Caffè Santa Zita - Biscotteria In Lucca — Restaurant in Lucca

The design and atmosphere of this little caffe is wonderful.

Which is what first attracted myself and my other two companions.

We were seated in the garden area, on a table that had not been wiped down and still had the spills from previous occupants.

We ordered drinks to start with and these were fine. On the small side, compared to what we have encountered so far in Italy.

The food? We ordered little tartlets, meatballs, salmon and a selection of 3 cheeses.

The food came on a little high tea stand, lovely, it was well presented, the cheeses came on a plate with a tiny fork.

The cheeses were supposed to be, pecorino, pecorino with rosemary and pecorino with blue cheese.

No small plates were offered to either myself or my companions, no cutlery either.

I specifically asked for a knife so that the individual pieces of cheese could be cut to not taint the taste.

I asked the waiter to please point out which cheese was the rosemary as it wasn’t apparent by sight. The waiter pointed at a particular serving. Which both myself and my companions tasted and no rosemary could be tasted.

The waiter who served us, asked if everything was OK, I advised him no.

I advised that no rosemary could be tasted as all three of us love rosemary and this was the only reason we ordered this particular dish., the waiter advised that he would check with the chef.

The waiter then came out with more cheese pointing at the rosemary on it, this we could see though could not possible eat any more cheese as we didn’t eat half of what had been provided.

The waiter advised us to take it away with us, I advised no, as we do not have capacity to take with us and store it.

The waiter took it away.

Our experience of this caffe was tainted only by the service.

In our experience of all of the restaurants we have visited in Italy on our many trips here, this has far been the worst experience as far as waiters and service go.

Never have we encountered an experience like this before anywhere in the world so far.

No appropriate cleaning down of the table for new guests. No appropriate cutlery or crockery was delivered or set out. No appropriate explanation of what was on offer and what each dish was.

No choice offered when the waiter knew we were not happy.

Our experience of this caffe is that whilst the decor is beautifully designed, the staff that served us lowered the standard of the fine establishment.

If the service was 5 star like the establishment has marketed itself as in its design then it is worth the prices being charged.

Poor service can destroy a reputation of a business over time. Sometimes rapidly.

My advice is to avoid this caffe...

I visited this bar for breakfast last weekend, and I must say, it was a mixed experience. The highlight of our visit was undoubtedly the cakes, which were absolutely delightful. However, I would think twice before ordering anything savory here.

We decided to try the 'tris di tramezzini,' but it left us quite disappointed. For a hefty 10 euros, we received a plate with 2 small, cold slices of bread (straight out of the fridge, I guess), divided in 3 pieces, topped with a meager amount of cheese and salmon. The value for money was simply not there, and it felt really overpriced.

One aspect that puzzled me was the pricing strategy. The cakes were displayed at 3 or 3.5 euros per piece on the counter, but the menu listed them at 6 euros each. After a conversation with my Italian teacher, I learned that the lower price is for takeout, while the higher one is for dining in. While this might be a common practice, I personally found the price difference to be quite significant and exaggerated.

On the positive side, the bar had a charming interior and played pleasant music, creating a cozy ambiance. The little brass dog that held our forks was a unique touch, albeit a bit unconventional and the pleasant surroundings didn't quite make up for the pricing issues.

In conclusion, the cakes were a highlight, but I would caution against ordering savory items, especially the 'tris di tramezzini.' The price difference between takeout and dining in seemed excessive to me, and it detracted from the overall experience. While the interior and ambiance were appealing, they don't justify the higher price for dining in. 60.5 euro for 2 people is simply too much for the amount of food and drinks we had (2 fresh orange juice, 2 tris di tramezzini, 4 slices of cake, 2...

Ordered two Bombay Sapphire gins and for the price kind of assumed that it was going to be a gin and tonic but it turned out to just be straight gin. Ordered two bottles of tonic to go with the gin. Would have been nice to have had a few different bits of food to nibble on while we were drinking but they only brought two tiny biscuits each neither of which had particularly much flavour. Went in to pay and got presented with a bill for €18. That's €5.50 per gin and then an outrageous €3.50 for a tiny bottle of tonic that definitely did not compliment the taste of the gin. Needless to say, won't ever be going back there and that's a shame as its in a nice location. Just a quick edit to say thanks for the reply to the review. Unfortunately I can't change my review score as I'd like to reply to a couple of the points made by the owner. There were no drinks menus left on the table as the server took them away with him after we'd ordered the Bombay Sapphire and I had to go into the Caffe to ask for the tonic water. I'm really sorry but those biscuits were still completely lacking in flavour and had a very peculiar texture, neither of which complemented the drink that we'd ordered. You mentioned the the biscuits were made by one of the "most famous and renowned pastry chef and chef in Lucca". That really doesn't alter the fact that they were not that nice. I really don't like criticising a local business but feel that this time I still have to as it really wasn't very good value and the food was not very nice. To end on a positive note, the server was very professional and polite taking our order even though it was Christmas Eve and they looked as though they were waiting to close...