Gocciolina

Oh my goodness! This food was so good so authentic. The service was amazing. They explain the menu they gave you what the daily options were. They suggested wine and drinks. The ambience was so nice especially if you're looking to take someone on the first date to impress this is the place to go.

I was really looking forward to Our meal here but nothing really stood out. I'd read reviews and had recommendations but eh. The atmosphere was cute. I had a pasta dish with no protein, just spaghetti in a very light lemon butter sauce. Too lite. For apps we got the eggplant, which wasn't wow, and the artichoke salad, meh. Friend got muscles and loved them. The waiter didn't listen to our request, just smiled and nodded then did whatever wrong.

I had an amazing experience today! It was such a lovely homey feel. We sat at the bar and got great recommendations from the bartender. My drink was amazing and made very well. I am not usually an adventurous eater but i really enjoyed everything my date encouraged me to try! Everything we ate felt very authentic and homemade. I will absolutely be back! Make a reservation because they are only open for dinner.

Talk about a fun date night! My wife and I sat at the bar. We got a dinner and a show. It was so fun watching the staff roll out the food. As it came out, we got to see first hand what we wanted to eat. Everything was super delicious and the staff is great! We will definitely be back!

What a wonderful place! The menu is just amazing - it was hard to decide on just one plate. Would highly recommend the charcuterie board and the focaccia bread to start. The beet salad was also absolutely excellent but my favorite dish was the risotto, well worth the recommendation. I am not usually a risotto fan but I was feeling adventurous and it paid off. My party also highly rated the lasagna dish. I recommend saving room for dessert- the flourless cake was absolutely amazing, one of the best I've had and the chocolate mouse dessert was a table favorite.I will be back soon because I was left wanting to try many of the other dishes. Gosh it was so good, pricey but so worth it.

Snuck into an open bar seat Friday night. The restaurant from the outside gives off a Mediterranean meets NC vibe. The service was warm and quick, and the staff was all hip, thoughtful and very competent. The kind of people you know read good books and can tell what good olive oil tastes like. Both my dishes were excellent. My negroni was as good as any I've ever had before. The clientele skewed over 50, a good mix of what seemed to be Duke professors and the local professional class, but lacking in any kind of pretension. I would recommend this restaurant to others.

My wife and I went a whole lot back in 2014-2015 until we got really frustrated with the how hard it was to get a reservation. Tried again back in 2019 and it was fine but nothing special. Covid hit, I frankly forgot it existed and then we went back two weeks ago. Overall it's totally serviceable though the 'only place in Durham with fresh pasta' gimmick has sort of lost its luster. The food is for the most part not bad but nothing wowed us either. Small pasta portions but it's all handmade, small antipasti portions but not too expensive, small vegetable portions but again not too expensive.Always enjoy the meatballs, the spiced chickpeas, the chocolate torte and any vegetable. Pastas are fine but again neither that hearty nor that tasty. Service used to be this one old guy who was really funny and knowledgeable but the last two times I've been it was a young, indifferent and not at all knowledgeable guy each time. Food does tend to come out fast so that's a plus. Ambiance is a small cut above the bare minimum though I will echo others' observations that it's really cold in the next door lounge (and a bit weird that to use the restroom you either have to exit and then re-enter the building or walk through the kitchen. Overall yeah I'm not waiting with bated breath to go back but it's really the only game in town for decent food above the I85 corridor in Durham.

I'd go back! I thought the Italian food was very good. My only minus is probably with portion size. To start, I love that they change their menu a little every day. That introduces some variety, and it also shows that they use fresh ingredients and fresh preparations every day. I definitely noticed how fresh everything was when I was eating the food. For example, I got a side of broccoli and the broccoli they used was great. I really enjoyed my aperol spritz and my risotto too. Sometimes I feel like it is hard to get good risotto in the triangle area, so I was super relieved. I loved how many leeks there were in my risotto, but I would've loved a tiny bit more crab.I do wish the portions were a little bigger. Especially compared with the prices! This especially applies to the sides and antipasti. I love to eat, and it's tough to order meatballs and get three small meatballs. The entrees had better portions, though.

I made a reservation for 7:30 and I was not sat until 8pm. I ordered the fried eggplant, oysters, tortelloni, and bass. The food was visually appealing but when it came to flavor, it was very bland. For the price point, I expected to be wowed. For half what they are charging, I could see the appeal.

Small, Overpriced, And Disappointing. 1.5 starsMy wife and I went to Gocciolina the other night with another couple. At the risk of sounding terribly negative, I have to say that the food was mediocre and overpriced; the restaurant was small and noisy; and the chairs were terribly uncomfortable, giving both of us sore backs. The couple we were with, who are regulars, ordered three or four small sides - think tapas - then a salad and their entrée. My wife and I ordered the same sides and then a salad which consisted of about three pieces of Bibb lettuce and light balsamic dressing. For entrées, my wife and I ordered gnocchi with a Ragu sauce (the least expensive entrée on the menu) the taste of which - forgive me! - reminded me of the wet canned dog food I tried a bit of when I was a kid. The menu is limited in terms of the number of entrées they offer. I went there expecting a pork chop I had seen online, but they did not have that; nor did they have two or three other items that were on their daily menu. Finally, their bread is good, but they seemed stingy with serving it. All of this on top of being way overpriced. We could've gone to a much nicer restaurant for the same amount of money. Needless to say, this will be our only visit.