Cucina LaMantia: 14 Courses At A Great Price

Cucina LaMantia boasts of a 14 course dinner only served twice a week with second-to-none service. For only 45$ a person, the family style service is great for celebrations and date nights alike. This dinner is sure to make memories you will not soon forget.

Hidden In Plain Site

Cucina LaMantia is located in an unassuming shopping center off of South Memorial Drive in Greenville NC. We had driven by this area many times before ever actually going here. Parking is not a problem in this area. Even right before the meal starts, parking is very manageable but that does not mean you should not err on the early side.

Welcome to Greenville’s Best Dining Experience

Before you come, you MUST have a reservation. They are only open on Friday and Saturday for a single service each night. Doors open at 5:45pm but we advise getting there a little early and waiting in your car if needed.

The service will kick off with a great introduction from the lead hostess (Lauren) where they explain how the evening will proceed. This happens promptly at 6pm. Because they only take reservations and there is only one service a night, they are very aware of who has and has not shown up. They may delay starting by a few minutes but you do not want to be THAT person that keeps the whole restaurant waiting.

Hope you Came Hungry

Cucina LaMantia is not your normal restaurant at all. You are coming for a full experience and the food is just part of it. For just 45$, you will get a 14 course meal, top notch service and an amazing memory to share with your loved ones. This is also a BYOB/BYOW situation. No un-corking fees at all. We brought a one bottle for us but there were plenty of couples and families bringing quite a few with them. Oh, and no menu. That’s right. You are putting all 14 courses in the hands of the professional chef. Everyone gets served the same thing at the same time. If you have food allergies, let them know when you make your reservation and they will alter your courses as needed. Kaitlyn has a fairly restricted diet and they were more than happy to accommodate.

Since the menu is custom made and you have no control of what you get, there is little point to describing the menu. However, the entire menu is Sicilian based and some popular items do tend to re-appear for good reason. Because the menu is effectively blind, it really promotes trying dishes you may have not picked on your own.

Lauren and her team really go the extra mile here. She clearly makes a point to learn as many guest names prior to arrival and works to quickly attach faces to names when you arrive. This attention to detail allows Lauren to have conversations with tables like she is a part of the family. Something about being called by your first name by your servers will make anyone feel fancy/important.

Wait How Many More Courses?

The Food will start rolling out in quick succession. This is a 3 hour long meal and this team hustles to keep the plates moving. As each course comes out, it is written up on the chalkboard. You will regularly get told what is coming and what to expect.

The restaurant challenges its guests to finish all 14 courses entirely. This is achieved by the table finishing everything served since the food is served in a family style. So if your date is starting to waiver around course #9, you can pick up the slack in order to be a part of the #14courseclub. You are awarded with your picture of the table being posted on social media with the illustrious hashtag.

It takes a bit of adjusting to eat multiple smaller courses compared to a single normal meal. Nonetheless, after the first few courses you will get the hang of it. As you enjoy some of their famous meatballs, you will find yourself talking about all sorts of great things with the people you brought with you. This is the magic that is hard to put into words or fully describe to someone who has not come here. Having to take your time eating also draws on people to have deeper conversations and slow down their thoughts. You will know it when it happens.

Charlie is the Chef that makes all the great food and will likely pop his head out to see how the food turned out towards some of the later courses. Just like Lauren, he is very interested in the details of your experience. He recognized Kaitlyn as one of the guest that had dietary restrictions and asked how the special course turned out. These small things made the meal much more personal than most restaurant experience.

Overall

Cucina LaMantia is hands down the most unique dining experience in Greenville NC. Though I would not recommend bringing small children, this is as much a great date night as it is a family dinner. The food is what brings you in but the service and the memories you make are what will stick with you. By course #10, we were already asking ourselves “when are coming back?”

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