Our Neighbourhood Italian Joint - Cucina Mia @ Dubai Marina

Back in August, I saw a post about pizza making for little ones in our neighbourhood. Made a phone call, a spot was booked for my girl and off we went. She had such a great time kneading dough, spreading tomato sauce and sprinkling cheese ~~all over the place~~. All the fun things toddlers get to do nowadays, these lucky people. It was also nice to check out a newly opened restaurant – one that looked very familiar as it used to sit in the Trident Grand Residence buildings.

So last Wednesday we returned with the family – this time for a review and to see what they had to offer. Two bicycles, three little ones and couple of minutes of riding down the Marina Walk, we got to Cucina Mia. Dinner time 😉

We took a spot outside as it was cool enough, plus it’s always nice to people watch in the marina. The staff recommended a few dishes and I went with it.

We started with the burrata with cherry tomatoes and wild rocket (65aed) – you can’t go wrong with burrata in an Italian restaurant. The beef carpaccio was served at the same time – and at 59aed we thought the servings were so generous, beef carpaccio was plentiful. The shrimps ravioli – home-made as the staff had recommended – came to the table looking slightly bland in presentation. A bit of garnish, maybe parsley would add some colour to the otherwise pinkish orange sauce. Shrimps were a bit overcooked, at least for our liking. The bresaola pizza however was delicious, served on thin crust and reasonably priced at 58aed. Note that all their pizzas are served with Italian buffalo Mozzarella Cheese.

What about for the little ones? Well, the usual – they had their bowls of penne bolognaise which the team did a great job on as they took it out quick, and they finished most of it.

If it were another night, I would have ordered some dessert. And fingers crossed they get their license, as a glass of wine to go with the meal would add extra points to an otherwise really nice Italian joint 😉

What did we think of Cucina Mia? It’s a lovely little restaurant, and one you’ll see us returning again with the family as it’s so close to home. I’ll give them a second chance with the ravioli – probably just one of those days.