Cucina

4 stars for Ambience.
4 stars for Service.
4 stars for their bread service. The best part of the meal was the hot bread that they serve — eaten with the olive oil (not very good kind. just cheap olive oil — not even extra virgin) and the parmesan cheese.
Cucina is an upscale restaurant. Very beautiful setting. Even though I am giving it only two stars for the taste, or lack thereof, which I have experienced, if you happened to be in this area — which is beautiful — especially in the fall — I would encourage you to dine here. Inn good weather — you can sit outside the restaurant, overlooking a small but beautiful pond. Quite a lovely atmosphere.
Hostess and servers are very well trained and offer first class service.
My disappointment was only about the food and not service.
1. Ceaser salad (We tried the shrimp version) — A proper ceaser salad should be made with anchovies and raw egg mashed up and mixed with the salad. Here at Cucina, they put in two full size pieces of anchovies. The dressing was some kind of sour cream based thinned out cream. The anchovies, if eaten in pieces would be and were distasteful. The lettuce was crisp and nice, the shrimp was fairly good but the dressing and anchovies made the salad not very tasteful. 2 stars.
2. Pizza. It had bacon and figs. The crust was not good. Neither were the toppings. The combination of ingredients was simply not very tasty. But then, this is just my personal opinion. Others, with different palate/​likings might well like this pizza. My rating is 2 star for pizza but a typical Wisconsinite, who enjoys pizza hut type of pizzas might well give this 4 star rating. I am not trying to be condescending or impolite. some of us have different tastes from others — not necessarily better or worse. Therefore, while I am giving only 2 stars for this pizza, I would encourage you to try it. You might actually enjoy it.
3. Gnocchi: The menu indicates that the gnocchi was being home made. Perhaps so but it was not al all good. Good Gnocchi would be soft and not chewy. Great gnocchi would melt in your mouth. Eating this Gnocchi was like eating a lump of dough. The sauce on the gnocchi was like an Alfredo style thick sauce and was quite tasty. The oyster mushrooms on the gnocchi were not very tasty either. They were probably the dried or frozen variety. I have tasted excellent oyster mushrooms and these were not even close to being good. 1 star for Gnocchi.

Came for dinner while in town on business. Was very pleased with the décor, attentive and friendly staff, and the food. The squid ink linguini was delicious (a bit spicy) and their pizza was also very good. I’d go back.

Stopped into Cucina on my way to Door County coming from Chicago. Excellent lunch service outside from my server, Peggy. The trip lunch special is a steal at 15 dollars. Great house salad, white bean and kale soul, and Gnocchi. I highly recommend this place.

My husband, son and I were staying at the inn on wood lake and wake and walked over to try to get a table at cucina for dinner. The hostess took one look at our stroller and told us they weren’t accepting walk ins for the night and that reservations were required. She then suggested the horse and plow as it is more «family friendly». We ended up eating at the chocolate shop/​bistro right next store to cucina. We sat on the patio which is basically shared with cucina’s patio. We couldn’t help but notice all the empty tables at cucina and how, «despite needing a reservation» the patio only had about three parties eating dinner. I would never go back to cucina solely because of the way the hostess treated us.

Came here for business dinner; this place has super nicer décor. Food is on the more expensive side but still affordable. Service was really slow but the waitress was nice nonetheless.

I was really excited to try somewhere new. My mother-​in-​law-​to-​be decided to come here for lunch after a day of shopping, because she really enjoys it here and I love a good pasta dish. I was expecting to be blown out of the water, since I know Kohler boasts fine dining and good service. Overall, I was disappointed. I’d give it 2.5 stars if I could, but I can’t give it three stars, so I’m rounding down.
I will say that the interior is gorgeous. It’s classy looking with columns in the middle and intimate and cozy color schemes. There’s also a big patio for outside seating, with a gorgeous view of the lake. I can see it as a great spot to grab an appetizer and a glass of wine before going somewhere better for dinner.
It took forever for a server to come to us. There were a grand total of three tables in the inside dining room, although the outdoor seating was almost full. It seemed like both sections were being run by the same server, and I couldn’t help but to note that all of the indoor dining patrons suffered because of the crowd outside.
It was a nice touch that the table starts with fresh bread as well as olive oil and Parmesan for dipping.
We started out with iced teas, then ordered our lunches. After 32 minutes, our food finally crawled out of the kitchen. My mother in law ordered the Trio Express ($ 15) which comes with soup, salad, and a half of a pizza, pasta, or sandwich. She went for the house salad, the Tuscan White Bean & Kale soup, and the pizza Bianca, which had a few cheeses and prosciutto on it. The salad was just a salad, nothing special. She really liked the soup, and claimed to like her pizza, but only ate one small piece and took the rest home and tried to feed it to my girlfriend. I had a piece, and I thought it was alright. It was a bit burnt on the bottom and tasted more like ham on a cracker than an «upscale» prosciutto pizza. I got a ravioli dish that no longer seems to be on their menu, which I think was somewhere around $ 14 dollars. It came with four big ravioli filled with ricotta, along with braised beef and pork in a tomato sauce. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either. The pasta was well cooked, but not very flavorful. I wish there had been more of the meat component.
It was another good 15 – 20 minutes for her to finally give us our cheque, and who knows how long to get our change back.
I would give this place another shot, but based on first impressions, I am really disappointed. The service was slow and not at all attentive. The food was mediocre– thankfully we ordered relatively cheap dishes. I’d be happier at Olive Garden, and in an area where there are so many Italian restaurants claiming to be upscale, I would just as soon go to any of them before coming back to this one.

Cucina is nice… Especially if you can eat outside on the patio next to the lake. I have eaten here before and it’s always super tasty… though I wouldn’t say it’s a healthy option. They have a few vegetarian options on their menu marked with a V. Pretty forward thinking for Wisconsin. ;)
The service was super slow today… maybe just lazy Sunday or something, as I don’t remember it being an issue in the past. Our server was super sweet, regardless. The patio connects to the bakery/​coffee shop… so it’s a treat to grab coffee and treats afterward.
We definitely enjoyed our leisurely afternoon here today!

I have been here a few times for lunch and have never been impressed. Pretty expensive food and the taste is just blehh. The service was good when i first went there but the next few times was horrible. Took too long and not the friendliest waiters.

My husband and I went here for a date night while we were staying at the resort. The food really exceeded my expectations. Best Italian food I have had yet in the state of Wisconsin! We had the calimari (excellent), my husband had the meatballs, I had the whole wheat seafood linguine — highly recommend. Service was excellent.

Cucina,
You’re still delicious and inspiring :)
From your fantastic beef carpaccio, to your shrimp with tapenade, to youre tuscan bean and kale soup, to your arugula w/​fried cheese salad! (all of which I’ve had within a week:)
You don’t disparage, you merely serve — and serve wonderfully!
Also — a shout out to Jennifer who was just a fantastic waiter — and surprised me with more roasted garlic to go! She was fantastic before that though :)

Seeing that everything in this area gets booked up so fast I was actually thinking to myself «wow if its that busy then it must be good»…
Service was wonderful. Our waiter looked a little too young to be serving alcohol but whatever. Still very nice staff.
The food was great but the drinks were horrible. They really need better drink options and someone more experienced behind the bar.
The scallops I ordered were cooked perfectly but there was no side dish. I wish the waiter would have mentioned that. It was just scallops on a plate. Not cool especially for the price!
Dont think I would return on my next trip to Kohler. Step up the pasta game guys!

I’m surprised this place doesn’t have a better rating! Our night here was so much better (and cheaper) than the Wisconsin room. After a long day of golf, 8 of us came bc we wanted something close by. We got seated easily in the bar area. Hopalicious is a great local APA.
I had the carpaccio to start. Yum! Heavy on the garlic but it usually is. Then the oysters. I had the British Columbia ones. Small briny awesomeness. They come with unnecessary sauces. The mignonette us all you need. Then I had the insalata rustica. Fried goat cheese, need I say more. I also had the Brussels sprouts with pancetta. Very good!
Great atmosphere, reasonable price, awesome food

Dined for lunch and experience was fine. Qualify of food depends on what you get (pizza was above average but salad was not) and service, while servers are friendly, a bit slow. Recommend as a quick bite but not a destination.

Went for the express lunch ($ 15 for a cup of soup, side salad, and half a pizza or pasta).
The soup of the day was a puréed pea so I tried that and it was delicious and topped with some shaved Parmesan. The salad choices with the trio are house or Caesar. I tried the house salad with vinaigrette dressing. The lettuce was good quality (no iceberg) and there were some nice olives in there too but the dressing was sweet which I didn’t expect for an Italian vinaigrette. The dressing tasted bottled to me and it was a shame to put it on those nice greens.
I chose half an artichoke and chicken pizza for my main course. It was fine. I can make better crust at home though, and the chicken reminded me of those precooked pieces of sliced breast you can buy at the grocery store.
We had excellent service from Megan and enjoyed the view of the lake.
For a $ 15 lunch, it was probably 3.5 stars, but Unilocal doesn’t allow half stars on a review.
I will go back and try dinner there.
P. S. Very good bread served with olive oil before the meal

Stopped here on the way home from the AC and am glad we did. We got the oysters which were very fresh and come with 3 sauces. They have a lunch special where u can get a soup, salad and have a half pizza/​pasta/​sandwich. I got the ceaser, a basil and pea purée soup with the gnocchi. All of it was good, the sauce for the gnocchi was bit too salty, even for me but the gnocchi itself was melt-​in-​your-​mouth good. I will definitely come here if I’m in Kohler again.

I’m in the middle of the work day trying to get a quick lunch. The food actually arrived pretty quick the problem was the waitress taking forever to come take my order and then taking twice as long to bring me the check. Talk about slow service and the restaurant is not busy. She was nice and I noticed that she was trying to get personable with other clients, but still… I need to go back to work!
I already asked twice, now I’m taking the time to write this review while still waiting.
Pasta was great, I was so hungry and honestly can’t compare the dish with anything else because I just devoured it entirely without thinking. I had the pasta with vegetables and ice tea. I think I’m just used to quick service from Chicago… Maybe this is how things flow in WI.
I ended up going to the hostess table and asking for my tab.

I would call Cucina 3.5 stars but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and round up. The food is good, though the portions are definitely on the smaller side. I got the Bavette steak and my oh my it was really delicious, but my side was a single mushroom. I feel like your dinner should come with at least one side as opposed to you having to order everything but that’s how it goes here.
Good wine list as well as solid cocktails. If they moved up the size of their portions I could see Cucina developing a real following. But for the time being I’m sure they do well enough serving the Inn at Woodlake and the American Club. And I will say if you’re there for a romantic weekend this restaurant does set the ambiance well.
²⁷⁄₃₆₅

I was contemplating on whether or not to take a rain check on a supplier dinner, & wow, sure glad I didn’t! The calamari was lightly breaded & super yummy with their house-​made aioli. I ordered a whole wheat linguine dish that contained swordfish, mussels, and shrimp, tossed in a light garlic butter sauce. It was noted on a menu as a «spa cuisine item» (aka lower calories, healthier), but WOW — it was still so fabulous!!! Our server was very nice & attentive — no complaints on the service! I didn’t get a chance to eat the dessert (my supplier was on a diet in preparation of a wedding, & I didn’t want to be the only one pigging out on dessert) so I guess that will be a reason to return soon…

Two words… roastic garlic. Yummm… I think thats what the hubby and I mainly come here for!!!
We usually eat at Cucina when visiting the Kohler Resort and have always had a pretty descent experience. The food is pretty good… this last time I ordered a pesto pasta dish (without the chicken) and it was very good! My husband ordred the scallops with mushroom risotto… ok, as much as we like to dine out, we have NEVER had risotto… and Chef Gordon Ramseys million cooking shows have made us want to try it! YUMMO!!!
The service is pretty good as well. The first time we came, we had a «meh» experience with my husbands steak and they took it off our bill… overall, we enjoy the restaurant. Good Italian food with pretty solid service.

Brilliance in marketing! While this appears to be a stand alone restaurant in the Shops at Woodlake– it is actually a part of The American Club (what isn’t in this town)
No matter as the food and the service were quite good. I just laughed as I think every place I ate at on my recent visit was affiliated with the hotel in some way. Thank heaven they have a good chefs!
Recently remodeled, Cucina’s only downside is that it is located in a strip mall. So just close your eyes as you wander in from the parking lot as once you are inside– it is easy to forget where you are (especially if you have a table outside overlooking the lake).
On the tables were complimentary roasted garlic, olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese which when mixed together and spread on the crunchy bread was pretty much perfection! That and a salad could have been my dinner– but there was plenty more to come.
We shared a few of the appetizers, the fried calamari was quite good served with an aioli and marinara sauce and the bruschetta had just the right touch of garlic.
Next up– a couple of salads– a Caesar and a mixed green salad with pine nuts. Since these were served «family style» we actually ordered more of the Casar it was just that good.
My entrée was grilled salmon with mushroom risotto and asparagus. Quite tasty and the guy I was with liked the risotto so much he ordered an additional side of it as sort of an «interim course» as it takes a while to prepare but the staff took it all in stride.
Service was friendly and helpful. Our busser actually saw that my drink was empty and went to find the server for me so that I could have another (hmm…was there a look on my face of despair?)
Good food, very good service all in an environment that is nice but still allowing for casual attire to be worn. Nice, Cucina. Know that your secret that you are really a «hotel» restaurant is safe with me!