Disappointing experience. My friend and I walked in at 5:00 when they opened on a Thursday. There were two people who walked in with us and they were told that they could be seated in 15 minutes. We were then told we have a two hour wait. The place seemed empty and the staff had no explanation as to the disparity in wait times except that it was 'up to the chef.' We have a cabin down the road and have been looking forward to trying this restaurant, but won't be coming back. read more

From the reviews this looked like a good spot for an upscale dinner out near Blue Ridge. The restaurant did not disappoint! Our reservation was for just after 6 p.m. Allow a bit of time to drive out to this place, as it is about 10 minutes east of Blue Ridge. You turn a corner and drive up the hill to their parking lot. We found a space close to the door. You enter through what appears to be a standing room bar area, but it was empty when we arrived. We were taken into the main house (the restaurant is in a converted home) and seated promptly. The menu was somewhat limited when we came but it was still not hard to find something to your taste. I got a pear-based pizza, which was quite good! I think my wife had the fish, which she liked. The other tables seemed like early retiree couples enjoying a local night out. If we were back in the area and wanted a finer-er dining experience, I'd certainly return. read more

When I tell you that dining at Cucina Rustica is an experience, it is everything. The service, the atmosphere, the ambiance, the deliciousness... Mandee was above exceptional tending to us, and the Chef's selections for the evening were delectable. We started off with PEI Mussels and Escargot, country Greek and Treviso salads, finishing up with Veal Parmigiana and Day Scallops. Simply outstanding. read more

We had dinner here about a month ago. Everything was fresh and of a high quality. We dined here while staying in a cabin in Ellijay. I had a mushroom ravioli dish that was out of this world! The bread and marinated olives they brought before the meal are fabulous too. read more

Went here for dinner last night. Server was super friendly. Highly recommend the romaine salad with ricotta. The tomatoes on the burrata salad were out of this world. The mushroom ravioli was great and the best dish was the fettuccini pomodoro. Sometimes this simple dish can be a bit plain. The sauce was perfect. I wish I could eat it again today. Nice bread service with oil. FYI beer and wine only. Definitely a highlight of our trip. read more

We've been dining at Cucina Rustica since our family purchased a cabin nearby in the early 2000's. Until our visit this evening, the service had always been great and the menu diverse enough for everyone to easily select an option they were happy with. Once seated by the host this evening, it took 15 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us. We considered leaving (in retrospect we should have) but stayed based on our previous positive experience at the restaurant. The menu has been pared down eliminating probably 50% of the previous options including starters, soup/salad, main course and dessert. We started off ordering an appetizer but the server condescendingly asked "is that all you're having" which caught us off guard. Unbeknownst to us, Cucina Rustica now requires you order your entire meal all at once and not as is done traditionally, by course. Don't ask for bread either, you're not allowed bread until you've ordered your entire meal. My wife and I rarely have the opportunity to go out by ourselves and options offering quiet intimacy like Cucina Rustica are at the top of the list. We're always in a hurry so we don't have time to slow things down and enjoy each other's company between courses. Tonight was one of those rare date nights for just the two of us and we both felt frustrated with the service and felt we had to settle on our food choices. It's been a few years since our last visit and things have definitely changed. We will not be back. read more

Bella and the manager were so welcoming and professional. We ordered the shrimp & scallop scampi and the eggplant tower along with salads and sharing a dessert. Wonderful food and service. The atmosphere was cozy and warm. We would recommend dining there if you're looking for a nice menu and very pleasant dining experience. read more

Ever since John the previous owner sold the place, it has gone downhill. We need some new blood to step in and revive this once go to spot.

I don't even know where to begin - everything was so wonderful! We had Christmas Eve dinner here and the atmosphere was festive and cozy. Our waiter was amazing and helped us pick the best bottle of wine that was exactly what I was crazing. We started with the burrata and mussels, both were so delicious. The burrata was surrounded by perfect tomatoes and the mussels were drowned in the most savory broth. For dinner we shared the short rib ravioli and the seafood crepes (both specials of the evening) and both were hearty and prepared perfectly. Our server brought us 2 amazing desserts and we left very content and happy. read more

Always a great dining experience as usual. Amazing food from appetizers to dessert. Love the ambience and couldn't have had any better service. Thank you, Hannah. read more

We loved it. Really nice people there. The food was excellent. The atmosphere is nice. You definitely need reservations. We got lucky and got there right before they opened and since we were a party of two they had a table for us. read more

I have eaten here a few times I was happy the first time but this time was a bust First off the kitchen is extremely slow I had the special that came with plain mashed potatoes with raw asparagus on top, terrible I ordered a salad ($12.99) with blue cheese, tiny little crumbles sprinkled on the plate I had one beer, dinner for two $125.00 I expected a lot more and I was highly disappointed read more

Excellent restaurant! We have driven by numerous times and never stopped before, but we will definitely be back. The service was outstanding and food was even better. We enjoyed nice bottle of wine, fresh salad and classic dishes. read more

So, it was my girlfriends birthday & our last visit to Cucina Rustica was so good, it was an easy choice to come back for a special day. First, we were seated in an area that likely was a porch at one time that was enclosed for dining. It was a bit on the warm side, but no big. A really nice couple near us overheard me saying to my girlfriend damn, it's getting hotter in here & they said they had already complained about how warm it was, so I figured something would be done about it. Food started coming - the wedge salad was as good as I remembered, the red wine Gorgonzola dressing is amazing, but at $14 bucks, it's a pricey pile of lettuce & quite a profit maker for the restaurant that I'll pass on in the future... The lasagna is one of the best two or three I've ever had, & I've had a lot of lasagna. Cooking it in the wood fired stove imparts a slightly smokey flavor that really takes it over the top. The piece of lasagna was perceptibly smaller than when we were here 4 months ago, & the price may have gone up a buck or two, so it's not quite the value it was before, but it was still quite yummy. Dinner was done, I told the waitress that it was my girlfriends birthday & asked if she could put a candle in the Tiramisu she ordered. I also shared that it was quite warm when we were seated, but it was sweaty hot now with my pits totally soaked & wondered if the complaint by the other couple had been heeded. She said she thought it was warm & would check. The Tiramisu was incredible, but was wilting quickly due to the heat. The waitress came back & said someone forgot to replace batteries in a thermostat so the A/C was not working in our room. She was nicely apologetic, & comp'd the Tiramisu. We paid the $115 bill (with 2 beers each & no price inflated wine), I checked the outside temp on my smartphone & it was 81 degrees. When we walked out it was no joke cooler outside than it was at our table. So, the moral of this story was the service was as good as last time so that was a plus. The food was as good as our last visit, if not a bit more expensive with a smaller serving, so that was a neutral at best. But to put customers through the discomfort they did is a horrible no-no that cost them a possible 5 star review. My advice, DO NOT let them seat you in the "porch" between the wine bar area & the main dining room, unless you enjoy eating your food in a sauna... read more

We came here for our Anniversary and had a fantastic evening! Dinner was phenomenal! We started with the delicious bread and olives, and then ordered a bottle of red wine and the meatball appetizer, Caesar salad, Nonna's Tortelloni, and the Chicken Alfredo. For dessert we had a limoncello tiramisù with blueberry compote and decaf coffee. The atmosphere of the restaurant is truly Italian and our waitress, Mandy was so warm and friendly! We lingered over our dinner and spent almost two hours here, thoroughly enjoying every minute! read more

First visit with new management loved the previous owners , new people need to work on their inventory control, first meal choice I made was told they were out of shrimp, second choice they were also out, ended up just ordering 2 appetizers. Our server was wonderful and quite embarrassed about having to tell me twice that I can't have what I wanted for dinner. The calamari,salmon came with what looked like remoulade but was very bland, the mussels, however, were quite tasty. Note to new owners, stop changing menus frequently, you'll be able to control your inventory stock better, chef, you need to step up and taste your food before sending it out. read more

Tutti Multa Benne! Outstanding wait staff, well prepared entrees, nice ambiance. I would give this restaurant five stars if they had a few classic provincial Northern Italian selections on their menu, and a full bar. We will be back soon again. This area of NW GA/SW NC has only a few really good restaurants (not counting any BBQ places) Cucina Rustica is defiantly in the class of the top three for us. read more

Went with a group of 5 and we all had a very pleasant experience. Professional service and delicious food. We all said that they would highly recommend it and definitely go back. read more

It took us 6 years living in Blue Ridge to try Cucina Rustica. We visited last night for dinner with our neighbors. Big disappointment. Entrees were ok for half of our party. Other half complained. Prices were high for what you get. We dont mind paying high prices for wine and food if both the food and atmosphere are deserving. This restaurant has just ok food - not what I consider exceptional and the restaurant has no - zero atmosphere. If you like 1970's ranch style this is the place for you! No charm, not warm, or cozy. Nothing that would make you feel like you are in an authentic Italian restaurant anywhere. Best I could describe it was 1970's style ranch. Weeds leading up to front door were almost 2 feet high. If that was the front door which is questionable. We heard the folks who run Harvest on Main, Blue Ridge own this. If so, shame on them. Won't be back! read more

Pretty good - liked the bread assortment - made in house. Relatively high quality food for the area. Fettuccine Alfredo could use more salt. Cute ambience. Would go again... read more

We expected great food and we're not disappointed. The restaurant is rustic but comfortable. Our one annoyance was that they had some delicious sounding specials. Predictably you had to ask the price. Also predictably the prices of the specials were higher than most of the menu items. This complaint is nearly universal these days but I understand that the former owners would print out the daily specials including their prices. New owners own several restaurants and discontinued this practice. Now the food. We started with a Cesar salad that we were going to share. Instead of splitting it up in the kitchen they brought it to us on one plate. They have very long stalks of romaine that I was not going to attempt to divide and asked to have that done in the kitchen. It was good, particularly the cheese, but we had to ask for ground black pepper and it was an extra charge for 4 anchovies. So how did it earn 4 stars! In a word: meatballs. Deliciously awesome. Made of 3 different kinds of meat and served in a thick tasty red sauce with the same delicious mystery cheese that came with the salad. Not feeling too adventurous I ordered the chicken parmigiana. Probably the best ever! Perfectly cooked breast with another delicious sauce that had sausage mixed in. Overall we were very happy and will certainly return. read more

Open three days a week, taking reservations from 6-8:00 PM, you may have to wait but it's worth it. The wine list was surprisingly complete considering the restaurant size. Three of us ordered apps, salads, entrées and deserts. Meatballs and Burrata Caprese apps were excellent. Skip the Calamari, you have to search for it in a bed of fried sticks of some kind. Supposed to also have fish and artichokes too. Not worth it. Back to the good stuff... Caesar is an entire romaine heart - good but difficult to manage, salad with apples the best, Della Casa salad just ok. Ribeye, Halibut and Stuffed Rigatoni all fantastic. Decadent desserts, three are offered, we tried two - chocolate cake with salted caramel mascarpone mousse, and tiramisu with blueberries fantastic. Our server was very nice. A bit pricey but definitely should go. read more

This is a hidden jewel of the Blue Ridge/Morganton/ Elijay area. You will not find in a 105 mile radius a better menu. This place has outstanding wine selection and exceptional service. My wife is a cronic complainer and never has anything nice to say. She was in awe of this place. Food was to die for and super fast and friendly service ! Steak, pasta, calamari all to perfection ! read more

Very good food. Service is excellent. A little pricey, but worth it. It's in a very unassuming place with lots of space

Love this place! Great atmosphere for a romantic and relaxing dinner. Food is delicious. We took our daughter over Christmas while she was home. She loved the Osso Buco. We have gotten to know the servers and they are wonderful. They are very knowledgeable of dishes being served. If you can't make up your mind they will make suggestions. I don't think you could make a bad choice on a meal. Appetizers and salads are wonderful too! Oh and last but not least can't forget dessert. If you didn't save room get one to go!!! They are all delicious. read more

This was hands down the very best food we had in the area, but the service was really disappointing and terrible. Given that everyone is still getting used to a post-COVID world, I am going to blame it on that. It took nearly 15 minutes for someone to come to our table once we had been seated, we didn't get our alcohol until 35 minutes after we'd been seated, the waiter was extraordinarily unpleasant, passive aggressive, and loud. I'm sure he had good intentions, but after waiting so long to get service, we were ready to order. Instead, we sat through a lecture from him about each and every item on the menu. We insisted we knew exactly what we wanted (we had, after all, been sitting down for 15 minute with no drinks or appetizers before he arrived), and he doubled down on not taking our order until we sat through his talk. Had we not been waiting so long (we also had to wait to be seated despite our reservation), his lecture could have been interesting and exciting, but we were hungry and ready to be served. Anyways, the food was absolutely amazing. We loved the eggplant neopolitan, the veal, and all the appetizers were amazing. Great meal, terrible service. read more

We are visiting from FL and had the BEST meal here on our weekend getaway! The chicken parm was good but the scallops and mushroom risotto on special were unreal. Glass of wine is priced well with a great pour, good music, clean, and friendly staff. Couldn't recommend this place more for great farm to table Italian! read more

Great food and the staff's devotion to providing a safe eating experience during the pandemic is better than any other restaurant's in Blue Ridge. Thank you all for a great night. And the short rib ravioli was superb! read more

Great food and wonderful service! Pasta was delicious and the desserts are too! Definitely will be back.

Owners are money hungry and don't really care for their employees but the food is good

Me and my wife love Authentic Italian. After the bread and appetizer we were thinking this place is awesome, but the entrees were a disappointment. The Parmesan bread with the oil and vinegar was good and the meatball appetizer was very good. My wife got the smoked chicken Alfredo after the manager said that people have raved about it. It was one of the worst chicken fettuccine alfredo's I have ever eaten. Olive Garden's is better and I don't like Olive Garden. The chicken tasted and looked more like ham. My wife took 2 bites and didn't eat anymore. I had the lobster cannelloni since it was suppose to be their best dish. It was just a single cannelloni with 3 small pieces of lobster. It was just ok. I might would go back but we would definitely order something different. read more

Had another amazing dinner here tonight. We enjoyed the PEI Mussels, Greek salad and Chicken Parmesan. The service was excellent and the food was just as good as our first visit. The wine list is amazing as well as the house baked bread and house cured olives. We were celebrating my husbands 40th birthday and mentioned this with our reservation. The restaurant recognized this with a note on the table as well as a dessert on the house. We will definitely be back. read more

It's not a on Main Street restaurant, that being said it's worth the drive to this out of town experience. Staff is great at explaining what menu and special of the day. Have only got the special both times there. Was some the best food I have ever had. We will be going back. read more

Fabulous!! The food was outstanding and the service was excellent!! Our family of five cleaned our plates!! Even though we got different entrees, everything was delicious. We will definitely be back! read more

One of the best Italian restaurants we've ever dined in! Meatballs were to die for. Chicken Parm was amazing. Our waitress was so nice and gave great service. Our dessert of Lemon Blackberry Tiramisu was delicious. Who knew such a great authentic Italian restaurant was hiding in Morganton, GA? We will definitely be back. read more

Pricey. Heard under new ownership so we gave it a try for special occassion. Higher prices does not equal better quality food. I ordered Chicken Parmigan, one of the cheaper items at $23. It came with pasta only. Vegetables or salad is extra so we did not order those. It was just average tasting and portion size adequate but not large, not worth price and I have eaten better elsewhere at half the price. Spouse ordered Shrimp Picatta and said it was better than mine, but also high at $25. They took a very long time to bring the bread basket and the place was over half empty (arrived at 6pm on Wednesday summer evening), only had 4 tiny pieces of bread. Did not see the usual wines I like so I ordered a Zinfindel brand I had never heard of for $7 glass since it was the cheapest on menu. I did not care for it. Total bill before tip was over $70. Very disappointed in what I got for price. Atmosphere inside was nice, but not worth price for average tasting food. read more

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Our family was in town last week and made a last minute reservation through Resy, 3 hours before coming into town. Upon arriving in town, we called to see if they allowed dogs and they did not, so they agreed we could cancel our reservation. The gentleman who said we could cancel was Patrick and made no mention of any cancellation fees. The next day after cancellation, we were charged $75. We have called and spoken with Patrick several times and he has mentioned he would have the manager call us, however a week later and no call. We were a party of 3, with the 3rd being a 3 year old. As a family that rarely gets out to a vacation, and struggles to put food on the table for our 3 year old, this is extremely disappointing. Never in our lives has this happened. The food may be good, and the reviews may be great, but please ask yourself if these are the kind of people you want to spend money on. Who would take $75 from an innocent family when any restaurant in town could've seated anyone on a busy October night in Blue Ridge. read more

Who would have thought an Italian restaurant with fresh ingredients would be situated on a hill next to a major highway in Blue Ridge GA? Vegetables are grown on site. Probably the best chicken parmigiana I've ever had. A surprising treat. Excellent wine list as well. Book a reservation. read more

I have sat in my recliner and debated how I was going to rate this restaurant. I'm ready. 1. Location....love the out of the way location. The ambiance was uber cozy. 2. Service.....The only 5 star experience at this restaurant. I was solo, having spent a day getting excellent spa services at a nearby spa. My hair was full of tea tree scalp treatment and I was donned in my comfy clothes. My server, Jazzie, understood my total relaxed mood. She offered the wine list, but all I wanted was water. I wasn't pressured to imbibe. She presented the menu and specials......I questioned her intensely about the chow, and she knew the menu well and really guided me along the way. She was attentive, but never cloying. If, I go back and if she's there, I will request her. 3. Da Fude. The ingredients....top notch. The oysters in the Oysters Rockefeller were ENORMOUS and FRESH! Buttttt....they weren't seasoned or prepared very well. Too much fennel, the cream was watery and no seasoning. Next, the house salad with the creamy garlic dressing, instead of the balsamic vinaigrette. Probably the BEST house salad that I have ever had. FRESH ingredients and it was seasoned perfectly. Definitely, the best item I had there. The basket of bread that was set on the table...very yummy. And served with Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company Tuscan Herb infused EVOO and the 18 year aged Traditional Balsamic. I am a regular customer of Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. Now for the entree. Don't remember the Italian name......it was fairly new on the menu. It consisted of fettuccini pasta, wild caught Georgia shrimp, artichokes, spinach and the blandest olives, I have ever tasted. No seasoning. No sauce. Nothing. I was full so, I had it boxed up to go, along with over-fenneled Oysters Rockefeller. I brought the entree home, added some salt, fresh cream, Fontina cheese, capers and more spinach and it wasn't bad. I also purchased a wild mushroom white pizza to bring home to hubby. Again, NO seasoning. We added some Himalayan salt, rewarmed it, and it was good. Chef.....get rid of the unwarranted ego, dig in the spice cabinet and keep trying. You seem to have potential. read more

Fantastic food. Love the lasagna. We are always tempted by the specials on the menu. Great date night.