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    Lugano Ristorante

    3.8 (484 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed • 11:30 am - 9:00 pm

    About Lugano Ristorante

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    Lugano Ristorante Photos

    LUGANO RISTORANTE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Lugano Ristorante

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    Annie J.

    I've been to Lugano several times and have always enjoyed it but this visit was especially great. I ordered the chicken and asparagus special and the chicken was cooked perfectly and their mashed potatoes are really good. I've also had their lasagna in the past and absolutely loved it. Highly recommend Lugano to anyone looking for good Italian food.

    Bruschetta
    Ryan D.

    Excellent spot for a date night! Very nice ambiance and the food is excellent! They usually have some great specials as well. The bruschetta is a must-have. Service is decent. I've been many times and will be back again!

    Margherita Pizza
    A R.

    The wifey wanted some Italian while we were out celebrating. So I went ahead and booked us a table here while we were in Cary. The food was ok, we've been to a few different Italian spots up & down the east coast. So we have a certain things. Atmosphere was great, service was good as well, but my food personally wasn't what I thought it would be flavor wise. The wife enjoyed her Garlic Shrimp Oreganta. My kid enjoyed eating the Margherita Pizza. So that's all that mattered all good.

    Messina salad
    Jessica C.

    Revisiting Lugano and it was yummy. I went for a leisurely weekend lunch with my Mother-in-law. I appreciate the half & half menu option when I don't want a whole plate of pasta, but I get some nice veggies also. Everything was fresh.

    Lobster fettuccine
    Gina D.

    We came into town to visit our son at NC State and take him to dinner. We are not familiar with restaurants in the area so we used YELP to look around. We found Lugano Ristorante and decided to give it a try. We were seated quickly. Our server was very attentive and friendly. Our son got a salad with chicken and said it was delicious after eating cafeteria food for a couple months now. Our daughter got the lobster fettuccine and it was also delicious. My husband got a meaty pizza that he enjoyed and I got chicken marsala. The chicken marsala was very tasty with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach that had a little kick to it! The focaccia bread was a nice addition to have while we waited for our meals. The ambiance was nice but a tad loud but it didn't bother us. We will definitely return because there were so many things on the menu we wanted to try!

    Caesar salad
    Justin P.

    I'm no expert in Italian food, but I'm fairly certain that there can be diversity when it comes to making sauces. I think this is Lugano's pitfall when it comes to their food and experience. When I walked in for the first time, Lugano had a warm and inviting feel to it. The dining room was buzzing, I was definitely impressed. Lugano's appetizers continued to get my hopes up. First off, their focaccia and olive oil may have been some of the best I've ever had. The bread was warm and airy and the herbs lifted it. We also got some calamari and a Caesar salad for the table. Both were done fairly well with the portions being exceptionally generous. My only complaint was that the batter on the calamari didn't stick so well, but the squid tasted fresh and the sauces complimented everything. The main entrees were when the tides of the meal shifted a bit. While glancing through the menu, there was a theme that I noticed regarding the pastas - they all had cream sauce. Tortelloni - pesto cream sauce. Lasagna Bolognese - three cheese alfredo. Rigatoni - touch of cream. Ziti - lobster cream sauce. Most of all the specialty pastas was a cream sauce, which I found to be rather disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I like alfredo as much as the next person, but my stomach on the other hand has more issues with it. For our table, all of the cream pastas meant that we were in for a heavy meal, with some potential consequences thereafter. I got the Ziti al Forno. Flavor wise - it was pretty good. I really liked all the meats in it, but I really could only eat half. I also got to the try the capellini alla Melanzana (has fried eggplant) and the Penne Sardi. Again, I was a bit put off by all the cream in the dishes, but I would say the Penne Sardi was the best. The eggplant was a bit disappointing, it was super thin and didn't have much substance to it. My mother ordered the grilled pork chops and she wasn't a fan of that dish. The crust on the pork wasn't super appetizing and the demi-glace overpowered all other flavors. Overall, I think Lugano is a great restaurant for a nicer meal out with the family or a special occasion. If I'm looking for some really good Italian food, I might look elsewhere. I will say, I came back with a friend and had some decent chicken parmesan for lunch. Want to know the kicker to that? It also had cream in it. What happened to a good old fashioned tomato and basil sauce??

    Cindy G.

    Came here on a Saturday night with reservations and we were seated within a couple of minutes. Restaurant was very busy. Staff was attentive in restaurant was very clean and spacious. The Merlot was very smooth and the cappellini was full of flavor. Bread came out warm and fresh

    Focaccia bread
    Iris R.

    I was impressed with my first visit to Lugano's. A friend of mine highly recommended this restaurant, so we decided to have dinner here. The restaurant has multiple table and booth seating options. The hostess was very understanding when we asked to be seated at a table instead of a booth. Our waiter, Greg, was absolutely awesome. He was attentive and offered details about some of his favorite menu options. I chose to order the Lobster and Shrimp Scampi. When I say delicious, I mean what I say. I could eat this dish once a week. The seafood was just right and the sauce was flavorful. To wrap up my first visit to Lugano's, I orders the cannolis. The ricotta filling was tasty and the cannoli shells were crisp. It's a great item to have as part of the dessert menu. I can't wait to go back to try another menu item.

    Ziti
    Zay M.

    I arrived here at 7:33pm on a Tuesday night. I made a 7:30pm reservation to celebrate a birthday. After entered, there were 3 people at the host stand and we sat promptly. It was a little busy but not crowded and there were several open tables. The first thing I noticed when were sat was that it was somewhat noisy. Maeve, our waitress, came over at 7:36pm to introduce herself and bring the cocktail menu. We got waters to started and ordered calamari appetizer at 7:38pm. At 7:42pm, Maeve brought compliments bread, which was warm and tasty. The calamari appetizer arrived at 7:46pm. It came with a warm traditional marinara sauce, and a homemade Italian salsa that was cool. The marinara paired with the calamari. The Italian salsa tasted OK, but for me, it didn't pair well with the calamari. Personally, I think it would have been better if it was warm, considering that the calamari was. We both got a glass of wine. They ordered theirs at least 10 minutes before I did. Both of our drinks came at 8:01pm. It took a little while to receive them, but our waitress did let us know that ahead of time. However, it didn't seem so busy with that would be the case. I ordered the Ziti Al Forno and other person ordered the fettuccine with lobster. When our food came, it was HOT, through and through. My pasta was amazing and honestly one of the best pasta I've had. The lobster cream sauce was amazing and flavorful. With the appetizer and bread, we didn't finish our food and got it boxed to go. We did receive and look at the dessert menu. Originally we were going to get the Lemon Panna Cotta but a waiter hyped up the Bombolini, which we ordered at 8:44pm. We received it at 8:53pm. From the description, we were expecting donut shaped dessert but it was more so shaped like a potato wedge. We enjoyed it! The ice cream, however, seemed a little flavorless, which I wasn't fond of. Overall, pretty great experience and i definitely plan to return as I want to try the a shrimp and salmon dish they have. Attentiveness of our waitress was inconsistent with moments where it was great and other moments where there was an extended period before returning. I will note teamwork seems to be highlighted as several people came to the table throughout our visit. The restaurant was clean, including the bathrooms. They have a full bar and ample dining and waiting space. When I made the reservation, I added a note that we were celebrating a birthday. It was unfortunate that it wasn't recognized. I know some restaurants may not give a "birthday treat" but a simple acknowledgment would've been nice.

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    1 month ago

    The service was a bit slow. The food was amazing! They also make a great dirty martini. The bread is also super good

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    Ask the Community - Lugano Ristorante

    Is the pasta handmade?

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    4.0(343 reviews)
    3.5 mi

    we went to colletta for a celebration and it was the best choice…read more The ambience, the service, the Decor, the vibes everything is what you look for in a celebration And of course, the food was the highlight of the evening... one of the best modern Italian we started with focaccia platter and my favorite part was the Apple butter then we ordered Campanelli pasta and Radia Tori Nero. Both were finger licking... I ordered crunchy okra, and potatoes, which were equally good and a great quantity to make it a dinner in itself we also tried non-alcoholic beverages, Italian sunrise and hibiscus bloom our server asked what we were celebrating, and when we said birthday, she brought a small tiramisu parfait with the candle as a surprise, which was definitely an icing on the cake overall, a great experience and we are already planning our next trip

    Really lovely experience! Came here for our anniversary and had a reservation for Friday night - I…read moreactually got a message from Colletta asking what our hobbies/interests are, so I told them that we love the beach and pickleball. Once we arrived, they gave us a gift of pickleballs and a really nice coconut beachy candle! We had never had that kind of customer service and generosity before, it was such a special way to start our dinner! Onto the food/drinks, we got a few drinks that were delicious! For our food, we started with the Focaccia and Polpette appetizers. They were so incredible and for my meal, I ordered the Creste di Gallo. Everything was 10/10, no notes or critiques! Our server was so friendly, helpful, and prompt! We had a wonderful time at our dinner - thank you so much Colletta team!!

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    4.0(712 reviews)
    4.7 mi
    •$$

    Lemme tell you... if you already don't know. Daniel's has the best Italian food in Apex. Maybe even…read morethe triangle. We loved the old timey feel and ambiance. From the hostess to our servers. Everyone was incredible. We started our meal with the focaccia bread with marinara. When I tell you We're still thinking about it a week later it's no exaggeration. lol I had the pear, grape and blue cheese salad which was so light and fresh! A way bigger portion than I was expecting. For our mains my wife had The penne ala casa and she thought it was incredible. So flavorful and delicious. the perfect sauce to pasta ratio. I had the lamb cannelloni. What a show stopper. The flavors, the textures all combined into a symphony on my palate. We had to run, so we ordered the tres leche cake to go. Another grand slam. It was amazing. Definitely a must get it you go!

    I've been going to Daniels for many years and have generally had good experiences and really…read moreenjoyed the food. However, my last two visits were sorely lacking. On one, my son ordered the chicken Marsala, which we have enjoyed before but it's been a long time. This time it was just perfectly awful. Salty and very little flavor. I kept thinking "where is the Marsala"? Then we went this past Monday night. There was some confusion over the pizza special, which would have been ok except Seth the owner came over and handled the discussion so poorly that even the couple sitting behind us stopped by on their way out to say they were sorry for the exchange we experienced and would not be back. We probably won't be back either, which is a real shame because we are very loyal customers of many years. But there are other good Italian restaurants in the area without rude owners and who will appreciate the business. I'm sure this review will not impact Daniels business or cause Seth to change his demeanor, but just be forewarned that if you have an issue, the owner will not be helpful in resolving.

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    Daniel's Restaurant - Decor

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    Enrigo Italian Bistro - Eggplant, prosciutto, Burrata, flatbread

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    3.9(471 reviews)
    4.8 mi
    •$$

    UPDATE: I'd not had the chance to visit Enrigo in years, so I dropped by there at Waverly Center…read morerecently after work. It still has that bistro charm, little has changed, with plenty of indoor/outdoor/bar seating. I went with the latter since I was solo, sitting at the bar for my meal. The bartender/server did a great job greeting me and taking care of my questions with a smile on his face. I found I could order the Spaghetti Carbonara even though not seen on the dinner menu I had, I was glad! I could tell when it was brought to me that this meal was truly carbonara (real carbonara around NC is just a rarity, with many calling Alfredo sauce based pasta a "carbonara" meal). This pasta meal had the combo of egg yolks, Pecorino Romano, pancetta instead of guanciale, and pepper (the latter was the perfect amount, not over seasoned with black pepper but just the right amount for me). The carbonara was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. I ended my visit with tiramisu and coffee for dessert, they were equally delicious. Throughout the meal, the bartender/server made sure to check on me and ensured all was well. All the staff were positive and welcoming throughout. Even though it had been years since I enjoyed a visit to Enrigo, I still had a great experience...just as I remembered it.

    Great food and service! Don't miss out on any of the fresh pasta dishes! The pizza was also great.read more

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    Part of inside seating, Sept 2026.

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