Cucina Basilico

Earlier this afternoon Bert came home tired and said, "Where are we going for dinner?"

He didn't feel like staying at home and asked if I could check my coupons for a place to try out..

I remembered one of Mary's posts from last year about this Italian place in Serra Mesa with house made pastas...So, Cucina Basilico it was.

It's in Daley Square strip mall with the Holiday Inn and a row of chain restaurants (the other side of the street has the humongous Fry's store and adjacent lot). Anyhow, amongst this row of various eateries and services is this great family owned Italian gem. The coupon lists the name as Cucina Basilico (which means 'basil'; 'basilica' is a long church with a curved wall) but their sign reads as 'Basilico Cucina Italiana'.



We got there around 5:30 and only a few tables were occupied at the time. By the time we left about an hour later, it was entirely full. The servers here were really nice and a lady whom I believe was the owner (she had an Italian accent) was busy checking on all of the tables and greeting customers.

This fork photo is for Mary who mentioned it in her post (linked at the end) but didn't include a pic.  Their decor was really cute.


The color scheme was cozhy and warm with terra cotta orange and brick accents.

The coupon was pretty generous - $15 off a $30 purchase. We ordered the calamari appetizer (Bert's choice),  the eggplant parmigiana (TC's choice) and one of the specials, the squid ink fettucine with clams (my choice).


We were served bread n this adorable colander; there were six pieces in there. As you can see, several were different (one was topped with an olive, another with tomato) and all were quite tasty. Carbs be damned.


Calamari win a spicy marinara sauce. I like that it wasn't fried. This sauce had a bit of a kick and tasted so good with the bread dipped into it.

We were offered more bread but since we didn't want to fill up too much, asked for only three pieces (OMG, cute red colander!).

Our two entrees which we shared. The portions were on the smallish side, but were really just right for tonight. It was nice not to feel overly full after dinner.

I can't resist squid ink pasta. It looks so rad and what makes this so much more better is that the pasta is handmade and cooked al dente. There were about thirteen baby clams in here (yes, I counted!). If we ever go here again (and I'm already thinking of our next visit), I wouldn't mind having this one more time, heh heh.


The eggplant parmigiana was delicious...enjoyed by all three of us but mainly by TC. She loves anything cheesy (foodwise, haha).


I'm so glad we went here. Despite the ugly strip mall surroundings, this restaurant really does class it up a bit with their handmade pastas and sauces.

Who else ate at Cucina Basilico?
Mary went here last year using the same coupon (yesssss!)

Reviews from Yelp and tripadvisor

Cucina Basilico
3755 urphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 874-6436

www.cucinabasilico.com

Thank goodness the Entertainment Value Book comes with both paper and online coupons. The online one will have to be utilized before it expires in December (insert maniacal laughter)...