Osteria LuCa
Assorted Appetizers at Osteria LuCa
I keep seeing Osteria LuCa pop up on Instagram, so I finally decided to check it out.
Great reviews, confused identity
The thing about Osteria LuCa is that the food always looks SO GOOD on Instagram, and it has tons of positive reviews. It seemed like a no-brainer to try it, right? But after going, I say there is clearly a disconnect between what the restaurant wants to be, and the food that they serve. The vibe is great, service was friendly, and it gets PACKED. Unfortunately, I would equate the food at Osteria LuCa to more of a fast-casual Italian restaurant.
Here’s what I tried:
Fried Artichokes - These had great flavor and I loved the sauce. Sadly, the artichokes themselves were very overcooked. Bummer.
Whipped Ricotta - The ricotta was light and creamy, and the bread was fine. I didn’t love the chili they used on this dish though. While it gave the dish a kick, it didn’t add balance; it was more the kind of heat that is added just to add heat. I might recommend using honey instead for more nuance.
Eggplant - The eggplant was good and certainly satisfies a craving for eggplant parm. With that said, the tomato sauce lacks dimension; just very much a basic, acidic tomato sauce that you would find in a chain restaurant like Olive Garden or Buca di Beppo. Hmm.
Calamari – Honestly, I would skip this. It was extraordinarily chewy and over the top salty.
Bucatini Amatriciana - Very basic, lacking in flavor (again!). Traditionally, it should sit lighter, while offering a great richness from the guanciale. This certainly sat light, but completely missed that delicate fattiness the guanciale should have added.
Pizza - It’s good for Charlotte (although if you’ve been following me for a while, you know I don’t think Charlotte has the best pizza, so take that with a hefty grain of salt). It reminded me of what you would get at a Bertucci’s (which is chain-Italian; not amazing, but not bad).
Not my first choice
High level: the cocktails were pretty good, strong, and frankly they were the best part of the meal at Osteria LuCa. The food wasn’t horrible, but it also didn’t wow me. Overall, I’d give this place a 6/10. I found it to be aggressively average, maybe a step above an Olive Garden (and that pains me to say).
Let me put it this way: I wouldn’t fight a friend if they wanted to go, but for the money (or even a few dollars per person more) there are several other Italian restaurants in the area I would suggest to my friend first. Take that as you will.
