We were so looking forward to eating at Cucina. We'd read the reviews, news articles and heard stories from friends who'd eaten there. We decided to try the chef's choice menu and do the wine match fir each course. We also ordered a beer and...a cocktail thinking that would give the kitchen time to get organised etc. The first course arrived before any of the drinks, which was awkward, but also meant that when the drinks finally arrived nothing matched up with the food. We had the same problem with the second course, before having a word with the owner about what a wine match should match with. The food was good on the whole but did not live up to any other degustation we had been too. Very rustic but not the elevation we expected, given the price. Favourites were the empanada starter and dessert. The beetroot on beetroot on beetroot pasta dish was a definite disappointment. We did get a slight discount re the drinks matchup but we still found the $270 we paid to be way too much for what we were served.More

This is a busy restaurant and so it would pay to book a table. We had a delightful meal of steak with delicious sauces and vegetables. Service was good. Definitely to be recommended.

My wife liked the fish of the day dish but my venison was tough and hard to chew. Staff were pleasant and helpful

Went to Cucina on Saturday night with group of 4. The food was amazing - we had the 4 course trust the chef and so glad we did as everything was stunning! Fantastic drinks menu, tasty as heck cocktails and an impressive craft beer selection....Such a funky venue and easily one of my favourite restaurants. The place was busy but the staff were brilliant and managed it well! Don't miss out if you are in Oamaru!More

Arrived on time for our booking to find a very interesting menu and a nice vibe in the busy restaurant. I very rarely order pasta but would happily have tried most of the dishes. Ordered drinks and food, then waited. And waited. Our starters took...nearly an hour to arrive. Main courses another hour. We'd finished our wine and water long before this time and no-one came to offer us more drinks or ask whether our food was ok. The waitress who eventually delivered our mains asked if we wanted another drink, but by this time we were over the lack of service and didn't trust it to arrive before we'd finished eating. If there was some issue with staffing or another reason to be so slow and inattentive we would like to have been told, but nothing was said. The food was fabulous. Interesting and eclectic pasta dishes and lovely fish, couldn't fault it, such a shame the service lets it down.More

Everything at Cucina was excellent. The menu, the service and the food. We found it difficult to choose from such an enticing menu and once the choice was made we weren't disappointed. The food was delicious. This was one of the stand out restaurants on...our holiday.More

3 of our 4 dinners Ordered the lamb and all 3 were disappointed. Mainly as the meals were cold , the lamb was requested medium rare for two dinners and all came out well done , the 4th diner ordered steak which was perfect !...( our assumption was maybe the lamb dishes where left waiting for the steak meal ?) It was an extremely long wait between courses Overall quite disappointingMore