trattoria lucca

poor service. recently my brother and i stopped in for an early dinner and were the first patrons to arrive at opening time. we were told by a brusque server that they had no available tables (we had no reservation) but we could sit at the bar if we'd like. we dined at the small and awkwardly-positioned bar and watched approximately 1/3 of the tables remain empty for the entire meal. additionally, i overheard a server as he came behind the bar (the same who initially greeted us) make what sounded like disparaging comments about a a table he was serving. to their credit, our entrees were good and our server was very friendly and helpful.

a few days later i called therestaurant(not during peak dining hours) and asked for help figuring out the name of a wine that i had enjoyed. the staff member told me that he would put on his "mind-reading headphones" to determine which which wine i had the previous evening.

in my opinion, charleston has too many excellent restaurants to tolerate this kind of service.

new years eve dissapointment. after a 20 min. search for a parking space in the middle of nowhere and a 10 min. walk back to therestaurantwe discovered they had a fixed menu for the evening. decided we could do the grilled chicken breast at applebees for way less than that $$$$150 + wine!

i have eaten @ lucca 3 times and it has been great. therestaurantis small and a bit loud, but that is where the criticism ends....the food and service have been fantastic on all three visits. the duck is incredible, we had the featured oysters and ordered 6 more they were so good. great place, reasonable prices, just off king st.

rushed service equals unexceptional experience. i was invited to sit at the bar on a busy saturday night. that was no problem. the problem was that i felt rushed. i had not yet completed my appetizer when my main arrived. although both dishes were good, it would have been nice to digest and reflect – let alone breathe - on one plate before the other arrived.

though the staff was friendly and the food was good, i left therestaurantfeeling like i had just left a fast-food joint. charleston will never reach therestaurantstandards of barcelona or buenos aires with the idea that the ultimate goal in arestaurantis to turn over the tables as fast as possible to get the next customer inside. my only recommendation is that the waiters and cooks simply slow down.

5 more stars for ken veerdinski inside trattoria lucca when i first started out writing this blog i wanted to find those "hiddenrestaurantgems" that were off the beaten path and simply, incredible. it happened again. nestled in the sleepy elliotsborough neighborhood is trattoria luca. so nestled that if you didn't know if was there you would pass it. we went with friends whose husband is a native charlestonian and he didn't even know where it was. parking is a bit challenging since it's mostly residential, but with a bit of patience we found a spot. therestaurantis lined with windows and very warm and welcoming. we were quickly seated at our four top by a very nice member of the staff. here's where i thought it was going to go a bit south. expediting area our table was directly, i mean directly, in front of the kitchen. it was also where the servers congregated and chatted. top that with a very loud radio and we could barely engage in any conversation. when our server came by i ask

bestrestaurantin charleston. go on monday which is family night

my favorite charleston restaurant. hands down the very best food in charleston, conceived and prepared with passion and care. yes, the place is busy-- because it's great! i love "family style" night (currently monday, i believe): you just sit down and they start bringing delicious surprises. we've never had to join people we didn't know, always had our own table. we go early to avoid the crush. wednesday night seems to be the quietest. this is arestaurantworthy of new york or the little neighborhoods of italy and france.

came here out of town for a wedding rehearsal dinner and the food was phenomenal. outstanding flavors and unique, but unfussy dishes. this is truly traditional, fresh italian food done well. one warning: the noise; when therestaurantis full it's very hard to hear your dining companions.

lucca is a very homey and romanticrestaurantwith a fabulous menu. (too bad i was alone) settled in an hstoric neighborhood, this beautifulrestauranthas wonderful northern italian dishes prepared perfectly. the cheese selections were pared perfectly with various chutneys and sauces and the entrees were varied and reasonably priced. this is a winner!

awful!. i would give this zero stars if that were an option. we went to thisrestaurantto celebrate my 40th birthday on friday, january 15th. it was horrible. the server was rude and borderline obnoxious. we were seated at a "family style" table which means nothing but that you are seated with a bunch of people you don't know. the place is tiny. the servers were bumping into tables and people. you can't move without being on top of other diners. and it is horribly loud. the neighborhood is dangerous and i'd be hesitant for anyone to walk alone. the food was fine but just fine. when i asked the server for recommendations he basically refused to answer. i've literally never been actually offended by a server. he was offensive, very snobby and abrupt. the menu is limited and very upscale. our tab for 3 people was 300 bucks. after just under an hour and a half we were asked to move tables because they wanted to seat someone at our table. this was actually after we complained to the owner that our server was obviously trying to get us out of there. my friend walked over to the owner to complain and to reiterate that we were celebrating my birthday, but he (the owner) didn't even bother to walk the four feet to our table to so much as say sorry. don't go. huge waste of money. oh and no liquor license.