Lugana — Restaurant in London

Lugana is normally one of my favourite places to eat - somewhere I recommend to friends , and return to time and time again. That’s why my latest visit was such a letdown. Typically Lugana delivers on every front; warm hospitality, delicious food and a welcoming atmosphere. This time, however, things didn’t quite come together. Service was unusually slow and indifferent- a far cry from the attentive staff I am used to. Waiting staff rushed past, missing visual cues that attention was required. When they did come, they looked over or through us. Food took a very long time to come- so long in fact that we skipped dessert it was so late. The patrons were loud, the music was loud which prevented easy conversation between our party. To their credit, the menu and food preparation are still bright spots in the evening. The food, when it did arrive, was as usual excellent (one incorrect dish - the person taking the order was looking over the top of us, not listening to us) but undeniably delicious. Overall however the evening didn’t live up to the high standards I have come to expect from Lugana. Given their track record, I’m willing to chalk this up as a one off. I look forward to giving them another chance. Hopefully, next time they’ll remind me why they became a favourite in the first place.

UPDATE: After a disappointing visit I was pleasantly surprised when the restaurant personally reached out to apologize and take responsibility. Their sincerity and commitment to making things right really stood out. While our experience that night wasn’t great, I appreciate the effort they’ve made and will give them another try soon....

Booked a last minute reservation with Lugana for my wife’s birthday. Genuinely had an amazing experience, the atmosphere was lively, the dining area had warmth and was packed with customers, not a single empty table. The food felt as if we were dining in Italy itself, I had chosen Penne Arrabiata, the chef kindly swapped the penne to spaghetti upon my request, and honestly it was the best pasta I have had in years, loads of garlic and the right amount of spice.

Above all, what we loved about Lugana was its friendly staff. We had a lovely waitress in Sofia, who attended to our every need, we had our 20 month old son with us, before we even needed to ask, she had us covered, whether it was to keep him occupied whilst we ate, to getting us refresher tissues to clean up plus all her recommendations were on point with regards to the food. She also noted that it was a special occasion in terms of my wife’s birthday, without even me telling her. The staff sang happy birthday as well as put a candle on our tiramisu.

Will definitely go again, such a wonderful...

Although we have been living in the area for 30 years and our GP surgery is only across the road, we have never sample this establishment. In the past we tried to book for Christmas but never succeeded. Today, we went there with junior for lunch. It was pretty quiet at first. The lunch time menu looked very tempting and value for money for 2 or 3 courses. With her indoor has allergic reaction to garlic and chive, we were very careful with the ingredients. I asked the waiting staff if it is possible to leave out the garlic in the preparation and they were very obligingly on the request. Our prawn starter was perfectly cooked and presented beautifully on the dish whereas the wife’s soup of the day was huge as a starter. The main dishes were mini steak and fillets of fish and prawn. The mini steak wasn’t as expected small, it was a large piece of meat comparable to normal 8oz elsewhere, All the dishes were beautifully presented and above all, cooked to perfection. It really brings back the pleasure of eating out, something we have missed...