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    Cucciolo Osteria

    4.4 (399 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed • 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Cucciolo Osteria Photos

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    CUCCIOLO OSTERIA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Trendy
    Intimate
    Romantic

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    Recommended Reviews - Cucciolo Osteria

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    Sabrina's House Tour
    Dan D.

    Had a brilliant dinner at Cucciolo Osteria [the Cozy Tavern] the other night - this is a *great* spot. The offerings were awesome & prepared with stile e cura [flair and care]. One thing that I noticed was their attention to adjusting their menu offerings to Gluten Free where possible, something your GF friends will truly appreciate. The interior is comfortably casual; upscale, but not stuffy. The servers worked as a team with one person taking the lead - their advice was top-tier: taking it is well advised. They'll listen to your preferences & make solid recommendations. I'd also suggest making reservations, I see how they could get busy - Andiamo :)

    Professor Pibb
    MK W.

    We made reservations here for a Wed before a DPAC show. The only option was the bar. The Professor Pibb (Cherry ginger ale) was excellent. I'm a big fan of eggplant parm lately. The sauce was delicious. The eggplant itself though was a miss. I also wish it came with a small serving of pasta or some side.

    Bread pudding
    Talesha C.

    We came here on a Monday night for dinner. I definitely recommend having a reservation because this place was jumping. It was busy and there was a constant turnover of people in and out once meals were finished. We were celebrating my recent engagement and the publishing of my book. Our waiter was great and helpful. We started with the Ragu Bolognese Tagliatelle and lasagna. The Ragu Bolognese Tagliatelle was very saucy and delicious. The noodles were cooked well and tasted so good with everything else on the plate. They baked the hell out of my lasagna. There was very little moisture remaining in the dish. So I didn't have dry mouth, I had to take sauce from my partners meal, the tagliatelle. The lasagna was hard on the bottom layer around the edges. I had to stab it with a knife to cut the corners. Thankfully I have strong teeth and gums because I was able to eat it but they definitely overbaked it. I'm imagining they forgot about it and still thought it was good to serve. I have recently started getting bread pudding when it's on the menu because they're usually so moist, soft, creamy and delicious. The bread pudding at this restaurant was dry and harder to pull the spoon through. The gelato on top of the bread pudding helped soften it just a little. The tiramisú was good.

    Drinks
    Karen L.

    Came for dinner on a Tuesday night with a friend, we were very pleased with our meal! We each got drinks and shared 3 appetizers - I would say the bruschette was one of the best I've had. So flavorful and fresh! I also really liked the mushroom appetizer. I ordered the tagliatelle bolognese for my entree and it was great, I thought portion was perfect. A little bit on the salty side but not egregious. I saved room for dessert and got the bread pudding - highly recommend! Overall a great place for a date night, girls night, or even group dinner (I noticed they have a larger table in the back). One note about parking - I paid $7.50 for two hours of parking, the hostess mentioned they're working with the parking company to get something sorted out so that patrons can get their parking validated. Make sure you park in spots marked for West Village!

    Linguine Alla Vongole
    Kira Tianna H.

    Really amazing food!! Wish that the bread and olive oil came for the table vs it being a paid for appetizer. Definitely should make a reservation, we didn't and luckily got seated at the bar! We lived in Naples, Italy and can absolutely recommend this place

    Morena G.

    We were coming to Durham to see a Broadway show Saturday evening and I searched for suggestions on Yelp. Fortunately, I saw this restaurant as one of the three locations they have available. Reservations are highly encouraged, but we were lucky that night and sat at the bar. The place has a cozy intimate atmosphere and the service is outstanding. We ordered glasses of Chardonnay. He ordered the butter chicken sostanza (not to be confused w Costanza lol) and it was delicious, chicken cooked to perfection, very moist and the green salad was fresh. The dish I ordered was Tajarin something and OMG, 12/10! That dish was simply one of the best Italian dishes I've ever eaten in my life. The shrimp were huge, fresh and tasty. I plan to visit again to try many more items.

    Front
    Angela Z.

    The appetizers were very yummy (we got creamed mushrooms and bruschetta). The pastas were both delicious-half our table said too salty but as I like saltier food, I loved it. I can see how it can be too salty for some though. The wait was extremely long. They took too long to take our orders unfortunately and then once again with the actual food. The Linguini Alle Vongole (clam) was also almost all shell unfortunately. We saw they had bread and butter on yelp but they did not bring it to us until we asked. Ambience was good-great for a dinner with friends or a date, but prepare for a long wait.

    Sana A.

    This is one of the first Italian restaurants I've tried in the area since moving here and it was a nice experience! My husband and I dropped by for an impromptu date night and it was busy for a tuesday night (highly recommend reservations) we were seated at the bar and a had a really friendly bartender take our orders. We needed vegetarian options and sadly the menu didn't have many options. It also looks like the menu keeps changing (which is usually good thing) but I went in seeing a lot of options like cacio e pepe etc and was confused to only see 2 pastas to pick from and one main. Plus the two pasta options were the vodka pasta which we couldn't pick as we don't consume alcohol or the truffle tajarin which from the photos looked very liquidy. We ended up getting three appetizers and a main with a spicy habenero mocktail (maybe too spicy for us). Now I'm a huge Bruschetta fan and I've had a ton but the ones here were mid (and they still were the best items we got) mainly because the bread they use was incredibly hard, like truly that crust was something else it even hurt my retainer. We got the burrata and fig which sound amazing but felt lacking because there was barely any burrata on the bread as seen in the photos below and I think the figs needed some salt or some seasoning to truly bring their flavors out because they were a little bland although fresh. The basil tomato with ricotta was our fave again, the ricotta was barely there, but the tomatoes were flavorbombs, and I loved how they seasoned it! The eggplant parm was just okay, portion size was good but flavor wasn't there. We ended with a pistachio gelato which was deliciously creamy. I really liked the atmosphere of this place but I am ready to sample other italian fare in the area.

    White Ragu
    Heidi W.

    I read all the reviews before going, and while I'm not sad I went--in fact, we had a lovely evening--I did experience some of the things other reviewers mentioned. Front of house: I have to agree with those who said the hostess isn't the friendliest. I called ahead to let them know I'd be about 15 minutes late; she accommodated but hung up without a goodbye, and she wasn't particularly pleasant when we arrived (and the restaurant was empty at that point). Service: The reviews saying the servers are wonderful were absolutely true in our case. Eldron was our server, and even though he had us, another two-top, and a seven-top, we never felt neglected. His timing was perfect--cocktails appetizer mains--with no rushing and no long waits. Food warnings: Several reviews mentioned salty pasta, and unfortunately my daughter's dish proved that point. Her pasta itself was fine, but the ragù was, in my opinion, nearly inedible--it was so salty, and I love salt. When the manager stopped by, I mentioned it; she was gracious and I felt she would have done whatever we wanted, but we didn't ask for a replacement. She brought extra bread, and my daughter still ate every bite. My carbonara was delicious, though I was surprised the pasta didn't seem homemade--I would have expected that. Overall: We had a genuinely nice experience, and we may return. I give 5 stars when I'll definitely be back and 4 stars when I'm unsure--this was a solid 4.

    Shirley Z.

    We ordered the rustic Tuscan pate and burrata and hazelnut to start and the tajarin aragosta and the truffle tajarin for our entree. The food was good, but definitely not my favorite. The pate in my opinion was a little too grainy. I liked the sauces of both the pastas as well but I do think they would pair better with a thicker noodle shape. The truffle tajarin also definitely did not look like what I expected it to look. I think maybe they could add a small colored garnish or something to make it look a bit more appealing. The host was also very aloof, but our server was amazing and checked up on us often. Lots of parking in the front.

    Beets salad
    Natasha M.

    My favorite fresh pasta restaurant in Durham! We always start with the bruschetta for appetizers and this tomato with the homemade ricotta was a favorite. The beet salad was flavorful and refreshing. And a new dish to me, the creamed mushrooms was outstanding and definitely worth trying. Their vodka rigatoni is one of my favorites, light and creamy but full of flavor. Tried the eggplant for the first time which was also delicious, not a crumb left on our plates. It's beautiful space for small groups, very intimate and cozy. And the service is always phenomenal. We love bringing our out of town visitors here.

    Mike B.

    Yaaaaaaaas! This place is EXCELLENT! This West Village spot is tucked into one of the Walker Warehouse buildings, now gentrified into mixed use. The restaurant is long and slender, bar to the left, tables to the right, front and back. High ceilings, exposed ductwork and brick. A modern industrial vibe. Service from Carl, doubling as bartender, was outstanding. He orchestrated the platoon of service masterfully and kept the meal moving at the perfect pace. Thank you! Arancini was great. Crispy outside, moist and flavorful inside. With an excellent dipping sauce. Tried the tajarin arragosta - seared shrimp over tajarin (similar to tagliatelle, but made with more egg yolks to give it a unique consistency and flavor), tossed in lobster tomato cream sauce. WOW was this good! Shrimp with a nice crunch to each bite - not rubbery of mushy. Pasta perfectly al dente. A wonderful medley of flavors and textures, each complementing one another. We were treated to a (complimentary) Panna Cotta to honor a birthday. A very nice unexpected (and delicious) treat. Equally delicious was tiramisu - a huge square of creamy, fresh heaven. The tab was $218 for 5 people including wine. I highly recommend Cucciolo Osteria for the quality of the service, food and atmosphere. Go!

    Natasha R.

    Overall a nice Italian place in Durham! The service was excellent, but my fiance did feel that his pasta was very salty. I liked my dish, but definitely didn't feel like it was as flavorful as I was expecting it to be. I think if I went back I would probably order differently as the appetizer meatball was delicious, so I wonder if other main courses would be better

    Polpette and Walnut Pesto Arancini

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    2 months ago

    Their food was absolutely delicious. I loved their pasta and we also ordered mussels. Beautiful service

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    2 months ago

    Everything was amazing. Great atmosphere and customer service, will definitely be back!

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    Ask the Community - Cucciolo Osteria

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    Cucciolo Osteria - italian - Updated October 2026

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