Luce — Restaurant in Medford Township

Disappointing. We were excited to try the "new" place in town! Told it would be a "30 minute wait" on a Sat night for 6 people and that seemed reasonable. However, It took over an hour to be seated, despite several opportunities for them to push a 4 and 2 top together (gave them to other walk-ins). Finally, they pushed a 2 top up to a booth, which was not exactly comfortable but whatever.

Service was slow - it took 15 minutes for bread and drinks?!?! Food was merely ok but IMO not worth the price. The pork chop was dry, the mussels and spaghetti and meatball were average, and the calamari appetizer was tasty (but left my stomach in knots). Portions were on the small side, including clams casino and clams in red sauce. The drinks were excellent (but service was slow).

Craziest thing: my daughter (7) ordered the "kids chicken parm" for $9. A good deal, as it included ice cream. My son (9) was hungry, so he ordered the adult-sized chicken parm ($21). They came out at the same time and we could not tell them apart!

We rarely complain, but I had to ask. They waiter didn't really have an answer, so he referred me to the manager (I believe?) who told me:

Him: The portion size is the same, but we only charge $9 for the babies (kids)".

Me: "ok, so my 9 year old son, he will be charged $9 then? He's a kid."

Him: "no, he ordered the adult portion."

Me: "but you just said the portions are the same but the kids portion is $9?"

Him: "if he ordered the kids dinner, it would have been $9. But since he ordered the adult, its $21."

Me: (shaking my head, wondering why we didn't go get a nice huge slice of pizza down the street at LaBella) "ok, but do you realize what you are saying? It makes no sense!"

Him: "I realize what I'm saying, I'm not sure you are understanding".

Still shaking my head over this as I write it!

Total time spent from walking in to leaving: ~160 minutes Total bill: roughly $280 after tip Chance of coming back:...

I had high expectations when I first visited Luca six months ago. I ordered the scallops risotto, but the risotto was undercooked and needed a lot of seasoning to make it edible. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe I was having an off day, but unfortunately, my second visit this week didn’t live up to their reputation either.

The service was excellent both times, but the food was a different story. I started with the grilled calamari and octopus. The calamari was so tender you could cut it with a fork, but the grilled octopus was like shoe leather.($22.) My second appetizer was the Portobello lobster mushroom special for ($22). It was very disappointing— a tiny mushroom smothered in cream sauce and cheese, with more sauce than mushroom, and the flavor was underwhelming.

For my entrée, I had the Chicken Belladonna, which came with a small 4 oz piece of chicken and side of pasta ($22) (seriously, how much does chicken cost?). It was so thin and dry that it almost tasted like chiken liver pâté. Given the prices, I expected much better quality and a 6-8oz portion.

Overall, for a $100 food bill, the experience was frustrating. With four drinks, the total came to $146, and I didn’t feel it was worth it. With so many other options in Medford, I’d recommend looking elsewhere. I won’t be...

So we live 5 miles from Luce, and driven past it probably 1000 times... on our way out to dinner tonight, made a last second decision and pulled into the parking lot... We started our meal with a drink and zucchini fritti with a side of marinara. Excellent choice! Very light and tasty. For my dinner, I choose the Chicken Cacciatore. It was hands down the best I've ever had. My wife selected the Saltimbocca. She raved about it. Both dishes came with a fresh salad, side of fresh vegetables and an excellent serving of small potatoes. My daughter ordered the chicken parmigiana. It was served over angel hair pasta with a tasty red sauce. We all enjoyed our dinner. We didn't stop there. Although we were full, we each picked a dessert.. yes, we ordered 3 desserts. A red velvet cake with a cream filling. A peanutbutter caramel cream cake and a chocolate shell filled with chocolate mousse. Somehow we managed to eat most of it. Everything was excellent. Our server, Thomas was polite, knowledgeable and very friendly. Service was excellent. The price is on the higher side but the food is well worth it. I highly reccomend visiting Luce for an very...