Trattoria Da Ubaldo — Restaurant in Lucca

Open every day.

Saturday 7 September 2019 to Saturday 14 September 2019

Lunch on Tuesday 10 September 2019 This restaurant is so good that we could not wait any longer so we sat down outside just after noon! One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's own red wine at €10.00, one starter of piatto vegetariano (lots and lots of different vevetables) for two persons at €11.00, two mains of Pasta Vigliacca (a really big version of pipe rigate) in chilli, parsley, garlic and tomatoes at €8.00 each and two espressos cost €45.50. Great service, great food and a wonderful owner.

Lunch on Wednesday 11 September 2019 We were recognised by our waitress from yesterday and also greeted by the owner! One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's own red wine at €10.00, one starter of fagiollini verdi in umido (steamed green beans) at €4.00, one starter of insalata mista (mixed salad) at €5.00, one main of sella di maialino arrosto con patate arrosto (pork back with roast potatoes) at €13.00, one main of verdure misto al forno (baked vegetables) at €4.00 plus patate arrosto (roast potatoes) at €4.00 plus pecorino cheese and rocket at €4.00 (wife in urgent need of protein!) and two espressos cost €52.50.

Lunch on Friday 13 September 2019 This was our final lunch in Lucca this year so we chose this wonderful restaurant where we are always made to feel welcome. One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's own red wine at €10.00, one starter of zucchini trifolati (courgettes fried in tomatoes, onions and garlic) at €4.00, one starter of melanzane in umido (steamed aubergines with tomatoes) at €4.00, one main of melanzane alla parmigiana (aubergines and parmisan cheese) at €9.00, one main of gnocchi radicchio e gorgonzola (gnocchi with radicchio and gorgonzola cheese) at €8.00 and two double espressos cost €46.50. Food, service and atmosphere so good we tipped €10.00.

Saturday 8 September 2018 to Saturday 15 September 2018

Lunch on Tuesday 11 September 2018 This is our new favourite restaurant! We made reservations as it is usually busy. One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's red wine (lovely) at €10.00, one starter of white beans and raw red onions (great) at €4.00, one starter of cauliflower in tomatoes and oil (great) at €4.00, one large main of farro (like spelt) soup (really great) at €7.00, one large main of a pasta shape we would describe as VERY fat spaghetti in tomatoes, chilli, parsley and garlic (really great) at €8.00 and two espressos cost €41.50. So good we have booked again for tomorrow lunch, when it will be my wife's birthday. Now we know why this restaurant is usually busy!

Lunch on Wednesday 12 September 2018 One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's red wine (lovely) at €10.00, one starter of white beans and raw red onions again (great) at €4.00, one starter of tomatoes and raw red onions (great) at €4.00, one large main of Melanzane alla Parmigiana (great) at €9.00, one large main of a VERY fat spaghetti pasta shape (which we have discovered is called Pici) in pesto (great) at €10.00 and two espressos cost €45.50. So good we have booked again for tomorrow dinner.

Dinner on Thursday 13 September 2018 One bottle of water, one bottle of Ubaldo's red wine, which was brought over to us as the waitress had remembered what we ordered previously, (lovely) at €10.00, one starter of salted spinach (wonderful) at €4.00, one starter of white beans and raw red onions (great) at €4.00, one large main of a pasta shape we would describe as very wide tubes flattened like empty ravioli in tomatoes, chilli, parsley and garlic (really great) at €8.00, one large main of Melanzane alla Parmigiana (great) at €9.00 with a side order of roasted potatoes (great) at €4.00 and two espressos...

We visited Trattoria Da Ubaldo in Lucca with a group of friend who were all visiting and staying in Lucca for a week. We got the restaurant recommended by a friend of us who is a famous Italian chef (used to have his restaurant in Australia, and not has his restaurant in Prague). We were happy to see the eclectic fun decoration of the restaurant, which provided for many laughs with the group, but were horribly surprised by the bad quality service we received from our waitress on the night. We were welcome by a young waitress who took us to our table and brought us water, she was nice and very friendly. However when the time came to order our meals, another waitress took our orders. We were seven (7) and we ordered entrees, mains and drinks; the waitress did not write anything down and we thought "what a great memory she must have" ... well to our disappointment she did not have such a great memory and missed one of the mains one person in our team ordered. She instead brought us something else and expected us to accept it ... but the person whose order was misteken could not eat that dish due to dietary restrictions, so we said please bring the dish ordered and she got so upset with us that dropped the wrong dish served on our table and said to us "have it anyway" ... I called her back to the table, and told her we were not going to have it as we wanted the correct dish to be served, to what she responded "eat it, it's free" but so rudely that got everyone in the table uncomfortable and we did not touch the dish brought by mistake to how her we did not want it even if free. The biggest problem was that she did not deliver the correct dish to our table until everyone in the table had finished all the other dishes, and clean the table, we had been there for about an hour and only then she brought the dish was totally undercooked and not eatable anyway. So, our friend could not eat it but did not dear to say anything, we just left not having any dessert or anything else. It was a pity as that waitress spoiled our whole dinner party and for everyone in the group. We are never going to eat at Trattoria Da Ubaldo ever again, and we will tell anyone from our circle of friends and social media contacts about our bad experience there. The wines served are also a bit of a scam, the house wine is just bad wine, but it is the wine pushed by the restaurant to people to have, there are other wines but there is no price list and the staff were uncomfortable with us ordering anything than the house wine. We did, we had a few bottles and paid for it, but did not...

Oh dear, having come to Lucca to specifically to dine at this restaurant , I am extremely disappointed to say we wish we did not bother. We ordered the pork loin with roast potatoes and the Lasagne for myself. Unfortunately having eaten a piece of the mince as I got a tiny way into the piece of lasagne to find when I cut it through the centre that it was infact Stone cold ! This was sent back and having waited a few minutes it came back out, (I think a second piece of the same slab of lasagne ), which I cut through the centre again for this to also Not be hot enough so again was sent back, I waited a further 10 minutes by which time my partner had all but finished his meal for mine to come out piping hot. The salad I had originally put on my plate was shoved on a side plate with some of the meat from the original lasagne so was not edible. Due to the portion size of my partners dish he was still hungry so ordered a second portion of the pork. Whilst sitting the table next to us had there food brought out and I happened to notice the difference in portion size, surprisingly they were italian and us British ! As a kitchen Manager none of this is OK, and I am now sat here after the meal really concerned I will have a terrible stomach in the next few hours from the under heated Pork mince ! When spoken to about the issues they seemed to find the portion sizing funny and no amendment to our bill, just a ' free' bottle of his house wine, great for someone that does Not drink and is only here for few days with limited baggage allowance. As far as I am concerned this restaurant has gone from one of the best in Lucca to the worst. Should I get food poisoning I will be contacting the authorities!!! Maybe invest in Food Probes !! These dishes should be over 75c !! Such a shame as the flavours...