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Cucina Moon

4.4 (380 reviews)
ModeratePasta Shops, Italian
Closed • 4:30 pm - 9:00 PM

Cucina Moon Photos

Business Info

CUCINA MOON ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Happy hour specials

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Recommended Reviews - Cucina Moon

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Reviews With Photos

Cora L.

Located in McCully Shopping Center, Cucina Moon is an Italian restaurant with pastas, desserts, and more. While we did not feel the menu was very long, there was a sufficient list of options to choose from for dinner. Definitely nice if you have a hard time deciding what to eat. The restaurant is located on the upstairs floor with glass by the front so you can see inside. When we went for dinner, it was not too busy and we were able to be seated right away. There were some tables and bar seating for a medium-ish sized restaurant. The people working were prompt and we ordered quickly. We decided on the garlic fries, shrimp tomato cream pasta, and carbonara. The fries were good and had a solid garlic flavor. The pastas were also yummy -- the noodles were pretty soft and they were covered in sauce. However, we did feel the portions were on the smaller side. In considering the prices, whereas both pastas came out to be closer to $30 than $20 each, we did not feel that we really got our money's worth. Despite this, it was worth the try, especially since we were looking for a new Italian place to eat at!

Salad
Shirleen W.

I rarely eat fresh pasta, but learning that this place offers fresh pasta. You know the grindz are gonna be good. I went with a former coworker to celebrate our birthday together for lunch and the atmosphere is very lovely and the server gave very helpful recommendations for new visitors. It is a little pricier, but when anything is homemade and made fresh to order, it's definitely worth the additional price.

Featured drinks August 2026
Derek W.

Service is great, very pleasant Chill ambiance. Hardly crowded so you never feel rushed or it too loud to talk to people. Chicken divalao - peppery, oven roasted bone-in half chicken. Like a rotisserie chicken but exponentially better. Moist, warm and comforting. For the price,A good value since it can be easily two meals. Bone in pork Milanase - crunchy crust with moist center. Salad goes well. Kauai shrimp tomato cream - two large shrimp with a smooth tasting tomato cream Wagyu bolognese - delicious Tiramisu - lady fingers were quite crunch. However, the cream was very satisfying Side bread ciabatta was very fresh and hot out of the oven (although $8 for two pieces isn't cheap) 12 yr glenfiddich highball is very clean tasting. As Costal Lemon spritz not the greatest Would come back

salad (included with lunch)
Connie H.

Glad I decided to give this place a try. The restaurant has a beautiful interior and staff are attentive and friendly. The dining experience felt a bit higher-end and reminded us of Japan (I believe the owner, waitstaff, and cooks are all Japanese). The food, although quite pricey, was very tasty and presented beautifully. I got the diavolo spaghetti (a daily special) that came with a rich and slightly spicy tomato-based cream sauce. The noodles were thick and al dente, which I enjoyed. The fiancé also really liked his fresh cream gnocchi that came with a slice of salty prosciutto. The gnocchi was very soft and almost melt-in-your-mouth. Portions were a little small but we still left satisfied. We came during lunch, when the prices were a little cheaper and all entrées come with salad. The salad was tasty too--even though we don't typically enjoy spring mix. We will be coming back!!

Alexander G.

On a recent evening we weren't sure to have, we decided pasta was in order. Cucina Moon used to be a main part of the Test Kitchen on the second floor of McCully Shopping Center, but on this visit I noticed the space has been divided into a Cucina Moon dedicated space around the kitchen, with the poke and ice cream spots on the other side of the wall. What that means is it feels more like a planned restaurant. The kitchen is open at the back, so you can see all the food being made. They have various size tables and bar seating around the kitchen. We ordered our food to go, which was a little frustrating as all items weren't on the online menu. A few things, like bread and salad, I had to order at the host stand, which added to our wait time as the pasta dishes were ready. The staff was super helpful and welcoming however, offering water and seats while I waited. I tried the spaghetti bolognese and loved it; it was a garlic bomb with great flavor and noticeable portion of meat. The salad was delicious, fresh and bright and simple dressing. The garlic bread was soft and great for dipping. Overall, this is a fun place to come. You may have a better experience dining in; and must love garlic!

Spicy Carbonara
Linda T.

Cucina Moon an Italian restaurant located above Mcully shopping center! The vibe of the restaurant already sets a cozy, welcoming tone, but the food is what really stood out. started with the mozzarella and tomato appetizer, and honestly it ended up being the star of the night. Sometimes simple dishes can be overlooked, but this one was unexpectedly 10/10. The mozzarella was incredibly fresh and creamy, the tomatoes were bright and flavorful, and the balance of everything together was perfect. It tasted light, clean, and high quality. For pasta, I tried the spicy carbonara, which I'd rate about an 8/10. It had a nice creamy texture with a good kick of spice that made it more interesting than a traditional carbonara. The Pasta noodle was a little thicker than others. Definitely satisfying if you like a little heat with your pasta. The squid ink pasta was even better. I'd give it a 9/10. The flavor was rich and savory, and the pasta itself was cooked perfectly al dente. It had that deep seafood flavor that squid ink dishes should have without being overpowering. Overall, Cucina Moon delivers really Italian dishes with some great surprise. I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu next time

Carbonara and Garlic Shrimp Tomato Cream.  Spinach Salad and Garlic Bread.
Diana S.

My friend and I needed to pick up something in Waikiki on Sat. 2/28/26 at 1:30p so we stopped by at 12:45p to have lunch at Cucina Moon located at the McCully Shopping Center. We both heard so many great reviews of their homemade pasta. We were greeted at the door by the friendly hostess and she said to have a seat anywhere. We sat at a table for 4. We loved the spaciousness. We really appreciated that they have such convenient portable bag rests that they place on the floor next to the table to hold your purse or packages. This was the first time I saw that in a restaurant and was immediately impressed. We put in our orders and we were served a spinach salad that came with our lunch order. We also looked at their dinner menu and ordered the Garlic Bread. I ordered the Carbonara and my friend ordered the Garlic Shrimp Tomato Cream. You can immediately taste the difference with fresh pasta; it's tender, slightly chewy, and perfectly holds onto the sauce. The carbonara sauce was silky and glossy, coating every strand without feeling heavy. The guanciale was flavorful, adding just the right amount of saltiness, and the Pecorino gave it that sharp, savory kick. The black pepper tied everything together beautifully. It was rich but balanced and comforting. You can tell care went into every step of the dish. I ate the entire plate. It was fun breaking the yolk into my pasta. My friend enjoyed her Garlic Shrimp Tomato Cream Tomato Pasta and she said it was so good. The homemade pasta was tender and fresh, and the sauce was creamy, garlicky, and perfectly balanced with a touch of tomato brightness. The shrimp were juicy and flavorful. She also ate the whole thing. The garlic bread was nice and warm and paired well with our pasta dishes. We really enjoyed the homemade pasta. The fresh pasta was tender, soft, and slightly chewy. Unlike dried pasta, it had a delicate bite and it absorbed our sauces beautifully. If you want to experience real homemade pasta with their flavorful sauces, Cucina Moon is the restaurant to experience. We will definitely be back. I will try the Squid Ink Pasta next.

Kauai Shrimp w/head tomato cream sauce
Carol W.

It was a family girl outing and last minute decided to try this place for lunch since hearing of the positive reviews. We were greeted by a very nice woman that brought us to our table. She was very polite as if she came from Japan. She answered our questions regarding the menu and was able to order various lunches. All was excellent and notice their pasta had been homemade! Their pasta was on the bigger size but it was definitely al dente and chewy! Only wish they would give complimentary bread. We will definitely return. Great service!

Creamy tomatoe shrimp pasta
Amber G.

I cannot say enough great things about our lunch today. I had the spicy carbonara and it was AMAZING!!! My friend had the creamy tomato shrimp pasta and ate every bite. They have lunch specials everyday that come with a small salad. The service was on point. She was so caring and concerned that we had the best experience. And they give a purse rack, so my purse wasn't on the floor. We will be back.

Akemi O.

Spur of the moment early dinner. Out and for some reason we wanted Italian. Normally haaaate the parking at McCully SC...but we got lucky and got a good spot. Took the elevator to the 2nd and baby got to press the buttons and enjoy the view. Restaurant was empty...but it was early. Place is super cold but not sure if b/c no action going on. We got the burrata. Super good but I hate honey. Luckily hubs and baby love honey. Tomatoes were flambeed and baby ate most. Also got the corn ribs. Tasty. Baby grinded. I got the carbonara. Yum. So tasty. Hubs got the Bolognese. Yum. Hubs liked the pasta. I did too but was a little heavy for my taste. It was cooked really well. Baby ate the ground beef but seemed to like the carbonara better. We also got garlic bread. Bread nothing special but it was sooo garlicky that it made it special! Love me the garlic. Baby said too spicy. Wish the menu was bigger. I would go back but not frequently since there isn't much variety and id probs just have to get the same thing every time.

Fresh Ahi Carpaccio

Great experience and amazing food! This was our first time dining in. We ordered a few different items and everything exceeded our expectations. We will be back again :)

Carbonara
Julia L.

The pasta was fresh, al dente, and delicious. Service was great too. I would definitely go back to try their other pastas.

Gnocchi with fresh cream and prosciutto
Amanda K.

Saw they started doing online orders from their instagram, but of course the night we try to order the online ordering wasn't working. We tried to call but no one answered and then we tried again maybe 5 mins later and someone answered thank goodness. I got the gnocchi with fresh cream and prosciutto and my husband got the garlic shrimp tomato cream. They look pretty small but it actually filling. Both pasta's were delicious! Mine was $22 and my husband's was $23. The only comment I have is that the lowest tip they had on the screen was 18% so I ended up going $55 for the 2 pasta's.

Carbonara and Salad

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Cucina Moon Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Cucina Moon

Do the sauces (bolognese and carbonara) contain a lot of black pepper? My husband is allergic.

Thank you for your question! Since the amount considered 'a lot' depends on the person, we cannot… 

Do they serve gluten-free pasta?

We had dinner there on Jan 6. We were told free bread and free gelato. Is that correct? We didn't get any bread and I paid for 4 gelato. Mahalo!

You should ould have gotten one free roll and one scoop gelato per entree. At least that's what we got at dinner.

I'm sorry to ask, but do you ever make gluten free pasta or are there N gluten free options for Italian food lovers?

I would really love to know the answer to this too!!! Everything looks so good, but I can't eat anything on the menu

Is it byob? What is the corkage fee?

Yes you are welcomed to have BYOB without any corkage charge at moment. After Dec 21st we will start to provide beer and wine.

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The BEST pizza on the Island! Wonderful staff and great service…read more Havent tried Entrees yet.. but very confident they will be delicious ! Highly recommend to eat in or order take out!

We went to Repetti's for lunch on July 4th. We heard good things about the restaurant and were…read morelooking forward to trying the food. We ordered the Repetti pizza and fettuccine with diavolo sauce and meatballs. We also had the Caesar salad and focaccia bread with marinara sauce. Our server was Grace. Grace was so friendly and knowledgeable and professional. In addition to the food, Grace made the dining experience exceptional. We sat outside and even though it was a very hot day, the temperature was very comfortable under the roofed area. The Pinot Grigio was excellent! Our meal was brought out in a timely manner and Grace was an attentive server. The Caesar dressing is perfection! The diavolo sauce was delicious and just-right spicy. We loved the meatballs and the fettuccine was cooked perfectly. The pizza!!!!! Wow. Just the right amount of crisp in the crust and the toppings were a delicious combination of flavors. The focaccia with marinara could have been a meal for me. The bread was hot and crispy while also being soft and savory. I couldn't get enough of the marinara. We had a lot of leftovers and ate some for dinner and still have more for tomorrow. Repetti's will be a new place for us to dine and bring friends as often as possible. We were so impressed and could not have wanted any of the experience to be different. Fantastic in every way!

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My 3rd time at La Ciccia and this recent visit was awesome, I really enjoyed our dinner here. I…read morelove the atmosphere, cozy, friendly, and welcoming! Our waitress for the night was Vagoda, like Pagoda, she said we can call her V. she was great, very attentive and made sure we got everything we needed for our party of 7 especially extra wine glasses, ice, napkins, plates, and did I miss anything else. We ordered few appetizers to share family style and the main entrees, along with beer and brought in our bottle of wine $30. corkage fee, also brought in a b-day cake. We had a great time chatting, drinking, and enjoying our meal, cake, stayed at the restaurant a bit longer but the owner and V was very accommodating, we didn't felt rush to get out. For appetizer we got the NY steak appetizer, 2 orders bone marrow, hamachi carpaccio, escargot, smoke salmon salad, mushroom crostini, For main entree we got natto pasta, kinoko pasta, lasagna, and the special of the day king salmon alla spinach. These apps and entree was enjoyed by all of us! I love the marrow, a work for taking out the marrow but it was worth it, very creative, the crostini bread with mushroom, a little on the salty side but cheese mushroom on bread soooo good! The Kinoko pasta, that such a fusion dish and loved everything about it, the king salmon pasta was super tasty, loved the angel hair pasta and spinach on that entree! All in all, everything about La Ciccia is great, I will be back since my hubby wasn't able to join us, I will take him for the next date night!

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La Ciccia - Lasagna 22 Baked 100% with ricotta cheese and house marinara with melted mozzarella cheese

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I've been going here since they opened. Had many bdays here meet friends ect. But mostly I come…read moreafter a stressful day at work ,which definitely was today. I walked in at 5:30 and it was packed. The hostess was trying to get me in the packed bar. Another couple walked in no reservations and the Manager had just walked in and didn't know about me and sat them. A simple easy mistake to make. No big deal , BUT my bad mood just got worse.So I left , why 5 stars ??? Because it's not that this restaurant has Amazing food , solid wait staff ,relaxing upscale ambienc. So here's where the restaurant THRIVES, as I got into my car there's the manager running out to my car full of aplogizes and come back in I'm sorry I didn't see you waiting. Very sweet and kind. I said I'm fine. Now I'm sitting at a bar down the road , the drinks aren't as good, food definitely not nearly as good. Not sure why it took this to make me write this review but Rigo has been and remains one of my absolute favorite places to go!! My Mom Owned. 3 restaurant so I mean it when I say it!!!

Our waiter was awesome. Yes, he forgot to put an order for a shared app in, but he owned it. He…read moredidn't try to blame it on the kitchen or anything, HE OWNED IT. 5* to him. We ended up not needing that anyways. Food was good. First time I ordered the Paella for myself. Way too much food. Gave half to the Hubs plus Baby. Yummy, but not really my thing. Hubs got the Lobster Risotto. YUM. Zucc/Eggplant fried stuff was YUM. Baby ate some of that too. Pork Taco was YUM. Got the spicy sauce on the side but something in there was still spicy and that was the first thing Baby got so she didnt' get to enjoy it. We had some other paella and pastas around the table. YUM. One friend said was small but I thought was good portions. Only thing junk...we had a private room. AC was not working. I was hot. The alcohol didn't help but knew it wasn't working even if they turned it on b/c there was a fan. You wouldn't need a fan if the AC was working. 5 peri-menopausal women...sweating.

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Cucina Moon - pastashops - Updated October 2026

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