Luce Secondo — Restaurant in Chesapeake

“Outstanding Service and Cocktails — Food Needs Flavor to Match the Hype”

Starting with the bad so we can end on a high note: I’m not an Italian food expert, but I know quality and what to expect from listed flavors—and unfortunately, several dishes missed the mark.

One major letdown was the use of white truffle oil. One item I was very excited to see on a menu after reading over the menu for about a week in advance. Several dishes promised it, and I was excited walking in. But the flavor was practically nonexistent. Real truffle oil should have a strong, earthy aroma that punches throughout the restaurant—you shouldn’t have to hunt for it.

The carpaccio was probably the best starter, but again, the missing truffle oil flavor was disappointing. The escargot had a nice peppery bite but lacked real depth, and the crostini seemed an odd pair, as it didn’t soak up the sauce the way a softer bread would have. The burrata was a complete miss—the balsamic pearls looked good for presentation but added nothing to the flavor; sometimes trendy doesn’t work. The tuna crudo had ground black truffle, but once again, the truffle was nowhere to be found. The only dish where I actually noticed any truffle oil was in the mashed potatoes.

The biggest disappointment was the 45-day aged ribeye. I’ve had aged steaks before and know what to expect—but parts of this steak tasted spoiled. Not funky, not buttery, not even nutty—spoiled. I only managed about five bites before I decided to stop. Unfortunately, no one came by to check if I was enjoying the meal, and by the time they did, it was too late. I ended up boxing it and taking it home, but it was a clear miss.

Now for the good: The pasta was excellent—big, bold flavors and fresh, perfectly cooked noodles. The tuna crudo (especially when paired with the sourdough toast) was actually very good. And the wild boar ragù? Absolute star of the night—rich, creamy, and without the gamey flavor you might expect from wild boar.

The cocktails were another strong point. As a mixologist myself, I appreciated how thoughtful and well-balanced they were. I ordered the Bold and Boozy—and while it didn’t use real Yellow Chartreuse (something I caught immediately and the bar manager later confirmed), the drink was still well-crafted and enjoyable.

Biggest win of the night: the service. Despite a slow start (it took about 30 minutes after seating to get our first round of drinks), our server was fantastic. One server did break a wine glass while clearing the table, but accidents happen. We ordered about 20 dishes, and they didn’t write a single thing down—yet every course was correct and landed in the right seat. That’s rare. The entire staff was attentive and kind, and the executive chef even came by the table on his day off, which was a nice touch.

The ambiance was lively and cozy, rounding out the evening.

Final take: Service and cocktails were outstanding. But the kitchen has some serious work to do on ingredient execution—especially when you’re promising aged steaks and truffle flavors. My friends and wife enjoyed the meal for the most part so we’ll probably be back...

AWESOME FOOD AND SERVICE ATMOSPHERE AND QUALITY TABLES AND CHAIRS WORTH THE HIGH PRICES President Trump promised to lower costs for American families. Instead, he has started an international trade war that is harming American businesses and raising the cost of everyday goods. That’s why I’m challenging his tariffs on Canadian and Brazilian products.

Earlier this year, Trump launched a trade war with Canada—one of America’s closest allies and trading partners. This week, I traveled to Ottawa, Canada, with Virginia FREE on a trade mission to meet with Virginian and Canadian businesses to discuss the importance of our trade relationship and ways we can strengthen it. One thing was clear: Trump’s tariffs, which Americans overwhelmingly oppose, are doing the opposite.

Not only is Trump’s trade war with Canada harming U.S. relations with a close ally—it’s hurting our economy. Since Trump announced his tariffs, the exports of U.S. distilled spirits to Canada have declined by 62 percent, and Canadian tourism to the U.S. has dropped by almost 40 percent. In Virginia, Canada was our largest export market in 2024, accounting for 15 percent of the Commonwealth’s exports.

We must end this senseless trade war. In March, I introduced bipartisan legislation to undo the tariffs Trump imposed on Canada through a February 2 emergency order. That legislation passed the Senate in a 51-48 vote, but the House of Representatives refused to vote on it. Last week, I reintroduced the legislation, and in the coming weeks, every Senator will once again go on the record about whether they stand with their constituents who want lower prices or with Trump’s ridiculous tariff regime.

Learn more about my bipartisan legislation to undo Trump’s taxes on Canadian goods here

In addition to his trade war with Canada, Trump has declared tariffs on billions of dollars of goods from Brazil. Americans import more than $40 billion annually from Brazil, including nearly $2 billion’s worth of coffee—a product that can’t be grown in the U.S.—and trade between our nations supports nearly 130,000 American jobs. A trade war with Brazil would only raise costs for Americans, erase American jobs, and harm both of our economies. What makes these tariffs all the more ridiculous is the fact that Trump has admitted that the reason he imposed these tariffs is to punish Brazil’s judicial system for prosecuting its former president for inciting a violent mob in an attempt to overturn the results of an election that he lost.

Learn more about my bipartisan legislation to undo Trump’s taxes on Brazilian goods here

My colleagues on both sides of the aisle know the reality of these tariffs: American consumers will pay the price. My bills are commonsense legislation to protect our economy, American businesses, families, consumers, and our relationships abroad.

I look forward to keeping in touch and hearing about the issues that matter most to you. If you or a loved one needs help with a federal agency, please reach out to a member of my staff here. If you’d like to receive updates on my work in...

My wife and I decided at the last minute to dine out. We have wanted to try this restaurant for quite some time. Since the stars aligned and we were hoping, since it was a Wednesday evening they wouldn’t be too busy…it all worked out. No reservations and we were seated in less than five minutes. The menu items descriptions are mouth watering and from what we had, deservedly so! The details in everything were just great. If you don’t know, Luce in Italian means “light” and there is plenty of it in the restaurant but not blindingly so. More of a comforting ambience if you will. My steak knife was another small detail, it was a beautiful Damascus steel steak knife. I know I am bouncing around on this review, my apologies. Let’s talk food; I had the dry aged bone-in ribeye with roasted garlic and white truffle mash. My wife chose the wild boar ragu with house made pasta and also ordered scallops as an add on. We also had calamari as an appetizer. Hands down, one of the best meals/experience we have had in the area. My Ribeye was cooked to perfection and had just the right amount of salt that is needed for a dry aged steak! Their Demi-glacé was perfect and an amazing sauce for under the ribeye for presentation. It didn’t drown out the flavor of the steak but really enhanced it! My wife that doesn’t care for mashed potatoes, kept sneaking bites of mine. The combination of roasted garlic, white truffles and a dairy is not an easy balance…and yet they did so with flying colors. My wife’s wild boar pasta made me reminisce of our times in Italy with all the fresh ingredients and pasta. All the flavors are prominent with the boar still being the star. The scallops were a perfect sear on each side! Our only gripe, and this is nitpicking, was that there was no lemon wedge served with the calamari as is customary in Southern Italian cuisine calamari. Oh, and an espresso or limoncello after service…but hey, I have to remind myself we aren’t in Italy. Our waiter Tanner was amazing and attentive without being pushy on menu items. He was ready to answer any questions and made honest and great recommendations. He paired a couple of nice wines to go with my items and my wife’s water never went empty. He was polite and courteous as well as knowledgeable about the menu items. Bottom line, we decided after our appetizer that we would be coming back. We really enjoyed the ambience, food and staff. Our experience with Luce Secondo was top notch. The quality of the ingredients was exceptional. We weren’t annoyed by the staff hovering over us constantly, but they were ready to assist if needed. Obviously, I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant that has more officially became our...