La Luce - Restauracja włoska Warszawa — Restaurant in Warsaw

The moment we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a waiter in a rude and condescending manner. I simply asked if we could sit in the other room, and instead of a straightforward response, he gave me a lecture, making me feel as though I shouldn't have asked. He eventually said no and continued lecturing me about how last-minute reservations weren't acceptable. It felt like I was getting a lesson in restaurant etiquette.

When we sat down, the same waiter brought the menus. After ordering starters, I asked about the main dishes, only to be told that all three pasta options were unavailable. For an Italian restaurant to run out of all its pasta dishes on a Saturday night is incredibly unprofessional. I then inquired about the wine selection, and the waiter kept pushing the most expensive bottle on the menu, even though I had my eye on something else. Ultimately, I chose what I wanted, but his persistence was off-putting.

Throughout the meal, he repeatedly interrupted us every few minutes to ask about our main dish decision, displaying visible annoyance, as if he wanted us to rush. This made me feel like I was dining at a fast food chain, not a supposedly authentic Italian restaurant. When the wine was finally served, the waiter didn't offer a tasting, simply poured it and walked off. The bottle even disappeared from the table, and I had to ask another waiter to bring it back. He also didn’t bother clearing the menus, leaving them cluttering our table while we ate.

To top it off, the restaurant automatically included a tip charge, which I would have had no issue with if the service had been friendly or professional. I typically tip generously, but here, it felt unjustified. If you're going to enforce a tip, train your staff to behave with respect and courtesy toward customers.

While the food itself was delicious (we enjoyed the two starters), the overall experience was one of the worst I've had. A restaurant is about more than just food—it's about the atmosphere, service, and how you’re treated. Unfortunately, I spent the entire evening feeling anxious and uncomfortable. In the end, we left after finishing the starters and wine, as the main dish we came for—any pasta dish—was unavailable.

Restaurants should make their customers feel welcome, not the other way around.

Note to the restaurant owner: If you want to present yourselves as a professional establishment, offering a refined culinary experience, charging a service fee for two people, then live up to that standard—or drop the pretentious act altogether. Limited menu choices are something I appreciate, as it shows the chef is focused on curating each dish thoughtfully. However, running out of key items, especially pasta, at 8:30 PM on a Saturday night is simply unacceptable, added to all the other stuff...

Our recent visit to this restaurant left us quite disappointed. While we had hoped for an enjoyable dining experience, several aspects fell short of expectations.Upon entering, we immediately noticed the dim lighting, which made the ambiance feel less inviting than we would have preferred.The most significant letdown, however, was the food. For an Italian restaurant, we expected authentic and flavorful dishes, but unfortunately, the quality was simply not up to par. The flavors were uninspired, and the overall execution of the dishes was underwhelming.Adding to the disappointment was the pricing. We paid 1200zl for three starters (2 tomato salads and one focaccia) and three main courses (rabbit steak and squid) which felt excessively high given the mediocre quality of the food. The value for money was certainly not there.Regarding the service, our waiter, while not overtly hostile, was not particularly friendly or engaging. We made an effort to speak Polish, but he consistently responded in English, which felt a bit dismissive. While this wasn't our primary concern (as good food is paramount for us), it contributed to a less than ideal experience.In conclusion, our visit to this Italian restaurant was unfortunately disappointing. The combination of the dark atmosphere, subpar food quality, and exorbitant prices makes it difficult to recommend. This was our first and likely our last visit. I know that it's hard to find good meat in Poland, but still 80$ for a steak? I have no words. It wasn't even that good.

By the way, the steak came with just the steak and 3 small potatoes smashed with a fork with parmesan on top, great 😃 not up to the standards of a Michel recommandation.

300$ for 3 people without drinks, just too much , you can go to a much nicer...

Theatrical Dining, but Not Quite a Masterpiece Warsaw's dining scene, especially at the upscale end, often feels like a performance, and La Luce is a prime example of a restaurant where the theater of the experience can overshadow the substance on the plate. The food, in a word, is decent, but it falls short of being truly great. Take the beef tartare, for instance. It seems to have an identity crisis, unsure whether to embrace its Polish or Italian heritage. Unfortunately, the flavor of the otherwise good beef was completely overpowered by anchovies that tasted less than fresh, a culinary misstep that killed the dish. There were, however, some highlights. The orecchiette with black truffle was a standout, featuring a wonderfully aromatic sauce that was rich and savory. My only small quibble was the cooking time; while the pasta was technically al dente, it felt like it had been precooked, lacking that distinct freshness of just-cooked pasta. The dessert, on the other hand, was a mistake. I ordered the baba, a dessert with Polish roots that, in its Neapolitan form, should be light, spongy, and swimming in flavor. What arrived was a soggy, dense cake drowning in sauce, a far cry from the classic I was hoping for. The pricing was another point of contention. The open wines and grappa were extraordinarily expensive, a cost that seemed disproportionate to the overall quality of the meal. The staff, while certainly trying, gave the impression of being more knowledgeable than their patrons, which can feel a bit off-putting. In the end, La Luce offers an "okay" meal at inflated prices. It lacks the warmth and authenticity of a true Italian restaurant, and while the food is passable, it’s a performance that doesn’t quite stick...