I respectfully dissent from the fawning majority. My understanding is the the City of Denver stopped using salt on slippery streets for environmental reasons. The truth is that Frank Bonnano has cornered the market on salt for use in his stable of restaurants, especially Luca. And then there's his obsession with fat or "lardo." From which region of Italy does this originate--Wisconsin? Several hours after dining, one should not feel the need to drink a gallon of sparkling water as a counterpoint to a $200 meal. read more

This was really an excellent meal. The prix fixe menu is a great way to go. I would not suggest the wine pairing -- just get a glass of wine off the "by the glass" menu. Three of us did the four-course prix fixe menu. For the appetizer, two did the octopus and one did the Sicilian calamari. Hands down, the Sicilian calamari was better. (The octopus was very good too.) Then we did pasta. One had the crab pasta. It was solidly good. Another had the duck pasta. It was very good. I had the pasta with wild boar. It was amazing. For entrees, we had the lamb, the porchetta and the duck. The lamb was the best, followed by the porchetta and duck. Desserts - we had the apple dessert, the chocolate (pudding-style) dessert and the almond cake with a small dollop of ice cream and an amazing caramel sauce. The almond cake won by a mile. The ice cream was insane, the caramel sauce better, and the cake was fantastic. Wait staff were attentive but not intrusive. Not snobby at all -- very friendly. Wine selection was great. All in all a terrific place to go if you are looking to drop a lot of money on your meal. read more

The food was very good but not really worth the enormous price tag. I've had just as good a meal (and more satisfying) for half the price. The service was excruciatingly slow despite the fact that there were at most 2 other tables besides ours. We ended up being there for 3 hours and did not even have dessert. read more

This is truly one of Denver's great restaurants. We have been many times, and it is consistently excellent. Don't miss the octopus, burrata, mushroom pasta, lobster fra diavolo, halibut, rabbit, and pistachio gelato. Just a list of my favorites: we get the four course tasting menu so we can try 8 courses. The service is professional and just the right pace for a fabulous dining experience. read more

Well Done!!!! My girlfriend and I came here with my buddy and his wife for pure indulgence during restaurant week over a year ago (slacking on reviews). That happened and wow was i happy about it. We had a reservation at 730 on a thursday night and unfortunately we were not seated immediately. We waited at the bar for about 30 minutes (that happens i get it). we didn't complain but they decided to make us feel like VIPs the rest of the evening, they even comped a bottle of wine for us (maybe because we bought 3 others that evening). we had amazing food and amazing service from our waitress who was very patient with us when the wine was flowing. I cant rate this place high enough. This was truly a great experience. THANK YOU CHEF BONNANO AND AGAIN, WELL DONE!!!!!!! read more

Two-Stars equals "Meh. I've experienced Better" (per the yelp words) I was writing a review to post to open table, but was struck with a meager character size limit, so I am posting the full review here; I generally dont leave reviews, but I feel compelled as my experience really did not meet up to any of my expectations. For whatever reason, we've never been to Luca in the ~10yrs weve been in Denver, but on our recent anniversary, we decided it was time. (reservation on 2/8/14 @ 7pm) We showed up and were left waiting and unnoticed for a few moments. Ugh, hello? The hostess returned to the front, and almost began to seat us, after fumbling with at least 8 different menus, when she was pulled away to take care of someone's coat. Again, left standing there. First impression, I'm a bit annoyed, but willing to forget it. We arrived to a largely empty restaurant at 7pm, yet they seat us at a cramped two-top table among 5 other tables (total of 7 tables in the front). Looking around, there are at least 10-15 other completely open tables. At least we werent sat in front of the kitchen door like has been done to us at another Bonanno restaurant with a reservation. sigh. 5 minutes later after being seated, an older couple, very well known by the staff apparently, sat down at the last open table in our area by the window and for the next 15 minutes it turns into a meet and greet. But hey, now we both know the entire life story about the hostess and how she's moving to Louisiana, how Frank stopped drinking because of a recent surgery, and how truly excited they are about opening their new restaurant.... It wouldnt have been quite so bad had it not been for the fact that all seven tables were now occupied in the tiny front area of the restaurant which then caused volume levels to increase via a feedback response. Great, now my wife and I couldnt even carry on a normal conversation. So we just sat sipping our cocktails. Again, I'm willing to move on and get past this, but it's becoming a bit difficult with how in-our-face this was, especially coming in with the expectation of having a nice quiet dinner where we could focus on enjoying the evening together without a lot of distraction. So the menu, the menu looks fantastic and is what brought us in. We were both thrilled for our options. Having done numerous tasting menus before, we opted out this time as we just wanted two courses and a dessert. In our experience, the tasting courses generally have reduced portion sizes, and this was confirmed by a very loud waiter as we first sat down when he was explaining the menu to a table behind me. Conversely, if you order ala carte, the portion sizes are adjusted accordingly. (experience based off a dozen visits to Opus when it was in Littleton, a half or so dozen visits to RKT, & one to Mizuna for example) We both started with salads and were both thrilled. Grilled Cesar and a baby beet. Everything was quite excellent. Portion size was what I would expect as well ordering ala carte. Very little to complain about here. Next, came the "entrees". For 34$ what would one expect of an Entree when one orders the scallops and the lamb ala carte. To clear up any false expectations, I'll let you know that it is THREE scallops and appx THREE ounces of Meat. Seriously? I'm not a "fat American" wanting huge portions, but this was a little ludicrous. I've been to other high end restaurants around denver many times. Have done both ala carte and their tasting menus, and the portions are always tailored accordingly. This was just silly and almost felt like the Chef was on auto-mode making more tasting menu portions. Or maybe this is how it is. I dont know, and I really have no desire to find out by returning as there are so many other better places to go that represent better values. We both left hungry. Honestly, these were appetizer portion sizes and have had many appetizers at other high-end Denver restaurants that were more generous for less money. That aside, the food on my plate, was very well prepared, though slightly under seasoned all around from the salad to the meat. The level of cook on everything showed great skill, but the flavors and execution I felt were just average. Plating was gorgeous. Overall everything was good, but it just wasn't quite what I was expecting on so many fronts. If it's our choice, we'll never return as there are other places we find prepare better food and at a better value. If you go, be careful ordering ala carte, as this place really only seems to understand their tasting menu. read more

Food was Amazing! We had the tasting menu paired with wines. All 6 courses were Fab! Generous pours on the wine and all were exquiset. Loved the ambiance. Service was out of this world. GM even emailed me after to make sure everything was ok. Our new favorite! read more

Typically one of my favorite restaurants but was sorely disappointed. I went there for a holiday dinner as usually do at year end. I had a reservation at Barolo Grill but asked for the switch here because I typically like their food and service. This time I clearly had something that was not fresh - I had the grilled octopus with garbanzo beans. I don't think it was the octopus but I ate the garbanzo beans despite it tasting funny. My mistake. As I got home, didn't feel well and within three hours was vomiting my dinner. I could not sleep as I had couple of bouts and the next day was weak and nauseous and could not keep anything down - even dry toast. After my second day off work I was finally beginning to feel normal again. I understand perhaps once in a while there might be an error in the restaurant. I called the manager to inform them for the benefit of other customers. He was incredulous of my claim, accused me of being mistaken, didn't even ask about me as a result and clearly would take no action including letting the kitchen know because he didn't believe me. That is the reason for the two stars. For a pricey restaurant as this I would expected mor concern not only for me but for his customers. Especially in these times like Chipotle, food poisonings should be taken seriously. Unfortunately I am not inclined to go back or recommend this place again. Too bad the restaurant doesn't care of its customers and assume we are too stupid to not know when the meal is the cause of the sickness. Really disappointed. If I could I would change the stars to just 1. read more

The best thing about Luca D'Italia was watching the hilarious train wreck of a first date between a 60-something year old man and his sluttily dressed companion. We arrived, sat down, and didn't have anyone come to our table to offer us anything to drink besides water for 15 minutes. It took another 15 for someone to offer to take our order. By that time, you would think we were hungry enough it would all taste amazing, but that was not the case. The burrata was subpar - its much better, and cheaper, at Osteria Marco. The homemade bread was good, but I can get good homemade bread at Whole Foods. The roasted parsnip agnolotti was bar far the highlight of the meal. Tender lamb in a savory ragu with homemade pasta. The artic char was interesting enough - well cooked fish for sure. However the accompanying pistachio "dust" and pumpkin fonduta were so scarce they did not augment the flavors at all. I'm happy the tables next to use were served dessert first so we didn't waste our time and money. The "banana cream pie" was two small slices of banana standing on end with some cream sauces next to it. We went and got ice cream instead. read more

My wife and I went to Luca for the third time in as many years. We had high expectations since the food has been superb in the past. We were disappointed. I know the original owner/chef -Frank Bonanno - has opened several new restaurants recently and, unfortunately, the lack of attention to the reason we have gone to Luca in the past - THE FOOD - is really starting to show. The caprese salad was good - but then again how do you screw up tomatoes and buratta? My wife had the pappardelle with bolognese which was so over-seasoned with rosemary that it was inedible. My veal saltimbocca was was extremely tough and poorly prepared. We told the waiter, who was friendly enough, and he comped the pappardelle for us. To top it off , we decided to roll the dice on dessert with the "roasted peach crostini" -another mistake. The crostini was so hard my wife couldn't cut it with a fork, the peaches were raw (and not even ripe) -NOT - roasted, and the custard runny. I don't know where Frank is finding his chefs these days, but Luca is definitely not what it once was. So sad. read more

My husband wanted to surprise me with a nice evening out at Luca so off we went, 21 degrees at Luca, this is important info as when we were seated by the window, we felt like we were sitting outside! The maitre d came over and apologized for their "heating system" not being able to keep up when the temp outside is below 30 degrees? So we moved away from the window and closer to their "secretary" heater. We still froze the entire evening. The salads (House and Lola Rosa) were very tasty. My husband ordered the fusilli with wild mushrooms; however, asked for a olive oil/garlic sauce vs the creamy one offered...when the entree arrived, it was plain fusilli with olive oil and a few chunks of garlic. Where are the wild mushrooms? So the server misunderstood the order totally. I had my butternut squash ravioli entree so there we sat, me eating, my husband waiting for them to re-do his entree. No apology nor any suggestion of taking mine back to keep warm so we could eat together. Very disappointing on how the server handled this, not professional at all for such a first class restaurant. Check the temp outside too before going, make sure it is 30 degrees and above or dress in down! Not going back...... read more

My husband and I went to Luca for dinner last night, it was our first time eating there. The service was phenomenal! We had clean flatware with each course, my water glass was never less than half full and all staff (not just our waiter) attended to our table. The food was good, but I had very high expectations since the proprietor owns one of my favorite restaurants, Osteria Marco. The food was a little over the top for Italian food. I had the chefs tasting menu with the wine pairings. The wines were delicious and the sommelier came over with each glass to give a brief history and information about the wine. The veal carpaccio with Parmesan was good, the second course of squid ink risotto was tasty but the squid ink seemed unnecessary and stained my teeth a little black. The clams with fettuccine were delicious and the clams had a nice saltwater taste. The braised ox cheeks tasted like pot roast which was good but nothing special. The dessert was my least favorite which was a total bummer! The sponge cake was a little dry and the blood orange syrup/glaze was too tart, neither my husband nor I cared for it. Luca made for a pleasant date night but wasn't special enough that we would make a point to return. With 3 kids a date night is rare, so we frequent restaurants that wow! read more

I'd been to Luca for dinner previously. As it's a tad more expensive it was more of a special occasion type meal. Typically, for less expensive, yet just as delicious, I would go to Bonanno's establishment, Bones, next door. I finally got over to Luca since they started their Happy Hour menu and can't believe more people don't take advantage of it. The price is outstanding and of the 4 dishes we got on the menu, all were top notch. The portion sizes were smaller - fortunately - which allowed us to try more dishes and be a little adventurous. The trip is worth it just to get the burrata for $6. Both the pasta dishes were great and the bolognese surprisingly made me reminisce of my time in Italy. For $5 a glass you get a very liberal pour of wine. I'd always loved Bonanno Brothers pizza in Greenwood Village but was sad to see it go. Luca's new happy hour menu brings an incredible value at one of his more well known establishments. I'm going to try to take advantage of this menu as often as I can! read more

the service and staff are terrific. the food... overpriced for what you get. The hamachi was beautiful and delicious, but the portion size was measly for the price. There were maybe 4-5 small bites of hamachi. We ordered Caesar salad which was great, but over dressed with too many anchovies. Who puts 5 anchovy fillets on a single portion of Caesar salad? The result is overfishy, over dressed salad. I ordered the New York steak for $39. When it came I was astonished. There were two small slices each maybe 4 inches by 3/4 inch. 2 small slices of steak for $39???? Now, the potatoes and the blue cheese sauce was delicious, but the portion size was ridiculous. There should have been AT LEAST twice as much steak on the plate as offered, and that still would have seemed a medium portion. Finally, it wasn't seasoned (which in restaurant terms means salted! that's cooking 101!!) My wife ordered the fish which was supposed to come with artichokes, fava beans and cannellini beans. The fish was well cooked, but there were no fava beans or artichokes and the cannellini beans were undercooked - crunchy and yech. Overall, the food was not impressive, the portions ridiculously small... for high prices! Not worth it. read more