Luce Bar & Kitchen

They have the best flat bread pizzas! Awesome craft beer and drinks. Perfect place for date night

Truffle fries are the best I’ve had! Beet salad is the best! Had the red coconut curry salmon it was just the right amount of heat and the fish was fresh. Wonderful food, friendly staff, and a fun atmosphere. Stopped here while staying at mission beach and I wish we lived closer. The dessert we had was the brownie it was very dense and only OK but I’m also not a big brownie person so it didn’t ruin anything for me. They don’t have a kids meal but are happy to work with your child. Great restaurant

This will be short and sweet. The service was outstanding. Our waitress – cheerful and obviously enjoying her job – was prompt, attentive to the exactly perfect level, informative, helpful – was there with water soon after we were seated. Back quickly for drink orders and back quickly with our drinks. The food: superb. The strawberry salad which we shared came out quickly and we cleaned our plates. We both ordered the hamburger – cooked to perfectioon, hot – which came with a large order of scrumptious french fries. The brownie with gelato and some kind of delicious topping was, to coin a phrase, to die for. Everything was perfect.
Well almost everything. Why four instead of five stars? Get some sound absorbent material, guys, to lower the ambient noise. And lose those metal chairs.

Excellent Sunday brunch spot near Mission Bay. More than ample on-​street parking. Excellent food. Will definitely return on our next visit to SD area.

Love the Luce Mule! My fav! Food is really good too:) Everyone was super nice. Bay Park is really starting to be a happening place! Between Luce, Poseidon Project, Bay Park Fish, and the High Dive. lots of fun action to be had!

The menu here is not huge, but everything my family had was absolutely delicious – burgers, the flatbread pizzas, and their amazing fries. Nice wine and beer list. Loud and lots of energy with dim lighting. Also loved the open-​air environment with the glass-​front rolling garage doors halfway up the walls.

This place is my favorite secret spot! I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE!
AMAZING FOOD (that always has such awesome presentation) & a PHENOMENAL STAFF! Such a great time every time! Thank you for always exceeding my expectations. Keep up the excellent work!
Décor is beautiful
Food absolutely delicious and artistic
Staff friendly and knowledgeable
Drinks-​Awesome Beer selection & craft drinks
There’s always parking spots
I will continue to visit as often as I can

As a first timer, the fish tacos were delish, along with the addicting fries. My coworker got lamb tacos that looked yummy too, so I’m looking forward to going back here and trying them out, in addition to the pizza and brunch menu. Waitresses were friendly and the atmosphere was awesome.

I went there on Friday night, The food was great and I also love the service too… i would be back here again soon.

Fantastic! Strawberry mule all the way! Love the platters and the pizza! Can’t wait to go back!

I really love Luce Bar & Kitchen! I’m personally a big fan of Gastropubs, and this place was right up my alley. Luce is known for their seasonal menu and ingredients as well as their wide variety of wines and beers.
Upon review of the menu, significant other and I decided to order:
— Luce Mule — I love mules!
— Margherita Pizza — delicious and just the perfect portion
— Smoked Tri-​Tip Sandwich — with horseradish crème fraîche, caramelized onions, tomato, avocado, provolone, on italian roll. AVOCADO!
We also stole a few fries from other members in our party and man oh man, those fries are delicious! House cut fries topped with parmesan, truffle oil, and roasted garlic aioli.
I will definitely be back to try other items on the menu. Their Butternut Squash Lasagna, Luce Burger, and Braised Lamb Tacos look interesting based on the ingredients. Can’t wait to try them out. ENJOY!

Awesome atmosphere, great beers on tap and the food was also good. We had the fried cauliflower and it was hands down one of the best appetizers I’ve ever had. Carlos was our sever, super cool dude and was on point with everything. The meat & cheese board was good, the burger needed salt in my opinion but hey no ones perfect right. Over this place is doing all the right things as a gastro pub type restaurant. They also have chalk board specials which is super cool. We will be back when in town.

A friend of mine recommended Luce, telling me that «Luce is so dank bro’».
So we came in on a mid-​week night for some tasty grub. It was a packed house, which obviously means that the place must be doing ‘something’ right.
The lady ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and I got the light lager to mellow out myself. We started with the Baby Rack Pork Ribs; perfectly smothered in Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce. It was a quarter rack, which meant 4 pieces. We also got the House Cut Fries. Pretty tasty, must say.
For the main course, I went all in with a Meatball Sandwich, and the lady got the Butternut Squash Lasagna. Our friend got the Smoked Tri-​Tip Sandwich.
The Meatball Sandwich was BOMB DIGGITY — so amazing! The flavors were spot on, with that lamb juice flowing, covered with a Marzano-​esque tomato sauce that was perfectly seasoned to perfection. The symphony of flavors were so fine-​tuned, that every single bite of the sandwich was an experience of its own. It came with a rather large portion of house cut fries.
The Lasagna was very tasty and had the same tomato sauce as the Meatball Sandwich. Pretty good stuff. The portion was huge and would be a great dish for someone that wants to enjoy a vegetarian dish while your neighboring carnivore friend is chomping away on their Meatball Sandwich.
The accompaniment of this symphony wouldn’t get to its crescendo without the ambience, that albeit being loud, was perfect for such a great meal.
The service was perfect, and our server was hospitable and quick. This is an absolute must-​try if you’re in the area, and as we found out from our local friends, this seems to be an off-​limits location that even locals may easily miss.
Visit Luce and let me know what you think! :)

I almost fell off my chair when I realized I had not written a review! What the heck was I waiting for?!?
I honestly have never had a bad experience here, which leads me to my next thought. Why do I not come more often?!? I was pleasantly surprised to arrive last weekend to see a larger more open space with room for larger parties, bigger bar and no problem getting seated.
I usually order off the chef specials for the night but to my surprise I decided to go with the burger and I’m happy I did! It was delicious, cooked to perfection and it came with fries all for $ 13.00. I hate ordering a burger and having to pay an additional price for fries when these two are like PB and J they just go together!
In the past I have had the meat and cheese boards, fresh catch of the day, mussels, chicken, pork tacos, short ribs and a steak. Everything is prepared with love and makes me want to come back for more! Don’t forget the try the mules!
On top of the delicious food the service has always been on point! From the bartenders, servers and the host or hostess it’s a very inviting atmosphere. I have yet to try the brunch but it’s on my list and I can’t wait!

Seriously, how lucky are we to have so many great restaurants here in San Diego? No matter what part of town you are in, there’s something good for everyone.
My hubs and I visited Luce for Brunch today. Since we are morning people, we don’t usually go to places that open so late (10am) for breakfast, but we got a late start so we thought we would give it a try. We ordered the chilaquiles and the French toast and both were solid options with the chilaquiles being the more unique dish. The brioche French toast was not overly sweet, in fact, for my sweet-​tooth I could have used a touch of syrup or something more.
Chilaquiles:
tomatillo salsa verde, lime crème fraîche, avocado, eggs over easy for $ 11 (add carnitas for $ 3)
Cinnamon Brioche French Toast:
maple, pecan, vanilla crème anglaise, blueberries for $ 11
We have also tried the Luce burger in the past which was good, but not great. The fried brussel sprouts are the BEST, a must try.
Overall, everything was great including service and we will be back.

The first thing I have to comment on is that they have the best tasting mule ever. I usually get Moscow mules but when I saw that they had an apple pie mule, I had to try it. The main difference is this drink comes with apple and cinnamon infused bourbon. If you love mules, you definitely have to try this one. It is garnished with green apple slices. My boyfriend tried the Bloody Mary. He enjoyed the spiciness which gave the drink a kick. The only downside was that the bacon was cold.
We ordered the chicken and waffles and the Italian sausage omelette. There is nothing special about the Italian sausage omelette but The chicken and waffles were delicious. The chicken had a nice crispy skin and a smokey, spicy flavor. the waffles were soft and fluffy and had deep pockets to hold the syrup in so you get an overflowing amount when you take a bite.
We sat at the bar which was very spacious. This place has a nice ambience to it. There are also three TV screens in the bar area. I like the large open windows. There is a small parking area in the back of this store front restaurant. We came during lunchtime which had a limited menu, but overall, we enjoyed our experience here.

Absolutely wow! I have not been to a restaurant in a long time where everything across the board deserves 5 stars!
I did a lot of research on where to take my girlfriend for dinner since she wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been and dessert had to be awesome. So I stumbled upon Luce.
When we walked in the atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for. We grabbed 2 seats from a community table right in front (self seating kind of restaurant) and a server was there immediately! Josh was our server and he was fantastic. He knew everything about the menu including how the items are cooked. It really shows a lot about the quality of food when a chef takes the time to educate the staff.
Our Meal:
Meat and cheese board– after seeing all the pictures I knew we had to try it. For a $ 15 board it was overflowing with selection and flavor! The house made dijon was the best I’ve ever had.
Bruschetta– 2 different ways. The traditional was very fresh and the bread was crisp but still fluffy. The pepper bruschetta was amazing! The heat was perfect, I was afraid it would keep growing but it got to this point that the feta stepped in and mellowed to perfection!
Crispy skin chicken– the portion was perfect, the sauce was like a gravy that married together with the warm bean salad on the side. Sadly, I stuffed myself with the apps and had to take the chicken home… just finished it for lunch and now ready for a nap. The chicken was insanely juicy! Josh said they braise it and boy does it taste like it!
Luce Burger– My girlfriend would even speak to me while eating and then didn’t want to let me try it. Once I had a bite I got it! seriously best burger ever. 2 bites in and it exploded with juices. Like tasty burger juice running down your hand good!
Salted orange chocolate gelato sandwich– pretty sure I got that description wrong but they did not get the dessert wrong! I didn’t think I was going to like it since I’m not a fan of chocolate and orange together but man was that good! The chocolate chip cookies on the outside were my favorite!
I will be back asap to try try their brunch!
By the way, the service here, by far the best!

What a wonderful neighborhood gastropub. The service was outstanding — just amazing. The menu is not really Italian, but everything was so flavorful and perfectly prepared. I had probably the best mussels of my life. The salads especially the beet salad was just wonderful. Cocktails are creative and refreshing, and desserts (ice cream sandwiches) were awesome. Great overall pub vibe and a good place to watch sports as well. I would go back in a heartbeat.
Note: it’s not super kid friendly for really young kids but they did offer some options off menu for the kids which mine loved!

We drive by this restaurant every day, commuting to and from work. We just haven’t had a chance to stop in (despite the fact that two co-​workers have raved about it recently) until we found ourselves in need of dinner before heading to a show over at Brick by Brick.
It was chance, really, that led us here. We were stuck in traffic on 5 S, and left the freeway early to take side roads. Around that time, my husband mentioned that we should start looking for someplace to eat, and I mentioned Luce. He’d never heard of it, but was game to try.
We found street parking right across from the restaurant, which was fortunate, as the lot behind the place was blocked off (and tiny, anyway). They were doing a brisk business by the time we got there, and all the tables were packed.
Oh — before I go on, let me just say that this place is teeny-​tiny-​itty-​bitty. Seriously, they have maybe four «private» tables along one wall, the bar with stools, and four or so «communal» tables. That’s it.
When we walked in, all the «private» tables were taken, and the bar was full up. Our only option was to sidle up to a «communal» table that was occupied by one lady and her laptop. It was kind of awkward, mostly because the guy who led us there said to her, «I’m bringing you company, I hope you don’t mind!» and wandered off before he could catch her glaring at him.
Anyway, we perched on some seats across from the suddenly grumpy lady and her laptop, and started to go through the small menu. We were squinting up at the specials board (a chalkboard above the kitchen that was printed in what I would equate to a 6 point font. It was small!) when I noticed that the group at the communal table behind us had left. I made the «wanna move?» gesture to my husband, and he quickly agreed. We gathered up our bottle of water and glasses and migrated over to the empty table.
I think it threw the server for a loop, but I much preferred being alone with a chance of newcomers joining us than being forced to sit in frosty silence with laptop lady.
At any rate, they didn’t make a fuss over us moving, and we were able to place our order. We decided to share the Carnitas Tacos, the Lamb Shank Tacos and one order of House Cut Fries. To this, my husband added a beer, while I stuck with water.
Business only picked up as we sat there, and as we were now at the table closest to the door, we were able to watch people come in, hover near the door and peer anxiously around the room for an open table. Most people were told that they could either join one of the communal tables along one wall, or wait for a private table along the other, and of course they decided to wait. But, with no real standing room, or waiting area, they were forced to shuffle back and forth, out of the way of servers and patrons.
The food, when it was delivered, was absolutely delicious. The fries came out first and the serving was huge. They came with two dipping sauces — the aioli was our favorite. The tacos came out soon after, and we quickly split them up. It was hard for me to pick a favorite — they were both pretty evenly matched — but when it came down to it, I think I preferred the lamb shank tacos, just because of the extras that were on the taco. The cabbage/​veggie/​slaw mix added a nice crunch, and the sauce helped tame it down. The carnitas tacos were delicious too, don’t get me wrong. Those came with avocado, corn, a different sauce and veggies. I just think it was a bit too much for me, at that time. It’s hard to explain.
Still, they were both very good. And those fries! Crispy and crunchy and way too addictive for potatoes. Plus, the waiter gave us a little container of their hot sauce — divine! It was like that Mexican chili candy that I grew up on. I couldn’t stop eating it, but was afraid that if I kept going, bad things would happen at the show. ;)
The service was good, though it was hard to flag down the waiter to pay at the end, mostly because there were so many people he couldn’t get to us. I’d absolutely go back, even though I know it’s likely to be just as busy.

I liked the concept behind Luce Bar + Kitchen, but I think I would have enjoyed the eatery more if I had gone for brunch. There are SO many items that I would want to try on the brunch menu.
The dinner menu, however, felt a bit more limited. I met a few friends for dinner here on a Sunday evening, and the eatery was crowded. I was glad that two of our friends came early enough to get us a table. We parked on one of the side streets and walked around the corner to get to Luce.
In of itself, Luce wasn’t bad. Maybe I just expected our pasta to be a bit better than it actually was. I probably would have been happier ordering the «Luce Burger.»
I would be willing to give Luce another chance by going for brunch. However, I did enjoy the cheese board that we ordered, as well as the taste I got of our friends’ «Luce Burger» and addictive fries.
Here’s what we got during our visit:
«Cheese Board»: The four of us decided to share the cheese board, which consisted of pickled vegetables, roasted garlic bulbs, toast and apple coulis. I didn’t quite know what I was eating, in terms of cheese, but I think I got some of the goat cheese and Brie … I absolutely LOVE Brie, so I was a happy camper. I didn’t really eat any of the pickled veggies, but I did like the mini crostinis and the roasted garlic bulbs. If you’re a cheese lover and enjoying a meal at Luce with friends, this is a good shareable option.
«Luce Burger»: If I were going to Luce again for dinner, this is what I would order next time. My two friends chose to split this. It includes arugula, tomato, caramelized onions, garlic aioli and aged white cheddar. It also is accompanied by house cut fries (including parsley, parmesan, truffle oil and garlic aioli). The fries are definitely a winner — they’re soft, slightly thicker and not super crunchy/​crispy. They tasted especially good paired with the garlic aioli. The burger itself was flavorful and tasty, and the garlic aioli and aged white cheddar made it taste even better. If I were ordering this burger myself, I would get it sans the tomatoes and caramelized onions, but I can see why this is one of the most popular items on the menu.
«Daily Pasta»: Be sure to ask your server what the featured pasta of the day is. The one that was featured during our visit sounded delicious, as it included shrimp, spinach, bacon and garlic sauce. I did love the consistency of the thin noodles, and they actually didn’t skimp on that succulent shrimp. However, the pasta seemed a bit bland … it needed more of that garlic sauce or something. It probably would have been better with a pesto or stronger cream sauce. I was disappointed because we paid $ 15 for that pasta and it was still lacking in flavor (I took the leftovers home and added shredded cheese to it, which definitely helped). I do tend to like pastas with cream/​alfredo sauces instead of tomato, which made this pasta dish initially appealing. Hopefully the chef was just having an off day and if this pasta entrée is ever featured again, there will be more flavor to it.
«Luce BLAT»: This sando sounds delicious and I would get it with accompanying fries if I ever visit this eatery for lunch. It includes thick-​cut house smoked bacon, garlic aioli, mixed greens, avocado and tomato on focaccia bread. I do love focaccia bread, so that’s already a win in my book. I would just probably order this sandwich without the tomatoes, but everything else – especially the bacon and garlic aioli – sound delicious.
«Fried Chicken & Waffles»: This is one of my newfound favorite entrees, and I’m always interested to see how the versions from various restaurants compare. This one features Serrano maple syrup and a savory waffle. I hope the chicken is succulent, juicy and fried to a perfect golden-​brown; definitely interested in giving this sweet-​savory combo a shot if I ever come here for brunch.
«Pork Belly Hash»: There are so many savory items on the brunch menu that it’s almost impossible to choose just one. But, I would really want to try this pork belly hash. It features house smoked bacon, potatoes, rutabaga, green beans, a horseradish crème fraiche, hollandaise sauce and poached eggs. Definitely an interesting combo for sure, but hashes are one of my favorite savory breakfast items, so I anticipate trying this one day.