Luca

The food was good but the service left something to be desired. Our table of 4 got there around 8 during the middle of the week to a pretty quite restaurant. Seated quickly. The service went downhill as soon as the waiter got our drink orders and 3 of us were not drinking that evening. Considering they charge you for a high end soda you’d think it would be ok. The entire wait staff proceeded to cater all their attention to a table of ladies who were ordering bottles of wine. The manager had to come fill our waters and bring us breadsticks. Our waiter also took almost 20 minutes to bring my second negroni after ordering. When a restaurant is that quite, there is no excuse for poor service and attention.

Went to Luca this weekend. I had a Veal Crudo that had fancy sauces on the menu but the helpings were so small they were tasteless and the veal was not very tender. Also had a spicy tuna crudo that was so spicy I couldn’t taste anything else on the plate including the tuna and was unable to order an entrée as my taste buds had been destroyed. Artisan bread at $ 4 a throw was pretty avrage and certainly no better than many italian restaurants who provide bread with the meal. All in all overpriced and overhyped will not go back.

It was my husband and my anniversary and we bought a nice bottle of wine and a starter of cheese and charcuterie plate. So far so good. Our waitress was friendly but seemed rushed or very busy. Our food arrived and it tasted as though salt had exploded all over it. My husband had veal and I had bolognese and they were horrible. Luca took them off of our bill and apologized for a new cook but that was it. We left hungry and bloated from the salty food. Unfortunately, we won’t be back.

Luca has earned all of the stars! Everything from the service to the food to the timing to the atmosphere was perfect. It had been awhile since I had sat down to one of those, «OMG, everything is so amazing» meals where you just keep repeating over and over how good everything is.
The menu is almost too good. I couldn’t decide what I wanted because I was faced with far too many choices. Fortunately, everyone else was in the same boat, so we decided to just go for it and order everything to share. We started with a meat and cheese plate, the grilled octopus and some spiced mixed nuts. Between the 5 of us, we cleaned every last plate. There wasn’t a crumb left, and we all got to experience every delicious option on the cheese and meat board. The octopus was smoky and tender. The nuts were addictive.
My friend and I split a pizza, and each ordered a half order of pasta. The others ordered two half orders each, or a full order. The pizza wasn’t huge, but it was perfect for sharing. The pesto on it was so flavorful and tasty, and the crust was to die for. When my pasta first came out, I was concerned that it was going to be too small, but after the first bite, I understood. I ordered the cavatelli with shrimp and sausage, and it was so rich, and the pasta was so perfectly cooked.
For dessert (yeah, we were hungry), I ordered the almond cake at the suggestion of the waitress. She was dead on. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Crispy and crunchy with lots of texture, and the portion was massive. But I finished it… don’t judge me. My friends got the pear crème brûlée, which I actually loved, and I don’t usually care for crème brûlée. My boyfriend very much enjoyed his spumoni.
I seriously can’t wait to go back. Frank Bonnano does not mess around.

Loved Luca! Another one of Frank’s successes. We started with amazing drinks. The bartender knew what she was doing! We started with a meat and cheese platter, plus burrata. Our group ordered the dry aged NY strip, ricotta cavatelli, and Italian sausages. All were delicious. Dessert definitely followed and you should definitely leave room for it!!!

Delicious neighborhood Italian place. Don’t know why we haven’t gone here before. Service was friendly and attentive. Ambience was comfortable and pleasant. Food — delicious! Started with spicy tuna tartare — my hubby could have eaten it all by himself! Complimentary breadsticks so yummy with their Parmesan flavor. We both had pasta which is homemade and hit the spot. His was linguine with lobster; mine cavatappi with broccoli rabe, sausage, & shrimp. Definitely will eat here again. Prices reasonable — you can get a primi or entrée size.

Went to Luca for Valentine’s Day. Was very excited to try this restaurant, as we LOVE Osterio Marco.
The restaurant itself is really lovely. If I lived in that neighborhood I’m confident I would go frequently. Decorations are great, music choice (Motown) was awesome!
Service was really nice, she helped us pick some great dishes on our first time there.
Started with a charcuterie board – some amazing meats on there that I understand they craft themselves!
We got a couple of pastas – bone marrow ravioli for the win of the evening! The mushroom fusilli – it was alright, I think a poor choice on my part as creamy pastas aren’t typically my favorite.
Overall, again, really tasty, a fair value considering. Nicely done!

We went to Luca for Restaurant Week, and I’m glad we did. Wine was on point, the calamari was some of the best calamari plates I have had, and then we split a full portion of the carbonara. The carbonara was so good that my boyfriend and I ordered a second helping so we could take the rest home with us.
My major hangup — I was put-​off by how our waitress abruptly asked me for my ID… I was in the bathroom while she took our drink orders (can’t you wait until both parties are seated?). When I came back to the table she made an abrupt point to ask me for my ID. My boyfriend asked if she wanted to see his too, and she point blank responded with «No. You’re fine. Just hers.» Uh, okay? I understand I look younger, but that was a rude and awkward situation, and she did not handle it in a friendly manner. I’ve never encountered that at a nice restaurant.
Besides the weird service, the meal and wine were fantastic. I would absolutely come back.

Luca is excellent. The meat and cheese board is generous, so be sure you are sharing with a few friends (or order fewer plates than you originally intended). The charcuterie was great, as were the cheeses. And mascarpone mostarda? A delicious surprise.
Butternut squash agnolotti (sp?) was flavorful and delicious, with a brown butter sauce that made it tempting to eat it with a spoon. Cauliflower fritto was perfect – not undercooked, not mushy or greasy. And the brick chicken was everything that is great about roasted chicken. Simple and delicious.
As with any Bonnano restaurant, service was excellent. Like a fine-​dining establishment, servers were attentive but not overbearing, and they were always when we needed them. Our server also gained extra points when I asked her to bring me whatever wine she recommended with my food. She brought me a wine so delicious I had to write it down so I can ask for it again next time.
I can’t wait to go back. Oh, and a tip: make a reservation – they get busy.

My BF likes Luca when he’s in an Italian mood so I’ve visited a couple of times. Each visit had been good, service is on point and the food is good.
We started off with the tri colore salad which was nice and fresh. I opted for the brick chicken which was a huge portion, lots of chicken all thigh which wasn’t that big of a deal but not my favorite. He opted for the swordfish which looked and tasted better.
I’m not sure how dressy it is, most guys were in sport coats and each visit I feel like I’m a little underdressed. Oh well, I’ll be back.

It was okay. I had the sausage pizza and it was good although the center of the pizza was soggy. The best thing I had was the Rosemary lardo with the rustic bread appetizer. The hard breadsticks they serve taste a lot like cheese-​itz. All around much of the food was decent. The worst part of the meal was trying to close out. After giving our cards and cash it took about 20 min to get our cards/​change back. Other than that, service was great. Very on point with refilling water glasses.

We enjoyed our dinner for a second time. Food and service were very good. We mentioned the fact that the room was uncomfortably cool, but nothing changed for the two hour meal. Bring bread aside for those who are having a sauce on your plate.
Too little caramel sauce on the almond cake, we couldn’t taste none.

Wonderful quaint Italian spot! The waitstaff was very friendly and helpful, the ambiance was great, perfect little date night spot!
The meat platter is a must — wonderful array of meats and cheeses. We had the parparedella and fuscilli with mushroom and they were both to die for. Lovely cocktails as well!
Love all the Bonnano concepts! It was a hit!

Typically one of my favorite restaurants but was sorely disappointed. I went there for a holiday dinner as usually do at year end. I had a reservation at Barolo Grill but asked for the switch here because I typically like their food and service. This time I clearly had something that was not fresh — I had the grilled octopus with garbanzo beans. I don’t think it was the octopus but I ate the garbanzo beans despite it tasting funny. My mistake. As I got home, didn’t feel well and within three hours was vomiting my dinner. I could not sleep as I had couple of bouts and the next day was weak and nauseous and could not keep anything down — even dry toast. After my second day off work I was finally beginning to feel normal again. I understand perhaps once in a while there might be an error in the restaurant. I called the manager to inform them for the benefit of other customers. He was incredulous of my claim, accused me of being mistaken, didn’t even ask about me as a result and clearly would take no action including letting the kitchen know because he didn’t believe me. That is the reason for the two stars. For a pricey restaurant as this I would expected mor concern not only for me but for his customers. Especially in these times like Chipotle, food poisonings should be taken seriously. Unfortunately I am not inclined to go back or recommend this place again. Too bad the restaurant doesn’t care of its customers and assume we are too stupid to not know when the meal is the cause of the sickness. Really disappointed. If I could I would change the stars to just 1.

Just went to Luca last night to try out their new menu and check out its new younger vibe. The food was probably the best I have had anywhere in Colorado. 5 of us each go something different and shared. The rib eye and the pizza were my favorite. The new vibe is more casual and definitely more inviting to a younger crowd! I’m 26 and somethings on the menu I could not afford but it has a nice range of prices and the service is amazing. I’m a huge fan of their meat and cheese plates, the smoked mozzarella was to die for! If you live in the Cap Hill area you have to check out the new and improved Luca! Nice for a date or to catch up with friends after a long week! Plus, Frank Bonanno is the man, all of his restaurants are incredible!

Very good food and I wanted to love this place, but our server, who was painfully soft spoken, forgot about our salad, gave me a small entrée instead of the large I ordered, and I’m pretty sure she forgot about the espresso we ordered until she emergently remembered with our canned dessert. And the «sommelier» didn’t know how to properly open a bottle of wine which was odd. But like I said, the food was good. Odyssey is a much better experience in my opinion.

Best pork I’ve ever had. Place is awesome. Great service as well. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone wanting a nice dinner.

My husband and I like to splurge for our anniversary dinner every year, and Luca was an amazing choice. We were offered a choice of seating by the hostess (we chose the window) and started the evening with a congratulatory glass of Prosecco. Great touch! We both ordered the 6 course tasting menu and wine pairing which is a fantastic deal at $ 105 a person. Just the tasting menu alone is $ 65 and a screaming deal for the food and portions. We were absolutely stuffed. The standout of the menu for us was the 55 day dry aged ribeye. To die for. Second was the wild boar tagliatelle. And last the mascorpone mousse dessert with fig reduction. The sommelier explained every wine with each course, and they were paired beautifully. Luca delivered a wonderful meal for our 16^th anniversary. We will definitely be back!

Good food, good atmosphere.
Maybe a tad pretentious. Asked for a Malbec and it was like I broke a plate.
«Malbec’s aren’t from Italy they’re from south america! Everything we have here is from Italy» –this waiter never returned to our table.
Yes yes kind sir I understand, but every fine restaurant I’ve been to from firenza to portofino has offered wines from other regions.
You’re missing the finest point of Italian dining, it’s the hospitality.

Fresh, true Italian restaurant. Excellent fine dinning and found the smaller portions were great for sharing before the main meal. Save room for dessert.

We ordered the tasting menu and it was amazing! It was a pairing that we never would’ve come up with. They took the time to explain what everything was, and the staff was super attentive in making sure of everything, from filled water glasses to enjoying our food and the atmosphere. The food was delicious, and we are definitely going back soon!
There’s been some reviews on atmosphere, and if you’re younger you won’t fit in. I’m 22, and although the atmosphere was a little more upscale, the servers all joked around with us and seemed more than happy to serve us. We felt more than comfortable there

The food is pretty good. Standard Italian, done well. The meatballs were particularly good.
I’m taking it down to three stars based on the atmosphere. If you’re under 35, you might feel a bit out of place here (unless your into that «dinner with grandma» vibe). I have nothing against the older crowd, but it just feels old school and stuffy inside and the patrons just added to this. If I’m paying $ 60+ per-​person for a meal, I want the food to justify it or the atmosphere to make up for it.
Spend a couple bucks and update the interior of this place (your ceiling fans are straight out of the 90s and possibly haven’t been cleaned since then either). It wouldn’t take much to make this a 4 – 5 start restaurant.

We loved Luca!!! I can’t believe I haven’t tried it sooner. Adorable interior and great ambiance + service from Jordan. It was a beautiful night and we sat near the front windows that opened to the outside. My husband ordered his martini with complex instructions and said they did it right. Bonus. He ordered a second. I got their Sauvignon Blanc and enjoyed it. For dinner we shared several small plates: meatballs — yum! Ask for some bread to sip up the extra tomato sauce; the Burrata — delicious with the Grilled bread, but I felt it needed a bit of salt; and then the pappardelle bolognese and the mushroom/​truffle fusilli. Ummmm YUM. The pastas were both INCREDIBLE and I wish I would have chosen one of the two as my entrée. Can’t decide which was better. Both were amazing — the bolognese my have been the best I’ve had in the city. The hubby got the Duck Two Ways entrée and I got the Asparagus Salad for my main. I don’t even like duck typically and it was awesome. I’d potentially order the duck next time — it was so good. The salad was good — combo of white and green asparagus cut like on a mandolin, with lemon ricotta and a couple pieces of prosciutto. It was good, but I was just too full at that point to finish. We will DEFINITELY be back.

Overall, great food & service. Our appetizers & entrée sized pasta were all delicious. We had the fusilli & carbonara. Our server was friendly & knowledgeable. Good wine selection.
The downsides. They were fairly minor. The toasted almond cake. I guess it was supposed to be this way but the texture of the cake was that of day old cornbread. It was so dry. The caramel & gelato that came with it were delicious but not enough moisture to make the cake better. And the flow. We were there for 2 hrs for apps, pasta entrees & dessert. I appreciate not being rushed but it was really slow for not being that busy.
Overall, it was really good and I would recommend it. Good value for the price.

Amazing meal and impeccable service. The atmosphere was modern and artsy — definitely intimate feeling. The menu was more diverse and larger than I would have thought for a specialty Italian restaurant, but we loved every bite. We started with the bread sampler — wood-​fired and fresh — and meatballs. The sauce of the meatballs was excellently flavorful. My husband had an octopus salad which he said was perfectly executed. Then, for entrees, I had 2 smaller portions of both the Tortellini Nero and the Bolognese Pasta. Both were complex and interesting. My husband had the duck two ways and basically licked his plate clean. He also enjoyed two of the diverse cocktails offered on the drink menu.
All and all, just a wonderful meal and great service. We will definitely be back.

I rarely ever give a restaurant five stars, but everything from the drinks to dessert was outstanding. The place is small, so reservations are a must on the weekend.

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this to you, so let me be the first. Luca is expensive. The people at the table next to us were regulars somehow, but for the majority of us, this is not an Italian restaurant to be frequented regularly. They make a point of saying to you cheapskates that the $ 15 pasta you’re ordering is appetizer sized, so don’t think you’re getting out of here that easily. If you’re drinking, it’s fairly easy to go $ 100 per person here.
One way to guarantee you’ll be dropping that kind of cash is to go with the tasting menu, and that’s what we did. We had six courses plus bread, three intermezzos, and we were there for a little over two hours. It was a good amount of food, and everything was varying shades of good to great, but the bill at the end did make us kind of rethink how much we enjoyed it.
Now, leaving out the money, the meal was excellent, and memorable. The tasting menu changes every day (how much, I don’t know), so your experience will differ, but our experience ranged from outstanding (swordfish), to interesting (the «spoons» course, consisting of four one-​bite dishes), to disappointing (the pasta, which sounded delicious but lacked flavor), to just fine (a salad).
But the meal was exciting! We didn’t ask what was on the tasting menu, so each time something got brought out it was a fun surprise, and eating for basically two hours straight is a lot of fun for fatsos like us.
Service was great, especially the woman who brought the majority of the food out and was just superb at describing what we were eating. And the atmosphere is perfect for a special night out. Despite the fact that I can’t see eating here more than once a year, Luca gave us one of the more memorable dinners out in recent memory, and I would definitely recommend it for special occasions.

This is definitely an excellent Italian restaurant. We decided to do the chefs’ special tasting. It is an excellent six course meal for two people, but don’t worry, they come in very small portions. It is one of the best places that I have ever eaten at, everything is absolutely delicious. It can be a little bit pricey, but it’s great for a special occasion. The staff is all excellent, knowledgeable, and friendly. I couldn’t find anything about this restaurant that I didn’t like. Frank really knows how to make quality food in an upscale, impressive fashion.

Sometimes you have to factor in the price of a place when giving your rating. Luca is expensive, which doesn’t prevent it from receiving a five star rating; BUT, when you pay a premium for a meal it should be worth it. The food at Luca just isn’t worth the money. Walk three doors down and go to Mizuna instead; or drive over to uptown and go to the quaint Il Posto; best yet go to 9^th and Lincoln and eat at DiFranco’s for $ 13. Luca is good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not nearly as good as these other places.
The melon and prosciutto appetizer didn’t have the right blend of flavor. There was a garlicky cream in the middle that clashed with the sweet and salty pairing of the fruit and meat. The pork shank offered nothing special, unique, or memorable. The trout was cooked perfectly, so I do tip my hat to that, but still the flavors didn’t have me jumping out of my seat. Overall, a forgettable meal for an unforgettable price. I will likely never be back. Not because the place is terrible; but because, with so many other great restaurant in Denver, there’s just no reason to. Sorry Luca.

One word — wow.
I cannot begin to express what an incredible experience I had here over this past weekend! This restaurant was recommended to me by a co-​worker who put it in his top 3 (which says a lot because he has pretty much eaten at every fine dining establishment in our great city) so I knew it must be good. Since I was celebrating my birthday weekend with a very dear friend in town, who coincidentally found Luca while researching restaurants and had asked if we could go here, I decided this would be THE place for my birthday dinner.
As soon as you walk in the experience really begins as there is a sommelier right in the middle of the restaurant behind a table filled with more bottles of wine than you can count. You are free to converse there or they will come to the table and help you pick a wine from their extensive list. Luckily for me, my friend speaks Italian so they happily worked together to decide on a $ 75 bottle of wine that was AMAZING.
We had already had a few small plates at another restaurant so were only interested in dinner and possibly dessert. We both chose pastas off the appetizer list that they allow you to make into entrée sizes. My friend had the Fusilli and I had the Pappardelle Bolognese — oh.man. The ragu sauce was just incredible and this is by far the best bolognese I have had in this town. Hands down. The Fusilli was just as good but a little rich for me however going from the bolognese to this dish may have been the reason for that.
For dessert we opted to try two of the house-​made cello’s — Buddha’s Hand and of course, traditional Limoncello. The Buddha’s Hand is an actual fruit (Google it — it’s quite terrifying) and is in the citrus family but does not have a strong citrus taste and so this was a VERY strong liquor and we did not finish it. The limoncello, however, was very smooth and just delicious and we had no problems finishing it. We only ordered one of each and split them — I recommend this as they are quite heavy pours.
The restaurant is beautiful and the service was very good. Everything about the night was just perfect! I cannot wait to return here and as a matter of fact my supper club plans on it in February :)