I slipped and fell hard on my knee because water was on the bathroom floor from people drying their hands. I knew I was going to be OK but I still wanted it documented. The owner came over to my table by my request. and he never asked how I felt after learning that I fell.So very unthoughtful of him, especially the owner. I asked him to document it and he left and came back and said the floor was not wet. I asked if he tood his hand across the tile like I did tobut he wouldn't answer.Then he called me a "LIAR". He actually called me this twice. I kept my composure and said I don't lie and I already was getting a bruise on my leg. He then said to sign the report but stated in the report that there was no water. He said if I didn't sign the document he would call the police. After that he asked me leave and to never come back to his restaurant . I am so shocked by this person, how poorly he could treat another human being!One of the employees over heard what was going on and when I couldn't eat anything else I started to walk out. He stopped me to tell me how mean and ugly of a person he is and this wasn't the first time .As far as the food goes it is over priced for what you get and isn't the best tasting Italian food.You know the saying "What comes around goes around."
Review Source:It was between a 2 or 3...
3 because the food was decent. Nothing fantastic but nothing to complain about either... Nothing I would go back for our crave. Hubby got an omelette and I got a hole in the breakfast special.
2 because the hubby ordered a mocha and when it came it was 1/3 mocha/coffee and 2/3 foam. We order lots of coffee and we know that foam comes with it... But not that much.
3 because once we complained they quickly have us another one with the right amount of foam to mocha ratio.
So why did I gave them a 2? It sorta ruins your meal when you have to complain about an order.
I have been meaning to try Lucca's for a few years. Finally the wife & I tried it last night. Man, what a let down. Elements of a good restaurant are good food & good service at a decent price. I don't mind spending a few bucks at a restaurant but Lucca's just wasn't worth it. Food was good but portions were pretty small, especially considering the price (wine was very expensive). Worst than that was the service. Our waiter was more interested in the guy he was training than us. My wife's entree was served about 6 or 7 minutes before mine, so her's was cold by the time she ate it.
Probably won't be back.
First timer and will definitely go back to try other dishes! Â Waiter was knowledgable on menu and wine list, 2 in our party. We decided on 2 small plates bresaola and the fish & caper cakes, and then split the wild tuna pappardelle. All were unique and yummy for very different reasons. Can't wait to go back
Review Source:I was at first excited to consider Lucca; it appears as a unique independent establishment in a suburbia where boring restaurant corporations naturally flourish with uninspiring chefs and their unprototypicalness, while one-off restaurants are usually synonymous with creativity and culinary passion.
It was difficult finding this passion.
I spared their embarrassment and managed to resist publicly displaying a face-palm when my French Onion Soup arrived with a completely missing Gruyère crust. No crispiness, no brownness. Instead I get a blob of mildly melted Gruyère with patches of unnecessary oiliness. Tasting notes of Worcestershire and onion stock essence were detected, but left much to be desired for savors of beef stock and dry wine.
Tri-color salad consisted with Arugula, Radicchio and Lettuce topped with crumbled Gorgonzola, walnuts and dressed with a bubbly vinaigrette. Bitter greens to a pungent cheese may not be cohesive but tolerable as my favorite greens are bitter.
Land and Sea seemed like a promising surf n' turf dish pairing Beef Wellington and Shrimp over mashed potatoes. Wellingtons taste great with its flaky pastry shell and perfect pinkness to the tenderloin, with Port reduction sauce working beautifully. Shrimp tasted bland almost as if directly thawed from frozen. I was dismayed they didn't grill the shrimp whole in its natural shell to yield more offaly and crustacean-like flavor.
Dessert was Affogato comprised of vanilla ice cream, ladyfinger dusted with powdered sugar, creme fraiche and hot espresso. Good gourmet vanilla ice cream is made from natural vanilla beans, not vanillin which is an artificial flavor commonly found in supermarket ice creams. For a fairly expensive restaurant, it was disappointing to find their vanilla ice cream was the latter, and with certainty their ice creams and ladyfingers aren't made in-house. I can assemble a much better Affogato dessert at home.
Few hits, but prominent misses conclude a mediocre rating. I give it 2.25 stars.
It used to be decent 2-3 years ago.  The menu is weak and the QUALITY has gone  south.  The service is poor and the food is forgettable. The qulity of meat is extremely poor.  The filet quality is the same as albertson meat.  Dry and old.
The server completly uselss and the hostess proabably her first job off high school.
I dont recommend this place. Its expensive for what they are giving you.
STAY AWAY!!
We came here for dinner the Saturday before Mother's Day. Â We arrived before they even opened. Once open we came in and were asked if we had reservations. We didn't but the restaurant was completely empty and no one was even arriving at the time. They then told us we could only sit at the bar which didn't work for us with our baby. We left. I won't be going back. Very rude and unhelpful staff and owners.
Review Source:If you live in Irvine, Lucca Cafe is definitely worth checking out. It's kind of tucked away in quail hill at the small plaze there on Sand Canyon where the round about is but should be easy to find.
I went recently with my wife for a Saturday brunch. For some reason every time I go to a new breakfast place, I have to try their french toast. So, as usual, I ordered the Pain Perdu and she ordered the toad in the hole, which was the special for the day. The Pain Perdu is french toast  made with Challah bread served with pecans and Orange Creme Fraiche drizzled on the french toast. If you like french toast, you'll be satisfied with this. I've had better elsewhere but the french toast here was good. I wasn't a big fan of the Orange Creme Fraiche as I thought it kind of took away from the flavor of the french toast.
There was a problem with my wife's toad in the hole. The egg in the middle is supposed to be runny, but hers was hard. Also, my french toast did not come with syrup. We pointed these out to our server and he was very apologetic about it and brought her another plate of eggs that were over easy AND was kind enough to take it off our bill. Problem solved. Thank you very much. Love it when a restaurant acknowledges their mistake and doesn't make you pay for it. Classy service.
Anyway, check out Lucca Cafe when you get a chance. The outdoor patio is a nice place to sit. Not much of a view since you are basically staring at a parking lot but it's still was enjoyable and pleasant to sit outside and enjoy the great weather.
This is a really a 5 star restraint but....
They placed us at a table that wobbled due to not being securely bolted. Why keep a defective table on the floor?
Our server was completely useless. Couldn't sell if his life depended on it.
When asked what kinds of vegetables were in a particular salad, his reply; "All different kinds. The chef changes them every day.
When asked what kinds of cookies they serve on their cookie platter, his reply; "The chef bakes them fresh every day and changes them every day."
When asked what types of beers they carry, his reply; "I know the wine list really well but not the beer list so much."
We had to ask for dessert and coffee. He did nothing more than take our order. Felt like I had walked into a Denny's by mistake.
Ok so now for the good: the food is to die for!
Salmon, Halibut, Meat Sauce Penne & the Lucca Salad were our entrees.
The Chimay blue beer was full flavored and satisfying.
The organic nature of the food, preparation, freshness and tastes were incredible. The Raspberry/Rhubarb Crostada was a confection of perfection.
The only thing that saved our service was the support staff and their attentiveness.
When we return (and we will return) we'll insist on a stable table and a different server.
Made reservations for Mother's Day brunch at Lucca cafe for this past Sunday. Â We get there and were seated at a table right at the front door that was clearly put there to get maximum capacity for Mother's Day, Strike 1.
When we sat down, we were handed order forms for the egg bar. Strike 2.
We were not informed when I made the reservation (or online) that they were going to have a buffet type menu for Mother's Day. I HATE egg bars. Even at the very best hotels and restaurants, they are terrible. I was really looking forward to trying their Eggs In Purgatory.
Then they wanted us to pay $30 per adult for sitting at a tiny makeshift table at the front door for Mother's Day. Strike 3, I'm outta there.
Such an enormous disappointment!!!! Told us on phone they would offer scallops sliders that were featured in OC Register. When we sat down they said they did not offer any longer. Waitress was surly!!! When we asked for a clean knife for our cheese try she said no. Â She argued with us every step of the way. Â We were a large party and none of us will be back. Â Chef practically told us to get out on our way out. Â Food was nothing special (fruit on cheese tray was old) that would warrant putting up with such poor service.
Review Source:Terrible service!
Mediocre food!
Service was Horrible! Â Horrible! Â Horrible!
Seating arrangement is very jammed, with zero privacy from tables next to you. Â Chairs are hard and uncomfortable!
Decor is awful and everything is loaded with DUST!
Once again the service was terrible!
We left pissed off and will never return!!!!!
I have this strange disconnect in having good wine and good food. I find it difficult to fully enjoy them together. It's probably because I overindulge since I have an addictive personality. This review does not encompass their wines because when I go out I go out to eat. I prefer to pick and choose wines for purely social occasions and I consider this fine dining.
With that being said you must try their Charcuterie it changes on the weekly and they source their meats from the finest markets around the country like Salumeria Biellesse from NY. My favorite cured meats are culatello, anything Iberian and prosciutto de parma, in that order. Honestly the cheese however good always is an afterthought when it comes to me pigs. I do recall a stinky gruyere that was pretty amazing. Most gruyere people get and use in recipes is a toned down version, but that was a about as pungent a cheese as I've ever had and I liked it more than I probably should have. The rest was somewhat forgettable.
Pork belly crisped to the point of lechon or chicharonnes, but still dripping of fat. The chili lime butter had that slightly acidic contrast I liked. New Zealand free range lamb chops. I couldn't tell the difference in the black lava salt and a different kind, the meat was too tender and juicy to care about seasonings.
Snake River Farms Pork Tenderloin. I love knowing where their source, it makes me feel a part of their process and involved. Full of flavor, much softer than I expected was a close 2nd to the filet whose Gorgonzola Ranch I was not expecting, but pleasantly surprised.
Hanger steak was perfect, tons of flavor, lean and the chimichurri really accented it well. Tomato chutney to me did nothing and could have been left off.
Décor is dark and intimate, adorned with wine's and painting. Service is good, they definitely step their game up for dinner versus lunch and the prices are going to be in the $50+ pp range, another reason I don't eat that much and then drop another Benjamin on wines.
They do so many things well, but other too fancy. Almost trying to be too French with it.
We live in the area so this is one of our favorite restaurants in the area. Â Great pastas, salads, cheeses and breakfast! Â The Eggs In Purgatory is a great brunch item! Â My default lunch dish is the Cobb Salad. Â It's a huge salad with a wide variety of ingredients! Â Both the grilled chicken or shrimp are great in it! Â The home made pasta are also fantastic!!! Â Can't get enough of this place.
The only negative thing about this restaurant is the indoor dining area. Â The tables are so close together that you can each over and grab your neighbors food! Â I always opt for patio sitting!
4.5/5 stars.
I came here for OC restaurant week, and was glad I had to opportunity to check this place out.  I actually enjoy this place.  The food, ambiance, service and décor were all great!  Below listed is what I ended up getting.
Started off with the Lucca's crostini and tapenade. Â It's just simple hard bread with olive paste. Â It's good, but would have been nice with some olive oil.
SALAD
TriColor Salad with Radicchio, Wild Arugula and Butter Lettuce, Shaved Fennel, Gorgonzola Cheese, Walnuts, Champagne Vinaigrette
(nothing special about the salad itself... and you could have picked the French onion soup... my friend told me she really liked the soup... I didn't want to end up with onion breath though...lol)
LAND AND SEA
Petite filet mignon Wellingtons, Port Wine Reduction, Caramelized Onions, a trio of Shrimp, Lemon Beurre Blanc, and Fork-Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes.
(this entree was small, but packed full of flavor!... i highly recommend it)
CRÈME BRULE
Belgian Dark Chocolate Cream Brulee with fresh Berries and homemade Whipped Cream
(My friend got the gingerbread dessert. Â I actually prefer the gingerbread dessert... don't get me wrong, I like dark chocolate but I can't eat lots of it. Â it was too rich for me)
the service was excellent. Â they were really accommodating and understanding. Â (we accidently ordered the wrong dessert and they told us it was cool and came back with the right one... i blame my fobby English on the wrong order! Â lol)
All in all, each portion was small, but together it made an impact. Â I walked out of the restaurant full and happy. Â I'll be back.
Had lunch @ Lucca's. It was pitiful. The minestrone soup was cold, salad dripping with dressing. Also ordered poached egg sandwich which was inedible. Upon picking up the sandwich, a liquid/watery poured out onto the plate. The sandwich was very soggy & we sent it back. The tri-tip sandwich wasn't much better. It had a dressing slathered all over the bread that was gagging. I ate the tough meat and left the rest. We will never come back to this place. There's nothing Italian about this place that I could tell at lunchtime. The food was just the worst I've had in years.
Review Source:Let me start by saying that Lucca Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in the Irvine area... in fact, it's such a favorite of mine that it inspired me to finally start using my Yelp account.
My fiance and I frequent Lucca 2-4 times a month... brunch, lunch, or dinner, they never let us down. We had brunch yesterday and ordered off their seasonal menu, what a good call that was. Chicken sausage targine with goat cheese and fluffy eggs on flat bread, along with some incredibly moist blackberry and banana pancakes. Can't forget the two uber frothy cappuccinos on the side.
At Lucca, it's not just the food that always leaves us satisfied. We consistently receive excellent service and everything is presented in such a great way. They have an awesome wine selection and even have a good selection of Republic of Tea bottles (my favorite is the ginger peach)... they also offer cooking classes, "culinary tour" events, holiday events, wine tastings, you name it. I always enjoy getting emails from my favorite local restaurant.
If you're in the Irvine area or will be soon, go to Lucca Cafe. Better yet, get there as soon as you can regardless of where you are. You won't leave disappointed.
Had dinner here yesterday with my wife, and we were both thoroughly impressed.
This place had a big reputation to live up to from friends, family, and simply other reviews. Â We were not dissapointed.
Our simple dinner consisited of an appetizer, 2 dinner entrees and dessert.
Appetizer we had were the New Zealand free range baby lamb chops. Â Cooked perfectly and was just enough for you to realize "that was awesome"
My wife haad the Carbonara with gluten free pasta (which could be substituted for any of the pastas except the "little pasta purses")
I myself had the "Just a Good Steak" entree. Â Certified Angus Beef Hanger Steak cooked medium well,Lyonnaise Potatoes, Brandy-Mustard Cream Sauce, Onion Straws. Â Side Note...this steak was cooked absolutely perfect, and it came moderately sliced and layed horizontally on a narrow rectangular platter. Â The delivery was great as it diddn't look like a lot of food, but I could barely finish the entree.
For dessert we had the rasberry and chocolate sorbet. Â Rich and perfect, the desert was a perfect finish to a perfect dinner.
Like I said, this place had quite the reputation to live up to, and i was definitely impressed and will be back soon.
I've only been here twice. Once for lunch and once for brunch.
The lunch was unmemorable. Just another Italian restaurant.
But the brunch... oh my goodness. The challah French toast was absolutely incredible. It was battered with orange creme fraiche and maple syrup. A deadly combination. My dad had the pancakes and they were also excellent. The chicken sausage was also delicious!
If you're looking for good Italian food, I'm not sure I recommend this place. If you're looking for an excellent brunch, I say go!!
P.S. A bee landed on me while I was eating... yes, a bee. And no, I was not outside. Scary stuff!
3.5
went twice for restaurant week - once for lunch and once for dinner.
for lunch i had a mahi mahi wrap and a caesar salad as well as a lemon tart for dessert. the wrap was a little dry for me and could have used some more dressing/sauce. salad was fine. tart was great. Â doubtful i would come back and pay the normal $15 or so for the wrap.
for dinner i had a calamari steak with some vegetables. it was kind of odd. you don't see calamari steak offered much so i thought i would give it a try. vegetables that it came with were serviceable. i think i order failed.
i might come back just to get a lemon tart. serious.
Wow. I have to say I've not been unimpressed with this place until now. Here's a tip for you, seemingly new server Michael, when you say you're going to bring something to someone, you should remember to bring it. My friend's salad was also pretty gross and the fried zucchini is a sad affair. I'm really surprised because the first time I came here, the place was amazing and the service was impeccable. If last night had been my frost time, I would say the complete opposite, more so for the service which was terrible. And I certainly would not have suggested this place to anyone based on that service. I hope the people I have recommended in the past did not get the experience I had last night.
The final straw was the realization that Michael didn't seem to care if we liked our food or not. I for one, took mine home, but my friend left a full plate of her salad and ALL of the zucchini sticks untouched. He never once asked if she didn't care for it or if she wanted something else. That just makes me mad. Because that is poorly managed customer service.
Brought my daughter for lunch unaware of OC Restaurant Week.
Was asked if we had Rez and told we couldn't sit on patio without. We're given a table against a dirty wall, ended up moving out front..with he smell of fertilizer... The patio btw never filled up.
Had only heard good things. Prix fixe menu 15 for 3 courses. Ceasar salad with tomato? not fresh.... Sent back Mahi mahi wrap. The flavors made no sense. Both ended up with the  BLT  way too much aioli mayo.
Desert was the best part
Two stars for waitress not front of house food..meh 1/2 star
The short of it:
- review for OC restaurant week
- great prefix lunch menu for $15
- good service, good food
- reasonable prices
- Favs: carbonara pasta, cannoli dessert
The long of it:
Thank goodness for OC restaurant week! Otherwise, I would have never gone to this restaurant on my own. Now I Lucca on my restaurant's to go back to list! I came here for lunch during OC restaurant week. They were offering a great $15 prefix deal. You had a choice of soup or salad, about 5 different entrees, and 3 desserts to choose from. I had the Caesar salad, sausage and wild mushroom carbonara (very good and filling), and cannolis for dessert. I enjoyed my entire meal and I kept eyeing all the other dishes that were coming out from the kitchen because they all looked so good. It definitively helped me make my mind to come back here again. I guess because of restaurant week it was quite busy so there were some periods where we had to wait a while especially when getting our credit cards back. The server was so kind and apologetic that we had to wait so she gave us each a gigantic cookie to go! Awesome service right there. Lucca you have won my heart with cookies :)
Came here with my wife and our friends for the restaurant week dinner menu. The restaurant was really busy but luckily we had a reservation and were seated immediately.
They have a good beer and wine selection to choose from and I started with a Hop Notch IPA and we ordered a 5 selection cheese course. The cheeses were good but I was expecting stronger and a bit more flavor.
For the pre fixe menu I selected the French Onion soup, shortrib, and the afogato for dessert. The french onion soup was good but I have had better. It seemed as if they used some celery salt because I got some celery flavors a few times. It could have used more gruyere. The shortrib had good flavor but it wasn't anything that knocked my socks off. I enjoyed it, it just didn't really wow me. The afogoto was good and the lady finger was nice and fresh.
Overall, it was a good meal with great company and the service was good. The food just didn't really excite me too much overall but I will come back again to try a few other items.
I came here for dinner with my cousin during OC Restaurant Week, which was nice because we're both the kind of people that like to share so I effectively got to taste 6 dishes. Â Here is my assessment of Lucca Cafe:
Ambience: nice, although a little crowded and loud seeming. Â
Service: it would have been really good if it wasn't for a couple of mishaps, like forgetting to bring out the amuse that came with the prix fixe menu or bringing out our meals at different times. Â Also, they took a really, noticeably long time coming over to take our order which was a little annoying.
Food: Â olive tapenade with crostinis was nice. Â The crostinis were really well toasted and the tapenade went surprisingly well with the zinfandel I was having with dinner. Â
French onion soup - fantastic. Â Just the right amount of cheese and bread to go along with mouthful after mouthful of sweet onion-y goodness. Â The tricolor salad I found to be overly citrus-y. Â If it had had some kind of fruit maybe to offset the tartness of the dressing I think it would have been a hit.
Tomato risotto with John Dory fish was really tasty. Â The fish was really nice and tender and super fresh. Â The tomato risotto was nice and tender and went together with the fish perfectly. Â The beef short rib was insanely good. Â The spinach, mashed potatos, meat, and port reduction just all melted in the deliciously savory mouthfuls. Â Really quite perfect actually.
Finally, dessert was a gingerbread cake topped with a pear compote accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream along with a chocolate creme brulee. Â The cake was really nice and moist and the flavor was definitely ginger although I think you could taste more of the molasses than the ginger. Â I am almost at a loss for words for the creme brulee. Â It was a little heavier than other cremes I've had, but it was like a rich brownie that somehow had turned to custard and then had sugar crusted on top of it. Â I could have eaten it for days.
If the service was spot on, I would have given this place 5 stars for sure. Â Regardless though, I am definitely going to go back and try this place again.
If it weren't for their service, this place would've gotten a higher rating. Getting your water refilled, no problem. Desserts and check? S-l-o-w. The table next to us got their desserts pronto (my table was here first) and it took forEVER to get ours. They didn't even have the correct desserts when they finally brought it out. I honestly think the two gingerbreads they served to the table next to us belonged to us because they were lacking a gingerbread when they brought out ours. Trying to catch our waitress attention for the check was pretty irritating as well. It wasn't a full house and we were sitting outside. AND...our waitress wasn't very friendly. She looked rather annoyed.
Anyways, on to the food. Came here for OC restaurant week. Got the salad, blt, and gingerbread. Salad was good, tasted like a cesar salad. Tried my friend's soup and it was good. BLT was good. Thick cut bacon and they don't skimp out on the bacon. Having cheese in the BLT was a little weird, but it worked out. The bread used was really soft, but too much bread. Tried my friends' beef stroganoff, mushroom & chicken carbonara, and wild mahi mahi wrap. All three were delicious and full of flavor, but I liked the carbonara the best. Loved the mushrooms in the dish. Gingerbread was good, but I think without the icecream on the side, it would've been okay. Tried my friend's lemon tart and omgosh, NOT good imo. It was way too tart and it had a really strong egg custard-y taste. It was too egg-y for a lemon-y dessert. I think the best item on their menu is their coffee. Got the cappucino and it was yummy. Loved the thick foam, even though the foam made up for 1/3 of the drink =/
Overall, I wouldn't mind coming to this place again...but only if I know their service gets better. Some people don't have all the time in the world when they're at a restaurant.
I used to live just up the street from this place. Â Restaurant Week has brought me back to this place. Â Since then, this place appears like they have expanded. Â I came here for lunch with my husband. Â I tried the Sausage and Mushroom Carbonara and had the Lemon Square. Â The Carbonara definitely hit the spot. Â It had just the right amount of flavor and the pasta was cooked just right. Â My husband had the Beef Stroganoff. Â He liked the flavor of the steak. Â The lemon square had a delicious crust, but I realize that I don't really like the taste of lemon squares in general. Â
Our server was really nice. Â Thanks Ashley! Â
Also, make a reservation, it was perfect for restaurant week.
Miniscule portions...but big flavors. Â You think a post-thanksgiving friday night with the ball and chain would bring out the crowds...but oh so dead..... i dunno, im not sure why the negative reviews....service was great....always checking on us....
Best of the night was the stuffed shrimp and the pork belly.... make sure you order a bottle of wine so you dont expect such huge portions...thats the trick...drink a bottle and you will eat less....
Also doesnt hurt when the wifey likes it too.....rare i say....
If I could give zero stars I would.
I had one of the worst dining experiences at Cafe Lucca. When asking about red wine choices, the waiter instead of telling us the price of a wine by the glass said, "it was too pricey". I was immediately caught off guard by his assumption that the wine too expensive for us to buy.
We did end up with that wine.
Then when we ordered the speck plate, we received just crumbles of Parmesan cheese. I assumed that if we ordered a meat and cheese plate, there would be enough cheese for even one person. When I asked the waiter if that was the normal amount of cheese for the plate, he said, "For $4 more, I can get you more cheese". I kindly declined.
When finishing our wine, the water simply took our wine glasses away without asking if we would like more.
Also, when informing the customer that you serve family style, that means you have enough for the table and you share. This was tapas style, and barely that.
I think we need a do-over.
Food:
Eggs in Purgatory- better idea than execution. salsa was like a cross between marinara and salsa- which was not bad- but my eggs were overcooked, hard and drowning in cheese, on top of a plain baked potato. C.
Pain Perdu- challah French toast with orange creme fraiche. Â Amazing. Â I wanted to steal this-- and I'm not even a sweet breakfast type'a chick.
Service:
Ehh not good- which I hate to say because she apologized and offered us a free cookie for the wait, which we declined (kinda regretting that decision now).
But for some reason I think Lucca deserves another chance.... we shall see.
Very nice, surprising gem in Irvine suburbia. This is the kind of place you'd expect to see in a trendier, more urban environment, not tucked away in a little strip mall off the freeway in quiet Irvine. Awesome find for those of you who live in the neighborhood!
Huge wine selection, of course - the three of us got a bottle of Pinot Noir to share. The bread they give you consists of thin crostinis with a very salty olive spread - delicious. For appetizer, we got the special, which was a duck confit dumpling. That was just okay for me, I'm not much of a meat eater and duck has a very distinct taste..
The servers suggested we order a couple entrees and share, family-dining style. So we did. We got the mushroom ravioli and and the pasta that comes with homemade meatballs (tried to pull exact menu items / ingredients for you, but their website isn't at all up to date..tsk tsk). Unfortunately, the portions were incredibly small and we weren't really full - not a lot of bang for your buck here :-/
We all agreed that what they did best was the dessert. Pumpkin creme brulee was out of control, and the ice cream trio had a beet-flavored ice cream; not exactly the most delicious, but points for uniqueness.
Total was $120, which is pretty expensive for the amount of food we got. However, if you're looking for a classier and more upscale ambiance in inland South County, this isn't a bad choice at all.
"It's an old Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes." -Sal Tessio, "The Godfather"
"You have two eyes, and two ears, but only one mouth. This is so because you are supposed to look and listen more than you talk."
Lucca Kaldahl
It is Update Saturday here! Â Next update is for Lucca Cafe. Â I had placed them at three stars because their breakfasts are underwhelming and overpriced, but after another very nice dinner here, I have to give them a fourth star.
The key here of course is to get as many small plates as possible, share, and also order as many half glasses of wine as possible so you can try a different variety. Â Small plates tasted included a 3 taste cheese plate (love the fact you can mix n match cheeses! Â Had a lovely Midnight Tremor from Cypress Grove and an Oregon Blue Cheese), pork belly with sweet potato, Kobe Beef sliders (almost a perfect version), carmelized brussel sprouts, spicy shrimp. Â For wine, excellent choices abounded including a crisp Sancerre, Cakebread Chardonnay, a free taste of a Pouilly Fume, Sequoia Grove Cabernet (sweeter than I remembered and not in a good way) and an excellent Cotes du Rhone.
Service by Aaron (no way I could forget his name) was friendly and on point. Â An excellent waitperson for sure.
So highly recommended for dinner but still too expensive for lunch or breakfast. Â They are also a good option for a nice meal at the last moment because usually, even on a Friday or Saturday evening, you can get a table.
Went here with Minerva T. and had a blast. We got the "Sunday Sauce," Italian Beef Melt, Eggs in Purgatory and S'mores in a Jar. We had a lunch on a Saturday in the afternoon which is one of their slowest times during the week. I didn't mind. It was nice feeling like we had the place to ourselves.
Everything was made from scratch as Chef Cathy had told us and the quality really shows. Definitely worth your time and money.
And the service! Our waiter, Adolfo, was super friendly and welcoming. He also made awesome recommendations like the "Sunday Sauce" and S'mores in a Jar.
We will definitely be coming back for dinner next time!
Lucca Cafe is one of those understated beauty in OC. Its located in an unassuming corner, and you wouldn't notice it unless you look for it, you wouldn't have heard of it unless someone you knew knew about it.
Its part cheese shop selling imported cheeses, most part restaurant, with a nice little wine bar! Its what you would expect in an family style italian restaurant. It feels like someones home when you dine there. Very low key, still cute and elegant. The menu is very refreshing. Seafood/steak/ravioli and things you would typically expect at a place like this. But the most interesting thing is their micro plates. about 4 to 7 dollars, the chef has numerous items on the microplate menu. Last time I went I had this eggplant/fresh tomato/burrata cheese plate, which was very filling , good enough for two. sooo good! there are sliders and other things, and specials on micro plate changes everyday! definitely worth trying a plate or two before your meal!.
Their wine servings are pretty convenience, you can opt for half pour/full pour/half bottle. depending on the party size and your mood. the wine list is pretty good, with some interesting names.
the food is very hearty! chef Cathy literally ensures each plate gets out of the kitchen with utmost care and love. and you can taste the quality of the ingredient, coz her crew spends enough time trying out things and picking the best to use. and the portions are pretty good, not too much, not too little just right amount! My last dinner, we had ravioli and scallops. So delicious. the risotto - i am still thinking about it. I am not a crazy calorie consuming person, but I would totally endorse eating here!
The deserts are really good, and I heard so much about the skillet brownies, but the one I ordered was refrigerated so it didnt have all the warmth. I will try it again may be another time!
I would say you wont score points for picking this place to impress your date on the looks and hipsterish aspect of the location, but if you take someone who appreciates good food and quality ingredients and a quite awesome time, this place will get you few points and some more! Â and by looking around I could totally see why lot of couples in their 30s pick this place for their date night meal!
What the what? Is this the same place I ate at before.??? I met my friend and her daughter for lunch and we met at 1. I was starving and craving the delicious BLT that they make. At 1:40 the waitress asked if we enjoyed our salads. We still hadn't gotten them. Mind you, others who were seated after us were now enjoying their entrees.
The waitress came back and asked if we were in a rush and luckily both of us didn't have a 2 pm meeting. She apologized but forgot to put in our order. She brought 3 crispy bread sticks that reminds me of thin, crispy croutons. Didn't help fill my starving belly.
I had the lucca salad. It was good.
They finally brought the entree, and the bacon was hardly cooked. I had requested it extra crispy. I couldn't get my waitress and flagged down a bus boy to get the bacon, by the time I got my bacon I was half way done with my bacon less BLT.
We decided to get a red velvet cake slice for dessert. It was meh.
The overall dining experience took around 2 hours. For lunch. Normally, when someone has to wait close to an hour, I would expect a manager to come out and apologize for the inconvenience or check up on us to make sure we were still ok. Didn't happen here.
I am so disappointed. This used to be my favorite Italian place.
My wife and I ran into Anita L. while eating lunch at Anepalco's on Saturday. Â She recommended we try Lucca Cafe so we headed on over Sunday for brunch. Â It's nestled in the corner of a large plaza. Â At 11:30am there was zero wait and hardly anybody eating inside the main dining room, everybody was on the large patio but we stayed inside to enjoy the A/C on the blazing hot day. Â Nice decor which gives the place a very relaxing vibe.
Donna and I both ordered off the specials menu and had the "Toad in the Hole". Â They take freshly baked ciabatta bread and toast the bottom on the griddle. Â The cut a hole in the middle and fill it with a fried egg from a free ranged chicken and top it with avocado, and lime-cilantro hollandaise sauce. Â It's served with thick applewood smoked bacon and fresh fruit. Â This was a very delicious breakfast. Â Since majority of this meal is bread it would be ruined if the bread wasn't good.... luckily for this breakfast the ciabatta was wonderful. Â Very fresh and had a slight saltiness to it that went perfect with the egg. Â They serve WONDERFUL bacon here. Â Thick and smoky. Â We both enjoyed this dish very much but it would of been more bang for the buck if they called it Toads in the Hole and threw in an extra egg. Â Washed down my breakfast with a cup of Lavazza coffee.
We shared a side of their breakfast potatoes which were not what we expected. Â They were whole potatoes that were deep fried and sprinkled with seasonings. Â They were delicious but very greasy and not what we had in mind.
Our waiter Adam was extremely friendly and you can tell he enjoys the restaurant. Â He was very personable and was great at making suggestions and explaining the menu.
I'd definitely come back here again for Breakfast and would love to come for dinner to try their entrees. Â Per the menu they rely on Organic fresh products and make all their sauces from scratch. Â This dedication to quality really shines in their food.
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