L'imbuto — Restaurant in Lucca

When visiting Lucca, L'imbuto is not to be missed. Though the portions are small, they are paced well and sized appropriately to get you through all the courses. We did a flight with 5 courses and were more than satiated. It is obvious that every detail was well thought out, from the progression and presentation of each course to the wine parings of the flight. The sourcing of local traditional products worked into contemporary dishes that were each in and of themselves a work of art was a refreshing change from "standard Lucca" tourist fare. It shows that Italian food is a living art and not merely an icon to be visited in some restaurant. Chef Cristiano is an artist of the highest caliper. The ambiance of the restaurant is formal but relaxed, and the wait staff personable and professional. All in all, a wonderful balance. JUST GO! You don't want...

Although we had been to L'imbuto a year before and loved it; somehow, everything seemed different. The life seemed to have been removed and I felt as though I was in the recent Ralph Fiennes movie The Menu. This was particularly noted by the fact that the chef was absent and the staff seemed to be playing with us. Their favorite part was to not tell us what we were eating until after we ate it. And for good reason, since some of it would be something that had I known I wouldn't have wanted to eat at all, such as the raw wild boar. To me the biggest insult was to not only serve us tasteless pigeon but to serve it with dry seedy, pigeon food! Sorry, but I will not be returning, it is great to be creative and inventive, but the food should be food and it should also be delicious. And that night last week, it was sadly...

L’imbuto was a truly joyful experience. The wait staff were friendly and clearly having fun presenting the dishes as they got progressively more whimsical (I will not spoil some highlights with pictures). The food was inventive and amazing, particularly the amount of flavor packed into the various sauces. The wine list was extensive. And finally, I got to meet Cristiano Tomei himself, a man who I’ve watched for years on ItaliaSquisita videos. He was just as gregarious and fun in real life.

One thing to note is that the restaurant recently relocated to about 10 minutes/3km outside of the city’s walls. It is very easy to find a taxi from Lucca to the restaurant, but not easy at all to find a taxi back. Pre-arrange a...