Lucano — Restaurant in City of Rochester

This place is the epitome of the idiom "don't judge a book by its cover." Nestled in the centre of a tacky little strip mall with a trashy bubble gum pink awning running the length of it. The kind of little strip mall where you expect that no matter which storefront door you enter, it's going to open upon a dingy laundromat with one of its florescent lights flickering anemically while a woman who's four days older than fire leers over her tabloid to mark your entrance, cigarette hanging from her mouth.

But lo, doth outer appearances deceive — for behind the front door of Ristorante Lucano lies a delightful hidden gem! Past tastefully appointed little bar/lounge and host station, this lovely eatery is broken into three cosy little dining rooms. Linen napkins rest upon linen table cloths, alcoves abound with various assortments of wines, and the walls have that colour of Tuscan architecture with little frescoes and murals and esoteric collections of letters in the walls likely harkening back to some ancient Roman custom.

The menu is well stocked with starters, numerous pasta dishes, and a third page of non-pasta entrées. The staff were friendly and professional. Our server, Ashley, informed us of numerous specials including bone-in ribeye, bone-in veal chops, a salmon entrée, sea scallops, and a few I'm forgetting. After a couple of starters, I had the scallops with wonderfully perfect grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes. My friend had the rack of lamb with spinach and potatoes. We swapped bites and I can say that both dishes were executed marvelously. We stayed for desserts, a tiramisu and a berry tart, that were both very well done — paradoxically rich and light, sweet and refreshing.

The interior of this place, its brilliantly prepared food, and its charming ambiance all leave one feeling like that exterior door in a strip mall that time, good taste, and god forgot, is actually some trans-dimensional portal to a pocket universe where its creator decided all the alien physics of that realm would exist solely to serve perfectly delectable food in a warmly...

Last night a friend treated my wife and me to our first dining experience at Ristorante Lucano. It has been a favorite of his for years. His remarks seemed too good to be true. It turned out that they were no exaggeration.

Upon entering we were greeted with a warm friendly smile by the hostess who I believe to be co-owner JoAnn Formoso. We loved the initial ambiance and even more so the dining area’s in which we were seated by a very friendly and attentive maître d’ who I believe was co-owner Chuck Formoso – JoAnn’s husband. Our server, Chris, was attentive and very helpful with guidance and explanations of menu items and specials alike. Working together Chris and Chuck ensured our water glasses were monitored for refilling, appetizer dishes promptly removed upon finishing, and likewise with our entrée dishes.

With Chris’s’s experienced assistance we each made selections that were exactly what we hoped for and more! We started with and tremendously a Shrimp and Calamari appetizer special that was delicious due to the flavor of the proteins and the delicate crust and accompanying sauce. The portion was perfect for three hungry people. My friend and I each opted for the Veal Chop (which I believe was a special). The 12 ounce portion was filling but even more importantly was the most delicious veal chop I have ever eaten. Our garlic mashed potatoes, and buttery carrots were perfect and tasty sides. My wife found her Pappardelle ala Montanara (pappardelle with sausage, mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes and sauce) to be outstanding – so much so that she would be hard pressed not to order it again. After all of this we thought that we finished with a beautifully plated and delicious Ripieni (lemon sorbet served in lemon shells) only to be presented with a complimentary Profiterois (a cream puff filled with chocolate and coated with vanilla cream) that was “to die for”!

Our evening with our friend at Ristorante Lucano was truly excellent by every measure! It might have been our first experience here – but it certainly won’t...

Took my girlfriend to Lucano's to give her an authentic Italian experience. Reservations were made 3 days in advance for a Friday night, and were necessary; the place was packed for the entire 2+ hours we were there.

The service was beyond exceptional; everybody there was very knowledgable and helpful.

We did a traditional primo/secondo piatto dinner. In the antipasto, we had caprese, which was tasty and light. I had the orechiette lucane for my pasta plate, which was good and the perfect size for a primo piatto. My girlfriend had one of the zuppa del giorno's, which was a purée of cauliflower, carrot, and lemon zest; her soup was unbelievable. For the meat plate, I had veal medallions with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus, and my girlfriend had beef with grilled zucchini and broccoli. Both meat dishes were well made. My sides weren't outstanding, in particular the asparagus was underwhelming, but my girlfriend's grilled zucchini was great.

For desert, I had tartufi, and my girlfriend had the toasted almond cake. We also some of the liquor in grand marnier and glenlivet, both of which were reasonably priced for a restaurant. My tartufi was very good; the toasted almond cake was one of the best deserts I've ever had. We put a little of the grand marnier on the sponge cake, and it gave the sponge cake an edge it didn't have before and came out fantastic. If you're going to go to Lucano's, order the toasted almond cake if you like almonds; it will blow you away.

After the desert course, I ordered Amaro. Lucano's put the Amaro on the house, which was very gracious of them.

The nicest thing is that even though we spent well over two hours in the restaurant, we never once felt rushed to leave. My girlfriend commented that it felt like we were in somebody's home in Italy.

Altogether, Lucano's had very good food, exceptional service, exceptional desert and wine, and was a five star experience. It was a great...