Lucina Eatery & Bar — Restaurant in Denver

Took the family out for the wife's birthday dinner recently. I had pretty high expectations going in based on reviews, and a menu where I wanted to eat EVERYthing. Too often in the past when I've had such expectations, they've not been met, and I would leave a place feeling as if all I did was pay a lot for some mediocre food with a hefty side of hype.

Not so with Lucina. This was easily the best overall dining experience I've had in Denver in years and years.

The food was all very well prepared with great flavor and creative interpretations of classic Latin dishes. Ceviche, mussels, mogfongo, arroz con pollo, and churrasco is what we enjoyed. Everybody really enjoyed everything. Our server did tell us the platos were more substantial than typical tapas plates. While true, the portion sizes did challenge me ,in some cases, for how they were priced. $24 for a small-ish bowl of very good mussels in delicious broth was tough to swallow. And for a guy that largely subsisted on mofongo in the Dominican joints of Upper Manhattan way back in the day, the small serving we got at Lucina, kinda hurt.

But I get it. Everything is more expensive now, for everybody, and restaurants, even successful ones, are already riding the razor thin profit line. At the end of the day, I would rather have a smaller amount of delicious food that everybody at the table can experience, than a heaping plate of mofongo or a giant bowl of mussels (which isn't to say I don't want those too...) The churrasco exceed expectations portion-wise, so everything kind of evened out in the end. Next time we will definitely be trying the larger plates and the paella, and hopefully, eventually, everything else on the menu.

Our server was knowledgeable, fun, and helpful but not overbearing. He was a great ambassador for the place. It was pretty obvious that while he was our guide, Lucina is a team operation with lots of talented folks working behind the scenes.

The atmosphere was charming, if loud at times (waving my inner old man's angry fist in the air, but do I want a quiet restaurant, really?).

The clincher of the evening was when the owner came over to introduce himself and chat with us afterwards. This harkens back to a different time when that was the norm in many places. Other restaurants in Denver and beyond should take a page out of Lucina's book if they are really interested in building a loyal customer base.

Needless to say, looking very forward to returning to continue in my quest to eat everything Lucina...

We’ve eaten here a few times and have enjoyed the food, the atmosphere is vibrant (although the acoustics are loud for conversation). It’s been a great addition to the neighborhood. With that said, I won’t return based on the front desk service.

I went in for a gift certificate for a friend as this is her favorite spot. There were 3-4 employees gathered at the front host stand at 4pm on a Thursday before service. As I came in I was awkwardly greeted.

Next, one young gal tried to help me with purchasing the gift. She seemed unsure how to do that and left the host stand — she didn’t communicate with me that she was leaving for help, but I assumed so. Shortly she returns with a young guy who takes the hand-held ordering console, doesn’t say hello, asks for my phone number, ‘what’s a good name for you’ and asks for my order. He seems surprised that I want a gift certificate. We begin working on that, he gets a phone call, and walks away without any communication to me.

At this point my face must show utter confusion: what is going on? Then a manager comes over to the host stand with an intensity that he is there to solve a problem and handle an angry guest. I have shown no anger, not raised my voice. The tone he takes with me is condescending and rude telling me he’s here to handle the ‘tense situation’. I’m thinking: what? Every step of the exchange with him was not how you treat a person, let alone a guest trying to purchase $50 from you.

I did complete my purchase as a friend specifically requested this place, but I left in disbelief of how I was treated. It was a terribly awkward exchange from start to finish — two young employees who lacked really basic customer service / communication skills (forgivable and wouldn’t warrant a google review), to a rude manager (why I took the time to write a review), to then the same group of 4 employees hovering at the host station talking and looking at me as I left (highly unprofessional). Such an “icky” experience that I simply won’t go back. I’m bummed at this as I was looking to support a neighborhood spot and do a good deed...

I found the menu here very intriguing as I had never heard of several of the dishes. I spent some time researching before I could decide what I might want to order. That's usually not the case with my jaded palate, so it was fun to try something completely new.

I enjoyed a great, properly-composed mojito which is not easy to find in Denver. We started with the empanadas, two very large pastries stuffed with shredded chicken braised in sherry with an herb remoulade. The pastry was perfectly crispy and the chicken was tender and delicious. I did find the portion of remoulade stingy and would have preferred twice as much.

We continued with the tlacoyo cochinita, a native dish from Mexico that probably dates back to the Aztecs. This was a boat-shaped corn cake with slow roasted pork, refried beans, salsa macha (a native chile paste from Veracruz), pickled onions, and garlic sour cream. This was also a great mix of flavors with a perfect corn cake and tender meat.

Most of the menu is appetizers and "small" plates. Our server proudly explained that the portions were very large. This left us confused and disappointed. We would have very much liked to try two more dishes, but one appetizer and one small plate filled us up. I don't understand the large portions with such an interesting, sharable menu.

Other items on the menu wander from Spain to traditional dishes with Mayan and Aztec roots to Puerto Rico and El Salvador. Most of this is street food that has been tweaked and elevated to fine dining. We're eager to go back to try some of the other items.

Service was great. Our server was very helpful and had many suggestions. The space is long and very narrow, especially the front with a row of tables very close to the bar. My handicapped friend had difficulty navigating and we had to ask several people to move. The sound level is stupefying. We could barely hear the server and carrying on a conversation was almost impossible. We'd still like to return, although probably right at...