I Cugini To Close This Summer

[Servorg]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/20...

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I Cugini
1501 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

[westsidegal]

sad to have them go, but it was a big, expensive space and i'd bet it was very hard to keep it full enough to consistently turn a profit there.
(irrc, the upper level dining area held about 75 people all by itself)

i stopped going there when Mariscos Chente opened so close to my house. With Sergio cooking nearby, my appetite for all sorts of fine dining along the lines of i cugnini, declined trememndously.

[Servorg]

Can't help but figure that the new Santa Monica Place mall redo and the resulting dramatic surge in moderate, fine dining establishments have hurt places like I Cugini in the battle for the hearts, minds, stomachs and wallets of the surrounding populace.

[wienermobile]

Sorry to say other than Zengo the Santa Monica Place has been one giant disappointment to me.

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Zengo
395 Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, CA 90401

[Servorg]

Have you tried Blue Stove yet? http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/nordstrom...

[wienermobile]

That is a very nice menu. Servog what do you like there?

[Servorg]

I've only lightly noshed there after trailing my wife around the store for what seemed like an eon... ;-D> so I'll just say that the small snack I had was quite impressive and leave it at that. I really want to go back and give it a thorough test drive.

[happybaker]

Darn Servorg - that menu looks great! Hopefully when they move the Nordstrom around in Glendale, the new building will have a Blue Stove.

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Nordstrom
3333 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA

[westsidegal]

could you give us an idea about pricing?

[Servorg]

This is a "tapas" style menu with prices ranging from around $5 for a plate that two could share a bit of the dish (enough to get a taste) up to $12 or so (IIRC). I would say you could make a nice meal if you were hungry for $25 to $30 pp, plus tip (maybe 3 plates each). I would call it moderate pricing for the most part.

[carter]

Agree totally.
They had a 15-year run, probably with a 15-year lease that required the rent to greatly increase, and knowing the city wanted to tax all restaurants on Ocean Avenue probably was the final nail in the coffin.

[Baron]

Carter, what kind of tax are you referring to?

[PaulF]

Not Carter -- but I'll take a guess.

Santa Monica is doing some kind of tax for restaurants with sidewalk seating (or something like that -- I don't know the technical details). There is some tax per square foot or something like that.

[carter]

PaulF nailed it.
In theory, if I remember correctly, it would only apply to places on Ocean Avenue, yet don't nail me for that vague remembrance.

[PaulF]

here is a story with some details

http://www.canyon-news.com/artman2/pu...

[Baron]

Say goodbye to another seafood restaurant.