Cuoco Pazzo

My family and I had an excellent meal this evening. We are of Italian decent and it is very difficult to find an authentic Italian restaurant that lives up to expectations.
Let’s start with the bread… Excellent ! Thought we would try some limoncello — did not disappoint. I had the seafood special, the scallops were delicious and perfectly cooked, the sweet peppers blended beautifully. The shrimp scampi was very tasty and the spaghetti and meatballs were fantastic. The sauce was sweet and so flavorful. Just like my mom’s…thank you for the great experience. We are local in Mount Pleasant and will definately be back soon. Thank you for the surprise birthday canoli.
Tracy Watson

Went here Friday night, arrived about 6:15, and upon entering sorta waited at entrance to be seated. What appeared to be a hostess stayed back near the bar before finally coming up to seat us. Then as the night went on, this continued with all other guests. It was then I understood that she was really waiting for the 2 servers to tell her where to seat customers. Ok.
The restaurant is rather small, all the 2 top tables are in the middle pushed together into 4 tops. So we quickly pulled our table apart before the one next to us filled up. Sorry, we were there for us. The décor and feel inside was warm and cozy.
The menu had lots of classic pasta choices, and many chicken or veal options. We ordered the grilled mushroom special, a house salad, then pappardelle bolognese & lasagne as entrees. Mushroom appetizer was grilled with cheese and then a red sauce over it, um… ok. The salads were very modest and the dressing even too light in flavor (a raspberry vinaigrette), at $ 4.95 a piece they were very plain and overpriced.
I had the bolognese, which was a big serving and arrived hot. It looked good, but it was as average tasting as it could be. Frankly I was disappointed. But the lasagne, it was much better, the sauce a little sweeter, filled with meat & cheeses. We tried the house made limoncello and again, it was ok.
So overall, the food was just average at best. Our server Tony was average too. I had read many good Unilocal reviews and decided to go here because of the good reviews. But we just didn’t experience the same thing. Not sure why, was I expecting too much? Doubt we will go back. Next time I crave Italian I will stick to my Favorite place over at Seaside Farms.

We had dinner there on a Thursday night. Walked in to genuine Italian music and décor. Made us feel as if we were back in Italy. Started with the stuffed eggplant for an appetizer — 2 large pieces that we shared and it was outstanding. I had the veal piccata and my wife had the veal Marsala, both of which were done perfectly and not over-​sauced so you could actually taste the veal. I would highly recommend this restuarant.

Love the food! In fact, I super love it! It’s one of the only two Italian restaurants I go to in Mt. Pleasant. Authentic Italian, nothing fancy. It tastes great and is filling! The atmosphere is okay, but the food is the real standout. And the servers are cool, too. It’s family-​owned, so it has that kind of look.

Absolutely delicious food and exceptional service.
Authentic Italian food– served attentively.
What a nice surprise on our vacation.
Don’t let the location fool you.

Great place to eat! Not very expensive either!!!

Once again never seems to amaze me. This is by far the best restaurant in all of charleston. So authentic it’s unbelievable. The atmosphere is wonderful and the food is even better. We went for my birthday last night and they had such a pleasant staff. Everyone loved their food. Paula was or waitress and she told us about the deserts. We ordered one of each. The lemonchello cake blew me away. The tastiest cake I have ever eaten. They also sang happy birthday in Italian which was so awesome. Can never go wrong with this place. Kisses to the chef

Excellent! Small italian trattoria don’t let the shopping center deceive you. Best italian (so far) in Charleston! The veal pancetta was outstanding.

What a fantastic little gem. Wow. Amazing Italian food… almost unreal in the south! Family owned and operated from what I could see, quaint and welcoming. While the interior is small, the ambiance is very relaxing, quiet. Perfect date night place. The food and service were both just on point. Husband had the Frutte di Mare and I had the manicotti. Both were very very good. The sauce was thick, rich and robust with all the right flavor. I honestly couldn’t believe how good everything was. My expectations for ethnic food in the south are very very low, so I was surprised and absolutely thrilled to find this place. We will definitely return with family and friends. Fantastico!

Hands down, the BEST italian restaurant that I have EVER eaten at plus service was awesome. There were 3 of us and we all ordered different things and every dish was awesome. We will back in November, make sure you go around in parking lot and find. Love so many different
restaurants in Charleston and MT pleasant but this is a keeper!!! Love, love, love this places!)))$)))))$$$! Beside water boy grill,

Does not look like much from the outside but it is a cozy Italian atmosphere with a wonderful staff. The food was amazing! Both my fiancé and I enjoyed our meal tremendously. The small space made it feel more private and personal.

Best Italian food in Mount Pleasant. Wife loved her fettucine alfredo and I really enjoyed the veal.

Service was great & the white wine mussels were great. However everything else was subpar: the veal piccata tasted like we were sucking on a lemon & all the seafood after the mussels were severely over cooked to the point of being inedible. Side pasta was cold, & this was on a slow night.

I probably can’t say much that hasn’t been said in other reviews but as someone of Italian decent who had lived in NY and who has been to Italy twice, I can say this is authentic! Even the waiter is from Italy.
There is a decent menu in this cozy place in an unassuming strip mall off the beaten path. The desserts are great! The salad and bread are fresh and homemade and the dishes are creative. They make their own pasta. I don’t even do that!
They are family-​friendly or special date night appropriate. This place is small and they don’t try to turn tables quickly so you may have to wait even with reservations.
This is the best Italian I’ve had in the South!

This is one of those spot’s that I always drive by think about going to the next time I’m looking for Italian. I’ve heard great things but the location always made it seem to fall off my radar when it came time to make a dinner decision. I finally made it over for a visit and it’s now definitely on my radar. I might have had the place built up in my head from all the recommendations I’ve received about the place. It was very good and the service was excellent but, I think I need to try it out a few more times before I would say it’s amazing.
I started with the Vongole o Cozze al Vino Bianco (mussels in a white wine sauce) and they were excellent. We finished the mussels and kept the broth around for bread dipping throughout the meal. For my entrée, I ordered the Vitello alla Vodka. It was two veal cutlets served with a side of penne and smothered in vodka sauce. I felt like the sauce had less of a creaminess I’m used to with vodka sauce and all of the acidity of a red sauce. Again, it was good, just not what I expected for my personal taste. I maybe should have gone with my gut on ordering off of the specials menu.
I tried my friends caprese chicken entrée and it was light with a very authentic Italian flavor. Authenticity is likely their biggest attribute which I can attest to from the cannoli. Surprisingly, many people don’t do cannoli’s right, but this one had the perfect thickness on the pastry and the filling was a rich ricotta cheese with chocolate chips and almond. It was definitely top notch. I’m looking forward to coming back and making my way through more of the entrée’s for sure.

This place is fantastic! The food is some of the best Italian around and the restaurant has a cute and intimate ambience. I came here for a small birthday dinner with family and was very impressed with the service and dressy casual laid back atmosphere. The only thing I would change would be the volume of the music, turn it up. I don’t like loud places, but it was as quiet as a church. I will definitely be back and am happy to have found such a great little Italian place. It is completely unassuming in the strip mall and a little hard to find.
Amazing fettuccine alfredo with shrimp, perfection!

This place has changed ownership within the past several years. The former Chef, David, owns it now (and has for a few years). I”m good friends with the first owner. He and I had dinner there this evening. The second owner had/​has a few restaurants around town. He’s a great friend of mine, as well — we were actually partners at Cousin Vinnie’s — a restaurant which had a brief existence circa 2001/2002,with a similar menu (but clearly not similar quality). If my food were like Cuoco Pazzo’s is now, we’d still be there and David would probably be working for us. But it wasn’t close. There’s no comparison to the current food «Davidu» serves with either my place, or the Cuoco Pazzo of several years ago. Its in another league.
As I said, Joe Meli (the first owner) and I ate there tonight. No special treatment; ;the employees didn’t even recognize him. The place was packed (it only seats 42 according to David). Nevertheless, the food was excellent. I don’t live in Charleston any more — I’ve relocated to Tampa about 10 years ago. But I am back in town for business or visiting every few months. This will be a permanent stop. If you live anywhere in Charleston, this is is the place to go for GREAT authentic Italian food; fresh pasta, sauces, veal, chicken, beef and seafood.
I had a special, shrimp with large pasta in a red, or as the waiter said, «orange» sauce — nothing to do with oranges («Cherry tomato and wine). It was Molto Bene. Actually it was Superb. My friend had a pasta dish, Fettuccine Boscaiola, which was terrific also; it is a heavier dish, life fettucine Alfredo. At $ 16 it could be split two or three ways as an app. Don’t know how happy they’ll be about me suggesting that.
We had a couple of drinks and a couple of apps, including the carpaccio, which was also a special. It was done perfectly, with crostini, capers and onions. The bill was about $ 65 before tip; probably about the same as chain Italian restaurants, BUT SO MUCH BETTER. I would highly recommend reservations, at least on the weekend. Unfortunately I saw at least a dozen people come in, and decide not to wait.
The Negatives: its small, and there’s not really a bar area to wait at (We actually occupied the sole two seats at the bar for the whole night, and ate there.) While they serve liquor, the selection is limited. Top shelf brands, but very few choices.
The Positives: everything I said above, plus the smallness actually adds to the atmosphere. The owner cooks the food himself every night — its not going to matter when you come — so maybe you should try it out on a week night when they’re probably slower., and you can just walk in.
Congratulations — you really nailed it — and continued good luck with this, David. –Peter

ahhh takes me back to NY. Friendly place where almost everyone knows your name. Great home style Italian food in a shopping center what more can you ask for. Excellent sauces I had chicken cacciatore with mushrooms. It had a nice spicy sauce and although it would have been better prepared with chicken on the bone the sauce was the bomb.
Other dishes enjoyed were eggplant parm which we gave a 8 and meatballs which were very good.
The best part of this place is the staff. Our waitress sand the theme song of the Godfather in Italian.
In typical Italian fashion food is an experience and you’ll get that experience at Cuoco Pazzo

My Husband, my parents and I went out for a happy celebratory dinner tonight and were so thrilled with the service and food quality of Cuoco Pazzo, I couldn’t stop myself from reviewing right away!
We arrived a bit late for dinner (probably an hour, give or take, before closing) but the service was still fantastic! Our server was Karen and she was so perfectly attentive — not too hovery but never too out of touch.
And the food was truly a delight! We started off with some oven warm crusty Italian bread served with olive oil and grated Italian cheese. Then our entrees arrived and each was even more impressive than the last!
My mom’s seafood laden spaghetti was beautiful, Dad’s lasagna was to do fire, my husband’s veal saltimbucca was amazing, and my sausage plate with spaghetti was fantastic! We’re seriously considering the logistics of this place catering our future house warming in Summerville, it was so wonderful!
AND… the restroom was well maintained, clean, and nicely decorated… even had an extra chair for your purse!
Overall, this is a no-​brainer 5 stars. Excellent service, beautifully delicious food, completely affordable, and a clean, well-​kept bathroom. We will definitely be visiting again!

WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW… In a strip mall? yes, the best Italian food in Charleston. Better than down town restaurants. Just had dinner the, chicken Marsala, Wow. Food is fantastic. I found my new best Italian restaurant. I will go back tomorrow night. And every night after that. Prices very low for the quality of food. GREAT. Go as soon as you can.
FrankG