La Cucina Italiano

First visit here tonight. Overall, the food was decent but the service was horrible. Our waiter was absolutely 100% clueless. To start off with when he brought us our drinks he asked us if we wanted an appetizer when we had already ordered an appetizer! When he brougt ou bread/appetizer plates he only gave us 3 when there was 4 of us at the table then came back a few minutes later and filled one of them with oil for dipping. My husband's salad that he ordered never came out and the food took forever before it was served.

Overall, the food was good. My husband eally liked his lasagna. The veal piccata was decent. I asked for veggies instead of pasta with it and they were petty good as well. I would probably have been just as happy at a Carrabas and feel service would have been better there.

BTW- we ordered the fried ravioli as an appetizer and for the recordit is cheese ravioli....my husband is from Saint Louis so when you say fried ravioli we assume it is the meat ravioli....so incase you too assume like we you shouldn't assume. ;)

Will I go back? Not too sure yet...I would be happier going to the Blue Ridge Grill or driving farther to get Italian elsewhere.

Some much-needed good food near the Brambleton movie theater!

After the debacle that was Caliente Mex-Sea Grill and our atrocious meal at Johnny Rockets, we were quite pleased to find a good eatery for a pre-movie repast.

We shared a pizza and both got linguini with white clam sauce. The pizza was a bit underseasoned but the crust was outstanding. The linguini was nice, with a light broth and tons of clams. Plus, it's a steal for just $12!

Also, the service was quite good, unlike what some others have experienced. We will be back!

Not another Italian place! Actually, "Another Italian place" is a poor description of La Cucina Italiano. This is a Mom & Pop place, and in 2 of our 3 visits, we've talked to either the owner or the manager and had a nice conversation each time.

After experiencing the Arabiata (quite spicy), the lasagna, and most recently the chicken marsala, I am willing to pass judgement. This isn't Olive Garden [Italian for "Crap"], so don't expect to get the schlock a chain spits out and calls it Italian food.

Good stuff.

Solid staff, homemade sauces, cheesecake, and tiramisu make it a place I want to come back to. We haven't managed to sit outside yet, but they have enough indoor & outdoor seating to never have to wait...so far.

Note: this is not a place that you will leave stuffed like a pig. The portions for entrees are not obnoxiously large, and for folks who appreciate a well sized meal, this may be just what you are looking for.

Also - if you are not doing the pasta thing (fad diet, allergy, or whackjob paranoia) they will substitute steamed veggies for pasta noodles upon request, which looked yummy, although I did not try them myself.

I've been quite a few times over the last few months and so far, its solid. I'm quite sad my two favorite servers are moving out of state. For the most part, though, the service here is good except for one person.

Parking is easy...We usually park in the garage right behind the restaurant since the spots in front are always taken.

I've had the caesar salad multiple times and its solid. No complaints. The bruchetta is still to die for. One of the best I've ever had with flavorful, buttery crostini and a lovely balsamic glaze on top. The pasta dishes come with a ton of food, and I've always gotten almost halfway through before throwing in the towel and taking the rest home. I had the mussels for the first time yesterday, and they were amazing. Had the standard garlic white wine sauce, but what made them extra special was the smoked flavor...so good!

The boyfriend has gotten the spaghetti and meatballs and the vegetarian lasagna multiple times and loved them both.

Cute place (although I still think they need to dump the TVs and get better lighting..) but the food is good and worth trying!

Best Italian in the area. Consistently the best overall restaurant in the area. Their prices are great and the service is excellent. Their brick oven pizzas are absolutely perfect. Try the White Italian. It's just awesome. Their style is simple Italian food done extremely well. There are a lot of traditional items on the menu but don't be afraid to enjoy them because you'll taste them all over again for the first time. And you simply cannot be disappointed in the specials. I haven't had a special yet that wasn't less than excellent.

Also if you like martinis then these are the best going. The Platinum Gin Martini is my favorite. Three robust green olives stuffed with blue cheese make it extraordinary.

You also can't beat the staff. Sometimes things get hectic like anywhere, but the point of the service is personable wait staff and a warm and welcoming management. These are people you can get to know and who will get to know you. It's everything a real Italian restaurant that I remember from my old neighborhoods was.

I really hate to give a bad review to a business but I was extremely let down by this restaurant. I wouldn't feel so let down but the price is so high compared to the product that I have to call it out.

The hostess acted like seating 5 people was a chore and the restaurant was half empty when we arrived; taking many minutes to seat us. A nice man brought us baked bread and poured a 'large' plate of olive oil and cracked some pepper in it. Okay, standard fare for Italian dining these days but no custom seasoning, cheese, or something that shows of a chef's touch.

As I waited for my food I watched the staff repeatedly hit this lady with a gate sitting outside on the patio every time they walked in or out. The lady should have moved but she just kept getting upset every time someone hit her with the gate.

The Chicken Parmesan (the easiest Italian dish to make) looked like it came out of a lean cuisine freezer meal. The Chicken Marsala was one small hammered out piece of chicken with what I can only describe as a brown sauce like you would get from a seasoning packet at the grocery store. What I did not receive in chicken they made up for in an abundance of pasta since clearly I wanted a ton of pasta with a hint of chicken. I have had both of these dishes in many different Italian restaurants in the DC area and I can tell you this was hands down the worst food I have had in an Italian labeled restaurant.

Capping all of this off was the bill which I was shocked to see how much I paid for these dishes. Other reviews state the management is nice and people love the atmosphere, etc. etc. The location is great and clearly they are surviving on the fact that Ashburn has the worst selection of restaurants in the northern Virginia area but you have to do better than that. The food prep was seriously lacking and there was little or no Italian inspired seasoning or cooking involved in what I paid for that night. Had I not paid so much for my dinner I probably would have moved on, kept my opinion to myself, and never dined there again but with the price they charge for their food, I am amiss with what I was served last Friday night.

This place will be a welcome addition to the Brambleton Town Center. The decor is very nice and the service is attentive but not over bearing. The food was good,cooked properly and plated nicely. I had the Chicken Parm, as that is my staple in judging this type of Italian food and it was very nice. The Caprese salad also gets a kudos. I am looking forward to going back and trying the wood burning pizzas as well as the calamari and some other dishes on the menu. They have a full bar along with some nice wine and beer selections. They just opened so the full wine list wasn't available but will be very soon.

One thing I would like to see changed or improved is the menu design. It does not match the decor and as much as I tried to get past it, I just couldn't. the cover is nice but the paper and the layout are horrible. Not to mention the menu board outside the place, it has to go. It is obvious a lot of design work went into the decor, it should carry through to the menu. Next is the sauce, it is a good sauce but it could be much, much better with just a little more seasoning, it was on the bland side. Finally, I would also like to see some fresh pasta in the future. It doesn't have to be on all dishes but at least maybe on specials. Pasta is one of the easiest things to make and makes a big difference.

I am looking forward to returning in the near future to see how this place is maturing.

Marvelous food! I was truly impressed with the old world flavors of this new restaurant in Brambleton Town Center. The decor is very classy and not overpowering, making it inviting and comfortable. The staff was very friendly and welcoming.

Cocktails were good portions and reasonable for a restaurant of this size for the quality of the offerings. The wood fired pizza oven makes the best hand crafted pizza I have seen in a long while. I had the bolognese with meatballs. There was enough for two portions. The sauce was rich an meaty, not oily of fatty. The meatballs were done perfectly and it was apparent everything was fresh. I tasted the homemade beef soup and the broth was very rich, meaty flavor and not fatty or salty as some restaurant soups can be. The Caesar salad was lightly dressed and used very fresh lettuce. You can taste the care that went into the preparation of the food. The pasta was cooked perfectly.

Cannoli for dessert. Very fresh, but light. You could feel the graininess of the ricotta. The filling was not too sweet and would have been even better had I thought to order an espresso.

If I had one criticism, it would have been our waiter. The waiter seemed to take a long time to serve and made several faux pas. He did not know the difference between Scotch and Bourbon, and it took 20 minutes for drinks to arrive. We had to ask for bread for the table, which came out first, followed later by bread plates. It may have been nearly 40 minutes before dinner orders were taken with the waiter coming by every so often to tell us he'll be right with us. On taking dessert orders he put down dirty plates and utensils not from our table on our table. All that said, though, it did seem only to be our waiter, as other tables seemed to be getting served and serviced more efficiently.

Price: Very reasonable
Food: Exceptional

We will be back and will tell our friends.

The Ashburn/Brambleton area isn't known for the strength of its independent restaurants. La Cucina is the rare exception. We've been here three times and we've only been disappointed on one dish. The prices are very reasonable and the wait staff is friendly. There is a great outdoor seating area.

We've enjoyed the fried ravioli, the pesto, the lasagna, the chicken parm and the alfredo. Serving sizes are massive - go for dinner and you'll have tomorrow's lunch. We've had a hit or miss experience with the bread - sometimes they bring it, sometimes they don't. When they do, we enjoy it. Haven't tried the desserts, but the apps, salads and entrees are very strong.

I find the restaurant to be very unprofessional. The food was average, prices too high. Pasta Primavera, vegetables on pasta with marinara sauce, $24? Go back to many restaurants in the area, and much better ones, to go back there ever again.