One of the standout restaurants that opened in late 2022 was Cucina Bella, located near the Lowry neighborhood in Denver. In addition to serving really good food, there’s a great back-story.
Brothers Luis and Heriberto Gutierrez, originally from Durango, Mexico, moved to the United States in the late ‘90s, to pursue the American dream. With more than 20 years of experience working in prominent Italian restaurants in Denver under their belts, including Cativella, Il Posto, Cucina Colore and others, they’ve opened their own restaurant. Their sisters, Aracely and Maria, work with them making Cucina Bella a really committed family business.
The In Good Taste Denver team gets excited whenever we see a restaurant in a strip mall because that often means it’s A) family-owned and independent, and B) probably going to be really good. We call them “Strip Mall Jewels” because this theory has proven itself to be true so many times. Our hopes rose, then, when we saw that Cucina Bella was located in a strip mall.
The restaurant’s design is simple, clean, and modern. The only negative I can say is about the lighting – it’s very white and cool as opposed to warm and flattering to the guests and the food. I’m sure the restaurant owners have little-to-no control over what bulbs are used but good lighting can make such a difference in the total ambiance of a restaurant. The staff, on the other hand, was very warm and made all diners feel like they were very welcome guests at a casual dinner party.
The Food at Cucina Bella
Have you ever sat down at a restaurant, took a look at the menu and thought, “I’m not really interested in any of this!” I have. Or, at least had to look through every option before landing on something that looks good? I have. But this was one of those rare times when everything, literally everything, looked really good. It was going to be tough to decide.
Luckily, our server made some suggestions right off the bat, starting with the Bread Basket ($5) with strips of housemade garlic herb flatbread and pomodoro sauce in which to dip it and the Crispy Calamari ($13), a very generous portion with scallions, lemon, and Calabrian chili aioli. Both were very good, especially the calamari. We almost ordered the PEI Mussels ($15) and were really drawn to the Fonduta Al Forno ($13), a 4-cheese fondue with artichoke, truffle oil and crostini but we were afraid it would be too heavy for the dinner items we were eyeing.
We perused the good variety of salads you don’t usually find at restaurants – from Caesar to the Mista ($10) with watermelon radish, the Arugula ($13) with toasted hazelnut, goat cheese, and lemon vinaigrette, Quinoa ($14) with arugula, cucumber, tomato, olive, red onion, feta, and white wine herb vinaigrette, and the Apple and Walnut ($14) with mixed greens, fuji apple, candied walnut, dried cranberry, gorgonzola, and apple cider vinaigrette. You can add grilled chicken, shrimp, and salmon to any of them to make them your main dish.
The 12-inch pizza offerings at Cucina Bella are popular, especially with people getting orders to-go. Options run from the simple Margherita ($16), to the elegant Funghi ($17) with ricotta crème, mozzarella, wild mushroom, thyme and truffle oil, to the loaded up Capricciosa ($18) with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, artichoke, mushroom, and black olive. We’ll definitely go back and share a pizza and one of those salads!
Sandwiches looked tempting too, especially since they come with herb fries or a mixed greens salad (the latter of which doesn’t cost extra – nice!). There’s a Grilled Chicken, Portobello, or Salmon sandwich or a Chicken Milanese with breaded chicken ($16-$18).
From the Pasta section of the menu you can choose Fusilli Pollo, Bolognese, Veggie or Meat Lasagna, and Linguine di Mare. They range from $19-$27 and gluten-free pasta can be had for an additional $4. I chose the Linguine al Pesto ($21) with prosciutto, wild mushroom, sun-dried tomato and pesto crème because the description reminded me of a dish I ordered every time at Cucina Colore (maybe its presence at Cucina Bella is inspired by the prior affiliation with the restaurant?). The meat, mushroom and tomato all provide heartiness and chew while the basil-laden sauce counters that with creaminess and herb. It was delicious! I took home half of my meal and it reheated beautifully too. Often, creamy dishes don’t reheat well because the fat breaks down but this one was mighty fine – a good thing to keep in mind because the portions are large.
My husband ordered from the Mains section of the menu where he had to decide between Chicken Parmigiana ($23), Veal Marsala ($30), and really tempting Seared Salmon ($29) served with saffron risotto, broccolini, roasted tomato and basil oil. After some hemming and hawing, he landed on Chicken Piccata ($25) with artichoke, caper, lemon butter, parsley, and whipped potato. Something to know – my husband, who loves lemon, adored this dish. I found it a little too lemony so I suggest you consider your level of lemon-lovin’ before ordering it. This dish, too, held over just fine for lunch the next day.
Even though we took home half of everything we ordered (so as not to feel stuffed to the gills, and so as to relive our enjoyment the next day), we were still almost too full for dessert. But we kept seeing this certain dessert coming out of the kitchen being delivered to people who greeted it with repeated “oh, wow!’s.” So, naturally, we had to see what all the fuss was about.
Save room for dessert at Cucina Bella
The Peach Budino ($9) is peach bread pudding with cinnamon, orange caramel with orange zest and an amaretto-mascarpone cream that could be a dessert in itself. Definitely share this dessert – it’s small but dense and sweet. It’s also one of the best desserts we’ve had in a long time. Don’t miss it! Tiramisu, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Cannoli, and Gelato or Sorbretto are also on the dessert menu and are reasonable at $8-$9. We did NOT save any of this dessert for the next day, gobbling it up between us.
Cucina Bella also has a strong bar program with a great selection of wine, beer, and mixed drinks. Their Old Fashioned is very good! Have faith in your server to recommend the right wine to pair with what you’re ordering – ours was spot on.
There’s brunch too, as if we needed more menu items to have to choose from. Many of the items from the lunch and dinner menu make an appearance but there are more traditionally brunchy dishes like Egg Benedict ($15), Pancakes ($10), and French Toast ($12). The family’s Mexican heritage comes through in the Breakfast Burrito ($14) and the Chilaquiles Rojos ($14) with crispy corn tortilla, tomato chili sauce, eggs, avocado, and queso fresco. Our server said that one is his favorite. He hadn’t steered us wrong at any point during our dinner, so we’ll take his advice on a future brunch visit.
We find Cucina Bella to be in very Good Taste and recommend it highly. It’s one of those rare restaurants that make a strong and really positive impression on us. Check it out for yourselves and see what you think.
Cucina Bella is located at 9660 E. Alameda Ave., Ste. 104, in Denver. Visit them on their website, here.
-Story and photos by In Good Taste Denver.
Please note, our visit was partially hosted by Cucina Bella to help facilitate this article. However, as is always our practice, our opinions are our own.
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