Luciano’s

Loved this place. We’d been enjoying Lucian’s food since he was on the other end of the island. Gone but not forgotten.

It is my understanding that Lucian, the long time award winning French chef, has retired and sold the restaurant. That’s our loss. His Beef Wellington, when available as a special was the best I’ve ever had anywhere.
I don’t know who the new owner is nor what the future holds. Adiós, Lucian. You were truly one of the best. For you history buffs, Lucian was the executive chef at the old Beau Rivage at Ballena Bay in Alameda & then onto the Gold Coast Grill. He was one of the best chefs in the Bay Area.

CLOSED — They’re putting something else here now.

This restaurant closed. It is being re-​opened as a tapas restaurant called Bella Luna, or something like that.

I went here for a friend’s birthday. We had about twenty people in our party give or take a few. The food here is good… a little pricier than I’m used to paying but for special occasions it’s a good choice. I think us early birds waited for almost an hour before we ordered because our server waited for the entire party to arrive before placing them. They threw in a free salad with everyone’s entrees. If you like Italian food, this is the place to go. There’s a wide variety of choices. I ordered the Chicken Milanese which was quite tasty. I wasn’t quite sure of the cornbread served with it, but that’s OK. We even sang happy birthday twice that evening. A woman sitting near us insisted our party sing to her sister after we sang to our guest of honour. The ambiance here is pretty nice. You can talk even if it’s crowded. Some dude was playing guitar and singing in the background but it was never too noisy where we’d have to shout across the table which is always a good thing if you’re with a large party. There’s also an upper level which looked quite pleasant as well. Check it out.

I love this place and am a bit confused at the not so good reviews. I hear the owner has been a chef in Alameda for over 20 years. And it shows… his food is soooo good! Their steak is the bomb… so so so so good. Somebody mentioned the house salad with endive, beets, gorgonzola and walnuts… OMG it’s awesome… and I don’t even like beets. Or thought I didn’t until having this salad. The seafood pizza is very good, as is the rack of lamb. The polenta is potentially the best polenta in the bay area.

It’s alright, I guess.
I’ve gone a few times and it’s just kind of OK. Not spectacular, not terrible, but not really cheap enough to make the mediocre rating seem fair. If I’m going to spend $ 15 on a salad, I want a little pizzaz and maybe a touch less dressing, we don’t need to drown the romaine, I ordered a salad, we can assume I enjoy lettuce. Maybe it’s more of a meaty place? The other reviewers seem to be gushing about non-​veg options, so keep that in mind if you eat there.
Last time I went we were in a large group and the place was empty (and freezing) and everything took fooooooreeeeeeever. The water, the bread, the entrees, the check. I hate waiting, and waiting in a quiet restaurant and feeling chilly is just uncomfortable.

I’ve had dinner at Luciano’s a few times and I have to say the food is really good. The roasted chicken and tortellini are absolutely delicious. I do worry about the fact that I’ve never seen it totally packed– I hope they succeed and stick around for a while, it’s a really cute restaurant and it’s right across the street from Lost Weekend!

Really delicious food in a quiet atmosphere… And despite the high quality of food, I’ve never had to wait for a table.
There some especially delectable and slightly unusual options at Luciano’s, like the house salad, which has a few extras like golden beets and endive on it, with the option for gorgonzola and walnuts (mmmm!!!). The potato onion soup is my husband’s favorite, and when they have lobster or crab it’s always been very nicely prepared. I had a melt-​in-​your-​mouth osso bucco there and plenty of outstanding pastas. They also serve pizza, but I’ve always been more tempted by other items on the menu.
Staff is friendly and attentive, it can be a bit pricey (especially when you go for the lobster or steak!) but the pastas are reasonably priced.
For dessert: 5 stars for the chocolate mousse!