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    Culina

    4.0 (250 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Bars

    Culina Photos

    CULINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Trendy
    Romantic
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Culina

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    Reviews With Photos

    Farmhouse bread
    Eric L.

    The ambiance is casual and while not the restaurants fault, there was a table of six being obnoxiously loud. One table actually asked to be reseated. The waitress was nice. I'll leave that for now...more on that later. Host didn't give us menus. Our food took a long time to get to us. We were there for two hours and the other tables had turned over. We did get our desert comped for that. The artichokes had chewy outer skin. It was meant to be crispy I think but we had to pick out the good parts. It was way too oily and had one flavor that wasn't really artichoke. The filet was bland. Needed salt. It was cooked PERFECTLY though. My sea bass was bland. I've definitely had better. It was overcooked but the center was slightly undercooked. My guess was it was frozen. The puree was ok... The farm house bread was outstanding. The crème brulee was outstanding except the sugar ratio due to the shallow ramekin made it too sweet. The dish is really very shallow but the sugar was perfectly "burnt" and hard shell unlike a lot of places. A lot of food was overpowered by garlic. Service from waitress was great. Food was ok.

    Fillet
    Bailey D.

    This restaurant is truly something special. My husband and I recently visited Dayton -- and were able to snag a last minute reservation at the beautiful Roost in the Oregon District for us and my mother-in-law. We had seats on their covered patio -- which transports you to another world entirely, because it's set back from the busy street. The service was great from start to finish -- our waitress was friendly and attentive, and we didn't have to wait long at all for our various courses. We started with a bottle of their Chianti Classico, which was reasonably priced, and acted as the perfect pairing for our dinner. For appetizers, we indulged in the Artichokes and the Farmhouse Bread. Both were spectacular. The bread almost had a sweet flavor to it, with a wonderfully buttery texture. We ended up dipping the bread in the leftover herby olive oil from the artichokes -- I highly recommend that you do this too! As far as entrees, everything sounded so good, it was tough to make a decision. Their special for the evening was the Lobster Ravioli, which my husband ended up ordering and loving. I went with their Fillet, which was perfectly cooked, and served with a creamy, peppery sauce, and beautifully roasted baby potatoes. My mother-in-law ordered the Mushroom-Crusted Scallops, which she adored. Most nicer restaurants aren't generous with their scallops, but Roost does it right with four scallops and pasta for the price of $42. The portion sizes compared to prices were very fair across the board. For dessert, we tried the Tiramisu and the Ricotta Doughnuts, both of which were a delightfully happy ending to a wonderful dinner. The three of us were also gifted a shot of limoncello when the bill came -- which is a fun nod to this restaurant's Italian heritage. I would be remiss not to mention that Roost is woman-owned, and has been doing great things for the Oregon District for more than 10 years. I can't wait to return to this classy bistro the next time I'm in Dayton!

    Gin Aperol cocktail
    Geethankshi M.

    The ambience and service is great! Had one gin cocktail and it was really good. Definitely try the meatballs in appetizers and the Ragu pasta in their entree dishes! The tiramisu was frozen so it didn't taste good and creamy.

    Tirimisu
    Jamie D.

    I've never had a better steak . Tender and great flavor. The mushroom appetizer is also nice. I don't have a bad thing to say about anything here really.

    Menu
    Adam G.

    Went to Roost to celebrate my SO's birthday and left pretty disappointed, here's why: Service: When our server first came to our table, we asked if we would be receiving any complimentary bread (as this changes the amount and type of appetizers we would order). She said no, but noted there was bread you could order as an appetizer, so we got the 'tuscan farmhouse bread' along with arancini and artichoke hearts for starters. About half way through our meal, we noticed other servers bringing what looked like focaccia bread with dipping sauce to various tables, so I just stopped a different server and asked if that was complimentary bread and she told us yes. Thus, our server for whatever reason straight up lied to us when we asked about complimentary bread. Aside from that, it took a really long time from when we received our appetizers to when the entrees came out. Food: I ordered the 'butter poached filet mignon' and specified to have it cooked medium. Well, it came out rare to medium/rare which was disappointing for a $50 dish. It was still tasty and I liked the mashed potatoes it came with, but cooking a steak to the right level should be a pretty basic feat and they screwed that up. I also got a side Caesar salad, which was pretty good but it had too much dressing on it -- would recommend getting the dressing on the side. Bathrooms: the men's bathroom was a one-person bathroom which I thought was a bit odd for such a nice restaurant -- not to mention it was right by the kitchen so while waiting to use the bathroom, I had to awkwardly stand in the alley leading directly to the kitchen. Perhaps they had another mens restroom on a different side of the restaurant, but I thought it was weird. Overall, we expected Roost to be much better based on the reviews, and the fact that our waitress straight up lied about complimentary bread left such a bad taste in my mouth that this joint gets one star from me.

    Rhonda W.

    Came for an early dinner with my fav human .. my husband Ken. It's the last night of restaurant week... with a 3-course meal with 2-4 items to choose from. I had the mussels for a starter and hubs had the caesar salad. For entrees I had scallops and ravioli with asparagus..hubs had some beef and veal Ragu pasta. For desserts he had doughnut balls and I had their signature Dessert ... the Bamba which was ice cream with hard chocolate covered. The food was delicious and nice presentation...cooked perfectly! We both loved what we got. The inside was very comfortable and seating was plenty of distance apart. Lighting and noise level were ideal for a pleasant dining experience. Few cons: no parking lot parking is an issue.. you have to drive around searching and it could be far to walk. If it says dont park there they are serious and you will be towed. Second, it was expensive over 100 for Italian. Plus They don't open the door 1 minute early. Already had to park a distance away and walk in the cold .. then everyone had to stand outside for another 15 minutes while they stood warm watching us freeze. We were the first couple to be seated and we ordered first .. we received our starters. My mussels were spicy and needed bread .. the table beside us got bread and our server brought another table bread. My husband ate his salad the other tables ate their starter before we finally got bread so my mussels were cold by this time. The size and flavor were nice. It really bothered me that our server brought bread to people who just sat down but left us waiting. In summary lovely meal but with several cons i dont know if we will be quick to return. Mamma desalvos has no cons at 1/2 the price.

    The Grand Hotel
    Kimberly M.

    I had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday with my family at Roost and it was an incredible experience. Hands down, start to finish amazing. First, we arrived with what we believed was a reservation for six. However, due to an error that was entirely our fault, they did not have our reservation. However, they were able to accommodate us, and even gave us a beautiful table since it was my birthday. Our waiter was fantastic and patient with our large group. When I say everything ordered was amazing, I mean every single thing. The seasonal caprese salad was out of this world. Tomatoes, jalapenos, mozzarella pearls, feta all on top of ricotta cheese and drizzled with olive oil.... Pure perfection. The arronci were also outstanding. A few of our dishes were served with polenta which is something I've always been lukewarm about myself, but that rivaled the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Every single person left that table full, satisfied and with stars in our eyes from an excellent meal. I would recommend this to everyone and cannot wait to return.

    Chocolate cake
    Alexis R.

    We loved our anniversary dinner this last weekend. We came for an early dinner, so it was still a pretty chill environment that I imagine gets more formal as the night goes on. The menu was very good and most everything is locally sourced. The only downside was they were out of both tiramisu and affragoto.

    Pork Chop

    Roost? Culina? Now Roost again? We loved the original Roost with the pork chop (bone in) over polenta and the brown butter pasta with butternut squash, but both are gone off the menu. Drinks are still amazing, the bread is to die for. The staff seemed unenthusiastic about their job or that there was even a change in the menu recently. Just so disappointing overall. The dishes we had tonight were just okay, the price tag did not match the quality at all, we were so disappointed. I hope the owner reads the reviews and takes the feedback and implements change again, we all miss the old Roost!

    Heirloom Tomato Salad
    Tiffany D.

    Roost Italian is gooood! I had never heard of Roost until I saw someone post them on Instagram stories. I immediately wanted to try them and am so glad I did. They are modern Italian. My family and I went and sat outside in the outdoor seating area which was very nice. We started with glasses of wine which were delicious. They serve you bread and homemade marinara sauce. It was delicious as well! My husband had a side Caesar Salad and I had the Heirloom Tomato Salad. Both were amazing. The tomatoes were so fresh and the chunks of watermelon added a nice sweet touch to the dish. Great starters! We ordered our daughter's kids spaghetti! It was very flavorful and had a little kick of spice but they ate it anyway. I thought their dish was very good! I ordered the Bolognese Pasta and my husband ordered the special which was the Lamb Chop. The bolognese was good as well. It was creamy and the cheese on it was good! Everything tasted so fresh and homemade. The lamb chops were also flavorful and yummy! Overall, The Roost offers delicious food! I would certainly come back!

    Crab cake
    Sara O.

    Food was exceptional! The pork chop and polenta was cooked to perfection! Couldn't have been happier and will definitely be back.

    Michael G.

    Roost has tons of potential. On our night we arrived at 5 for a few light dishes and a drink before a show. We ordered the Caesar (excellent), iceberg salad (very good), Tuscan garlic bread (cold and soft, but a good idea), meatballs (on the cold side, but tasty), and finally a 5* Nebbiola by the glass. I'm not sure what's up with the bread and meatballs, but if they were finished off and hot, I could tell both would be really good. Beautiful contemporary environment with a nice bar I think Chef Dana has a good thing going. Service was very good and we were well greeted. Bathrooms were excellent thanks for that. We will do a revisit on out next trip to the Oregon District.

    Garlic bread, 3/4's already eaten

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    2 years ago

    Service and food is always phenomenal, but the WEDDING RISOTTO was life changing. One of the best meals I've ever had.

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    Hands down the best high end meal in Dayton. Love the steak and the sides. They make an old fashion the right way too

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