Breakaway- La Cucina

[Highlander1]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced a good meal at La Cucina. 10 of us dined there, it was as bad a meal as we've ever experienced. Out of 10, 8 of us threw in the towel, a fettucine and lobster dish was inedible, the chicken parm which is a simple dish tasted like a frozen chicken patty, the flatbread (pizza) was the best part of the meal. We sent back a few dishes, after awhile it became disturbing to be so dissatisfied so we just nibbled and left. They knew we weren't happy, but they didn't have a thing to offer to make it better. Anyway, the MDR food was way better, not such a good plug for La Cucina. We should have gone to O'Sheehans for free and nad a burger. Never again. Share your experiences.

 

maybe because we are from the NY area and our italian dishes are pretty popular, but that restaurant would be out of business in weeks in the Tri-State area.

[sailingnut]

Oh no~~I wanted to try that restaurant on my October cruise on the Breakaway! I will wait for more reviews!:)

[Coastalbreezes]

We had the Osso Buco in May and it was fantastic. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

 

Tracy

[buckirj1]

I had an excellent vegetarian lasagna on the Spirit, but that was several years ago. That's the only for-fee restaurant I've tried.

 

The pumpkin mushroom sage gnocchi on the current MDR menu is awesome!

[computerworks]

Sorry to hear that...

 

We had a great meal there on our last Breakaway cruise.... and we are Italian. :cool:

[js]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced a good meal at La Cucina. 10 of us dined there, it was as bad a meal as we've ever experienced. Out of 10, 8 of us threw in the towel, a fettucine and lobster dish was inedible, the chicken parm which is a simple dish tasted like a frozen chicken patty, the flatbread (pizza) was the best part of the meal. We sent back a few dishes, after awhile it became disturbing to be so dissatisfied so we just nibbled and left. They knew we weren't happy, but they didn't have a thing to offer to make it better. Anyway, the MDR food was way better, not such a good plug for La Cucina. We should have gone to O'Sheehans for free and nad a burger. Never again. Share your experiences.

 

maybe because we are from the NY area and our italian dishes are pretty popular, but that restaurant would be out of business in weeks in the Tri-State area.

 

I had LaCucina booked for our cruise next week (YEY!) but I canceled it thinking since I am from NY, I can have Italian any time we want and wanted to try something different in it's place so I booked the Brazilian Restaurant (along with Tappenaki and Cagneys).

[Cubechick]

I was underwhelmed by La Cucina on the Breakaway.

 

The bread was absolutely wonderful (best bread I've had anywhere in a long time), so I had high hopes for the meal. But it wasn't good. I too had the lobster fettucine and it was dry and tasted "old". DH didn't care for the osso bucco (tasted like it was drowned in celery salt). :(

[Highboy90]

Was thinking about trying the La Cucina but looks like Le Bistro may be a better choice. Perhaps Cagney's.

[js]

Was thinking about trying the La Cucina but looks like Le Bistro may be a better choice. Perhaps Cagney's.

 

How about both? If I wasn't traveling with a large group that had small kids, I would be adding Le Bistro.

[wasiii]

Was thinking about trying the La Cucina but looks like Le Bistro may be a better choice. Perhaps Cagney's.

 

.....I was on the Star last year and the two best meals we had were in La Cucina and Le Bistro.

 

Looking forward to eating there again this year and throwing Cagney's into the mix for the "Signiture Trio" special.

 

:cool:

 

wasiii

[messy]

We were onthe Breakaway in June. There were 8 of us and we ate in La Cucina. I was worried because my friends (New Yorkers) are Italian and are excellent cooks.

 

Everyone enjoyed their food. The pizza was excellent - most of us had the osso bucco and it was very good.

 

It may be a hit or miss situation.

[Wondo]

Wife and I ate at La Cucina on the Breakaway June 13 and my lasagna was awesome! A few years ago we ate at La Cucina on another ship (Pearl?) and the chicken parm was not good.

[Highboy90]

How about both? If I wasn't traveling with a large group that had small kids, I would be adding Le Bistro.

Both is a possibility.

 

.....I was on the Star last year and the two best meals we had were in La Cucina and Le Bistro.

 

Looking forward to eating there again this year and throwing Cagney's into the mix for the "Signiture Trio" special.

I wanted to try Cagney's on the Jewel but never made it.

 

Really would like to see the places in person. Seating is a biggie for me. Will be a party of 2 and prefer not to be on top of the other table. Because of this, I doubt I'd book a dinner pre-cruise but understand I better do it shortly after boarding to be safe.

 

On the other hand... may dine on land in Bermuda one night. :cool:

[Cruisegirl6]

That was the only restaurant that we chose to cancel. We are all Italian, we thought we probably be fussy and not care for the food, but most of all we didn't care for the menu and there was an abundant of kids there eating.

 

I wouldn't go back to Moderno or Cagneys no way. Ocean Blu impressed all but me I think they liked it so much because they can order items from the raw bar which cost extra and eating here does cost $49 p/p not worth it to me. All of us rated LeBistro excellent and we would go back there in a heartbeat!

[Highboy90]

Cagney's use to get rave reviews. Le Bistro is high on my list.

[tiffygirl]

La Cucina gets mixed reviews on all the ships it seems like. I dont think its specfic to the Breakaway. The Epic was the same way. some loved it some hated it.

 

Le Bistro seems to be consistantly good across all the ships. So are the sushi bars. Im on the fence about trying it. i can either pay for that (la Cucina) or take the money and use it towards a magarita tasting then hit o'sheehan as a follow up meal...see im leaning towards the maragita tastings....at the end of the day $15 is $15 and you one must get there money's worth!! LOL I know for a FACT ..$15 at the margarita tasting so worth every dime. i cant say that about La Cucina...but i still have 8 weeks to decide :)

[2ndhoney]

We were on the Jade 2 yeas ago and had 2 great meals:).

 

But, last year we were on the Gem and my husband ordered the salmon and it came out raw. We spoke to the waitress, etc. and they said "It's how the chef cooks it".:eek: If they had said it was "seared" I would have understood it, but it wasn't stated that way. They ended up not charging us for his meal. We ended up going to the buffet so he could get something to eat.

 

This year on the Epic we just didn't go there at all.

 

I feel their menu is too limited. Most other additional fee restaurants on the ship have more choices in their menus. Maybe because I'm from NY and eat Italian frequently, but I really like more choices in that type of a restaurant, especially since I an lactose intolerant and don't eat red meat (or salmon).

[tinkandpan]

We went. My dad chose it because he wanted to get away from the main dining rooms. I wasn't expecting a lit because we are Italian from the NYC area. I was thinking maybe it'll be Olive Garden at best and since it wasn't my first meal and hopefully not my last I wasn't going to complain. We wound up having a very nice meal. Our waiter was delightful and couldn't be nicer to my 7 yo daughter. The bread and olive oils were Wonderful. I had the carpaccio app which was eh. It wasn't distasteful just sort of bland, but once again wasn't expecting a lot. My daughter ordered the fried calamari which was tasty. For dinner, my daughter and I had the Osso bucco which was surprisingly excellent. My dad had a pasta with spivey sausage he loved. My mom and husband had the fettuccine with lobster which was eh. All in all it was a nice meal, great service and a nice break from the mdr at not a big price tag.

[tiffygirl]

So by reading these posts if i decide to try La Cucina , the one item that I wont be ordering is the lobster fettuccini ...clearly the consensus is that dish is NOT good at all!! :) ...that is good information..granted food is subjective but in this case....a pattern! LOL

[johnjovi]

We enjoyed La Cucina on the Breakaway last month. Agreed the calamari and the pizzas (and the bread!) are really good. We also enjoyed the lasagna and the vegetable lasagna - both very tasty. I enjoyed the pasta carbonara. As previously stated, the lobster fettucine was eh.

 

Desserts: we enjoyed the tiramisu and the affrogato a lot.

 

Also - the ambience is wonderful in there. We were disappointed that the night in Bermuda we were going to eat on the Waterfront, but it was just TOO hot!

 

We aren't huge on eating in the specialty restaurants, but feel La Cucina is worth the cover charge (although I really, really miss the chocolate cake off teh old La Cucina menu!)

[david_sobe]

I have not been on Breakway but ate at La Cucina with a group of 5 in February. Our table had very mixed reviews. For me, it was the worst meal of the cruise. The buffet 10x better. I never sent it back but it just was plain bad. Boiled pasta that was still part hard and horrible jar pasta sauce.

However, others in my group raved about the gnocci and other dishes.

 

One thing I dont like is how La Cucina changed their menu. I prefer the bread sticks over their "loaf" bread now. I also think their pizza was better before. All bad changes and an increase in price :( So I am not a fan of La Cucina.

[SciFiCruiser]

I was underwhelmed by La Cucina on the Breakaway.

 

The bread was absolutely wonderful (best bread I've had anywhere in a long time), so I had high hopes for the meal. But it wasn't good. I too had the lobster fettucine and it was dry and tasted "old". DH didn't care for the osso bucco (tasted like it was drowned in celery salt). :(

 

Agree. Underwhelmed, but the bread and dipping oils were fantastic! I had the chicken parm which was 3 pieces of breaded chicken (one was extremely thin and dry) topped with cheese and sauce with a side of pasta. I could have replicated the quality with some frozen Tyson's chicken patties and jarred sauce. I'll stick to Olive Garden!

[Love my butler]

The funny thing about La Cucina on the many NCL ships we have been on, is they raised the price and lowered the quality. Five years ago most meals we had there were great. Within the last year or two, it has really gone down hill. Cutbacks I guess.

[dexddd]

Agree. Underwhelmed, but the bread and dipping oils were fantastic! I had the chicken parm which was 3 pieces of breaded chicken (one was extremely thin and dry) topped with cheese and sauce with a side of pasta. I could have replicated the quality with some frozen Tyson's chicken patties and jarred sauce. I'll stick to Olive Garden!

 

I always get the Chicken Parm and for years it was a huge, whole chicken breast that was great. Last year on the Dawn it was different - much smaller and seemed to be more like you describe although it was one piece at that time. Plus our service was horrible.

[Want2Cruise]

So by reading these posts if i decide to try La Cucina , the one item that I wont be ordering is the lobster fettuccini ...clearly the consensus is that dish is NOT good at all!! :) ...that is good information..granted food is subjective but in this case....a pattern! LOL

 

Our waiter persuaded my husband to order something different since he said he gets a lot of complaints about that entree. We were on the Breakaway. Our meal was good and would go back again.