Lucia’s Tavola

If I could give 0 stars I would. Arrogant and annoying server. An hour for entrees to come. Incorrect orders delivered. Spilled cocktails. Lastly, the «special» risotto cooked to the consistency of wallpaper paste. All of this for a table of six with reasonable expectations just out to have a good time. Save your money; they don’t care about repeat business.

Went to Lucia’s on a Friday night for the first time — it was completely empty when we first entered just after 5, but by 7 pm it was completely full.
Good atmosphere, and the food was excellent for a local restaurant.
I had the «crazy-​water» de marre loaded with lobster, scallops, shrimp & mussels — very fresh — over linguine.
My wife had the Pollo del Murattore — very tasty.
Both entrees were excellent.
Salads (Caesar, «Mother Earth — warm spinach & mushrooms) and desserts (Crème Brulee & another selection) were nice but not memorable.
We would recommend this restaurant and we definitely plan on returning to try other dishes.

It doesn’t matter how good the food is when you can’t actually get someone to call you back. My fiancé and I called and emailed at least 4 times – to have our rehearsal dinner of 30 people there – and never heard back until it was too late, and even then Katy didn’t answer our questions. Not cool.

While visiting from Texas we ate a Lucia’s two Saturday nights in a row (⁸⁄₁ and ⁸⁄₈). One night just the hubby and I went. The next Saturday I brought the family along with my parents. Both times were excellent. My husband travels all over and eats at top notch restaurants around the world and loved Lucia’s!
On date night we tried a variety of things… the fried olives appetizer were something totally different but delicious. My husband got a stuffed veal dish that was simply out of this world!!! Most tender, delicious veal I have ever had. My mother also ordered this dish and loved it. The chicken parmesan was light and delicious. My father, who is not a big eater, was able to eat all of the chicken because it was so light and delicate!
The only dessert we had on both evenings was the zabaglione. It was simply awesome!!!
The ambiance is small and cozy but still elegant. Makes for a great date night or family outing!
The prices are only a bit higher than what you would pay to eat at a crappy chain restaurant so don’t be intimidated. It’s worth a few extra bucks!!!

I brought my MIL to Lucia’s Tavola for her 75^th birthday. I have been there a few times before and the food and service have always been outstanding.
I called ahead to make sure that the bill came to me at the end of the night and to ask if they could do something to acknowledge the birthday girl. I was given a choice of desserts and arrangements were made to have it delivered tableside with a candle.
We arrived on time and were sat immediately. Our waiter, Matt, was very welcoming. He asked if we had been to the restaurant before. I said that I had but my table mates had not. He made sure to welcome them and thank me for introducing more people to the restaurant.
Drinks were ordered and we started to review the menu. Everything looks so good and it was hard to decide. MIL asked for the Aragosta e Gnocchi, lobster and handmade gnocchi in a sherry cream sauce, so we ordered one for the table. I would be happy eating this every day for forever. Light, creamy and totally addictive. The white whine sangria was sweet, citrusy and refreshing.
MIL ordered the veal Marsala and I had the salmon special with house made ricotta and pea ravioli. Our dining companion had the chicken Parmesan. Both were very happy with their choices. I loved the salmon and ravioli; my only complaint being that the peas and diced onions in the dish felt very under cooked, meaning I’d get hard little nuggets mixed in with the creamy sauce and delicate salmon.
After plates were cleared, Matt came to the table offering dessert. MIL and companion both declined. I tried to telepathically communicate with him, reminding him to bring the cake. Apparently my psychic powers were lacking that evening. He must have thought that us saying no meant to 86 the birthday dessert. MIL didn’t know I had requested the cake so she does not think she missed out on anything. .. and it’s not like any of us needed dessert or could have eaten any of it anyway, being happy and full on dinner.
Matt brought the check and handed it to me, so at least that part of the message got through.
Lucia’s Tavola is truly a hidden gem in Central Massachusetts. If you go, get the chocolate or lemon cakes. They are both incredible!
My MIL has already requested we go back the next time she is in town.
Oh and I second my fellow reviewer’s comments, with Belle’s Bistro now closed, how about opening a restaurant in Westford?

If you like Italian food, this is a great place to go. Not only is the pasta delicious, they have great seafood for a non-​coastal place.
The atmosphere is a little fancier than I think of being in Ayer, and the waiters are super friendly.
The eggplant Parmesan is a favorite of my parents, and I like the Alfredo sauce. Having been multiple times, I have always been treated to a delicious meal with prompt, kind service. (Also, the portions are large enough to save half for the next day!)
Highly recommend this place!

Went here again last night… still impressed.
We had the goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon served over risotto as an appetizer. The dates were overcooked but the risotto made up for it.
We followed that with the warm spinach salad which was great, but would be better with some shaved parm or pecorino.
I had the bolognese sauce with chicken and sausage with fresh strappolini (extra wide pasta) which I loved.
I really enjoy the concept of picking out a sauce, pasta style with an option of adding shrimp, chicken, sausage or meatballs.
They have a nice beer selection which offers the usual standards but with some local offerings as well.

A nice little Italian restaurant in a small little town. Very authentic, fresh, but a little over priced for my liking.
But this is my fifth visit to this place, so I must like it .
Also, the bartender is great, my girlfriend said the martini she had was the best she’s ever had.

We went on a midweek night, place was about half to ¾ full. Sat at the bar.
Bartender was slow to come deal with us, and not consistently attentive (walked by a few times after our initial order, and conspicuously avoided making eye contact).
Food had some issues (mussels were a little funky and not very tasty) and took a long time to come out (far longer than was commensurate with the amount of people in the restaurant). We got no apology or acknowledgement of the delay.
Service overall was inattentive. I can understand slow because of overwhelmed kitchen, but at the end walked right past my credit card in the bill folder several times even after I mentioned that we had someplace to be and couldn’t hang aound.
For what we paid and how many times we were ignored or disregarded, I’m tempted to just 1-​star them, but there were some exculpatory aspects of the meal. That said, we’re not coming back anytime soon if ever.

Went here last night with 3 other people. We all ordered our food at the same time. I ordered a seafood dish, my friends ordered a few different apps. Their food came out, looked pretty good, they were enjoying it… unfortunately they didnt bring my dish out until 15 minutes after everyone was already done with theirs…
Absolutely no explanation as to why, and no apology. But here is the kicker, the dish they brought me out was missing 3 of the main ingredients listed in the menu description, so they had to take it back and «re-​make» it.
So 10 mins later a «new» dish came back, this time only missing 2 of the main ingredients, but with half the shrimp of the original… at this point my company was itching to leave since we had been there for an hour and half so I just ate it…
Not once did any one apologize, nor offer to comp the disaster of a meal… at least take the dish that was screwed up twice in a row and brought out 25 minutes after the rest of the party was done with their meals off the bill.
Bush league restaurant… the food was okay but its the complete lack of common sense customer service and attention to detail that you get closer to Boston, thats missing from places like this. We’ll see if they pay any attention to Unilocal,check back for an update if they take care of this… but negative points for me having to ask in the first place.
Oh, and then they brought us out someone else’s bill… its not like they just had their grand opening this weekend, get it together.

Always my go to place when friends are in town. Ayer is so lucky to have this quality of food and service.

Was
hIghly recommend. But were
Very disappointed the chicken piccata was tasteless and my wife had the chicken special which was also bland. Never a hint of garlic the service was very good (sat at
bar) probably won’t go back.

Excellent offerings, very rich comforting Italian food. Warming environment on a main street. On the downside, very overpriced for the community and general area. Boston prices in small town of 8,000 people.
Vitello «Lucia» — Veal bundles filled with house made mozzarella, pesto, mission fig & Prosciutto topped with a velvety Marsala wine demi reduction. A must try!!!

Meal was very good, pricey but quality was there. Selection and variation of dishes made it tough to choose which one to have. I had a veal dish that was yummy, Sheryl has mussels & a warm arugula salad.
We got here early which was good. Got crowded right @ 7 as we were finishing. We’ll be back!

My wife and I went there for a Valentine’s Day dinner. It was a nice surprise. She had chicken piccata and I had a seafood (mussels, lobster, shrimp, and scallops) dinner over linguini (forget the exact name). We wanted to try somewhere local, and this fit the bill — 10 minutes drive in a snowstorm not too bad.
The food was good. And it was a pleasant surprise for downtown Ayer. We both liked our meals, nice portions, and the waiter was very attentive.
I recommend that you check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Overall pretty solid place service is good and quick fresh pasta options are good I’ve had a few different things and most were to my taste and all were well cooked. Go to place when I’m in town for work

Best Italian restaurant I’ve found in the Greater Worcester Area. The food is terrific and the menu is extensive. The servers enjoy their job so they’re upbeat as well as polite and very attentive! The décor is very attractive, especially the bar.
I’ve been several times, including using it as one of my choices for a «thank you» meal for several friends. My first time I ate at the bar and had not only a great meal but met several locals and had great conversations.
The prices are not cheap but the quality is commensurate with the price.
You deserve to go there.

My wife an I live in the next town over and have eaten at Lucia’s on numerous occasions. We went again this past Friday night. To start we had their Peppadews which are very tasty and frankly difficult to stop eating. My wife ordered the Three Fighting Sisters with fresh hand torn pasta. She really enjoyed her meal. I ordered the Grecian Salad with seared Tuna. Their Greek salad is one of if not the best I’ve had at any restaurant.
The food is consistently good every time we go. Selection of dishes is plentiful and varied. The service is always very good too. But Friday night was exceptional. Our waitress, Nikki was one of the best servers we’ve encountered. She was happy to be there, happy at her job and happy to be waiting on us. It was easy to see how genuine she was. She was very attentive, but not overly and made our dining experience most enjoyable.
Lucia’s may a bit off the beaten path. But’s it’s well worth the ride.

Ayer resident here. I don’t know, maybe it was because we did take out and didn’t eat in. The gluten free seafood alfredo was clumpy. The side of risotto wasn’t even as good as the Lundberg Farms organic boxed rice from the supermarket.
Blah. Considering the lack of palatable options in the area, I wanted this place to be good. Perhaps I need to dine in and give it a last ditch effort.

Let me start out by saying I’ve been wating to try out this restaurant since it opened. It looks really neat and I scoped out the menu before as I am vegetarian. My husband and I finally had sometime to ourselves (we have a 3 ½ yrld) and decided to go out for dinner. We decide to finally try out Lucias.
We got there at about 5:15 on a Saturday. As we entered there was only one table seated, I repeat one table seated with no one waiting. The hosted asked us if we had reservations and we did not (as we looked on to an empty restaurant). She proceeded to tell us that they are all booked up until 8 with reservations and that she could not seat us. REALLY?! Okay? I could atleast understand if the restaurant was half full but it wasn’t.
So we proceeded to go another restaurant in the area and after we were done (6:30ish) decided to check out the capacity of the Lucias just for kicks. Yep it was not even half full.
Maybe if I ever have time again I will check it out and actually be able to try it out and redue this review but for now it is what it is.