Lucia Ristorante / Winchester — Restaurant in Winchester

I never do reviews online about restaurants but I wanted to make people aware. My husband and I went there for a nice dinner to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. I had made reservations and we were seated promptly on time. The waitress came to the table to take our drink order. I asked for a drink menu, as I was interested in a martini, she snapped back, we don't have a drink menu, we have a full bar what do you want? I told her what I wanted...she proceeds to say, "well, what's in that"? Um, hello, if you have a full bar, go ask the bartender. I'm the paying customer. That set the tone for the rest of the night. Every time I tried to talk to her it was like we were bothering her. And, unless I imagined it, she just kept winking at my husband, lol. It was like I was non-existent (little did she know I was the one who would pay the bill and tip her) It was very obvious. Anyway, we get through the meal, had dessert, paid the bill and left. The food was mediocre at best. I won't go back. But that isn't what I'm writing about. We were there on a Saturday night. Monday morning, I checked my bank statement. Our bill was inflated by over $80.00!!!!!! Based on the cost of the dinner and tax, I left her a very generous $30.00 tip (which she didn't deserve) but she somehow THOUGHT or ACCIDENTALLY put it in as $80.00. REALLY? The bill was only $128.00 I wasn't going to tip her $80.00. I called the restaurant, spoke to the manager and he rectified the situation for me immediately. He was a super nice man, but she was a bit shady and kind of rude. I don't know if I believe this could be accidental. The whole night wasn't the vibe I was looking for after reading the reviews, I had thought it would be a great place to celebrate an anniversary. Never again. Too loud, too rushed and then the whole thing with the bill. NO THANKS! Just be aware to check your bank statements. I'm sure we weren't the only ones this...

I have to admit, I was let down a little bit about this place, having been wanting to go to this place for some time. The ambiance was there, a good Holiday vibe. A nice half round booth for two was comfortable, until I looked at the space between the seat cushions had food debris, I got a little skeived. Our waitress was a Rockstar, very nice, sociable, gave us time to soak the vibe in. We ordered Caprece Salad and meatballs for starters. The so called salad, consisted of 3 thin slices of tomato with an almost invisible dribble of balsamic dressing, and very little small pieces of fresh basil, Really ??? The meatballs were firm , warm not hot,with a doble of ricotta cheese, very little tomato sauce, which was runny/watery, not a a good sign, in my mind. My Sweetheart got the eggplant with veal and fresh Fuccili in a small bowl side,which she said was good, but the sauce definitely needed to be tightened-up, was watery. I got the Chicken Parmisean with no taste and very dry, skimpy with the watery sauce, I had to ask for more tasteless sauce. Even putting red pepper flakes and sprinkle cheese did not help this sauce, or chicken, major bummer, I'm sorry 😐. We split a slice of Chocolate cake, with no dollop of whip cream/ice cream, just a couple of small pizzelles. I don't drink alcohol, I got a ginger ale, my lady got a couple glasses of wine, and the check was over $150.00 ! Pretty pricey for low quality food. Also, witnessed a woman cleaning tables just slinging food debris off the table on the floor, all over the edges of the table she was cleaning. I'm sorry, again , but that's not cool, healthy, or clean, I'll press "D" for all the above, add the no - flavor food , a fat check, not good first impression, this time. Had high hopes at the start,...

I normally NEVER write reviews — good or bad but felt I had to say something for the service we experienced tonight.

My husband and I have lived in Winchester for the past 2 years and decided to check out Lucia’s for the first time as it always seemed lively and has a cute area for outdoor seating. We were seated outside promptly but it all started going downhill after that.

We waited about 15 minutes before someone came by to give us water and then probably another 10 minutes before a different person came out with some bread and butter — the bread was warm, I’ll give them that. But then NO ONE came by again to take our order or even check in on us. At first I thought they were just busy and taking longer to get to us but I noticed servers seating, greeting, and taking orders for groups seated outside that came in AFTER US. The couple seated next to us even noticed and asked us if anyone has helped us. So finally after at least 40 minutes of just sitting around with our bread and water, we headed back in to let the hostess know the situation. She was apologetic but no one there seemed very concerned.

Even after all that, we decided to order takeout and waited another 20 minutes at the bar for the food to be prepared. I ordered the bolognese and it was okay but nothing special and definitely not worth the hassle and $50 we spent for two pasta dishes.

I really wanted to love this place because of how charming it looked. Maybe the service would have been better/more attentive if we decided to sit indoors but, really, who knows. All I know is that we sat around for 45 minutes with bread and water and not once did any staff come by to say hello or...