Lucia Tapas Garden — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

I want to start by saying I love the food here. When your put out the back the atmosphere is lovely but I have eaten here 4 maybe 5 times and each time there has unfortunately been issues. One time a friend booked a table of 15 for a going away dinner and was told that it would be all together. When we arrived we where seated all over the venue, some inside some out. On multiple occasions our meals or drinks have taken well over an hour and a half to come when it’s not busy. Some times meals forgotten completely . Most recently I booked my birthday here and had booked two months in advance and requested out the back garden as that was the whole reason we booked, live music ect. It is beautiful . I even called a few days earlier to confirm as it had been a while, I was told they where all ready to go. Apon arriving they realised they had given my table to other people and could not seat us in the garden. This is what the whole group had herd then say to staff. They told us they moved us inside for the rain ( it was not raining ) they also continued to seat other groups out there through the night. We all had to sit inside which is a completely different feel to outside. As mentioned I had only booked the venue for the beautiful outside area. They did attempt to make it better by giving us two free deserts but we had booked just for the outside area with live music. Inside is just like any normal sit down restaurant. It could be such a good venue with some fine tuning and organisation. I was planning to throw a friends engagement party and a 30th here but with them being so unorganised and not knowing what you will get each time no matter clarification we decided that we could not rely to book the events here. As mentioned the food is lovely and staff are also lovely,just be prepared to not get what your after. I’m not a person who writes reviews but the group I was with on the night felt it was important to share in hopes it gets better cause again, we...

A Mixed Experience with Delicious Tapas – Lucia

From the outside, you’d never guess what’s waiting behind the doors of Lucia, a tapas restaurant with a surprisingly large outdoor dining area. My experience was a mix of hot and cold, making it difficult to rate—4 stars feels a little generous, but 3.5 stars would be more accurate. However, the experience ended on a high note, thanks to one incredibly sweet and delightful server who truly elevated the visit.

When we arrived, there was a line out the door, though not due to high demand. While the restaurant was moderately busy, there were plenty of open tables. Standing in the sweltering heat for 15 minutes unnecessarily isn’t a great first impression—this could be managed much better.

Once seated, we walked through the indoor space and into a huge outdoor dining area. While there was a lot of seating, the layout felt scattered and poorly planned. Some of it was covered, but the materials used created a greenhouse effect, making it feel hot and uncomfortable. We asked to move tables, and thankfully, we were able to find a cooler spot. A few large plants and trees would go a long way in making the space feel cozier and providing natural shade.

Now for the good part—the food and drinks were excellent. We ordered several tapas along with cocktails, and everything was flavorful and well-prepared. The chili margarita was a standout—perfectly balanced with just the right mix of sugar and chili on the rim.

Service was hit or miss. A few servers looked and acted miserable, making interactions unpleasant, while one server was the complete opposite—warm, engaging, and genuinely appreciative of our visit. She took the time to answer our questions about the restaurant and where she was from, which left a great impression.

If I return, I’ll definitely request indoor seating, especially in the summer heat. On the plus side, the happy hour specials were pretty good, making it worth considering for...

Wouldn’t venture back for the food. Wait Staff were great, just a shame the food wasn’t. Went along after seeing the Sunday $15 Paella promo, once there we decided to go for the ‘full strength’ paella which included prawns (not the $15 special) but once we got it were disappointed with the lack of flavour, and portion size, even tho meant for 2, really is for 1. My mother ordered the $15 paella special but only an adequate size for a 10 year old, hence she had to order another dish to feel like she had enough to eat. Another of our party ordered a dip, on arrival realised it didn’t come served with something to dip into it….fingers? Fork? Then had to order seperate dish of crisps to dip into. Only ordered soft drinks but so so steep paying $7 for a coke. Just absolute robbery. Kids size soft drink $3.75 in the smallest plastic cup lined with crayon (same cups used to hold crayons for colouring in). Ambience is nice, tho as u would expect so close to the runway there were a few planes passing over every few minutes. Really disappointing as we were so excited to try this venue but def not a return customer to...