Founded in 2009 by visionary restaurateur Tracy Borkum, the Cucina restaurant brand has grown from a bold post-recession experiment into a Southern California mainstay known for its innovative design, in-house wine shops and rustic-meets-refined California-Italian cuisine.
The Irvine Spectrum Center location of Cucina Enoteca, the first one in Orange County, opened in 2011. Celebrating 16 years of the brand’s risk-taking and reinvention, all locations offer a Sweet 16 anniversary menu Sundays through Wednesdays in June. Signature throwbacks and new creations, as well as curated sips, offer unbeatable value at $16 each.
The list-topping Anniversary Giant Cucina Meatball is regional chef Cesar Sarmiento’s bold take on a house-made meatball; it’s served on creamy polenta with stracciatella cheese and crisped coppa and prosciutto.
Cucina’s beloved vasi jars are presented as a trio – featuring chicken liver pâté, burrata and salmon rillette, respectively – with Tuscan toast. Other Cucina classics offered at $16 each include the margherita pizza, the Cucina lasagna and the Polenta + Ragù board.
A selection of $16 red, white, rosé and sparkling wines by the glass – and retail wines to go from the bottle shop – are a steal for their caliber. A barrel-aged Negroni cocktail debuts at the same price.
Cucina Enoteca, which opened in Irvine in 2011, and its Urban Kitchen Group siblings are known for redefining “approachable fine dining.”
