500 Cucina

Headed over to 500 Cucina for pizza night to try a new place. The lighting was bright; there were TVs. I don’t know, I just can’t get excited about this place. I’m writing this review a few months after dining here and I can’t remember anything about the food. I’m sure I had pizza and it was probably good but the lighting and the TVs are all I can remember. Maybe not a bad choice if you have a group and you’re in Inglewood. Not a great choice for date night.

The service was absolutely sh*t. The food was fantastic. Waited for at least 5 minutes standing at the door before someone even noticed us. Then finally seated, thank goodness for a reservation. Live music. Nice ambiance, candles included. Highly recommend trying the prawns to start. Both my husband and I had pasta. I had a tagliatelle dish with mushrooms and he the lasagna. The tagliatelle tasted much better than the lasagna but still good. Service throughout the entire experience was beyond pathetic. It would even keep me from returning. The servers seemed very disorganized and flustered and did not compose themselves in a professional manner. It was entirely frustrating. I expected more from a place that had such great food and atmosphere.

After a long day of competing a bunch of us were SUPER hungry and wanted carbs. We were in the Inglewood area so one suggested 500 Cucina where authentic Italian food with a twist is served and a reservation for 8 at 6:45pm on Saturday night was made. As we were gathering people, we realized there were more than 8 so when some of us arrived, it wasn’t busy and they were kind enough to move us to a table to accommodate all 12 of us. The table was right in front of the door so it wasn’t the best on a cold night.
One of the first things I noticed was the live music which was really nice — and apparently they have live music every Saturday at 7! We were handed menus and poured waters, and couple of us ordered some drinks so I was able to taste a sip of Pimms and lemonade which was really good and refreshing. We all had decided what we wanted and the majority of us ordered pizza while some ordered pasta. Mandy and I shared an order of meatballs and Diavolina pizza, only half with jalapenos. While we waited for our food, we were chatting away and as time went on, we were still chatting away and food was nowhere to be seen — I think we all started to wonder where food was because we were all extremely hungry until finally a part of our tables food came and we were getting excited but then… more food never came out — 4 out of 12 got their food and started eating because of our hangriness while the rest of us observed in jealousy. Our conversation started to become «I’m sooooooooooo hungryyyyy». The 4 who got their food were midway through their meals when a waitress came up to the other end of the table and says that she has bad news «Okay…so unfortunately there’s no food… *giggle* no, it will be a few more minutes — somehow the orders got split up in the kitchen» I think we all had this unimpressed blank stare at her. Yes, we know she was trying to be funny but don’t do that to a group of famished people –_​-​!!! Any who, it was much longer than a ‘few more’ minutes and we were not impressed at all. The others had finished their food by the time the rest of our meals came out and even bringing the food out, it was a mess — they gave the wrong orders to people but at that point, we were too hungry to care.
Mandy and I had instant regrets with sharing because we wanted our own pizza by the time it came. Our order of meatballs came with 5, they were a good size and super moist with tomato sauce on top. The pizza was good, the diavolina came with tomato sauce, two types of spicy meats, black olives, jalapeño peppers and mozzarella. The crust was fluffy, soft and a little crunchy — they put whole jalapeño peppers on top so it can get pretty spicy, the salty meat, olives and the mozzarella cheese was a good combination with a kick of spice (I took the jalapenos off). The pizza was good, we devoured it quite fast though — I didn’t get a chance to ask others what they thought because there was a moment of silence when the rest of the food came out — all we wanted to do was eat.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh 500 Cucina, I really, really, reeeally wanted to like you. Although the live music was nice, food was decent, the service just didn’t meet our expectations. The food didn’t come at the same time and it took way too long to arrive for our famished bodies and to top it off, at the end they had to ask whoever ordered drinks, how many they had because our first waitress’s shift must have ended. I don’t think this is the first time this has happened either…
*SIGH* :(

I have been to Cinquecento a number of times. From the pasta dishes to the meat and seafood plates, the food was always excellent. Service is consistently friendly and prompt. The décor is a harmonious blend of modern chic and old world rustic charm. As an added special treat, on the weekend, enjoy romantic classical guitar performers or dj music.
Cinquecento is definitely a place for not just tasty food, but for a great experience!

I really like this restaurant, mainly for its classy atmosphere and truffles! I found the pizza I had a bit bland but the other food was really interesting and tasty.

I’ll admit it. I didn’t plan to try this place because their banner reading «food, friends, family» made me think this was a «family» restaurant in the north american lingo: meaning, a place where the food is mediocre, and people are encouraged to bring their kids. I pictured a lot of huge plates of spaghetti and meatballs and greek-​style greasy pizza with standard delivery toppings. I like a restaurant that focuses on FOOD. Fortunately, I tried them out through Skip the Dishes one day and they are really quite good! The pizzas are proper, italian, brick oven cooked, with a crisp crust and good range of toppings. I really like the Rochetta (procsuitto de parma, reggiano, and arugula), but advise asking them to leave the truffle oil off. Truffles are great, truffle oil is typically vile. I LOVE that they use fresh cheese from White Gold, made here in the city. I’ll eat here again for sure.

Another place I ventured into because of YYC pizza week that I’ve never been to before. 500 Cucina was defending thin crust champion (a title they reclaimed in 2015). I don’t eat pork so their entry was judged by my husband who was close to swearing off all other pizzas he loved their entry so much and I ate the fiat. Generally I like pizza but vegetarian pizzas can be so incredibly boring without some funky toppings so I didn’t have high hopes for the fiat from the list of ingredient and was pleasantly surprised. All the vegetables on that pizza had flavor. Perhaps they were cooked, marinated or seasoned by fairies but they were all given attention before combined on my pie that’s for certain. The resulting pizza was wonderfully complex and bursting with flavor. I’m also pleased to report left overs were just as tasty (an important rating for all pizza).
All the food I tried was very new world Italian, I loved it, but it’s way more flashy than the simple elegance of traditional Italian food. While we were there it was pretty busy, I recommend a reservation. They had live music come on half way through our dinner which was also nice. Our server was great, we sat at the bar watching the pizza oven (I imagine that’s a punishment for some folks but I like watching kitchens work their magic).
I’d need more than one visit to know for certain, but I think they may be a new favorite place for a nice dinner out among a few other favorites. Probably my favorite new world Italian in the city though.

This is a great addition to Inglewood with friendly and knowledgeable service. Great arancini, crisp veggie filled insalata mista, and fresh made pasta with delightful sauces and ingredients.

Great ambience, lighting and music. Good service. Weird Caprese, felt cheap with little cherry tomatoes and the cheese was ultra soft like raw egg whites. Prawns were good; I enjoyed the sambuca sauce.

Wow — an unsurpassed experience. The food was amazing; make sure you order the charcuterie board, The Tagliatelle with 5 kinds of wild mushrooms, the rib eye to share and the chocolate mousse cake for dessert. The ‘If You See Kay’ bottle of wine @ $ 60 /​bottle is amazing. We had Roger as our waiter and I can’t even begin to explain as to how awesome he was. Also, band on Saturday eve was amazing; great choice (I bought CD!)

Dangit this place is good.
We made a reservation because they were packed on a Friday night. It was last minute so we couldn’t eat until 8. We were ready for some food! We both ordered the gnocchi with bacon and truffle oil.
Sadly our order got lost after it was taken to the kitchen and we ended up waiting 40 minutes for food. But the whole time, the waitress was so nice and apologetic and I could tell the kitchen was really embarrassed. When the meal came it was divine. That’s the only way to put it. I had died and gone to heaven.
Because of the mix up they offered us some yummy desserts on the house. The cheese cake was great! I was expecting more dessert options and it was weird that the waitress was kind of complaining about how only some of the desserts are tasty. But whatever. Free dessert!
At the end even with the free dessert the bill was a little high for us lower class folks but Dangit if we won’t be back because the food was insane and the service was friendly.
If you like real italian food, give this place a try!

Another gem in the heart of Inglewood. Great service, lots of patio seating. Not a huge wine selection but decent enough. Consistently well prepared dishes.
Had the captures salad to start. Lots of tomatoes and very flavourful. Perfect for sharing between 2 or 3. Next was the seafood linguini. Nice and light, this was a simple clear tomato broth with lots of clans, mussels and shrimp. Ordered some fresh bread for the broth. Just perfect.
Modern décor, lots of metal and concrete so not much to absorb sound. Not ideal for intimate dinners, great for groups.
Did I mention the service? Great service!

What a stellar place! Before we begin, the address of 500 Cucina is actually 1003 9^th Avenue SE, NOT the address listed on Unilocal.
We were a bit lost in the beginning given the incorrect, but luckily, we called the restaurant and someone actually walked out to find us! Amazing. Great start to the evening already.
We came on a Monday night at 6:30PM. It was a bit quiet at first, but the crowds started flow in around 7:00PM.
Ok on to the food itself. We ordered three dishes in total.
First, we had fries with truffle oil to kick off the evening. These were delicious and we polished these off so quickly that we were tempted to get a second order.
Next, we share one of the pizzas and one of the pasta. For the pasta, we were recommended the seafood linguine. I’m not usually a big fan of seafood pasta, but this one was pretty delish. As for the pizza though, this was amazing. We had the «cowgirl» which came with a healthy serving of smoked porschetta and arugula. The dough was just right, loved every piece of it.
Will be back again with a bigger group (so that we can try all of the other pizzas).
Thank you Unilocal for this great find.

What a fantastic spot! I came here on a Sunday of a long weekend for a second date — it was a great spot that was the right mix of comfortable, stylish and romantic but not too romantic.
First off, the service was great. Attentive without being overbearing, knowledgeable with a few personal touches that made things seem a little more special. The food was delish too! We both started with the Arancini to start (yum) and I had the tagliatelle with chicken — really tasty. Decent sized portions too! There are a fair number of good vegetarian options (which made my guest happy) and the desserts were also yummy.
The only thing I’d change is that they were out of one of the desserts and didnt know until after we ordered — it was too bad because the server had done a great job or talking it up. The other small tiny thing I’d improve is that I could have gone for a second glass of wine — and the server never asked. I didnt really need it though.
Easy to find parking nearby too which was awesome. I’d go back and try out their pizzas next time because they sounded great!

There was a large selection of items, so it was a nice to see a variety of menu options selected. We’re told that this restaurant makes their own pasta & sauces fresh, in-​house, and in my humble opinion, you could certainly taste it! The best part is that 93% of the menu can be made Gluten Free.
There were some individuals who ordered appetizers such as salads and sautéed mushrooms, while others opted to save their tastebuds for their delicious entrees. For the olive lovers in the group, some friends ordered what I believe was the delicious ‘Charcuterie Board’ platter as their entrée that included olives, prosciutto, cheese & bread — it not only appeared quite scrumptious, I’m sure it was filling too! There was also an order of seafood linguine; a few orders of gnocchi, one mushroom special & two primavera orders — overall, it appears everyone found their meal selection quite gastronomically pleasing & appeared to enjoy every bite!
All in all, it was a good experience. We give it a 5 out of 5 and we will for sure be dining there again.

Went on a Thursday night. We had the mussels which were fabulous! Each of us also had Tagliatelle — one with chicken and black olives in a red sauce (pollo), and one with chicken and spinach in a white wine cream sauce (alla Panna). It was fantastic, the chianti was lovely and the service was perfect! I’ll go back every chance I get :)

Great ambience and food! The only thing holding me back from a 5-​star review was our aloof server who never seemed to be present when we needed him, and when he was present, wasn’t very interested in our dining experience. We started with the risotto balls and meatballs — fantastic! Pizzas were tasty, as well as the pasta dishes. Prices were very reasonable and I’ll definitely be back to try out the other dishes.

So far my Favorite Italian Restaurant in Calgary, the staff are always friendly, the service was great everytime I went there. I always start with the sambuca prawns, and caprese. Both amazing appetizers, and shareable. I do have a hard time sharing the prawns. I have tried a few entrees and all have been great, the lunch sandwiches are fabulous, killer deserts and gotta end it with a cappuccino or an Expresso, the quality of the food, the authentic Italian flavors, it’s definitely my Italian Fix in Calgary, Chefs Rocco and Gennaro always know how to satisfy my taste buds, I highly recommend 500 CUCINA or aka Cinquecento CUCINA to all my friends and everyone, Buon Appetito!

Very nice Italian restaurant.
The reception at this restaurant was warm and friendly. Our waitress was prompt and helped us pick out stuff from the menu.
The ambience was nice. The food was fantastic. Best lasagne was probably the best I’ve ever eaten. Everything else we ordered was great too. It seemed to be real Italian food cooked by Italian chefs.
I will be going back to this restaurant during my short stay in Calgary.

I’ve been here three times since they opened in the early bits of 2013. The menu has grown and the place has evolved a tiny smidgeon. The guys (Rocco and Gennaro) always have a warm welcome for me and they are both intent on creating the best food possible.
To be honest I’ve only had the Tagliatelle with Mushroom ragu. I order it every time because I love it so. And the calamari fritti.
I love the vibe of this place and if I ever stayed out late I would probably end up here.