Stuzzico By Lucius — Restaurant in Pompei

0 Stars!! Good reviews are only from people the chef likes So bad you have to laugh because it was so so ridiculous. Need to preface by saying this is not my first time in Italy and I have had delicious authentic food here before. This is literally the first really bad meal I’ve ever had in this country. I feel like the only explanation is that we had committed some horrendous mistake and offended the staff terribly. After reading all the amazing reviews my sister and I decided to come here for our first meal as it was late, we had been travelling all day and just wanted a simple meal. We were seated at the same time as a group of 6-8 adults and children. It took around 10 minutes for our drinks order to be taken and the drink arrived moments later. No complaints here and the two people who served us were polite. My Coke was FLAT by the time our food order was taken around 40 minutes later!!! The waiter/chef had spend most of that time chatting to the larger table behind us! They got served food before our order was even taken. When the order was taken the chef did not chat to us at all and it was just so stark how differently we were being treated to them. The food then took so so long to come out. I’d ordered the mushroom pasta and my sister the carbonara as (in my mind) they are simple dishes which wouldn’t take long to come out….how wrong I was. I couldn’t tell you how long we waited for the food as we slowly descended into insanity from hunger and exhaustion. It was a long time as the larger table had gone through most of the wine they had been served and food. When our food finally arrived it was bland. Now I’m not American complaining there is not ketchup on the pasta. I literally under salt my food because I have kidney disease and my sister thinks pepper is to spicy and threw a fit once about how spicy my cooking was when I hadn’t even put chilli in the food and yet we asked for salt and pepper. It didn’t need a lot of salt just two cracks but without it the dish was absolutely tasteless. Also how does carbonara and mushroom pasta which was literally just pasta, mushrooms, and oil taking 40 min to prepare. Now now I know you are going to say well pasta isn’t meant to be cooked too much but after all this time waiting the pasta wasn’t cooked! There is a difference between al dente and raw. I felt my dish cooked a bit more as the dish sat at the table as I ate but my sisters was chewy and a little crunchy in her words till the last bite. Now you might say why didn’t we say anything at the time well we were so exhausted we weren’t thinking straight and it had been he’s since we arrived. We sat and watched as the large group haves kisses to the chef saying it was the best meal they had ever had and they left with nothing but smiles which made everything feel more crazy because we still had not received the cheque! I know this is Italy but there feels like something is up when a large group which had multiple courses and wine leaves before two people who had soft drink and pasta. And we wanted to leave! Why did it take so long! Trying to catch someone’s eye and being ignored. It seems clear from reviews that they are from people who the chef pays attention to. If he deems you not worthy you are nothing and will be ignored. Why were we there for 3 hrs! This place deserves 0 stars because of a good dining experience is only had my people the chef likes then that is the worst service. Also the ravioli everyone is raving about is not on the menu and was not recommended to us. Well nothing was recommended as we were...

[Tl/dr: Food: 5/5 Quality of Ingredients: 5/5 Ambiente: 4/5 Prices: 4/5 English-Friendly?: Yes Would recommend?: Absolutely]

Detailed Review: Chef Luigi Lauro proudly displays his diploma as Chef Professionista at the wall in his guest room and has well earned it. We had: Bruschetta for two Scialatielli Amalfitani ai Porcini Tagliatelle al Tartufo Lampugo fish with tomatoes and capres Scallopine al Limone Verdure fritte miste 2 Bottles of Water for a total of 71€, coperto included. The pasta was fresh, well cooked and seasoned. The dishes were classics of excellent quality, nothing dazzling or overly inventive, just great italian cooking. Chef Lauro, who takes the time to talk with his guests personally, offered lampugo fish which is available freshly caught this season, so I opted for this instead of the fish a la carte. When the fish arrived at the table and I started amateur-carving it chef Lauro intervened and showed us how to do it properly. For the last course after a bit of waiting it turned out there had been a misunderstanding (I am no native speaker) so we had to ask about the scallopini we thought we ordered earlier. The scallopini then arrived in record time and were absolutely delectable. Final verdict: The food was excellent, Chef Lauro definitely knows what he is doing, the prices are not low but appropriate. You are welcome even if you do not speak italian and the menu contains...

Second to NONE; Italian Culinary Gem. Ingredients, Environment, Service, Authenticity…all 5/5 ⭐️

We - our family of four with high standards for small details in dining, service, and food - recently had the pleasure of dining at Stuzzico by Lucius. Our family enjoys finding quiet dining locations with excellent local food and that deserves significantly more traffic. We RARELY write reviews; this was different… It was, without a doubt, THE culinary equivalent highlight of our trip to 11 cities around the world from Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

The star of the meal was the Truffle Spaghetti (Tagliatelle Al Tartufo). We ordered two portions and every bite was a heavenly mix of rich black truffle and perfectly cooked pasta. It was the best pasta we’ve EVER had - not just in Italy…ANYWHERE.

One of the standout features was CHEF LUIGI, who has more passion for his craft than anyone. He meticulously monitored every dish as his staff cooked them to perfection, and he often visited our table to explain the intricacies of his cooking techniques. His love for what he does shines through in every aspect of the dining experience.

If you're near Pompei, Italy and looking for an unforgettable meal, you owe it to yourself to dine at Stuzzico by Lucius. You won’t be...