. read more

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Easy to find, off Lamar, a Main Street. Covered parking was convenient and the service was great. I stopped in, hoping to find a nice Italian place to enjoy a glass of red wine and light dinner. The food was great- I had the scallops with spaghettini in a lemon garlic sauce -delicious! Affogato vanilla ice cream made a pleasant ending. Definitely stop by! read more

My husband and I were in Austin for our anniversary & we were craving Italian food. He made reservations at this spot & I'm glad he did! We had a table with a nice note on it waiting for us. We truly enjoyed our food. I ordered the chicken parmigiana with fettuccine Alfredo, it was truly delicious! Chicken was easy to cut into & pasta wasn't too heavy! For appetizer, I was expecting maybe more risotto balls in our dish , but they were yummy ! 2/$10-11, I believe. The flourless chocolate cake was delicious! I wanted more. Our server was also very friendly and walked us through the menu as well as going into detail about some menu suggestions. It was nice & helpful. read more

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We were searching around for some Italian food, you know, because someone wanted ravioli, and this place appeared to have some ravioli in their menu. They have other items too, but I wouldn't really trust the chefs in this restaurant to wow you with the food they churn out. At least the waitstaff here can tell what's up, knowing that first time customers giving the restaurant a chance may leave disappointed due to the food quality. A bit more about this cucina: it's on Lamar, in the MAA complex. There's a spacious parking garage for restaurant and retail parking. One of the cool things about this restaurant is their mural, which depicts a nice scene that includes a doggie silhouette doing its business while being walked. The waitstaff were pretty friendly too. The atmosphere was quite comfortable, with lighting from a small table top candle, and eerie blue in the bathrooms. The menu has many options, and it includes a small prix-fixed section. As mentioned earlier, we were in the prowl for some ravioli. And we found some, on the appetizer part of the menu. But that ravioli, based on its taste, is not worth consuming. We opted to order the following items: Prosciutto e Melone -- spheres of cantaloupe, two pieces of prosciutto, balsamic glaze. It did not help to utilize a tasteless cantaloupe. Salmone Carpaccio -- smoked salmon capers scallions, and sliced heart of palm, along with lemon in a filter baggie. Now, that lemon was cool. No stray lemon seeds in your food! Salty and sour, lox; it's hard to execute the flavor wrongly in this dish, since, well, they're not really doing any cooking for this dish. Unless they are smoking their own salmon. Ravioli -- ahh, yes, this was found in the appetizer section. Luckily, we had the other appetizers before this one. This is supposed to have lobster and an orange liquor within, but what you get is a flavorless lobster filling, with the absence of an orange flavor. To me, it seems like their dishes don't taste like the descriptions of how they should taste. Cacio e Pepe -- a terribly bland, flavorless pasta dish. The pasta texture was appropriate, but the sauce was terribly greasy and bland, lacking the required savory cheesiness. Yes, you can see the black pepper (and parsley). Quite a sad dish. Please, don't prepare cacio e pepe in this appalling way. Rigatoni Polpette -- better than the cacio e pepe, although this dish was on the saltier side. I think the people preparing the food here need to be more diligent with their execution. In the words of the waitstaff, "thanks for giving us a try!" It's Italian Cucina will be participating in Austin's Restaurant Week; unfortunately, it's not a place on my list to return to. read more

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We've been dining at It's Italian for a couple of years now -- usually special occasions of some kind. This month we made a reservation for 9 to mark a 90th birthday. I asked for a couple of special touches -- preselected the appetiizers and wine (with Al's assistance.), chose the dessert. Our guests chose their entree from the menu. . It was a wonderful evening. Everything was done exactly as I requested. The food was, as usual, superb; the service was at its normal level of perfrection, and Al was a terrific host. Best birthday ever! read more

Food was decent for Italian food in central TX but gosh the service was terrible . Server was rude, condescending and overwhelmed (the last part was prob managements fault but still unacceptable) . Not to mention since is was valentines weekend and they had a prix fixed menu and limited food menu had we known this prob wouldn't even have came to try the place out . 15 mins to get a soda , marinara sauce was flavorless and pasta tasted like it as cooked in a vat of butter .The foccaia bread and rissoto were two of the few highlights read more

It's Italian Cucina - Risotto - Wine Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

Went to It's Italian Cucina a couple times and sat at the bar for happy hour. Their happy hour specials only apply to patio or bar seating. It's $2 off cocktails, glasses of wine, beer, and all appetizers. For appetizers I have tried the Lobster Ravioli- which I was not a fan of, it was very fishy tasting and lobster should not be fishy. The arancini was good tasting, but not properly made, it was hollow on the inside and mostly filled with cheese not rice - still tasty but not arancini. The meatballs were delicious - highly recommend. Steak bites were good as well, although I don't think it's worth the expensive price tag. Focaccia was delicious as well. Had the insalata mista both times and it's perfect. Good size! And the true stars of the show are the entrees. The pappardelle in a wild boar ragu sauce is to die for. And the chicken Marsala with the fresh pasta was a show stopper. Highly recommend both dishes. And I will be back for more! In terms of service, the bar staff is excellent. Super friendly and attentive. They deserve a raise for how awesome they are! Kudos for the bartenders. Pros: entrees, flavor, can walk in without a reservation Cons: prices, apps, & nice but loud owner read more

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Love love love this place. What a cozy and intimate vibe. Great for date night or special occasions. Wednesday they have 1/2 off bottles of wine with so many to choose from. We had the calamari, Ceasar salad, lasagna, veal Marsala with broccolini and the lemoncello cake. Every dish was perfectly seasoned and cooked. The cake was absolutely divine. Excellent staff and service. This is a must try! There is convenient garage parking in the building just north of the restaurant. read more

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Truly a 4.5 stars but I would rather rate up rather than down. Food - 4.5 needs more salt on nearly every dish we have had there in multiple visits but salt is easy to add Service - 4.5 nearly 5 but hovered a bit Ambiance - 4.5 intimate and perfect dim lighting. Would be 5 stars but tables are very close together but I get it. It was near perfect this visit with one small exception...I ordered the Nere Risotto which is made with squid ink and "lobster" per the menu. It was not lobster, it was langoustine or langostino, not positive which, but not true lobster. It came with 3 very small tails off about 1oz each. The price was $45, so quite pricey for what it was. Now for the good part. It was delicious. It could only have been better had it been real lobster. We also had the polpette (meatballs) in marinara and focaccia with olive oil for starters. Excellente. Our other entree this visit was the Veal Osso Bucco. Braised and tender with carrots and celery served with polenta. Needed a bit of salt but once added, it was delicious. Last recent visit we had the Capesante which is pan seared Alaskan scallops lemon zested, w/spaghettini in Heirloom cherry tomato & roasted garlic sauce. Again, we all agreed this needed salt as well and we added it and voila! As it should be...mmmm. Our other entree was the Fettuccine Tartufo which Truffled w/wild mushroom cream & shrimp but we substituted chicken for shrimp. This dish was perfect once salt was added (again). The dessert was to die for! I don't remember the name exactly. Fleur petites or something like that. I remember thinking that's a French name not Italian. But anyway, it was 12 bite sized pastries that were some of the best I have ever had, including in Paris! I believe there were 2 each of 6 different ones. 5 star +++ The wine list is very good and versatile. A bit pricey but served at the perfect temp for the varietal. The bottle we had both recent visits (different) were nearly 4x retail pricing. We know because we buy these. Still better than a mediocre wine menu and serving warm wine! A huge bonus is that they have free parking in the garage attached to the building! They have live piano on Tuesday & Thursday and half price bottles of wine on Wednesdays. What's not to love! This is now our go to Italian restaurant in Austin. read more

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Everything was really good; service, food, and pricing wasn't unreasonable. Good ambiance though parking is a little tight.

Ok, I don't really remember the names of the dishes, sorry, but the food was excellent. I really like the risotto. You can't go wrong with any of the dishes! Tiramisu is a must! A perfect dessert to end the meal. Service is excellent and fast. We were able to get our questions answered about the menu-we haven't been back since they changed up the menu. We were a little disappointed that they took away the 3-course/4-course meal sets. They now have a 7-course meal set for $75. All of the servers are attentive and clean up our dishes very quickly. The same owner owns the pizza place next door, which I would love to check out one day! read more

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It's such a gem of a restaurant. The owner is super friendly and funny, the waitstaff is attentive and not overbearing. The food is simply amazing. Haven't had a bad dish yet, they are all simply delicious. read more

It's Italian Cucina - Lobster ravioli tapas - Wine Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

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We were able to partake tonight of the dinner of 7 fishes. Most of the items were very tasty. Only one didn't meet the standard, in my opinion. The owner and I did not agree in our opinions. Over all the experience was positive. read more

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Wow! What a nice surprise! We thought it would be good but it exceeded our expectations. Great service, great drinks and great food. We had the pork chop ( really tender and tasty) and the chicken Marsala. Both were delicious!! We will be back for sure! read more

Had dinner here for my birthday on Saturday night. It was my 75th birthday and I was accompanied by my lovely girlfriend and we had a marvelous dinner. We got there a little early in the bar area was open and the bartender she made a perfect Negroni. I highly recommend this place and I'm definitely going to go back. read more

Quaint well establish restaurant that never fails to please. They always make you feel welcome and the food is outstanding.

Best Italian food I've had in austin! The kitchen and wait staff go above and beyond at this place. It's small and intimate, perfect for date night or catching up with a friend. Our waitress was incredibly knowledgeable and attentive and made our experience so memorable and enjoyable. The scallops on saffron cream risotto were excellent, and their menu has some very reasonably priced bottles. Most of this dishes were $30-40 per person, but well worth. Will definitely be back and I'm telling all my friends in Austin about this gem! read more

It's Italian Cucina - Risotto allá milanese (scallops on saffron cream risotto) - Wine Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

The ambiance and service were fantastic, but the food and wine were...NEXT LEVEL! The three of us each had a different entree and dessert, and we shared three different appetizers. There wasn't a single bite that wasn't amazing! read more

We visit all of our favorite restaurants during ACL...no one else is here. Nice setting. Plenty of free parking in the garage. We prefer patio seating (especially for HH). Service is friendly and knowledgeable. Never pushy or rushed. I've never had a bad meal here. All the apps are great. Lobster ravioli is divine (get it as a main). Tonight's special was duck stew - awesome! It's Italian at its finest. read more

I rarely write a positive review, but we had a fantastic time at It's Italian. The food was excellent, our server was friendly and attentive, and even the owner made an appearance at our table. We sat outside on the patio, which was small, but perfect. Sweet place, run by Italians, it felt like an East Coast restaurant. This will be our new go-to for Italian in Austin. read more

Really beautiful, small place with a wonderful atmosphere. They also have a great outdoor patio, but the street is pretty busy so it might be noisy. Our waitress was great- all the staff was; right there taking care of making sure water glasses were filled and plates were cleared. Food was delicious. I had the chicken Marsala with a side of spaghetti and cleaned my plate. My friend had the vegetable fettuccine in a cream sauce and said it was outstanding. We had the very decadent flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Rich and creamy. I would recommend giving them a try. read more

Very rare I give a 5 star. I think this is the 3rd ever? Everything about this place is fantastic. The ambiance is great. Perfect for a date or a group, I come alone and sit at the bar even. The bartenders are great to talk to. The owner, Al, makes the experience here. Charismatic, great personality, greets everyone like family, knows EVERYTHING about wine, all the recipes are his, the food is fantastic. Authentic as it gets. I love the pasta dishes but you can't lose with anything. Best part, don't know? Just ask Al. I love it here. This should be apart of your monthly rotation, and try everything. read more

Always an enjoyable experience and friendly staff! The owner is one of a kind and the food is always on point! read more

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Hit or Miss at It's Italia Cucina Opting for an early dinner at It's Italia Cucina, I took a seat at the quiet bar. Cute spot. The location and service were commendable, but my food choice left me underwhelmed. Despite hearing great things, my dish fell short of expectations. I'm open to giving it another try, hoping for a more impressive experience next time. read more

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Went there for the first time tonight and loved it. The Romano Risotto and the Chicken Marsala were fantastic, and the lemon mascarpone for dessert was unbelievably good. Wonderful atmosphere with a live pianist and overall great vibe. We will be back! read more

This was our first visit and they did not disappoint. The pasta's we ordered were fantastic in every way. Our server was very friendly and provided great service to us. The restaurant has a real neighborhood vibe! Looking forward to our next visit! read more

Wonderful, local restaurant, with great food and service. My mom and I came here for a nice dinner and everything we ordered was delicious. I am celiac and she generally eats gluten free when we go to dinner so we can split different dishes. We ordered the Burrata Tartufata w/ gluten free bread, the Fettuccine Tartufo w/ gf noodles, and the boar ragu paparadelle w/ gf noodles. Our favorite was the fettuccine -- very rich but delicious sauce and very good portions. They also let you try any wine by the glass before they pour a full glass. Our waitress was attentive but not overbearing and did a great job. read more

Food was OK needed salt. Service was great but we were the only customers in the room at the time we were there.

We dined here this evening and it was delightful. We ordered bruschetta and focaccia before our meal and they were delicious. Each of us enjoyed our dinner selections! I had the gnocchi with vodka sauce and added chicken. It was fantastic. The table next to use had the fettuccine with shrimp and mushrooms and I will be trying that next time. Everything was served piping hot. Our server was great. Wonderful experience. read more

Very good experience overall! Food was yummy and service was great! Even the head honcho met us at the door and showed us to our table. He was super friendly and outgoing. My in laws loved it and they're picky, so if they like a place - it must be good! Will be returning soon. read more

Very Good Service & I wanted to try something different as far as Italian food and I may have found a gem. I loved the way my chicken was cooked as the mushrooms And spaghetti noodles to compliment the meal. The sun was also dazzling as this will not be my last time here. read more

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This place is great! We went on a Thursday evening and it wasn't packed at all. We quickly got a seat at the bar and met the bartender, Colby, who was really sweet. Not a whole lot of options for beer but my guy was okay with Peroni. We ordered the Rullato to start (rolled smoked salmon, cucumber & mascarpone) which was nice! Loved all the dill. Then we decided to move into the prosciutto-wrapped burrata which is always a fam favorite -- an adorable presentation, too -- in the shape of a rose! The foccacia was tasty as well. For the entree, we split the chefs special and it was probably my favorite part of the meal. Peppered tuna over spicy rigatoni. The tuna was perfectly done and still cold in the middle which surprised me, given the fact that it was laying atop steaming hot noodles. It was really perfect. Kudos to the chef. We ended up closing it down because Colby and another bartender, Skyler, were just super cool and nice - lost track of time chatting it up with them. We'd definitely come back here to sit at the bar and hang out. I also noticed someone who might be the owner? He had an accent and was carrying around a glass of red wine which also made it feel really authentic. He was really nice too, and came over to ask us how our meal was. read more

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It's rare for me to post a five-star review because I think a lot of them are either paid for or friends of the business. Not in our case! This restaurant is not only fantastic, it's authentic. I've not had artichokes this good outside Italy. Their lobster ravioli is incredible, fat raviolis filled with what is clearly fresh lobster. My husband's veal piccata was wonderful (he says - I don't eat veal, but I tasted the delicious sauce and side of pasta). We went during happy hour and sat at the bar and had a great time chatting with bartenders Kolby and Dave (newly transplanted here from New Jersey). Kolby's Bellini was unusual, made with prosecco, but I liked it. Randy's Old Fashioned cocktail was a full glass and so delicious he ordered another one and a wine chaser with his veal. We also ordered an appetizer of calamari, which was a huge serving for two. The bruschetta was all right, but I would have preferred regular foccacia with my ravioli and skip the bruschetta, which was loaded with delicious cocktail tomatoes but no olive oil or sauce and only maybe worth the happy hour, not regular, price. Besides the delicious Old Fashioned and wine, that's all we ordered from the HH menu. We didn't pig out on the food because we wanted to have some leftover for breakfast at noon the next day, plus we wanted to try dessert - limoncello cake, which was light and delicious. At home the next morning I took a picture of the inside of the ravioli just to show how much lobster was in it - it was packed full, no breading or cheese filler. See attached. We won't order as much on our next visit, since the food is expensive, but we love that it's locally owned and NOT part of that detested (by us) McGuire/Moorman group that seems to be buying up and overpricing venues all over town. This restaurant is a gem and I highly recommend sitting at the bar if there are just two of you. We were pretty much the only patrons until we left around 7, when the place filled to the max, including the bar. This is a truly authentic central Austin Italian restaurant (we also like Juliet over on Barton Springs Rd) complete with a Jersey Boy bartender, accent and all. We'll be back. read more

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Off the chain. Here with my wife's uncle Woody. Al the owner and master chef was a great fellow. Ambiance was fantastic and I cannot say enough about the food! Osso Buco was likely one of the finest dishes I have ever had. I am just wowed!! Never been to Austin until yesterday and this place alone will make me come back!!! read more

We got in around 6:30 pm on a Saturday and it was not busy at all, we requested to sit in their patio and it was just perfect, very relaxing! The guy who greeted and sat us was very nice. We actually came because we were craving Burrata so we ordered Burrata and a Bruschetta to start. We asked for extra Balsamic and got maybe a drizzle extra. As we were down to our last bit we asked for more balsamic and the waitress said if we don't order an item with balsamic they won't give you extra which was disappointing. I understand it wasn't her but they are very stingy about how much you get. So if you love balsamic you won't get extra here so you might need to bring your own bottle. The bruschetta's had so much flavor! For drinks we started off with a Mexican Martini and I enjoyed it, it was slightly sweeter than others but good. For the second round of drinks we got the Sharita and an Aperol Spritz. I was expecting the Sharita to be a little sweeter but it wasn't. It wasn't my favorite drink, the Aperol was just like it should taste. I finished off with the meatballs and they were flavorful and the marina sauce was good. Overall the ambience was great, the staff was great and food was food aside for not giving you extra balsamic. We will definitely be back. read more

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"It's Italian!!!! Cucina" or "It's Italian, Cucina" or "It is Italian Kitchen" I have no idea. has a certain type if charm that's hard to overlook. When you step inside, the coziness of the ambiance embraces you. Parking is a breeze, thanks to the nearby parking garage, which takes away the usual Austin parking hassle although I would've liked a valet option. The food is the star of the show. From the flavors to the artistic presentation, it's clear that quality is at the forefront of their dishes. Paired with an attentive and friendly wait staff, your dining experience is mostly enjoyable. However, the experience did have a very minor drawback. A dude who I assumed was the the head chef appeared to reluctant to make a table visit (he visited some tables, repeatedly). I for one was a lil' sad as It would have been a pleasure to hear his stories about the inspiration behind such delightful dishes directly from the creator "in the old country blah, blah, blah". Come on man, It's why we all go to ah- ristorantes like this-a Seriously "It's Italian Cucina" is a must-visit, especially for those who appreciate the fine intricacies of Italian cuisine. The comfort, convenience, and culinary excellence overshadow that one minor flaw, making it a restaurant worth your time. Tapas are on point, as were the adult beverages. Try the Goldrush if you're a fan of bourbon. I'm not even a big fan of Italian food and I'd go back. Calamari A+ Espresso A+ read more

It's Italian Cucina - Fettuccine Tartufo - Wine Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I am quite anxious when I go to an Italian Restaurant because I won't know what to order. I've been in Italy but the food there were superb compared to the Italian restaurants I've been to, even if I only had a very simple spaghetti. My first time in this restaurant as I'm from out of town but I swear! The food is grrrreaaat I loved all the food we ordered but my most favorite is the Acciughe (White Anchovy in white wine lemon on a bread). Thank you to Mohnish Pabrai and my Baby Doc Sis for taking me there. Kudos to the Master Chef who came to our table for a very brief but a friendly chat. read more

We booked this restaurant last minute for 8 people for a birthday celebration because there was not much else available. We ended up making a good choice. The ambience is very nice. The food was good. A little on the pricey side, but everyone enjoyed their meal. I tried the fettuccine tartufo.. the truffle flavor was delicious! For dessert they brought out a birthday tiramasu which was lovely. The service was great. I would recommend checking this place out. read more

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Light were dim, music was low which made for a very nice ambiance. We were in a group for a birthday dinner but this place is very much so versatile. Great for dates too! The food in my opinion was just ok for the money. It was really bland. However, the drinks and the service was top notch! Overall, I had a good experience and would definitely recommend giving it a try. read more

It's Italian Cucina - Crab fingers - Wine Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

First time visit this past Saturday and it was a wonderful experience! We wanted to try a new place and hubby made a reservation the day of. Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted and seated. Restaurant has safety measures in place to guarantee social distancing. Our server was very polite and attentive. Service was spot on - timely, efficient and frequent check-ins made us feel very welcomed. Everything was delicious - from our drinks, appetizers, and main course. Next time I'll try to leave room for dessert. I look forward to the next visit - I do recommend! read more

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