Luce

The hubby and I went to dinner at Luce for Valentine’s, and we were a bit disappointed.  I can see where this restaurant might be a great place to go back on a night that isn’t so hectic for them, though timing wasn’t the problem.  We were just so underwhelmed with the food!

The best part of the meal was the free bread they brought us to begin!  It was crusty on the outside, soft in the middle and served with a white bean soaked in olive oil and vinegar topping that was out of this world!  I could have eaten that with a spoon!  For starters, Dustin had a salad of tomato slices and buffalo mozzarella stacked up and drizzled with a balsamic olive oil reduction.  It was merely ok.  The tomatoes were not in season, or flavorful, so I’m surprised that item made it on their very limited Valentine’s Day menu.

I had a bowl of lobster bisque for my starter and it was delicious, if a bit watery.  The flavor was nice, but not special.  Our main meal is where the disaster occurred.  Dustin got seared scallops over mushroom risotto, and while it was fine, he got 3 scallops on a bed of creamy rice.  And these weren’t big scallops!  That was roughly $10 a scallop.  They were cooked perfectly, but not worth $10 a scallop.

I had 2 entrees (and didn’t eat either one).  My first was a pan seared Chilean Sea Bass on a bed of lentils.  The fish was gelatinous, and the lentils looked unappetizing, but were actually quite flavorful.  The waitress noticed I wasn’t eating my entree and insisted on bringing me salmon.  The salmon itself was nicely cooked, but just plain and underwhelming.  It sat atop a mixture of what I can only describe as warmed up and thickened Pace Picante Sauce.  I couldn’t eat it either, as I was waiting on the second entree for a while and I simply lost my appetite.

The service was spotty, as well.  They serve drinks in small glasses and were not on hand for refills of water or drinks, so we sat dry for a bit.  The dining room was a bit bland and our table was in a corner next to a drink station (water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink).  I just did not have a good experience at Luce.  If you decide to give them a try and have a different experience I’d love an email!