Food, Food, and More Food

review by Jack Duggan

            This place has a whole lot more than meatballs. Lucca in the Back Bay of Boston was an incredible restaurant.   The building its-self was beautiful with a spacious seating area.  The staff at Lucca were wonderful.  From the second we entered the building the staff were extremely accommodating.  They rushed over to take our coats and worked to make us conferrable our entire stay.  The service was always quick which was wonderful.  Once we entered the restaurant it was not long before we were seated and given drinks. It was nice to not have to sit and wait to be served.  One of the criticisms I had was the limited menu.  All the options on the menu looked amazing, but the number of dishes was unimpressive. The prices were also very high. This does not take away from the quality of the food, but you certainly aren’t getting a bang for your buck at this restaurant.   Despite this, the night was still a very solid experience.

             The appetizer I got was amazing.  I had never associated calamari with Italian food, but nonetheless the calamari were amazing at this restaurant.  The dish was just the right amount of chewy, it was not tough to bite through, but it was not too soft either.  The tomato sauce that the calamari were in made the dish that much better.  The dish was served with toasted bread that was amazing to dip in the sauce after the calamari were gone.  The portion was more than enough for one person; it could even be shared by two.   My only complaint was that the appetizer was a bit filling.  After eating it I already started to feel full, which is not a good thing for just appetizer. However, from a taste standpoint, this dish was incredible.

            The highlight of the night was of course the entre.  I got the filet, which was very good.  I ordered the dish medium rare, and while it did come red, it was a bit overcooked.  However, the filet was very good.  It came on top of mashed potatoes, and onions and mushrooms.  All of this together tasted amazing.  The sauce from the steak combined with the onions and potatoes made for a great combination.  The steak was full of flavor, and melted in my mouth.  My complaint about this dish is the complete opposite of the appetizer.  The portion was a bit small.  There was more than enough mash potatoes and vegetables, but the steak portion was underwhelming.  While the portion may have been small, again the flavor and taste of the dish was impeccable.

            While the restaurant certainly had flaws, the food was still very good.   The staff were friendly and happy to help their customers.  The appetizer, entre, and dessert were all very high quality. Not one person from the party of twelve I went to the restaurant spoke negatively about their food.  Overall, I would recommend anyone who wants a quality Italian meal to eat at this restaurant, but know, it’s not inexpensive.