Stick with the pasta on this menu or you will regret it! I appreciate that they homemake all their pastas, and in general these dishes are pretty good. The Chicken Parmesan, on the other hand, was god awful. The chicken was tough and the breading had a bizarre flavor to it. Also, Lucatelli's gnocchi was too dense and the sausage that came on top of the gnocchi was bland. I think the salad bar was decent, and the bacon lentil soup is pretty darn tasty.
I actually like the classic "out of the 60's" atmosphere. They even have a piano, and musicians often stop to play it!
Would definitely go back again. As some reviewers have noted the decor and menu are out of the 60's - so what's wrong with that.  Entering you feel as though you're in  some outer borough of New York or maybe Chicago.  Large portions and all meals come with bread, and a soup and salad bar.  The bread was crusty and with good taste and the classic 'wholly' texture so important to bread.  The soup was very tasty homemade chicken.  While the salad bar may be limited I was able to put together a field greens salad with beets and blue cheese. Â
Main courses were huge and tasty. Â Gnocchi and sausage was great with two homemade sausages rivaling grandma's. Â We also had a very tasty chicken Marsala with two chicken breasts. Â We have enough leftovers for a full lunch today and I rarely leave leftovers.
I had to ask for it but there's a nice, good quality, reasonably priced wine list. Â Our meal choices didn't work for sharing a bottle but the house wines were adequate, priced right and a good sized pour. I had a second glass of Montepulciano so it couldn't have been too bad.....
The Marsala didn't come with either vegetable or pasta so we decided to order a broccoli which came out promptly, probably too promptly.  It was unfortunately like Mom made it with lots of garlic and oil but also overcooked.  On the positive side it good size bowl with enough for 2 and only $3.50.  They had a huge crowd last night with a 'formals' night of Cornell fraternities so possible the vegetables suffered.  But even with the crowd the service throughout the meal was excellent and we never felt lost.  Observing the delivery of the food to the huge group I was very impressed at the efficiency of  the wait staff.
So overall a nice evening and really a very fair price. Â While the entree's are about $$$ prices they include a lot and the wine is pretty reasonable too.
The menu here is a facade and a cheap trick to get you into the restaurant, because oh my lord I wish i looked up reviews of this place before going. The food here is vile. it is disgusting. The pre entree bread was hard to chew, the salad bar had about maybe 5 items all cheap (olive garden blows this out of the water), and the entree itself....I had cheese ravioli with meatballs tasted as Chef Ramsay would say: Fucking Bland.
To top it all off, the crap here is priced ridiculously high for the price. For that ravioli meal I paid about 18$ with tax and tip, the value I would say was about 4$ (yes valued less than Subway).
This place isn't bad. Â It delivers standard Italian-American food and the salad bar is alright. Â The problem is that the food isn't exciting or particularly great. Â The ambiance is dated and a bit dark. Â The service was good. Â However, there are much better options for Italian food in Ithaca
Review Source:Our experience started out really great.... However, it soured quickly. My boyfriend really wanted Veal Francais, our waiter assured us they could make it for us even though it wasn't on the menu. He never told us that there was going to be an up charge for the meal. We expected a small charge, but when we received the bill it was over 10.00 extra. We asked to see the manager, she was rude and arrogant to us. They only gave us 2.00 off of the bill. Needless to say we will never go back there again. It would've been a nice courtesy to let someone know there was a 10.00 up charge.
Review Source:Older decor, dimly lit. Food was ok... Not bad but definitely not good. Motz sticks from freezer and basic bread. Our server was wonderful! My bf liked the meatballs, the gnocchi was almost flavorless and my eggplant was served without pasta. The salad bar was nice and clean. Good for dinner with kids!
Review Source:This place is dark from low lighting and dark wood paneling, it's an Italian restaurant right out of the 1950 's. It really could use a sprucing up. Not the food though, that's what makes this place pretty special.
Lucatelli's makes all their pastas, fresh daily and serves them al dente. I had the gnocchi with a very rich tomato sauce with mushrooms. My friend had fettucini Alfredo, which he said was super rich with butter, cream, and cheeses. The gnocchi were firm little pillows with exceptional flavor, but could have cooked another minute.
Before dinner we were invited to help ourselves to an early 70's style salad bar with spring mix greens, and a truckload of toppings from garbonzo beans to pepperoni. The soup was also on the salad bar, the evening's offering was five bean, it was very good. When we got back from the salad bar a nice loaf of fresh baked bread was waiting for us.
The only down spot on the meal was after we were seated we waited about 15 minutes before our waiter came to our table. He finally showed and told us the waitress who had this section went home sick.
The bill was a bit steep for pasta, it's one of the cheapest things you can put on the menu, with tip the bill was sixty dollars for two people. We each had a glass of merlot with dinner, but sixty bucks is a little outrageous for something you can make at home for about ten bucks.
If you want the local experience while in Ithaca, NY, a dinner at Lucatelli's is a must. I have only had good experiences at this establishment: whether it's dinner on a weekday night, or drinks at the bar on a Saturday night. The homemade pasta with meatballs or sausages (also homemade) is always a good choice. My other favorite there is the Chicken Cacciatore. My wife recommends the Linguine Pescatore. They have a full bar with live music on the weekends. The owners are really friendly and will share stories of the good ol' days of Ithaca. Just looking at the photographs and paintings on the wall in the lounge, you know you're at a place with a lot of history.
Review Source:Organized a dinner for 30+ to honor a retiring colleague. Lucatelli's did a nice job of accommodating all of us. Â It isn't easy to feed a large group, but Lucatelli's banquet menu fit the bill quite nicely. Â The food was good, and those that ordered the Queen Prime Rib reported outstanding meals. Â The wait staff was good, and we wanted for nothing. Â They allowed us to take our time getting seated and served us promptly. Â I had Chicken Parm, and it was very good. Â Would go back with a large group, or just my wife. Â We were pleased with Lucatelli's.
Review Source:Of course, I may be a little biased but still one of my favorite places in Ithaca and defiantly the best true Italian Restaurant in the area. Â
The homemade Quattro Formaggio and Tomato Cream Sauces are excellent and will keep me coming back. Try either one with the nightly homemade pasta(there is always at least one) and I promsie you will not be disappointed. Â
The Prime Rib is the best for the true Carnivore and the Italian Style Chianti Mushrooms are a great addition to the Rib or the Strip steak. Â Pork Chops Pepporcini and the Linguini Pescatore are a couple more must try dishes.
In the summer, they open "The Bella Piazzia" which is an enclosed outdoor seating area, complete with a cherub fountain. Â Only four tables. Â Definitely request seating there if it is one of those awesome Ithaca summer nights.
I'm sorry to read the poor reviews below, all Restaruants have off nights, some servers are better than others, up-charges are pretty standard in the Restaurant business for non-menu items, and everyone's tastes are different. Â
Personally, I stop at Lucatelli's every time I'm in Ithaca.
I came here with my mom after a suggestion from the receptionist at the hotel i was staying at. I'm not gonna lie, this place looks like a bowling alley from the outside but the inside turned out to be a fancy, albeit dark, candle lit room. My mom asked the waitress what was good and she recommended the homemade spaghetti and chicken marsala. We ended up ordering both and both were really good. The chicken was tender and the mushrooms added great flavor while the pasta was a perfect al dente, with two perfectly seasoned meatballs. the complimentary salad bar was good, even thought it was limited. And the chicken soup is as about homemade and good as it gets. Â It is kind of pricey but the portions are decent and the service is good. btw. im guessing this is an old person's joint since I was the only one under 20 =p
Review Source:This is probably the worst Italian food I've ever paid for. Â We've tried it a few times and have been disappointed with each experience.
1. The salad bar is a cheap, low-brow compilation of only the most inexpensive salad items. Â A couple of times they did not even have tomatoes on the salad bar. Â The always have iceberg lettuce as the mainstay and the other salad greens are totally wilted. Â Their dressings are bland and it tastes like the Italian dressing was diluted with extra oil despite my stirring it before using it. Â The salad bar is really just a time-filler and not really worth eating.
2. When I asked for olive oil for the bread (rather than using butter), we were charged $5.00. Â That is pure hilarity. Â We just asked for a little bit of olive oil! Â We were also not told that there would be a silly $5.00 charge for oil when we decided not to use the butter.
3. Â The entrees are mediocre at best. Â We make dishes like eggplant parm and baked ziti better at home. Â Our last waitress didn't know how to pronounce gnocchi.
4. The entrees are over-priced and the food is just lame. Â I don't know how they stay in business!
I went here on a terrifying blind date and have never returned. Â Not only was my date terrifying, but so was the food. Â The salad bar was a deplorable mess of wilted iceberg mush. Â I ordered the Pasta Con Quattro Formaggio for dinner.
Now, I am completely aware of the fact that I ordered a gnocchi dish with four cheeses, but I've had cheesy gnocchi dishes done right in the past. Â This dish was essentially a lukewarm pool of thick cheese with dense potato patties. Â It was almost inedible and was almost completed congealed after a few bites. Â
Needless to say, I've not seen my date since that night, nor have I returned to this restaurant.
In a word? Terrible.
We went in on a Friday at around 5:30, and by the time we left an hour later, only three tables (including ours) had been filled. This should tell you something about the overall experience.
Good things: The bread was excellent, although probably not made there. The salad bar was standard foodservice fare, nothing spectacular.
Bad Things: Our waitress only had two tables, but she kept going back to the bar to chat with her friends so we waited a rather unreasonably long time. When we finally ordered, I got the garlic and oil pasta and my wife had the ravioli, also with the garlic and oil 'sauce'.
When our meals arrived, mine had at least five heaping tablespoons of crispy fried garlic on it, and the pasta itself was literally 'swimming' in oil. I've eaten quite a few garlic dishes in my time, and never have I had to crunch my way through garlic -- and certainly not a whole handful of it in a few ounces of pasta. If that wasn't bad enough, the pasta was totally overcooked and soggy from all the oil -- essentially, this was completely inedible.
My wife asked to get the garlic and oil sauce, and as you might expect she got the same experience. A truckload of nasty fried garlic and a cup of olive oil. The worst part? They charged her $6.00 to substitute it for the red sauce.
This place might have had an excellent menu and carefully prepared entrees when it opened in 1967, but you can clearly tell that they're just running on whatever business they can drum up with early bird specials and faitfhful patrons from the good old days. There are far, far better places to eat in the area.
Stay Away.
So the salad bar sucks - the rest of the menu doesn't, and the service has always been excellent. The bread is delicious, and the garlic pasta is my favorite dish. I always feel like I'm walking into a different world when I enter the restaurant - for being in an odd location outside of Ithaca (off Rt 13 across from Northside Wine and Liquor, Taco Bell, Petsmart and Staples) I always feel like I'm somewhere else. The ambiance is romantic and comfortable. I could never suggest to avoid Lucatelli's. A salad bar is a salad bar - there is much more to enjoy than the dressing at this fine dining establishment :)
Review Source:Lucatelli's has large portions, bread and all you can eat salad bar. Â I thought my entre was not very tasty, my dining partner was also disappointed. Â The salad bar didn't have a very good selection of dressings and their Italian dressing wasn't very tasty. Â I think this is an old Ithaca establishment with faithful patrons because I can't really recommend it, but it seemed to be popular the one time that I went
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