luce ristorante e enoteca

gorgeous place to sit and...... imagine eating good italian fare.luceristorante is the most beautiful dining establishment that i have had the pleasure of walking into and sitting in san antonio. my expectations of the meal were equal to the atmosphere. we were sorely disappointed in, first the wine selection which was severely overpriced (although it didn't stop us from drinking...especially after we tasted the food). i ordered the pollo carciofi(?), the chicken breast was appealingly lightly breaded but the flesh was dry...tasteless, the mushrooms on top were canned, not fresh....thank goodness the artichokes had a good flavor. the risotto tasted fishy, as if one recipe was made as a side for all dishes but was meant for the bass special.
the dining entertainment had as pleasant voice and the level of his sound system was perfect to enjoy while having a conversation. i so wantedluceto be a new go to place for us. i doubt we will be back. in fact, i'll be surprised if it will still exists as an option if they don't soon change their approach to their menu.

i have loved gnocchi since i was about 5 years old but it's extremely rare to find good gnocchi in restaurants. while not quite as good as the gnocchi my family would make,luceis the best i've had in a restaurant anywhere. the bolognese sauce is pretty darn good, too.

the best. also,the veal scallopini, penne pasta and the fresh filet of halibut just was perfectly prepared ,a good choice of quality wine which we truly enjoyed and a tiramisu for everyone which was the best i ever had fro every corner of the globe. mr. buonincontry, you have our votes and patronage for ever. seating on the patio, light breeze and well chosen background music, so relaxing.thank you again for a perfect experience to my wife, kids and grand kids.


-----10 may, 2010-----

the best. on mother's day, had dinner atlucewith my family.first impression,most important, greeted and seated by the owner himself, mr. joe buonincontri who kept an attentive eye on a flow less service. the food was perfectly prepared served fresh and at the wright temperature, simple but elegant presentation. a true italian experience.the mussels in spicy marinara sauce was different from the norm but very tasty.from the polenta.eggplant, meatballs and caprese

still a wonderful dining experience. this was our 2nd trip toluceafter about a year. we had early reservations, were seated at a great table and had wonderful service. the bread was so good! our meals were excellent. i had the linguine mare chiaro and it was filled with tons of seafood. my dining partner had the special that was a fish filet that was very good. the atmosphere is really nice and well worth the price.


-----08 dec, 2013-----

wonderful italian fine dining. we finally decided to tryluceafter 4 years of thinking about it. what a pleasant surprise. we were blown away by the extensive menu. for appetizers, we had the polpette alla napoletana (meatballs) and arancini di riso (italian rice balls). both were full of flavor and literally a meal on it's own. but we didn't stop there. we had the paccheri pomodoro (large shrimp & large tube pasta) and braciola alla napoletana (beef with pine nuts, etc). both were excellent. all the pasta is imported from italy. french press coffee to top off a wonderful meal. the portions are true italian size and can be shared. we waited 4 years too long for this. we will return, especially for happy hour or a dinner on the beautiful patio.

...we decided to do italian and not just any italian but a locally owned authentic italian restaurant.  when we read the detail ofluceristorante e enoteca we knew it was the place to go to fulfull our italian gravings . first of allluceristorante e enoteca meanslucerestaurant library in italian.  when you enter the dining room the entire walls are covered with wine bottles like books in a library.  luce has over 125 choices on their wine list a

going to dream about the lasagna fromlucetonight . the perfect blend of hearty meats and tasty cheese mixed in with a robust red sauce. all sandwiched in between layers of pasta perfection . great dinner , excellent wine, fabulous service . for a few hours we thought we were eating in a trattoria back in italy!

the first thing you’ll notice is the cozy and friendly, but stylish interior (and they’ve done some great christmas decorating too!) tasty art it was a bit of a slow day atluceas well, so we were lucky to get lots of personalized attention from our friendly server. we perused the extensive lunch menu and it all sounded so delicious i had trouble deciding! the entrees in the gran piastre section of the menu include your choice of soup or salad. i ordered the zuppa di zucca, a simply fabulous light

sadly disappointed. always on the lookout for places to hold social gatherings, events, business meetings, etc. had not been tolucebecause there are so many great places that are more conveniently located. was given a groupon as a way to encourage me to go check it out. it was a tuesday evening, not busy at all. we were promptly seated and then greeted by our waiter, rene. we mentioned we'd never been there but thought we'd try it out with the groupon (it says mention groupon, after all). rene talked a good game and then left us for nearly 20 minutes. we had to ask someone else to take our drink order. we then noticed rene was practically doing cartwheels around these men. by the way, they were wearing scrubs. i guess rene thought scrubs = $$ and groupon doesn't, which was a grave mistake. oh, and our leftover margherita pizza (best part of the meal)? he stacked the slices and crammed them into a small box- the cheese caused it to all stick together, we couldn't even pry it apart to eat or reheat it. awful.
the food was just ok. one order of the mixed grill with rosemary roasted potatoes. meat was tasty, the potatoes looked like french fries. one order of the chicken carciofi with risotto. chicken was bland (like it hadn't been seasoned at all before breading), sauce was good, risotto was not authentic risotto. i've had plenty of risotto, in italy and in my own kitchen, and this was not arborio rice so either they ran out (on a tuesday?) and tried to improvise or they try to save a dime by buying regular rice.
in all, the meal was just ok, i wouldn't rush back for the food and i would never ever go back if i knew rene was going to be my waiter. rude, horrible service. maybe i should have worn scrubs.

amazing dining experience. i recently visitedlucewith a group of co-workers from out of town. our evening was so enjoyable! the ambiance beautiful- modern, yet warm and welcoming. the food was incredible- we started with the arancini rice ball appetizer, white pizza with house made mozzarella cheese, and seafood salad. the entrees were delightful, especially the sea bass, osso bucco, gnocchi and the pasta with seafood. the menu has a wide variety of traditional italian dishes from northern and southern italy. we shared a few desserts- and each was better than the last- creme brulee, warm chocolate cake with vanilla gelato and tangy lemon sorbet. joe, the owner, personally ensured that everyone in our party was well taken care of- and it was really nice to be in a family-owned establishment instead of a chain restaurant. the next day in our meetings, all i heard about was how fantastic the meal was- and how much my friends wished that they had a restaurant this special in their cities. thanks for making me look good- we'll be back!

practically perfect. my wife and i were eager to tryluceas a few of our friends highly recommended it . (raved is more accurate). we weren't disappointed. upon arrival we immediately felt relaxed, but the feeling was piqued with anticipation. the ambiance manages insouciant elegance with romance and intimacy. we began with a quartino of stella that paired beautifully with the calamari e zucchine fritti. after a few questions about the italian menu, our server knowledgeably, almost intuitively, guided us through the entrees with efficiency, precision and appetizing description. i ended having the amazing linguine con frutti di mare and my wife opted for the risotto with sauteed shrimp and asparagus. we each had a couple of suggested wines, each seductive and harmonious, and the presentation was nothing short of art. the entire evening shimmered with sensuality, each bite an unexpected note to an irresistible melody. we shared tiramisu to top off the night.lucehas us singing its praises. we will definitely return. and soon.

amazing italian food. luce's is hidden away in a shopping center. it's almost so secluded you don't realize it's there. the ambiance is very subtle and avoiding pretentiousness. wine bottles are stacked everywhere. they have an outdoor dining area that would seem perfect in the cooler months. our waitress was new but so incredibly polite and friendly. on the table was what appeared to be a sweetened egg plant, which was fantastic. perfectly sweet! my wife and i ordered the calamari and zucchine fritti, which was really good. i loved the white sauce associated with it. they said aeoli, which i need to find out more about this. the marina sauce was a bit too liquified and not thick. i would prefer the clamari cooked a bit more for perfection. i also had the insalata caprese. it was really tasty but maybe a bit too much olive oil in it. still very good. my wife had the zuppa di zucca soup and it was really tasty for me and a bit too sweet with the pumpkin for her. she had the gnocchi di gorgonzola. if heaven had a pasta dish, this would be it. it was so amazingly good. the gnocchi was cooked for just the right amount of time. the fusion of the gorgonzola with spices were very welcomed by the both of us i ordered the veal piccata, which was just as amazing. the taste of white wine was prevalent and appreciated. the veal was cooked masterfully to include the right amount of breading. i enjoyed every aspect of this dish including the spinach linguine. for dessert we had the tiramisu, which was good. i've had better but certainly wouldn't send it back. it was deliciously tasty as well. overall, i really enjoyed my experience atluceand can't wait to go back.