Ristorante Luciano

12/16/09

Don't waste your money here!!

by firegabe at Citysearch

So it was Saturday night and my wife and I couldn't find a reservation in the area except for Ristorante Luciano (I now know why). We called and were given a reservation for 45 minutes later at 6:45 PM.

We entered and were greeted by a young woman in her early 20's. She was dressed in a sweater that kept pulling up over her waist and exposing her skin, blue jeans, and boots. She loudly said, "Your table will be ready as soon as they (looking at another couple) leave." I thought that was very rude as the other couple heard it. That was my first impression. Later on the hostess chewed on her finger nails at the podium.

The hostess then sat us down and did not provide us with a menu. A few minutes later she came by and asked if anyone took our drink order. I asked about a wine list and instead of providing one she said that they only sell wine by the bottle, and did not offer me the list.

Five minutes later she walked up and asked if we had menus, which we replied, "No." She the brought us a menu and we ordered from our waiter who wished he was Italian (probably Russian).

My wife ordered the squash ravioli and I ordered the gnocci. The food came promptly but was disgusting!! The ravioli tasted like it had pumpkin pie filling in it. And, the sauce on my gnocci tasted like Chef Boyardee.

The waiter never asked if I wanted a refill on my drink, never ascertained satisfaction with the meal, and seemed to just hurry us along.

PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY AT RISTORANTE LUCIANO!! This is the first review I have ever written because we were so disgusted. Hopefully, they will change or soon go out of business

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Terrible Food; Below Average Service

10/23/09

Un restaurante Excelente

by sant1a at Citysearch

es uno de los mejores Italianos que he conocido desde que regrese de Italia.. las mejores pastas y carnes de toda la region..

It is one of the best

• Pros: todo perfecto
• Cons: nada

10/23/09

great place

by chrysalis2010 at Citysearch

very Italian,great atmosphere , a great restaurant

10/23/09

delizioso

by trasquera at Citysearch

tres delicieux

muy bueno

exccelent

10/03/09

Can I give ZERO Stars to this Place?

by sushidaisuki at Citysearch

This is THE worst Italian restaurant I have ever eaten at! Olive Garden is better. I t was obvious from looking at the food that everything was prepackaged and warmed up.

I surmise that not a single item was actually prepared and cooked at the restaurant, but rather opened and rewarmed. Salt was the predominate flavor and disgust was the flavor left at the end of the meal. I should probably have my blood pressure taken after this meal!

For the price, I should have spent the $$$ on a nice bottle of wine and a home cooked meal. Restaurant Row on Bellevue Way SUCKS. We deserve better than chain restaurants with no creativity or taste! YUK YUK YUK. Boycott Bellevue Way restaurants!

• Pros: Are there any?
• Cons: Just about everything

09/27/09

So Bad, It Was Laughable!

by NWFoodLover at Citysearch

We couldn't get reservations at Maggiano's nearby so my wife and I decided to try something new. We had no problem getting a table at Luciano Ristorante and after being seated, I couldn't help but notice how close we were sitting by two other couples -- it's impossible to have a private conversation with your date unless you're sitting at one of the dining tables near the center aisle. In short, this is not an ideal "romantic" setting if this is the type of evening you have in mind.

Service, on the other hand, was decent. We were offered our dinner menus and were satisfied with the menu variety. My wife ordered the Spaghettini with Meat Sauce and I had the Linguine with Clams. Before our main course, we ordered a Caesar Salad. It was fabulous! Probably one of the best tasting Caesar Salads I had ever had. It had just the right amount of dressing and the parmesan cheese they used was very good. Unfortunately, the salad was the highlight of our evening.

Once our dishes arrived, our Slovakian waiter didn't bother checking on us to see how we were doing. We had to flag him down just to ask him for some parmesan cheese for our pastas. He failed to even ask us if we would like another glass of wine with our meal. It gets worse...

After taking the first bite of my Linguini with Clams, it tasted ok. But after the 2nd or 3rd bite, my mouth began to burn as if I was eating a five-star spicy Thai dish. Several factors may have caused this -- either they added too much garlic, white pepper, or they didn't allow the wine to reduce properly. Maybe it was all three. In short, my dish was as spicy as Jambalaya. At least the clams were cleaned and cooked properly.

My wife's Spaghettini with Meat Sauce tasted worse than mine. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was not impressed. She offered me a bite and after sampling her pasta, I couldn't help but smile because I had a sudden flashback of my childhood when my babysitter fed me Chef Boyardee Spaghetti for the first time. As soon as we made eye contact, we both couldn't help but laugh! My wife commented, "...our worst spaghetti we've ever made at home is better than theirs." I am not exaggerating when I say it tasted identical to Chef Boyardee.

We couldn't possibly leave on that bad of a note, so we decided to order dessert. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse... I ordered the Lemon Tart and my wife ordered the Chocolate Mousse. We could only handle one bite of the chocolate mousse because it was too bitter! If you're on the Atkins Diet or a diabetic, this is your dessert! Unfortunately, this is the only part of the meal that we sent back to the kitchen. My Lemon Tart wasn't much better. It arrived at my table, looking like a sadly deflated soufflé'. It tasted as bad as it looked too. They were a bit overzealous in zesting my dessert, hence the bitterness.

There are many restaurants in the Bellevue area that I can recommend -- Luciano Ristorante is not one of them. I am beyond disappointed and should have demanded a refund for my dinner and the 1 hour and 40 minutes of my life that I'll never see again. I'm very surprised they are able to stay in business, considering they are in a high-rent section of Bellevue. In short, stay away from this place. Stay far, far, away.

• Pros: Ceasar Salad
• Cons: Everything Else

08/08/09

Love the Osso Buco

by BillRiccomini at Citysearch

Had dinner last Monday and still thinking about the great Osso Buco so I decided to write about it. Thanks

• Pros: love the osso buco with risotto
• Cons: i dont like malls

08/01/09

salmon is too die for!

by caligal02 at Citysearch

I love this restaurant! I have been going here for years now and the service is fantastic. Many of the servers have been there long term and know you when you walk in the door. This is my fav spot if I just want a glass of wine or if I want a really good meal, and one of the only places where I am comfortable even if I am by myself. The salmon is my current favorite and the chocolate mousse has always been the thing I just can't refuse. Food is great, wine is great, service is awesome!

• Pros: food, service

07/23/09

a taste of italy in the heart of bellevue

by c425j at Citysearch

amazing atmosphere and food, wine list and menu is op of the line. cute waitresses. will be back many times for sure. try the clams, to die for. love the price and location :)

• Pros: great food
• Cons: nothing

07/23/09

Ristorante Luciano

by NOPE at Citysearch

its the bestest

• Pros: food, atmosphere, location, good prices
• Cons: none