CENA Cucina Italiana - Delray Beach

Three people at front there to seat you...not one knew what they were doing. Pork chop was dense. Charged extra because we asked for mushrooms as a garnish on the pork chop. One drink each, shared one appetizer, entree $165 with tip outrageous !!! First and last time there.

Sumptuous Italian dinner. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and were treated like royalty by our server, Merritt. We have eaten in your Longport, NJ restaurant on numerous occasions and were thrilled to be able to celebrate a big night at your Delray location.

The food was average, though not priced that way. Conceptually some of the dishes sounded very appealing when described by the waiter, though when delivered to the table they were not executed on very well. For example we ordered the appetizer seafood mixto, conceptually the dish with calamari, shrimp and zucchini sticks sounded a notch above the typical fried calamari, might have been but the batter was very bland and mushy on some of the pieces of the calamari and shrimp. The waiter highly recommended the seafood risotto, of course he did it was $56, When presented at the table it looked very appealing, a large amount of seafood including lobster, scallops, shrimp, clams and mussels, but the Risotto was lukewarm and had way too much red sauce mixed in with it. The portion was large, and I could only eat half so I asked for a take away box. My box was delivered to another table so they offered to give me a half portion from the kitchen. That would’ve been fine though I hardly touched my lobster, and with the portion they gave me there was no lobster and just one piece of seafood from the other types, but plenty of the average risotto. All in all a disappointing experience.

I was not aware of new ownership of this restaurant so was pleased that the high quality of the food has been sustained. Our first courses were clams casino and burrata; entrees were veal scallopini and lobster risotto. All were delicious. Cocktail list is creative, server recommendations reliable. I had wine with dinner, and the Austin Hope cab compared favorably with my favorite, Caymus. The next time we ago, we will sit outside, the rear patio is nice and quiet. Main dining room can be a bit energetic! Sitting at the bar is an option.

Cena was Closed no warning!!! We called, heard a message to go to their web page to reserve, so we did. The web page directed us to Open Table and we reserved a table. We even received a confirmation that the reservation was a go. We arrived to find a closed restaurant no explanation, no nothing. It being a Saturday night and restaurants only at 1/2 capacity,we had trouble finding another good eatery that had room and outdoor seating... VERY disappointing. Cena is one of my favorites in Delray Beach... I cannot recommend Cena until they decide if they are re opening or closing down...I hope they find their way back.