Lucca South Shore News Flash - It’s a Beautiful, Delicious Italian Restaurant Behemoth
OK, readers. We went to the long-awaited Lucca South Shore last night. We’ll have to go back in order to bring you a proper restaurant review, but it felt like a lie of omission not to quickly note that Lucca is officially open in Rockland and we officially went there.
Lucca’s gorgeous interior, courtesy of their website
While you eagerly await our formal review and the patented Phait Rating, let me share with you 5 OBSERVATIONS about our Lucca experience:
It’s absolutely enormous - Seriously. The kitchen itself is 3500 square feet. There are multiple bars, multiple seating areas. The place was unreal.
The food was great - We had the burrata appetizer and it was awesome. I could have eaten it all myself, and probably a second one after that. Entrees were cooked to perfection. (Restraining myself - this is not a review).
Prices are high for the deep South Shore, but reasonable for the food and experience - The hanger steak entree I had (which, by the way, was cooked to a perfectly red medium rare…but again, this is not a review!) was $27. The lobster gnocchi, which I heroically resisted, clocked in at $32. The bill for dinner at Lucca is certainly going to come in much higher than T.K. O’Shea’s right across the street, but it’s reasonable for the food and ambiance.
There’s a huge need for restaurants of this size/scope/price point, because Lucca was slammed on a Wednesday night - We had dinner for four at 7pm on a Wednesday, and we snagged what looked like the only free table. It was so busy. We talk often about the gap in the market on the South Shore when it comes to high-end restaurants, but it’s never been more viscerally, if anecdotally, apparent. We need more Luccas.
Wine was very reasonably priced - Our excellent bottle of Montepulciano Sangiovese was only $43, and there were plenty of options that were similarly priced. Maybe they’ll roll out a wine punch card for me?
Anyway, if you live on the South Shore, get to Lucca stat. And stay tuned for an official review soon.