Pizzeria LUCA — Restaurant in Manheim Township

I checked out Pizzeria Luca for the first time this evening, and a lot of what the other reviewers have said is spot on: the atmosphere is fairly nice, especially with the outdoor patio area.

They have a useful system when waiting for a table that texts you when your table is ready, handy at busy times when you may want to shop nearby to pass the time.

As others have said, the ordering system via QR codes is quirky. On one hand it provides the benefits of not having to wait for a server to place an order, not risking the server getting the order wrong, and it also allows for easily splitting the check at payment time. However, a server still comes to your table to "check on you", bring any food and drinks you've ordered, and expects a tip for doing so. Why not have them take the food and drink orders as well? (while still preserving the ability to pay by table QR code). It's a peculiar hybrid system that's a bit off-putting.

Other oddities include no prices on the paper menus - just the online one. Drink refills are also peculiar. Another reviewer said they were told you need to pay, yet there's no menu option to order a drink refill. We didn't ask our server about a refill, but then at the end of our meal after we already paid we were offered a complimentary drink refill. Sodas are only $2, which is a bit less than average for restaurants, so it was ambiguous as to whether a refill was included.

It seems like some things Luca's is trying to do are difference for the sake of difference, without necessarily improving anything for the restaurant or the customer. Innovation can be a good thing, and it's hard to make progress without trying new things. That said, the basic mechanics of going to a restaurant, getting table service, and ordering from your server is a tried and true system. Free drink refills on iced tea and sodas are the norm in almost all restaurants. Raise the price $1 if necessary to be able to do this at Luca's; it just makes the entire experience better for guests.

The pizza itself is good. I'm undecided if it's worth the higher than average price; you can get an exceptionally good pizza in Lancaster from Ninos and Caruso's for much less. Others in my family are big fans of Lucas, so I'm willing to give it another try. They have some unique and tasty menu choices, including a stuffed crust offering that would be fun to try.

If you're looking for a different pizza experience with some higher end options, give...

EDIT: I'm just lowering this to one star at this point. Doing business with this place is so frustrating. Having no reservations is inconvenient to begin with but it turns out ordering takeout to avoid that in-person experience is just as frustrating. It's almost like they don't want to do business with people. We wouldn't have gone back but someone gave us a gift card. We figured we'd avoid the unpleasant experience of eating there and ordering with an app by just placing a takeout order online. Well...while there is a gift card option to use online, it just simply wouldn't work for us. So we tried to call them to see how we could use the gift card online but they have a recording that says "this number has call restrictions in place that prevents the call from completing". They literally just don't take phone calls. So the food is good, the prices are bad, and the experience of ordering or dining in is just abysmal. It's a shame that a place with pretty good food can be undone by making everything SO inconvenient.

I'd say overall, Luca Pizzaria is just OK. It is definitely the best gluten free crust I've ever had, but the pizzas themselves were just kinda average and not worth the price. I tried a piece of 4 different pizzas while I was there and they were all good, but they just weren't great, and for the price they charge for everything, it would need to be great to warrant coming back. What was great was the desert La Dolce Vita... On my first bite I didn't think I wanted the olive oil in it but as I polished it off, I realized it would definitely be missing something special without it. At the very least, it was very unique and complicated while still being quite tasty. Next favorite part was the scopa, which was delicious. It was really only the pizzas that disappointed. Again, not because they are bad - they were probably close to some of the best I've had - but because they weren't anything special and didn't live up to the price.

It was very busy on a Wednesday evening, which is fine, but I can't say that I really enjoyed the ordering experience having to use a QR code and a phone to do it. While I get that it is technically more efficient, it really takes away the experience of having a knowledgeable server that can recommend and talk about different aspects...

Knowing that their flagship Luca is solid but overpriced due to lack of competition in Lancaster/central PA, we tried Luca knowing it would also be solid but overpriced.

The reality fell far below our expectations.

TL:DR Pizzeria Luca is trying to be Joe Beddia when really they’re an upscale mod pizza.

Toppings: 5/5 Starting with the good, ingredients are high quality and flavor profiles are great. Of all the parts of pizza, this is is the easiest to pull of but they did it well.

Crust: 1/5 Dusty is the best way to describe it. It feels over kneaded or overproofed, with a cooking temperature too low to get a good initial rise out of the crust so it ends up just being dry and over cooked vs charred. For the claims and the price, the crust was probably the most disappointing part of the night.

Vibes/service: 1/5 Trying to be exclusive when they’re really not— having no reservation system or call ahead for takeout is just pretentious. Again, you’re not Joe Beddia and the food you’re pumping out is not worth it. Additionally, the bar space is too small to even have a drink to wait. I’m not going to Millers because they host neo nazis so hopefully another bar or two goes in if they’re going to keep up this ridiculousness even though their other restaurant has a perfectly fine resy system.

Ordering is online through a qr code which is fine, but it’s not an excuse for ignoring your patrons. Also no prices on the menu?? Come on. Two known issues to servers existed but weren’t communicated to us: a backed up kitchen and flat soda. Because we weren’t sure who our server was or who we could ask for help, we had to flag down someone where they finally let us know these issues instead of letting us know when we ordered.

The heated patio was nice and we weren’t cold out there.

Affordability: 2/5 For $20 a pie I expect either larger or better tasting. Again, because of lack of competition I guess this is what passes as high end pizza in central pa. I’d much rather take a drive to Reading for Nonno’s or Akron for Nonna Rosa for better and cheaper above average pizza, or just go to Philly for angelo’s or beddia.

Zoe and 211 still the best...