However it’s taken me years to finally commit to dining at the cucina.

Cucina Alessá

520 Main Street | Huntington Beach, CA 92648 | (714) 969-2148

Voted Best Italian Restaurant in Orange County, Alessá features homemade pastas, pizzas, and a pretty popular happy hour that locals rave about. While I admit, Italian is probably my LEAST favorite type of cuisine (you can thank the high calorie count for that) I do loves me a heavy carb sesh once in a blue moon. Couple that with bottomless bruschetta and you’ve got yourself a date honey!

On The Menu

So delish! Easily my favorite dish we ordered that evening I dunno if that’s saying a lot or a little. The tomatoes were beautifully sliced, paper thin with a generous glazing of balsamic drizzled throughout. I fill up my bruschetta and sandwich pieces of burrata/tomatoes/arugula like a wrap. Who needs pizza when you’ve got this party pocket?

Apparently le bf does, lol. He’s a pizza connoisseur, what can I say? I’m sorry but this pie PALED in comparison to their bruschetta and house bread. The hand tossed crust was not crunchy/crusty in the least, kinda flimsy actually, and the toppings seemed sad just wilting away beneath the tower of arugula. Total PASS!

Seashell pasta with shrimp and asparagus tossed in light lobster cream sauce. I’m allergic to lobster so I didn’t get to taste test my gf’s dish but she said it was “really good.” Sorry, that’s all I’ve got for this one, lol.

I swear I scan all menus for keywords like “slow-cooked” (YES!), “braised” (YESS!), and “charred” (2 outta 3 ain’t bad!), so I knew this was the winner for me. Just a warning: Alessá’s pastas are made SUPER duper al dente. Almost on the tip of slightly undercooked if you ask me. Although the flavors were rich and well seasoned, and the protein generously rationed at a 50/50 ratio to the pasta, I couldn’t take more than 3 bites it was so filling. I realized at this point that I like my pasta cooked just a tad bit longer, favoring the chew over the bite.

This was le bf’s dish and while I had the same issues of doneness with my pappardelle, I have to admit, these suckers reheat like a dream! After having boxed both our dishes togo, I microwaved these for lunch the next day and they were BOMB.COM! The pastas were chewy just the way I like them. They tasted more homemade at home than they did when dining out. True indication that Cucina Alessá is a better take-out option than dine-in spot. Just sayin’.

The best dish on tonight’s menu. Look at that thing! Juicy and tender, smoked and charred in all the right places. Although the sauce was a tad bit on the sweet side, the fresh greens and side potatoes soaked it up just beautifully.

Know Before You Go

Cucina Alessá is located on the north end of Main Street in Huntington Beach. You can walk another 5 minutes towards the pier for after dinner drinks at the dozens of bars scattered up and down the strip. Wine, they know. Cocktails, a complete miss. I couldn’t even get them to make me a decent tequila/soda mixed drink. How hard is that? So I’d stay for dinner and migrate for drinks. While the cuisine at Alessá features traditional Tuscan flavors and style of cooking, I’d much rather prefer Cucina Enoteca’s modern approach to Italian classics. Plus Enoteca’s ambience is much more suitable for a socializing hotspot whereas Alessá is more “dinner after a long workday” kinda meal. Ya know what I mean? Cozy and comforting, I imagine that’s the draw for locals. But I hear their Newport Beach scene is livelier than HB’s so the verdict is out until I can complete a side-by-side taste test. Stay tuned.*

Bon Appétit mes amis!