Luca’s contemporary Italian dishes combines some amazing and interesting flavours, set in a beautiful and yet intimate dining environment, a stone’s throw away from the beach. Sounds great, but was it any good? Time to find out...
Ideal for:
When you want to try the rest of the menu after numerous brunches.
Those wanting to try some interesting and flavourful Italian dining.
Date night with some casual drinks under the stars.
Ambience & Décor
The interior was so sleek and elegant with the two-tone, light-dark, contrasting fixtures and fittings, that was befitting of an elegant, upmarket restaurant, which Luca was trying to be. The outside area was very spacious and followed the same theme; the light floor and walls really made it feel bright and vibrant. Ambience was always good here as the local reputation for Luca was incredibly favourable.
Service
The waiter was relatively attentive and went about his business effortlessly without us really noticing, and that is hallmark of good service.
Food
Given my oft famished state, I went for 3-courses; but also, because I wanted to taste dishes that are not on their popular brunch offerings. Despite Luca being an Italian restaurant, I went for the quirky Tuna taco, truffled local yellowfin tuna tartare, avocado, togarashi aioli, wakame. The tartare was bland and overcured, the truffle scant, with the only real flavour coming from the kick of the togarashi spice. Good mix of textures, but totally average on the flavour.
The duck breast tagliata & crispy duck leg confit, porcini truffle risotto, port wine gravy (see left) was rich, decadent, and delicious. The calories in this dish bare not thinking about. Both individually and collectively, all the flavours and textures just worked. There was not too much happening on the plate. Each main ingredient was identifiable - I could not finish the ample portion.
Dessert of a Trio of Crème Brûlée (see right) was average with the chocolate and salted caramel being too sweet and sickly for me, but the original was lovely. One for those that have a sweet tooth. Overall, the main was the star in an otherwise average offering. I think Luca’s menu was so tantalising, I will come back to try the rest of it, especially given how the duck dish was, but for now, I will stick to its phenomenal brunch offerings. The meal is not cheap here and all things considered, Luca on this performance gets a C+ rating.
Photos of Luca and more can be found on Instagram here.
Final grade: C+
Final comment: Some gems but also some expensive misses – sticking to brunch for now!
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