Cuchi Cuchi

Friday night 6:30 P.M. there were no empty tables so make your reservation! It was dimly lit so could be a nice spot for a romantic evening, if you're into screaming at each other because it's so loud.

The concept of this restaurant is unique. Everything ordered come in small share plates (like tapas, but in the menu it literally says don't call them tapas lol) and it has foods that are widely known in different countries. Spain, Russia, Italy, Portugal, and France are just some of the options on the menu. So if you ask your girlfriend what she wants to eat and she says I don't know, take her here.

The food was good. I just wished they seasoned more. Other than that had a good time.

Cuchi Cuchi has some very unique decor ("I expect nothing less from Cambridge," my friend said) which may or may not be your thing. But what will probably be to your liking is the food. My friend and I got 4 tapas (or "international small plates" as they call them ) and we were impressed with most of them. In fact, I was so satisfied with the scallops provencal that I would definitely consider coming back in the future .

The 4 tapas we got were:

- Scallops Provençal: scallops were cooked perfectly and whatever mushroom thing they had underneath it (reminds me most of stuffing) was delicious too. Word of advice, try to limit the lemon juice to the scallops as it can overpower the flavors of the mushroom stuffing imo. Random but I also found that the presentation of this dish with the seaweed is not exactly the most appetizing; I would stick with just the shell if I were the chef.

- Tsukune: these chicken meatballs definitely had some
nice Japanese flavors to them (there's a soy-mirin coating similar to a Japanese Hamburg). The avocado crema wasn't really noticeable on first bite but I guess it fit. The watermelon rind was pretty disgusting tbh. Next time I'll just pretend it's just for presentation purposes like the seaweed from the last dish.

- Brie en croute: apples and walnuts were nice. Puff pastry and brie were delicious. Biggest surprise was whatever bacon jam was with the cheese in the puff pastry. It was flavorful and complemented everything nicely.

- Chicken Kiev: don't have much of a reference point for this since I've never had chicken Kiev before but this was probably the most disappointing dish. The mushroom and spinach were fine (probably cuz of the herb butter) but the chicken lacked flavor.

All in all, a pretty good dining experience and I was happy with the variety of tapas options. I actually think 3 dishes would have been fine for my friend and I (she doesn't eat much and I had a big lunch) so I wouldn't necessarily commit to the two tapas dishes they recommend per person.

What a great find. The name did not seem serious but when you walk in you quickly realize a lot of thought and energy has gone into building the place. The staff is dressed for the part and the music is spot on for the vibe the portray.
The cocktails are actual craft cocktails. A subtle hand and a lot of effort goes into making each drink slightly unique and elevated. We only ate at the bar but had a menu that covers many countries. It was a delightful place and a great surprise. You will not be disappointed

I must say, I came for some cuchi cuchi. Jk. food, that is...

Finally got to fully experience the food here because of a good friend's birthday. And I was not disappointed!

cons:
-eat before you come. eat after you came
-street parking

pros:
-definitely the vibe. quirky 1920s ambiance- dark and romantic
-awesome cocktails-i had the yin yin and it was strong enough for me to start feeling "nice"
-attentive staff! I was impressed our waitress managed a group of 20 very well

although the tapas are small, they're packed with flavors. my taste buds were definitely aroused ;) I recommend the mushroom risotto, tsukune (japan), and Bracioletta Ripiena di Maiale (Italy) because that's everything I ordered! I will definitely be back to try their extensive list of cocktails!

Cuchi Cuchi is amazing! It's like Moulin Rouge on acid, in the absolute best way. The decor is to die for. The place is absolutely magic. I knew it as soon as we walked in. And the service and food were phenomenal!

We had several cocktails and several small plates, including the Sizzling Garlic Shrimp, Cuban Cigars, Jalapeños Rellenos, Brie en Croûte, and Iggy's Focaccia Bread. Each dish was absolutely delicious! I have been craving this restaurant since we left it, and I can't wait to make a return trip one of these days!

In regards to cocktails, we had the Bourbon Betty, BlackDahlia, and MoulinRouge. They were all awesome!

I absolutely recommend Cuchi Cuchi as a dinner spot! I seriously cannot wait to go back and order some of the dishes we've already had, plus more of the menu so that we can try it!

I found this place on yelp, and Paul at the Kimpton Hotel Marlowe said it was a fun place.
The eclectic decor was right out of Boystown in Chicago. Fun art on the walls. Our server was dressed in a bustier and garters with her skirt. Because of the "out there" vibe, we weren't sure if the food would be really good, or really bad. Luckily we were pleasantly surprised.

I was drinking wine that night, so I started with a sparkling wine to go with our seafood stuffed avocado which was easily my favorite dish of the evening. Octopus was cooked to perfection, and whatever the marinate on the seafood was delish.

We then tried the pear/parmigian/bacon which was our least favorite. Too much pear I think.

Third dish was a tuna wrap that was very refreshing, with a tasty dipping sauce.

We then got a glass of red wine and the beef stroganoff. There were little fillets, perfectly cooked (med-rate), not the tips you usually see. There was no cream in the sauce, but a big fillip of sour cream to mix in as you desired. We liked this comfort dish as well.

We'd return again in the future for cocktails and to try more tapas plates.

Have been hearing about Cuchi Cuchi for years at work and its just one of those places we never thought of... Last month we had a work meetings & I was like "Hey, Lets go there!" So off we went.

We were 12 people (the place is small - but they soo made it work)

Ordered almost everything off the menu (Small Plates - DONT CALL THEM TAPAS!!!) They frown upon that! LOL

There was lots of variety, our server doubles as the bartender & he was GREAT! We ordered in sections of tables so we could keep it easier for him... However, throughout the night some plates we ordered went to other end of table, so we had to KEEP ordering which had me scared we were going to be WAY over Perdiem, BUT NOPE! We were golden.

Food was all great, lots of fresh Fish & Seafood, Great bread, Great veggie options. Would def go back with a smaller group so we could talk (it was loud) and enjoy more of the food.

This is my second time at this restaurant.
I love it, the speakeasy vibe is amazing.
Make sure you make a reservation and take an Uber because they don't have parking.

Small plates to share

I tried different plates this time:
-Elderflower Martini was perfectly crafted.
- Asian salad was really refreshing and the veggies were mixed perfect.
- Scallop ceviche, the scallops were tender and the salsa had the perfect amount of spice.
- Mushroom risotto heavenly cheese and the truffle oil gave it a different taste which made the mushroom flavor more intense
- grilled skirt steak, my friend was skeptical about this one but the steak was so tender and with amazing flavor, the yuca with the Peruvian seasoning had a unique taste.
- gelato with dark chocolate cover.... ahhh I don't think I have to explain = perfect ending

Cuchi cuchi is like an amazing toned down circus meets bar concept executed exceptionally well.

They have plenty of kitsch to look at, and cute tables / plush tools.

The drinks are very good... Not what you'd expect when you roll up to
the "big top."

They have classic cocktails and also their house specialties with names like the "HoochieCuchi" and "Bourbon Betty" but don't worry, they're not all sizzle... these cocktails are legit!

Lady got a classic, Last Word, which she said was executed to perfection. I got the Blackberry Cosmo because I like drinks that are a little lighter in the loafers, if you know what I mean. The DirtyLittleSecret is a sweet tooth's delight with chocolate and vanilla.

The servers are also all dressed in steam punky circus attire.

I will say the place does get loud as mentioned in some of the other reviews. I'd love to come back and try their small plates.

Been here twice. First time was for drinks, I remember having pisco sour which was an excellent citrusy cocktail with egg white foam.

This review is for dinner last night. Tldr was ok, kind of expensive, had better elsewhere but didn't hate anything

Cuchi Cuchi is an international small plates (not tapas because not just from Spain) with a unique 20s sort of feel inside - lots of interesting decoration pieces and also the waitstaff dress up in theme as well. One of those restaurant atmospheres that you can't ignore on accident.

We (party of 2) were seated immediately without a reservation at 5:30pm on a Wednesday and service was very well timed and attentive.

The waiter told us to order 2 plates per person.... we didn't finish our dishes because the small plates are actually quite big!! I think 1.5 per (such as one plate + app) would be more than enough.

We got:
- caspian heaven ($14/Russian): fried oysters topped with roe, sitting in champagne sauce. With roasted fingerling potatoes on the side with creme fraiche and a chip sticking out of it....? The oysters were great, roe added a nice ocean-y element to the dish. I think something could have been done with the creme fraiche (was boring) to make it more flavorful. All the flavor was in the champagne sauce and it was not easy to dredge it up onto the other plate elements. This dish was small but a nice starter, but nothing that would blow you out of the water
- brie en croute ($15/France): basically Brie with garlic/onion sautéed in bacon fat, wrapped and baked in puff pastry. Plated w slices of green apples with walnuts. Idk what these apples and walnuts were adding. Dish was overall delicious but my opinion is it's kind of hard to mess up Brie bacon and puff pastry!
- Moroccan chicken tagine ($19): with couscous on the bottom, and fruits (nice light sweet addition), olives (surprisingly light in flavor and not salty which was a nice pairing with the dish because the olives were whole and pitted). Chicken thighs were ok. Couscous was really loose and watery. Not my favorite. Friend loved this dish though.
- gobi manchurian ($14/indo chinese): love this one!! Fried cauliflower on a spicy tomato sauce. Well balanced and flavorful dish. Had white and purple cauliflower which was sort of fun when eating it.

Overall I think the dishes were nice but besides the fried cauliflower, I felt that I've had better constructed small plates elsewhere. I like the concept of dishes from everywhere, and the randomness really works with the globe-trotter / mixed /thrifty feel of the restaurant. I would be willing to come back to try more dishes but my experience with this was variable. Also kind of expensive. I wish the dishes were a little smaller and less expensive so I could try more dishes. Four dishes for 2 of us was way too much. But I understand that 2 dishes per head (~$30) is probably what they suggest based on generating a profit.