Great ambiance, food, and service. The lobster ravioli and cannoli were delicious, and our server Alvin was the cherry on top to our perfect night. Will def be back! read more

I went for happy hour with a friend, which is daily from 4-5, and all specialty cocktails were only $6. My favorite was the pornodivo. We sat at the bar and the bartender was helpful without being overbearing. It's well-decorated indoors and the patio is nice too when the weather is good. read more

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I love this place, my friends and i have come for dinner several times and the food is amazing! The vibes here are immaculate, and both inside and the patio are gorgeous. On top of that, every time the service is top notch. Our server Nathan was so attentive, kinda and very friendly. The people, the food and the vibes are what keep us coming back!! read more

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I was out and about and found myself hungry for a good meal on a late Saturday afternoon. With the place relatively empty before dinner service, I was treated with outstanding service, checked in on frequently but not excessively. I loved how personable my server was, and even the bartender checked in on how I liked my delicious Copper Fig! The hits just kept coming and coming...kept the fig flavored theme going with the Fiori Di Zucca and it was no surprise why this one is so popular as the ricotta and zucchini pair so well together. The lobster ravioli portion dish was generously portioned and spectacularly flavored, and the limoncello cake was light, not too sweet and rounded out a great overall meal. Will definitely go back and will definitely do a round two of all of the above! read more

Rusticucina has great happy hour specials. It's a narrow window from 4-5pm, but I highly recommend it. It's fairly empty at 4pm and that makes it an even nicer, quieter experience. I did have to specifically request the happy hour menu (they didn't provide it to us when we were being seated). As for cocktails, we ordered the cucumber spritzer, aperol sour, and pornodivo. The cucumber spritzer was HUGE and refreshing! The aperol sour was good and frothy, no complaints here. But the pornodivo (which comes with a shot of Prosecco as well) was one of the best drinks I've ever had. I highly recommend this one if you like a sweeter, fruitier cocktail! We also ordered the garlic bread and calamari as an appetizer. I would skip the garlic bread next time, it wasn't worth the calories for me. The calamari is lightly breaded and for HH pricing, it's a huge portion size. Both sauces make a good pairing. I would order the calamari again. For our entrees, I had the bucatini carbonara, and my husband had the half rigatoni with wild boar sausage sauce. I tried a bit of his and it was really good. The guanciale in my carbonara was cooked crispy and the pieces throughout also had a bouncy texture from the fattiness-- such a rich dish but I liked it a lot. I wish that the egg yolk was served on top so that I could break it and spread it myself, though. The pasta was a big enough portion to split into 2 meals. The interior is also cute and the service was very friendly and attentive. We actually were celebrating our anniversary here and while they didn't know that, they helped make our day special. I would return here for sure during happy hour. They also have "date night" specials for $50 on certain nights of the week. 5/5! read more

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Love this place so much, it is just down the street from me so i can walk to and from easily. My friend had got the Short Rib Pappardelle, which was so smooth and good. i had gotten the cheese wheel, which was out of this world!! SO bomb omg, so creamy and peppery in the best way. will 10/10 come back! Ambiance was stunning, vibes on 10! read more

Rusticucina - Limoncello Cake - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

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LURRVVVVVVV it here! RUSTICUCCCIIII 4everrr service was super great and good was so yum. Would come again!

I picked this place to celebrate my parents 30th wedding anniversary with our family. Service was amazing and they even wished my parents a happy anniversary multiple times through the night. Food wise, everything was delicious! I got the cheese wheel pasta which changes daily but was absolutely phenomenal. They gave us a dessert on the house for the celebratory occasion which was a nice added touch. We had a reservation for 6:15 on a Tuesday evening so getting close to sundown. We asked for a different table and they happily accommodated. Not too loud, and not dark. Plenty of light to see the menus and food. This might become a go to for "special occasions" Price wasn't terrible or too cheap but right in the middle. read more

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The food was amazing...but nothing compared to the immaculate service by Nathan! He not only catered to our needs, but made sure to keep us smiling and constantly ordering more! A treasure he is, and makes the experience even more worthwhile! read more

We had a great dinner here! The decor is adorable and offers a very cozy Italian kind of vibe. The pasta tasted fresh, great texture and every sauce exceeded expectations. Garnishes on the drinks were beautiful and I appreciate the fun mocktail options. Truffle fries had just the right flavor, dipping sauces was okay... but I enjoyed the fries on their own. The garlic bread was also yummy and great to get every last bit of sauce from our pasta dishes. I will definitely be coming back for more. Happy eating:) read more

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The food.. delicious. The service, spot on. The ambiance, wonderful. 10/10 recommend. Thanks for a great evening! read more

Rusticucina - Order the Pesto Fettuccini. It's delicious - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

Service from Ashley and Alvin was impeccable and the food was absolutely lovely! Overall environment was inviting and quite spacious! Mediterranean salad was exquisite! read more

Rusticucina - Such pretty ambiance - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

First time here and we'll definitely be back. Thanks to Nathan for making my moms birthday dinner such a special day He explained the gist of the restaurant menu and was very attentive. He was super efficient and friendly! My mom loved him too haha! Sadly we forgot our bag of leftovers at the restaurant (Nathan could have them for lunch haha) Thank you again and see you next time! read more

I came here with a friend last night for a res. at 7:45. & with the good reviews you would think it's a great place, that wasn't our experience. We were seated at 8pm and i wish i remembered our server's name but we hardly saw her so we didn't have the chance to remember. we ordered our drinks and they were busy for a Friday night so they took a little longer which was fine. we got our appetizers shortly after that. we ordered truffle fries and garlic bread. we finished our drinks and our truffle fries and didn't touch the garlic bread because we wanted to eat it with our pasta. we finally see our server again at this time it is 9pm we let her know we wanted the garlic bread with the entree so we asked for it to be reheated as it had been sitting for 40 min and she lets us know our food is coming. At 9:30 we decided we've waited enough and would like to leave. I went to the hostess stand and asked our server for the check and sat back down. she didn't bring it for a few minutes so i went back up to pay right at computer. We remained polite we just wanted to leave. The manager came up and comped our truffle fries and the garlic bread we didn't touch. She spoke so quietly in a loud restaurant which was frustrating, and not very apologetic and didn't offer to comp our drinks which I found odd and not fitting for the service experience we had. The waitress remained next to us during the exchange and started to speak loudly saying, "Let me tell you my side of the story". I found this extremely unprofessional and rude. The waitress was starting to cause a small scene for what reason I'm not sure as we had a calm demeanor and just wanted to leave. I imagine she was embarrassed and upset in front of her boss because we didn't like her service. The manager also didn't stop her from this exchange: Her reason for not putting the entrees in was because she saw we hadn't touched one of our appetizers and wanted to give us time. That could've been resolved with her asking us if we would like our entrees to be put in after our appetizers. Simple communication could've avoided this entire night. Overall extremely disappointed with the service, the unprofessionalism and attempt to start a scene by the waitress was actually unbelievable. The manager witnessing that incredibly uncomfortable exchange and still not comping our drinks to be apologetic was just horrible service. Hopefully they use this as constructive criticism. Obviously we won't be returning. read more

Why haven't I heard about this place sooner?! Happy hour is from 4-5pm and definitely one of the bestttt happy hours in town. I stumbled upon here with my boyfriend as we were in the area and wanted a quick bite/drink before hitting the gym. There were plenty of meter parking when we arrived at 4:15pm and scored a spot literally steps away from the restaurant. We didn't have a reservation but there were only 2 other parties at the restaurant so we were immediately seated. Both outdoor and indoor seating was available and this can be a cute date spot for sure ! What we ordered from the happy hour menu: - Cocktails (Pornodivo, Rustic smash, Rustitini, Spice up your life): All good and refreshing but the most memorable one was definitely the Pornodivo. Slightly sweet and tart from the passion fruit puree, served with a shot of Prosecco. - Meatballs: Tender and cooked perfectly, the sauce it came with was perfect to dip our bread in. - Calamari: Lightly fried and came with 2 dipping sauces (marinara and chipotle) - Fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta: I've had this dish at many restaurants before but this was definitely my favorite. They serve it with fig jam and that hint of sweetness mixed with the melted cheese when you bite into it works soo well together. Also free garlic bread when you check in on Yelp! I wished I had more stomach space but I'll definitely be back to try the build your own pasta and fried burrata! read more

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Authentic, delicious flavors, I can recommend every pasta dish we tried without hesitation! We had the carbonara, the ragu, and the cheese wheel pastas and they were all on point delicious. I would skip the artichoke appetizer as it is super sour for no reason. read more

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Maybe the best happy hour in San Diego? $6 craft cocktails and half off build your own pasta, and everything is delicious. Very simple but traditional feeling vibe, we got served by the bartender I believe and she was amazing. Every drink and food item was perfect and I'll absolutely be coming back! read more

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The gluten-free pasta at this restaurant is delicious. They make the pasta in house and only charge $3 more for gluten-free. We ordered the special, which was prepared table side in the cheese wheel. We will definitely be coming back. read more

Rusticucina - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

So delicious. We had the carbonara and paccheri salsa alla vodka. The outdoor seating was so beautiful and peaceful. Parking was actually ok for a Friday night. Will definitely be back. read more

A party of 4 with two guests from out of town. Have to share our favorite local restaurant and their endearing staff. Grilled Artichoke is a favorite, Calamari, Caesar salad, a variety of pasta choices and sauces. Topped off with coffee and Limoncello cake. Marcello took excellent care of us as always. Thank you! read more

Highly recommend making a reservation, especially if you're planning on coming here during the weekend. I came here with a friend on Saturday night and I'm so glad we had a reservation because the restaurant was packed within 30 minutes of being there. I got the carbonara with rigatoni while my dining companion got the chicken parmigiana. I personally feel like the portion sizes were very disproportionate, as my amount of food was almost twice the size of my friend's. I was unable to finish my pasta, partially because of the size, but also because of the richness. We also ended up getting dessert (I wasn't gonna be the boring friend who doesn't get dessert.) The chocolate molten cake seemed like it was good (friend's dessert,) and the crème brûlée was good with the exception of the caramelized top being too hard to crack. For 1 alcoholic beverage, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts, it was quite pricey, which I kinda expected for this area. Everything came to $125, including tip...yikes! I loved the ambiance, and the employees were very friendly and hospitable, but the amount of times people checked in on us was a bit much for my liking since it interrupted our conversation a lot. I'm glad I tried this restaurant, but I definitely don't think it's worth returning to if I visit San Diego again. read more

Fan. Tas. Tic. Came for dinner with a family friend, i've never been but he's ate here a bunch of times and never had anything bad to say so I wanted to try it out. It was restaurant week and we didn't know, but they were able to get us in even though they were super packed. Our server Ashley was amazing, soo sweet. We also had great service from Alvin and Nathan, they were HILARIOUSSSS and made our night. We decided to order off the restaurant week menu and... I get it now.. we ordered the Caesar salad and the buratta for starters, then we got the chicken parmesan and their mushroom fusilli special and ended off with some cannoli. Everything was amazing. I wish I had photos of the food, but I was so excited I couldn't help it start eating immediately. We did get a photo of the cannoli, though. The restaurant is very very pretty too, it was dimly lit and everyone seemed to be having a good time which set the vibe right. Overall, this experience was definitely a 10 out of 10, can't believe I haven't heard of this place before. Will 100% becoming back and bringing the girls for some pasta and espresso martinis ;) read more

Rusticucina - Inside area was very pretty at the end of the night - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Nathan was amazing! So sweet, attentive, and funny. Would come back just for him! Food was good. It was a busy night and things felt a little under seasoned but they do a great date night special and restaurant week deal so we will come back and try again! read more

Food was delicious! Service was great. We had a great time. gooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's your revised review without dashes: Rusty Cucina Review We had a fantastic experience at Rusty Cucina! The food was very good across the board, and the ambiance made it a perfect spot for a date night. Service was excellent, attentive and friendly without being overbearing. The cheese wheel pasta was not only delicious but such a fun, interactive presentation. The bruschetta was absolutely incredible--fresh, flavorful, and one of the highlights of the meal. I also really enjoyed the cucumber vodka cocktail; it was refreshing and perfectly balanced. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a great dinner with a bit of flair and a cozy, stylish vibe. read more

This place was absolutely amazing! The service was great and the lasagna was even better, it actually melted in my mouth. 10/10! You need to come check it out read more

This was our first visit to this Restaurant let me just tell you food is AMAZING!!!! If we had room in our tummy to try every single item on their menu we would have. Their drink menu has a great selection and flavor profile. The service and the organized staff made this place a great experience during our early dinner. We were seated outside the patio due to our dog was comfortable and they had a heater. We'll be back for more! read more

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Great food and the ambiance is great. We had to change our reservation due to travel changes and they had other openings which was great.

We had a delicious dinner. Fried burrata was delicious. The wait staff was especially cordial. I'd like to return and try their pasta in a cheese round soon. read more

We stopped by on a late-afternoon Mother's Day and were unfortunately locked into their set menu. Overall unimpressed by the pasta dishes. My rigatoni pasta was mushy, my husband's paccheri pasta was too al dente. Talk about Goldie lock situation! But when you're paying $30+ for a dish, you're expecting quality food. Their cocktails were solid though! With all the many other Italian restaurants throughout San Diego, probably would not come back again. read more

Rusticucina - Cocktails - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Went to this restaurant for the first time with my family a group of 14 and the service and food was incredible everything from the caesar salad, Gallic bread, calamari all amazing and the entrees of pasta were incredible all of them were amazing, but the staff and Anthony added to the whole experience and they really took care of us, would definitely come back. read more

Way, way, way over priced and the main dish was the size of an appetizer. I hate having to hit a fast food joint to kill the hunger especially after dropping $50 for my dinner (and that was without ordering alcoholic drinks). The food itself was very average and lacked seasoning. I'm a food snob, but I know I could have had better food at the Olive Garden and I think olive garden is average. Save your money and go somewhere else. Two stars for the atmosphere and server otherwise it would have been a zero. read more

Nathan A. was an amazing server! The food tasted incredible, and his service made the experience even better. 10/10 recommend.

This is a 3.75 star restaurant. Appetizers of Polpette and flash-fried burrata were very good, especially the burrata where the outer layer was meaty and the interior was wonderfully creamy. The caesar salad was a nice portion but the croutons...oof! This place has plenty of options to make their own bread products. Why use tiny, crappy out-of-a-box croutons in your Caesar salad?!?!? Who made that decision??? Garlic bread was awful. Skip it and thank me later. Again, this place needs an in-house baker who can significantly raise their game on the bread products. The pastas shined, the rigatoni being the star with a thick and doughy texture and a really nice chew. As for the sauces, we had pesto, alla vodka, cacio e pepe and carbonara and all were nicely prepared and amply covered the pastas but they were all weak in terms of flavor and need some "punching up". The garlic bread could have used the help. Service was knowlegeable, attentive and not at all bothersome. The foundations are here for a really great restaurant but first they need to take it up a notch in the kitchen. read more

Alvin was amazing! Excellent service and very attentive. They mix pasta in a cheese wheel at the table. Very cool experience!

GREAT food and service. This Italian restaurant is such a hidden gem! I love that you get to make your own pasta dish for a reasonable price. The vibes of the place are perfect. read more

Rusticucina - Cacio e Pepe - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

One of my new favorite places for Happy Hour when we'll be in the Hillcrest or North Park area! I saw that they have Happy Hour 4-6pm Sunday-Thursday. I made a reservation for a Sunday at 5:30, but they still had some open tables when we got there, so maybe not necessary every time. Parking is a challenge, but you can usually find some a block or two away. We loved all of our choices, and I even had food left to take home. I had meatball app, Caesar salad, and stuffed squash blossoms. My friend had the 1st 2 as well, but the fried burrata instead of the squash blossoms. We also claimed the Yelp checkin offer for free garlic bread (done as sliced toasted bread triangles, not the stereotypical long French loaf log, lol). Next time I would definitely try the build your own pasta, which is half price at HH. So many great choices like calamari and truffle fries, plus drink specials. We'll be back to try more things! read more

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The best Italian food I've had in restaurants, the superb service, and just delicious fresh ingredients. My friend and I went during happy hour, paid a total of $40 for four beers, two entrees, two appetizers, and a cake!! Wow, I would return in a heartbeat if I was local. There's indoor and outdoor seating and plenty of it, great relaxing atmosphere. read more

Rusticucina - Limoncello Cake - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Loved this charming Italian spot! Such a warm and inviting ambiance with friendly service. I'm glad I made a reservation because it was busy. There's a great cocktail selection, though we ordered wine for the table. We also ordered the pane di casa to try three different spreads with the bread; the bread came out warm and crusty and the spreads were delicious. Everyone was happy with their meal choice, and I especially enjoyed mine. I went with the caesar salad and lobster ravioli. The caesar is enough to share between two and the ravioli was generously filled with lobster goodness. They also have the pasta in a cheese wheel which has been popping up at popular Italian spots. Though I wouldn't say it adds a super cheesy factor, it adds creaminess and saltiness to the dish. Plus, if you want extra parmesan to sprinkle on any dish, they bring a dish around for you. We ended the night with limoncello shots and a slice of the delightful lemon cake to share, thanks to our server. Though I ate here part of a group, it's a buzzy enough place, I'd feel comfortable dining solo as well. P.S. They have a small parking lot, but it was full and street parking was a pain on a Saturday night (no surprise). We found several street spots all the way down Indiana if you're ok with a short 10-minute walk. read more

Best short rib pappardelle we've ever had!! A cute atmosphere and attentive service. The staff was very friendly and the food was great. We got the arancini to start then the lasagna and pappardelle with creme brûlée to finish. It was so much food for two of us but would definitely come back. Make a reservation if you come here so you can secure your spot in advance! read more

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