La Cucina Italian Kitchen

"Third visit: November 2023 This is, bar none, one of the best restaurants I've been in from Maine to Florida. The place is immaculately clean, the service is excellent, and the food is about 3 clicks past that. We've eaten here three times in the last month if that counts and taken about five other diners to boot. Everyone, and there were some picky eaters in the bunch, enjoyed the truly fine fare. Little pricey, but good for the quality. Parking is sometimes a problem but this small inconvenience is well worth putting up with. Great food, great people. What a treasure to have. Just fantastic! Parking somewhat problematic, but everything else was superb. We had the nightly special, cod and shrimp, along with fresh baked bread with dips. To top it, a bit of dessert and excellent coffee. As an illustration of what a nice experience this was, we made two more reservations. Try it!"

"IF you know and appreciate authentic Italian cuisine, you will never go wrong with any selection of entrees from La Cucina. Matteo is a phenomenal chef. It is the best Italian I’ve eaten since my meal at Hostaria I Clementini in Roma. Those who travel great distances to dine here understand what a treasure this little restaurant in eastern Tennessee is. Those who don’t know true Italian and give it anything less than 5 stars do not. Fenomenale!"

"Wow, I can’t believe how great this little place is. The staff did an amazing job and the food was delicious. #worththedrive."

"We met family here on Sun for lunch at 12 PM. The place was packed inside and out and we had to park on the grass. We had reservations and was seated immediately. After waiting 15 min, the waitress took our drinks and our bread orders. It was real loud inside and all the waitresses seem stressed. They seem to always be in a rush going back and forth to the kitchen. After we received our drinks and bread, it took another 45 min or so to receive our food. All the meals were very good but we were on-the-fence about the Northern Italian style lasagna. The meatballs and fresh made pasta were excellent. The house salad was very fresh and we loved the homemade bread. We did have to ask for refills on our drink several times and had to wait a while to receive our tab. The couple next to us waited 15 min or more to get their tab after they finished eating. It may be more relaxing to eat outside."

"The experience begins with homemade Ciabatta bread with EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. In fact, every authentic Italian bite is made from scratch. Everything we ordered was exceptional!"