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Review
Lucca is a chic
North End Italian restaurant with a good reputation and a price tag to
match. We went out to Lucca with very high expectations, some of which
were surpassed and some of which weren’t. The upstairs dining room was
stylish and showy, while the lower dining room was pleasantly designed
with a quaint wine-cellar feel. We liked the general décor, but
unfortunately the raucous noise level took away from the overall
ambiance. The service was polite and quick, but wasn’t as warm and
welcoming as we would have liked. The menu was filled with inventive
dishes, each of which sounded delightful, but was somewhat limited in
that it lacked the traditional Italian staples. The award-winning wine
list, however, has something for every taste. We started out with
the Scampi con fregola (shrimp scampi) and a Mixed Green Salad. The
Scampi was spectacular - the shrimp was spiced and grilled perfectly and
served over tiny pasta pearls. The salad was good, but not great. For
our entrees, we opted for the Pappardelle alla Bolognese (basil pasta
with a red wine and veal sauce) and the Orecchiette al Formaggio
(macaroni and sausage casserole). Both were outstanding. - the
flavors were unique and delectable, and the portions were abundant. We
ended our meals with a Chocolate Cake and the Carrot & Pistachio Cake.
The chocolate cake was run-of-the-mill, but very good nonetheless. Kim
found the carrot cake to be “stupendous,” and would return just to try
it again. We can’t say we were disappointed by the food at all.
However, after dessert we had trouble finding out waitress to get our
check and were forced to wait a little too long. Overall, still a very
good experience. Just a final tip – the valet is one of the most
expensive in the city at $20, and the valet service was far less than
satisfactory. -Mike & Kim |
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