Lucia — Restaurant in Dallas

We had heard for so long that Lucia is one of the best restaurants in Dallas but had never gotten around to making a reservation and every time we tried walking in there wasn’t availability- which was such a good sign! After several months, last night we tried and succeeded! However, we were pretty disappointed.

The good- Service was great and atmosphere was nice. No complaints here! Our server was attentive but not overbearing. We sat at the bar and it was nice to watch them plate items, prepare appetizers, etc. The sourdough and butter is a MUST. Best thing we had all night. Absolutely delicious and both made in house Loved the warm olives served as soon as you are seated. Wine by the glass selection was good! All of the dishes were cooked perfectly.

The ehhhh not so great- We ordered the octopus appetizer, taglierini pasta, and pork shank. As stated above, everything was cooked perfectly. The octopus wasn’t rubbery, the pasta was Al dente, and the pork was fall-apart. However all items lacked the level of depth and complexity I would expect from a restaurant like Lucia. The octopus was served with items reminiscent of a deli sandwich- spicy aioli, pickled peppers, and grilled bell peppers. Seemed like a strange pairing and didn’t give Italian flavors, more like “southwest.” Honestly, it completely overpowered the octopus. The pasta had chunks of grilled bell peppers as well, which took away from the delicate pasta, which again was cooked wonderfully! The sauce was flavorful, though overly salty. The pork was really tasty, but also was missing something. The sauce was creamy and lacked much flavor, the pork was so rich, and then topped with shallots and mushrooms that were cooked in lots of butter. It needed something to balance those flavors- some sort of acid maybe? Or something to give it more depth like char, coffee, smoke, etc

All in all, everything was “good” but was not “great” which is...

My oh my this place. It was absolutely wonderful from the time we walked in until we walked out. Immediately we were warmly welcomed by the owner, chatting with us while our table was cleaned up (we got there a bit early. Parking in the area can be difficult) and we were sat promptly.

Upon our seating, my husband & I decided purchasing a bottle of wine was the right way to go, and their wonderful owner came over & talked us through her recommendations based on what we had zeroed in on the menu (more on that in a bit). We ordered the bottle of Chianti & I did not feel pressured to purchase the most expensive or fancy, just an honest recommendation to accompany our meal.

We ordered the chef’s salumi & it was absolutely delicious. It easily could have fed 4, but we had a bit of everything & boxed the rest. The focaccia was some of the best food I’ve ever had. The breadstick wrapped in fat? Out of this world.

We decided to do 2 pastas, and they were both just..easily top 5 best bites of food. The cacio y pepe bucatini was so creamy and flavorful & the pasta cooked perfectly. The Roman style gnocchi was different than your traditional gnocchi, but the bite I had with the duck confit was just incredible. I can’t say enough good things about it. Order it. You will not be disappointed.

We shared the pork belly porcetta for an entree (or secondi) and again, just out of this world. It was so tender & the flavors were balanced so nicely between the fatty pork & salty, sweet shell pea dish that accompanies the pork belly.

We ended the night with coffee & Earl Gray tiramisu. Again, one of the best bites of dessert I had.

Everything from the hospitality, ambiance, food & location of Lucia is designed for an incredible dining experience that is nice without being stuffy. I cannot wait until we return. Thank you for a...

Some 5 years after my previous review I am happy to say Lucia still remains at the top of my list for the entire city. They moved into a new larger space (formally their sister restaurant Macellaio), and it affords a spaciousness that the older location lacked. Don’t read this thinking it's easy to get a seat. Reservations still regularly sell out weeks in advance so plan accordingly. The kitchen will take you on a tour across all of Italy, doing what so many restaurants fail to do, educating the dinner and exposing them to flavors and textures that are exciting and delicious. The front of house team is impeccable outlining exactly what each pasta is, where each sauce comes from, and even the local purveyors they get the various proteins and vegetables from. As mentioned in my previous review, this isn’t an Italian-American red sauce kind of place; be prepared for familiar but vastly new interpretations of dishes you may or may not know. TL:DR Eat here now!

Easily the best Italian food in the city, some may say the best food period. Everything from the service, to the food was top notch. Prices for food and wine are both very reasonable somewhere in the $30 range. The only problem with this place is getting a seat, but I guess that is the price you pay for food this good. Justin Holt is the chef making the magic in the kitchen these days. If you are lucky enough to exchange a word or two with him, your best bet is just to have him pick whatever he thinks is best that night and let him surprise you. I honestly have never had a bad meal here, I have never even had a "meh" meal here for that matter. Let me be very clear that this is not a "spaghetti and meatballs" kind of place be prepared to have truly one of a kind meal and...