Serving a rotation of seasonal dishes, Cucciolo Osteria keeps the menu small to keep the flavor big. With the original restaurant location in Seoul, Korea, the Durham restaurant continues the practice of serving excellent Italian dishes with a twist. Whether you’re looking for dinner, dessert or both, Cucciolo Osteria will exceed your expectations.
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.
chanmyae hanthar
Nov 22, 2025
4
We went there for last night and it was great! I would say the pace is little fast than other restaurants and we liked the foods parking was kind of hard to find bc it was busy night, It was kind of loud in there that you can even hear the music that they’re playing I would get High Top chairs next time when I come back to just experience it but our server was very nice and giving us recommendations and we got free tiramisu as a treat!
Kaley Smith
Oct 28, 2025
3
If you are looking for classic Italian (not American Italian) fare, this is a decent spot. I didn't feel that anything we had was very special but I am snooty when it comes to pasta. The truffle pasta was somewhat one-note and was served lukewarm despite coming out after the rest of my party's plates. The rigatoni was good but not anything who is a good home cook can't do. The tiramisu was very traditional, which I like to see, but not worth 11.50, a pretty high price for dessert. Wouldn't go back because it's not worth the trek from Chapel Hill, but wouldn't discourage friends visiting Durham from trying it if they need a new spot for a date with great service.
Ella Rohr
Oct 1, 2025
5
Food was great. Portion sizes were comfortable, not the usual extra large pasta bowls. That makes it great if you want to enjoy pasta and not feel too heavy after, but less great if you’re really hungry or planning to share. Tomato bruschetta was way more delicious than I expected for such a basic dish. Service was really great, everyone who works there is super kind. Pretty slow though. Took us 2 hours and we were trying to be kinda speedy. I think it took an hour from ordering to entrees. So go when you have two hours to languish, and aren’t already starving or on a time crunch. Dessert I think was better than dinner. The panna cotta was so soft and light it was unbelievable. Aesthetic is dim lighting with concrete floors, so your parents might complain that it’s dark and loud.
Briannie Williamson
Sep 13, 2025
5
Super friendly staff who were very attentive and accommodating. We were early for our reservation and they were able to seat us right away. It was our first time and our waiter was very patient in explaining the menu and explaining the portion sizes and how to order.
We loved all our dishes! The Bruschetta was very tasty (we got the ones with dates) We ordered separate pasta dishes which were the perfect portion sizes and both tasted great. We shared the lemon butter chicken which I highly suggest doing asnit ended up being the perfect amount of food. Dessert was great as well.
We were excited to learn they have a sister location in Raleigh and we will be trying it soon
Rachel S
Aug 16, 2025
5
Took my vegetarian partner to dinner for his birthday, great food selection and ambience. Ordered vodka pasta and eggplant parmigiana. Both were delicious but definitely would go back for the vodka pasta. They have a complimentary panna cotta for dessert which was sooooo good!
Keith
Aug 11, 2025
3
First time dining at Cucciolo Osteria. Loved the vibe of the place. Old tobacco area. Staff was polite and attentive. The food? Meh. Had a couple of cocktails which were unique and very well done. Ordered Artichoke and Pecorino appetizer. It was good and had decent flavor. Had Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Rigatoni at server’s suggestion. It was good but very small serving. One of those meals where you think you could have done better at home, which is always a disappointment. I’d have gladly paid more for a bit more pasta. Was going to have desert but nothing really jumped out at me. There are a lot of good Italian restaurants in the area, but this won’t make my go-to list.
John Lei
Jul 13, 2025
5
A new gem in the Durham area. The food tastes very good and the price, compared to price of everything these days, is very reasonable. Both entrees were $21. Definitely give it a try if you're feeling italian or take a date there. I'd definitely visit again!
Kimberly Martin
Jun 28, 2025
5
Delicious! Italian deliciousness! We had dinner and drinks at the bar. Good service, good food. Ambiance but could be a little more. Very noisy, hollow sounding, my only
Complaint. (Industrial, brick. Fits with the area a whole, but doesn’t make for cozy feel) We felt Portions NOT shareable. We shared and I only got 2 bites of main dish. Would order my own next time. Had a beet salad-delish, and Tajarin was excellent! BREAD IS DELICIOUS-but have to ask for it. Not served otherwise. In a walkable area from our hotel. Felt safe at 9-10:00. Would go back again. Delicious!!
Zachary Sutherland
Jun 24, 2025
4
Overall a pretty good experience. 4/5
All of the food I had was good, though I am not sure it's as good as the price would suggest. Food overall, 4.5/5. Food, for the price? 3/5. I'll give it 4/5 for this review.
The service was great. We had two waiters and our water was refreshed regularly without being intrusive which is great. 5/5
My main problem here is it's excruciatingly loud. By the end of the evening I had a growing headache because it was hot and LOUD even when there was only a single other table left around 9:30. The concrete/brick building is tall, long, and narrow so it turns into an echo chamber. When we arrived at around 8:10 for our reservation, the volume in the building was *thunderous* and we couldn't hear each other despite sitting next to each other. I really think the dining room would benefit from acoustic tiles, tapestries, or even canvas paintings along the upper walls. 2/5 for atmosphere.
McKenna Wood
Jun 24, 2025
5
One of my favorite meals in Durham! If you’re dairy free ask for their dairy free pesto! Cocktails are also delish!
Christopher Schlitt
Jun 1, 2025
5
We drove from Raleigh to try this place bc of the truffle pastas. We were amazed at all the unique dishs and spins they did on classic dishs. The butter chicken was superb. The truffle pasta was delightful and deep with flavors. The spin on the carpaccio was pleasently satisfying. The server Moe was super and knew the menu and ingredients as well as cooking processes of all the dishes. He was like a teacher of taste :) I highly recommend this place to friends and family...the parking however sucks and it cost me 8$ on a Sunday
Jeff & Nancy Kueffer
Apr 24, 2025
5
OMG! Calling all Carbonara lovers! Kudos to the Chef for his delicious recipe for Linguini Alla Carbonara (Roman way). It is simply incredible and ranks amongst the best I've ever eaten and this includes "Crispo's" of NYC which won "Best Spaghetti Carbonara" by New York Magazine in 2004. Trust me... try Cucciolo's version... it's just as good if not better.
Allan Robison
Feb 9, 2025
5
Cucciolo Osteria is an absolutely wonderful high-end, quality Italian restaurant. We have come numerous times and have never been disappointed. This time, we are in their private dining area. We were introduced to a very unique beer from Fullsteam Farm's Edge called Hard Frost. Reservation is required. Still returning and still amazing. Still coming back.
