La Cucina Italian Kitchen: A Culinary Gem in Mountain City, TN

Year later 2025. This is the best restaurant in our region. Period. Make reservation by text. Another visit May 10th: Trouble making reservation, called twice, no reservation on arrival. Texting preferred. That said, the owner and staff were VERY accommodating and we had another wonderful experience! Appetizer, main course, and dessert were all just superb! Thanks to all. Third visit: November 2023 This is, bar none, one of the best restaurants I've been in from Maine to Florida. The place is immaculately clean, the service is excellent, and the food is about 3 clicks past that. We've eaten here three times in the last month if that counts and taken about five other diners to boot. Everyone, and there were some picky eaters in the bunch, enjoyed the truly fine fare. Little pricey, but good for the quality. Parking is sometimes a problem but this small inconvenience is well worth putting up with. Great food, great people. What a treasure to have. Just fantastic! Parking somewhat problematic, but everything else was superb. We had the nightly special, cod and shrimp, along with fresh baked bread with dips. To top it, a bit of dessert and excellent coffee. As an illustration of what a nice experience this was, we made two more reservations. Try it!

Finest gluten free dishes anywhere!! Our gluten free dishes tasted just as great as the regular dishes ordered. I was the taster, not my wife. Chef said the pasta was brown rice flour imported from Tuscany. Wonderful atmosphere with a freshly prepared meal from a Master Chef. Bravo!! Remember cash and reservations are necessary.

Everything was perfect! The best food! My husband ordered lasagna that melted in your mouth and I got the Ravioloni Truffle Porcini Mushroom that was so delicious. You walk into the front door and the aroma just hits you, it smells so good in there. The house is turned into a restaurant and that just adds to the coziness. We will definitely be back

This was my first time in Mountain City. A local resident brought us here for dinner! Highly recommend the lasagna, ravioli, salad, antipasto, and bread. We were served family style and tasted a bit of everything. Delicious! Friendly owner/chef and servers!

We visited La Cucina for our anniversary dinner. It’s an hour and 45 minutes drive both ways, but worth every minute of it! The house is nestled in a valley outside of Mountain City, and has seating inside and out. We were seated on the outside porch, and our server took great care of us all night. We started with the misto and Caprese appetizers and the tomatoes were unbelievable. My wife ordered the Shrimp Linguini and I had the Putanesca Shrimp. Both were hot, the pasta was Al dente, the shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the sauces were perfect. Served with their fresh ciabatta bread, everything was extraordinary. And I really enjoyed the Joey that came from the outdoor setting. Dessert was wonderful as well and not to be missed. We will be back!

The best Italian food I've had outside of Italy and New York... Everything homemade, every meal prepared from scratch. As for atmosphere... The restaurant is the downstairs of an old house. Wooden tables, small lamps... Warm, cozy.

The experience begins with homemade Ciabatta bread with EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. In fact, every authentic Italian bite is made from scratch. Everything we ordered was exceptional!

We had a great date night at La Cucina, driving over from Johnson City. The pastas, desserts, and bread were terrific. Highly recommend.