Delicious food, very tasty improv on cocktails, Dessert was a great Finnish to meal... Service was very attentive, great suggestions from menu and while waiting at the bar had drinks and appetizers very fun , interesting fellow diners giving us positive reviews we could not wait for main course and we were not disappointed!!Will recommend without hesitation to friends!! read more

Ask for MJ she is normally the bartender but waited on us last night. She was really knowledgeable about all the food and wine without being pushy. I was was under dressed with a backwards hat on not knowing how upscale it was. We got a few strange looks but MJ made us feel right at home and was so attentive. I will def go back if she is working. read more

One of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had. The server was friendly and honest about her recommendations. We shared a Caprese plate, Tagliatelle Lobster Fra Diavolo, and Pappardelle with a bottle of wine and it was incredible. The lobster dish was the best part and Frank Bonanno came out to our table to ask how the meal was. I absolutely recommend this place and I plan on visiting his other restaurants as well. read more

Aside from the friendly staff our experience was not very good. The food was decent. I particularly enjoyed the short ribs and caprese burrata. But the octopus was overcooked and the breakstricks (literally sticks) clearly came from a box. Also, the portion size for the price does not match up. My 30+ dollar New York Strip came out to about 4oz, I would guess. I felt like I ordered a steak tapa, if there is such a thing. The classic rock distracted from the ambiance of what otherwise would have been a nice italian restaurant. read more

Never disappoints! Always one of our favorites. Great wine with a knowledgeable sommelier. Delicious pastas. Had the octopus, calimari friti for apps- delicious. Short rib was perfection. The apple dessert and the chocolate mousse cake were amazing. read more

This place is really top notch. We came here for 5280 week and it was absolutely wonderful! Our waiter came to our table right away but when we didn't know what we wanted to drink, we didn't see him for another 20 minutes- at least. His missteps aside, I was really impressed with the 5280 menu. We had both of each option. The sage cavatelli was definitely better than the salad- though the meat that topped the salad was delish! (We're suckers for the italian cured meats!) I ordered the seafood dish and it was soooooooo good. My sweetie and I usually trade half way through and it was tough for me let go! The pork shoulder was good but pretty fatty (no surprise there!) and I would have liked to see a bit more sauce. The seafood dish just had so much depth of flavor...the capers and olives and tomato base- yum! The place is definitely pricey but you can tell they put a lot of care into the dishes. I would love to return for a special occasion and try ALL of their pastas. They certainly know how to make them very well!! read more

I had a delicious valentines date dinner at Luca. The service was impeccable, the ambiance was perfect and food delicious.

I had high hopes for Luca, given how much I love Mizuna around the corner. I held our company christmas party dinner for our little group at Luca based on a recommendation of a friend. However, the experience was very disappointing. We started with some great wine I picked more or less at random that our group loved. So far so good. Then we got appetizers of olives, calamari, and a bread assortment. The calamari was exceptional, the olives just fine, and the bread disappointing: the ciabatta had been burned to a crisp in the oven and the server thought that was normal; the other loaf was still a bit raw inside. When dinner arrived, that's when the real disappointment began. Most of us ordered large pasta dishes and found that while good, they weren't a great value and left us wanting more. However my veal saltimbocca was horrible. The meat had been overcooked - almost fried - so that the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture one expects from veal turned into a sheet of rubbery tasteless material with an oily finish, with the cheese and prosciutto inside losing out to the oily flavor. The steamed lemon-spinach on the plate could have complemented a less oily dish but was overwhelmed as well. The plate looked bare and could have used some roasted potatoes or a slice of polenta grilled in the wood-fired over that burned the bread. Then there was the table next to us where everyone appeared to have arrived drunk and proceeded from there to loud, raucus partying. Not the kind of environment where our little group could get to know each other away from work. Everyone agreed that the restaurant was just OK but overpriced for what you got. I won't be going back. read more

One of the better Italian meals I've had in recent memory. Came here on a Tuesday night for a dinner with some business colleagues while in town for work, and had a splendid meal. We shared a few appetizers (highly recommend the meatballs, calamari and fusilli pasta), along with an excellent bottle of Nebbiolo. I ordered the bolognese for my main course... very tasty and rich... so rich in fact I probably could have gone with the appetizer sized portion. Little hidden gems like this are the stuff I live for on business trips! read more

I'll just start out by saying service here is 5 star. No lie, they are playing A Game...and not like how the Broncos are playing theirs, I mean actual A Game. So this will be tough to write b/c I feel guilty. However, that won't stop me. From outside I could tell this place had class - they had table clothes. I'm not talking the paper ones either, I mean actual table clothes...like you find in expensive places or your grandma's house. I just wanted to eat at Benny's, but a 2 hour wait seemed a bit excessive so my husband suggested we live a little. Be a little more adventurous in my eating....yha, I'm not. Adventurous and eating for me is like oil and water, we just don't mix. From the menu it doesn't look that expensive and I mean I do love Italian food, so we enter. First we were under dressed, I felt like a homeless guy. Should have checked Yelp first! Second $12 for a bowl of pasta that is only an appetizer and $10 for a salad that probably had like $1 of food in it. They make everything there, and it's all fresh and whatnot, but $10 for a salad?!?! I just about died. The bread they make in house was good, except the breadsticks, they should put a warning label on them. Black liquorish and Jager is not everyone's favorite taste. Problem with cloth napkins is if something shouldn't be in your mouth there's no place to spit. So you must swallow. But the cheese on my salad was so gross I had no choice but to spit it back on my plate and drown a glass of water. They asked how everything was and I said okay...b/c saying "I'm sorry, but this may be too highbrow for me. I would have left but it was awkward at that point...." just seemed weird. Running joke since last night is how possibly could we still be hungry after such a "huge" dinner. Overall the food was good...well most of it anyways. But food to cost value, not high...I know I boiled it down to a math formula that is wicked awesome. I guess I'm just not sophisticated enough to eat here, and my wallet was a little pissed about how a $25 meal became a $125 meal in about a 1 min walk. read more

Two words - OH WOW!! Probably THE BEST meal I've had. Went with my office for our holiday party. The place is really cute and warm and inviting. We had the sampling menu (paired with wine). The service was amazing, the food was amazing and the wine with every course was also amahhhhhzing. We even got to meet the chef at the end of the meal and personally thank him for the wonderful evening. They really had thought out every aspect of every course and the wine that accented the flavors. I will admit normally I would not spend this kind of money on a meal (much thanks to my lovely boss who did) but it was well worth it - every penny for every bite! read more

i ate here on saturday night with one of my girlfriends and have been lamenting writing this review since. i had the ABSOLUTE pleasure of meeting & chatting with out of the owners outside her other restaurant on our way out. she overheard me discussing my desert with my girlfriend and it began a VERY pleasant conversation. a conversation that i was hoping would overshadow my otherwise underwhelming restaurant experience. i am not what i would call a foodie, but i do love unique and tasty food and am comopletely willing to pay top price for something if it's incredible. also, i don't have what i would call a sophisticated pallet. this may be one of those situations where i might have just ordered the wrong thing, but since 3/4 of my dishes left me dissatisfied, i don't think that's the case. i started with an AMAZING glass of chianti. if you like chianti - have it! it's perfectly smooth and amazing. when they served our bread, we were served a 'lardo with proscutto' in lieu of the magical olive oil or butter which usually accompanies the white flour feast. sad. i was sad. i wanted oil or butter, but felt that it was the kind of place where you ought not ask and so i did not. i did try the 'lardo', but as i predicted, it was fat with a prosciutto flavor and i did not care for it. i ordered the meatballs as my appetizer. they came in a sauce which included an AMPLE amount of rosemary. although i do like rosemary as a garnish and a bit in chicken and breads, i am not a fan of it overpowering my meatballs. i couldn't get past the rosemary garden in the plump little balls of goodness. :( the next course was the bolognese with parparadelle. two things: the waiter should learn how to pronouce the pasta if he works in an italian restaurant. this is my ONLY criticism of him as overall he was lovely, educated, helpful and attentive. the pasta itself was wonderfully aldente and super tasty. the sauce, however, was nothing special although it was tasty. finally, i ordered the spumoni for dessert. i told the waiter, with much zeal about my love for spumoni and this is when he informed me that this was 'not your average' spumoni he explained how the ice cream part was goat's milk, but then there was a layer of cherries & a layer of pistacio pudding. i grimaced, visably i'm sure, for a moment, but he still urged me to try it. it certainly was different, but nothing i cared for. i ate about 1/2 of it and then thought to myself: stop eating these calories. you're not even really enojoying them. then i stopped. i do have to stay, however, that the atmosphere in the restaurant is very inviting, warm and comforting, but givin the price tag and the value for it, for me, i'm going to have to 'just say no' to future visits here. HOWEVER, the owners also own Mizuna around the corner and due to the amazingly friendly experience, i'm looking forward to trying it. read more

Went here with hubby for ny's eve hot date night!!! Anyway some things were really good and some things not so much. When we got there we had a rezzie but they were behind and making everyone wait at the bar. I feel pretty silly waiting at the bar as I can't drink and am about to pop and get some funny looks. But when we did get seated some of the food was really yummy. They did a 5 course tasting menu for NY's eve. It started with a complimentary glass of champagne, which they tried to give to me and hubby and even though we said we didn't want it they awkwardly left one glass in the middle of the table between us. Lol. SO strange. Anyway, for the tasting you could choose from 2 options per course so I chose the ones I could eat since baby vinny limits my options, and hubby chose the other option. Started with a panna cotta amuse with oyster foam that was kind of weird and I'm not sure all the flavors worked together. Next was the salad, beet salad with goat cheese--it was delicious! I have been craving beets ever since and hubby refuses to let me cook them or cook them for me. (what a garbage!) He had the beef carpaccio dish which I tried a small bite of and it was ok. Next was some kind of lobster and mushroom dish. This was one that was like AHMAHGAH so good. One of those melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness dishes. Makes you do a double take every time you take a bite. Hubby had the tuna for this course and it gave me the same reaction when I tried it. He loved it too. SO we have a clear winner for fav course. Then the pasta course, I had like a veal ragu which was pretty good but not amazing, hubby had scallop and squid ink pasta and it was a dud. In between this we had a key lime sorbet palate cleanser that I could have done without--it reminded me of eating warheads as a small child. Then the main course-- hubby had a bass dish which I liked very much and I had duck which was amazing. It was sooo rich and cooked perfectly. My second fave after the lobster/mushroom. Dessert was an intense chocolate thing I'm not sure what you call it but it was soooo chocolately so who can complain. Anyway I was very happy with most of the food here which is why it gets 4 stars. I feel like with a few tweaks this place could be a lot more sophisticated. read more

I was on my way tp Wash Park Grill and decided on Italian instead so i YELP'ed and found this place. Glad i did! I nad the bolognese and it was by far the 2nd best ive had - Mom's ALWAYS takes first. Great aervice, hreat ambiance ... Oh and the food rocks! Come and enjoy, you'll love it. Btw, come with someone special, it has a romantic feel to it. You're bound to get lucky afterwards. read more

It was okay. I had the sausage pizza and it was good although the center of the pizza was soggy. The best thing I had was the Rosemary lardo with the rustic bread appetizer. The hard breadsticks they serve taste a lot like cheese-itz. All around much of the food was decent. The worst part of the meal was trying to close out. After giving our cards and cash it took about 20 min to get our cards/change back. Other than that, service was great. Very on point with refilling water glasses. read more

Delicious neighborhood Italian place. Don't know why we haven't gone here before. Service was friendly and attentive. Ambience was comfortable and pleasant. Food - delicious! Started with spicy tuna tartare - my hubby could have eaten it all by himself! Complimentary breadsticks so yummy with their Parmesan flavor. We both had pasta which is homemade and hit the spot. His was linguine with lobster; mine cavatappi with broccoli rabe, sausage, & shrimp. Definitely will eat here again. Prices reasonable - you can get a primi or entree size. read more

This is a hard review to post. The food is delicious. When you spend $200 for 3 people you should walk out with full bellies. That didn't happen. Service was a mess - our waiter has 4 tables and you would of thought he had 12. A women was running around in a frenzy - she cleared our table and brought out dessert menus before we even had our main course. Total lack of attention. Potions are totally off. I had the butter squash Agnolotti at $18 and there were 7 small pieces. I total the waiter the potion was unsatisfactory and he said he would let the kitchen know. The highlight of the food was the meat and cheese plate. Our drinks took 20 minutes because the bartender was backed up and the restaurant was half full. What was he doing? Not sure how to fix these issues? So much potential but too many great restaurants to return when you leave unfilled. read more

Not bad, but I expected more for the price (4 course tasting menu with a cocktail each brought us to $190 (tip included)). Waiter was a bit reserved, not overly friendly, but nice enough. Water glass was never empty, either. But food wise, there needs to be more pasta dishes on the menu for an Italian place. I thought the entree choices could've been entrees at any american restaurant in Denver. I also thought what I did have was just ok, and pretty rich to boot. Altogether, nice enough, but not really worth the money, in my book. read more

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with dinner at Luca. We really enjoyed the escargot/mushroom dish - and the crab cake was very good. The Lobster fra diavalo was truly spicy (fine!) - and had plenty of lobster which I wish had been a little more tender. My husband had the lamb loin - which was pretty "chewy." With our cocktails, wine, and food, the tab was about $200. We ordered one dessert for the two of us (chocolate torte) - and enjoyed it. What was surprising - there was no offer of a dessert (the waitress knew it was our 50th anniversary)! These days, the restaurants we frequent (240 Union, Del Frisco, Bonefish e.g.) ALWAYS offer a dessert for an anniversary or birthday celebration. Small thing....but an important little add-on. read more

Magnificent! In the world of Italian cuisine, Luca Rivals the best.

Frank Bonnano really knows what his customers want. Service, great food and the right atmosphere, for a great experience. Our meal was amazing, but even better was the service that Mark (the sommelier) and our waiter Kip provided. Efficient and knowledgeable with great timing made this a great evening. Our food was served promptly and the presentation was great. The burrata was sublime as were our entrees (the scallops and the duck) which were paired perfectly with our wine selection. This restaurant is one of the best in Denver. read more

This place was amazing! First of all, the service if great. They asked to hang my coat up for me. They also folded my napkin when I got up to use the restroom. Second, the food! We ordered the calimari for an appetizer. It was not your typical calamari. None of that fried crap. It tasted healthy and flavorful. I had the veal chops next. They came with Roman ghnochi and spinach. I would highly recommend this place for a special occasion. I am not giving it 5 stars because we waited a while for our food and the prices were a little high. read more

We came here for dinner on our first anniversary and we will be back again next year. Expensive but worth every penny for a special occasion. Everyone who works there paid incredible attention to us, the food was phenomenal and the ambiance made a special night even better. We loved it. read more

Went New Year's Eve with friends Not up to past experience Typically I'd say hey it's NYE who wants to work but for the price I expected more 3 of 4 entrees went back and two other of the 5 courses were forgettable The wine pairings at $90 extra were significantly over priced and under poured I hope it was an anomaly but still a bad experience read more

Been to Luca a couple times. The first time I was stunned by the food and the service (considering this is Denver). The calamari gets no better than this, sauteed and cooked perfectly. The pastas are amazing, especially the mushroom fusilli which is bursting with flavor. Friendly, professional staff and cozy venue. Nice mix of people, not your typical hipster Rino crowd. read more

One of our favorites and usually gets 5 stars. Closest thing Denver has to Frasca. Pastas are amazing here, get a few. Only reason for 4 star rate from last night's dinner is the waitress forgot our side dish and apologized but didn't do anything on the check. At a place like this, you would expect a dessert to get comp'd and it wasn't. We adjusted tip accordingly, but for Luca to ever be considered top-echelon they need to train and empower the wait staff to make amends properly. Still will be going back... read more

Fresh, true Italian restaurant. Excellent fine dinning and found the smaller portions were great for sharing before the main meal. Save room for dessert. read more

Their Mushroom Fusili is one of the best dishes I've had here in Denver. I can't wait to go try the happy hour and explore the menu more. Definitely a delicious local spot. read more

So many of the other reviewers are spot on. Some friends made a reservation at Luca for a Saturday evening. Since I had not been there, I looked on Yelp to see what we should wear and it indicated it was a bit dressy. THIS IS NOT CORRECT! It is very casual although it sounds like it used to be a bit nicer. The atmosphere was nice until it started getting more crowded and it became hard to hear a conversation between 4 people. We sat down and got water and then our waiter went AOL. It was another 15 minutes before we got our drink order taken. The waiter explained the menu which seemed more complicated than it needed to me. We did hear very clearly that the pasta dishes are small and we should consider ordering an entree along with a pasta dish if we were hungry. We decided to order a cheese and meat appetizer instead which was very good. When our pasta came out, we realized how right the waiter had been. It was SMALL. The one person that ordered chicken parm. was glad she did and she said it was very good. We all agreed that the food was very good and the service was not. Our entrees came out almost an hour and a half after we arrived. A bit too long especially considering how small they were. Again, the food was very good and the place has a nice ambiance. We all agreed that for the price, we may look for another place that makes their own pasta. read more

All I can say is fusilli pasta. This is one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had. My fiancee and I had a great experience. Our server was great and our food was great, but next time I go I am having a triple order of fusilli pasta!!!! read more

Kind and fabulous service! Food...every course...wine, appetizer, main, dessert....AMAZING!!! The only downfall is that It does hit the checkbook. We will definitely return. read more

Luca was excellent. Antipasti salum and cheese excellent. Calamari light and tasty. Caesar salad just adequate. Both pasta dishes , tagliatelle and papadelle outstanding. Best of all though was wine steward. As a Californian I wasn't happy that State law doesn't allow corkage, but his mid priced selection of a nebbiola and a rosso di montalcino were perfect choices. Excellent table service too. read more

Had some incredible pork belly here once! Service was good and valet eas very convenient to have in this neighborhood. Bartender also was great with his scotch recommendation read more

A happy client treated us to a night out at Luca, and it was fantastic! We ordered the tasting menu, and everything they brought us was amazing. Highly recommended if you are looking for upscale dining in Denver. read more

We ordered the tasting menu and it was amazing!! It was a pairing that we never would've come up with. They took the time to explain what everything was, and the staff was super attentive in making sure of everything, from filled water glasses to enjoying our food and the atmosphere. The food was delicious, and we are definitely going back soon! There's been some reviews on atmosphere, and if you're younger you won't fit in. I'm 22, and although the atmosphere was a little more upscale, the servers all joked around with us and seemed more than happy to serve us. We felt more than comfortable there read more

We enjoyed our dinner for a second time. Food and service were very good. We mentioned the fact that the room was uncomfortably cool, but nothing changed for the two hour meal. Bring bread aside for those who are having a sauce on your plate. Too little caramel sauce on the almond cake, we couldn't taste none. read more

We just went for drinks and to share a meat & cheese plate. The service was really solid. The bartender did really well with the drinks suggestions and the food presentation was awesome. read more

Is it pricey? yes. Is it worth it? I think so. Luca is definitely a special occasion place for me but I love the creative menu and the staff is always great! The mushroom fusilli is absolutely incredible! read more

The food was fine, but you get about 5 bites -- and this is with the entree size. And the prices are very very high for what you get. Service was not great - we waited a long time for our food to come and had to send back our bill twice because we weren't charged for our appetizer and then the 2nd time we were charged regular price for our appetizer that we ordered for HH. The food isn't good enough to overcome the price and service obstacles. read more

I agree with a review below- Anthony P -did we have the same waitress??? The food selection was great - great interesting selections -- but took 25 minutes to get our first drink and 25+ to get a check paid at the end. Service was weird. we got the price fixe dinner and our server just kept asking - is everything OK? like every course - it became a social obligation. After $250+ we were frustrated. I The manager addressed our concerns at the END of our meal - but still . . . - We will likely go back, sit at the bar and hope for the best. read more