CUCINA urbana

"I always love this place. Beautiful atmosphere and we were sitting at a cool little high top table by the front windows. Service is great, food is always delicious and unique. Great cocktails as well! We got the meatballs, the focaccia bread, the grill octopus, the chicken, and the branzino."

"One of the main reason I chose to eat here was it's proximity to Balboa Park, where I was staying. That and it looked pretty good in most the photos. Happy that I ended up having dinner here. ITEM'S ORDERED: Tempura Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms Pepperoni, Hot Honey Pizza Crab linguine TASTE: The food in general was all hot, fresh nothing was bad, which is always a win. The appetizer of the Tempura Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms was probably the main letdown because you only get 3 blossoms which is a pretty small portion. Nice overall flavor thought with the goat cheese but I just wished I look at a Yelp photo before ordering this one. Comparing the price of this appetizer and the entrees I find this one a little pricey, or the entrees on the lower side, depending on how you look at it. The Pepperoni pizza with the hot honey was the highlight to me. I was already impressed when it came out because it was larger than I thought it was going to be. There really was a nice balance of the salty, sweet and little spice. I ate the entire pizza, minus the one shared slice because I wanted to enjoy it at it's prime and not as leftovers. My one critique is I would like it with a little more spice, so it could do with more of the calabrian chili. But you could just add some crushed red pepper like I did. The Crab Linguine was somewhat on on the smaller side, as is most seafood options. I will say it's big on the crab flavor for all you seafood lovers. Beyond that I found the the sauce and other flavors really subtle. SERVICE: The service overall was really good here from the hostess to the server. It was quite busy but they were all friendly. While we were eating the manager or maybe owner even checked with us how the food was. LOCATION & PARKING: I really like the design of the place. When you walk in from the street and enter the restaurant you go somewhat subterranean. It's a nicely sized restaurant that is very spacious. I think there is a little wine store inside at one end since I saw an entire wall of wine. You are in SD, in Bankers Hill so there is no parking lot, but it's not too difficult to find some nearby street parking and if you cannot find something that close you should be able to find parking adjacent to Balboa Park which is just a short walk away. WRAP UP: Considering my pizza was just a little more in cost than going a chain these days, and that it was that good, I can definitely see myself coming here again. That along with the great service and nice build of the place make me want to come back. I'll probably just skip the appetizer though. Cheers!"

"Been here 5 times, usually for dinner. Great food, great location (near Balboa Park entrance where the art museums are located). There lots of great food for everyone - meat eaters, vegetarians, vegan, kids. Great selection of wines (all regions of the world), with very reasonable to expensive wine. They charge market price for the wine and $10 to pour it for you. Streets parking or park in Balboa Park."

"We had a great time. We showed up almost right when they opened, and they were very accommodating. They even gave us a bar high chair for our kiddos while we waited for a table. We were able to enjoy a happy hour menu. We'll definitely be going back. The food was delicious. I highly recommend the pizza if you love a thin crust. No complaints."

"This is the first time I have been here with a friend. The restaurant has happy hour but it is only offered at the bar. The food offered during happy hour is limited. I ordered Parmesan French fries and it was salty. The bartender and our server during dinner were nice and attentive. The restaurant is spacious and has a nice ambiance. My friend enjoyed the Brussels sprouts and my chicken dinner was good."