Luca — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

My friend and I reserved a table on a Saturday night. We needed a credit card to reserve the table. We were welcomed and seated right away. Loved the ambiance. Upscale and inviting. Attractive decor. Tables are set apart from each other so you’re not obliged to listen to other diner’s conversations although music was a bit too loud (I was sitting directly beneath a speaker).

Server was very friendly, knowledgeable & attentive but not overly so which can be annoying, and was the best part of our experience.

Bread was served first to the table and it was dreadful although it was served with a tasty spread. It was doughy and not crusty whatsoever. Reminded me of packaged bread. Bad bread is the first sign of what may come.

Next up was the tuna carpaccio with chick peas, chilis and capers (all 3 of them lol) and it was surprisingly tasteless. Thinly sliced but just blah. Huge disappointment for both of us who opted for the same starter.

Casarecce a la Vodka was tasty but nothing fabulous. Pasta was perfectly cooked and portion size was generous. (We both opted for the $79 prix fix btw.).

I ordered a glass of the Super Tuscan and was turned off by the chilled red wine. When I inquired why it was so cold, the manager came over and said they store all the red wine at 61degrees. He offered to open another bottle but if they uniformly store it at that temp then no thank you. The glass had condensation on it. Not enjoyable.

Entrée: Veal Chop for me and lamb for my friend. Veal chop was incredibly moist and tender. Practically fork tender BUT way over-salted which detracted from my enjoyment of this favorite and it was a $10 upcharge. Accompanying cremini mushrooms added nice texture but there wasn’t even one or two bites of veggies on the plate. Guess I would’ve had to order an $18 side for that.

Lamb dish was “interesting”. Two rib chops nicely cooked with a lamb sausage stuffed lamb belly! It was an odd, if not different, combination. Would’ve preferred another chop to that. It was served with root veggies that were very undercooked, practically raw and crunchy.

We ventured onto dessert…I had the lemon tart which was very tasty and my friend had Sicilian pistachio gelato which was yummy and would’ve been more than enough for two or more people! Both were $11 each.

We won’t go back anytime soon but if we do try it again, we know what NOT to get and will stick to a much scaled down a la carte. Our bill was $260 with tip. (We only had 3 glasses of wine between...

I came to Luca to celebrate Mother’s Day earlier and this is how it went. The ambiance was modern, nice and very cozy. My violet spritz was great. Our waitress was absolutely amazing! She was the best no complaints there but the food was not great at all! The artichoke & crab came with artichoke leaves and not actual artichokes which I expected when ordering. Definitely something they should disclose on the menu. The texture was very weird it was almost like they were trying to be creative but it didn’t work out lol there was nothing special about the salads either. Barely came with any dressing but the vegetables were very fresh. For our second course I got the tagliatelle bolognese which was very mediocre. Pasta was cooked well but the flavors weren’t there and very weird too had a tangy flavor to it. My mother got the lobster girasoli. This was very salty to the point she couldn’t eat it, this was sent back to the kitchen. My partner got the sunchoke ravioli which she claims was good but missing a little salt. I’m not too sure because shes very easy to please lol. For my last course I got the Duroc pork chop, good cut of meat but nothing special about it. Missing flavor, a little more salt would of went a long way but still wouldn’t have made it a great dish. My mom got the potato crust halibut, the fish was great but wasn’t the biggest fan of the sauce. Lastly my partner got the chicken parm. This was probably the best thing on the menu from our experience. These dishes were expensive and mediocre at best and came with no sides. I’ve been to a whole lot of restaurants between New York and New Jersey and this place is at the bottom of my list. I wouldn’t recommend anyone dining here. There are way better restaurants out there with bigger portions and great flavor for the fraction of these prices. I hope all of these negative reviews got to you before booking here because they do have a $25 fee if you want to cancel same day. Which is crazy to me because as people we should have free will to change our minds and go where we went to spend our money. This is what happened to me morning of, Wanted to change the restaurant but would of been charged and got stuck...

Tried Luca and was delighted to have this caliber of restaurant mid-island. Luca’s team shows strong efforts in conceptualizing their cooking, plating and service while taking comfort Italian food to lofty heights. For $85, a four course tasting menu allows you to choose from several options under the categories: appetizer, pasta, entree and dessert. The interior is contemporary with clean lines all the while capturing a cozy warmth.

I ordered a mezcal margarita that packed a punch while remaining balanced in flavor which, surprisingly, is hard to find at many restaurants. Their wine collection is extensive.

Not part of tasting: Prosciutto accompanied with thinly sliced pecorino..a delicious pairing and must order for the table.

Organic Romaine aka Caesar Salad: loved the perfect amount of savory dressing and slight seasoning on the cheese that submits additional crunch. I would order this time and time again. Underrated bonus: the lettuce was actually cold! It seems some restaurants don’t chill their lettuce and veggies enough for a salad.

Anolini: Deliciously comforting. These were little pasta discs filled with ricotta and served in a balanced sweet and savory honey butter sauce. My first bite made me wish I already had more than they served. I realized towards my last bite that they served the perfect amount of Anolini- no more, no less. Well executed.

Chicken Parm: Crunchy, flaky crust on tender chicken in a really light pomodoro sauce. I appreciate how light the pomodoro sauce was due to it’s mix of olive oil. The mozzarella melted perfectly atop was easy to cut through and didn’t get messy. Blistered tomatoes on vine were a delicious bite.

Dessert: Pistachio Gelato is outstanding. The balance between nutty and mildly sweet definitely made me wish I had another heaping scoop. I loved that it was served with a cocoa merengue to offer crunch for a play on textures. A drizzle of chocolate sauce on top.

Service was attentive without being overbearing. Servers and server assistants are on top of refreshing silverware for every course and the manager can be actively seen throughout the restaurant. Would totally recommend Luca and will...