I think I was expecting more from this restaurant. We got there and sat no problem. But when it came to the service it was very slow. It did not look to be that busy in restaurant for our service to be that slow. Others sat down after us where getting their food before my party. Regardless, we got our meals and they were just fine... until I found 2 hairs in my dish. YUCK! Our waiter did not come back to check on our meals until my party was finished, so I couldn't send it back and get something Else in a timely manner. I ultimately had to request the bus boy to see our waiter to get this matter taken care of. Over all I was very disappointed, and I will NOT be returning. read more

Nice atmosphere. The food was very good and portion sizes were generous. Downside is the service was very slow. Took a while to place our order and there was a big gap between each the courses coming out. It was a Tuesday night and they weren't particularly busy so not sure why it took so long. Don't recommend if you are in a hurry. read more

Went there for the first time with my wife and a friend to celebrate her birthday. We all ordered off the price fix menu. So many appetizers and entrees to chose from. And the portions are good as well. All I can say is wow. Everything we ordered was exceptional. Our server Maria was friendly and very helpful. Can't wait to return soon. You can't go wrong for choosing to dine here. So good. read more

We went to Luce last night for my birthday dinner. We had s reservation for 7:45 pm, and didn't realize they closed at 8. As soon as we found this out, I told our server that we would happily take our food to go so they could close up. There were other parties there as well, but everyone looked done with their food. Our server was very kind and insisted that we sit back and enjoy our meal. I got the shrimp pesto and my boyfriend got the risotto. Everything was fantastic. My pasta and shrimp were both cooked beautifully. All the seafood in the risotto was cooked perfectly as well. The flavors were fantastic. I will absolutely be coming back for future special occasions! read more

I'm only giving a 3 star because of how long we were there! The restaurant wasn't that busy but it took about an hour or so before we got our dinners (only 2 of us) . The food was great especially the seafood crepes!! Probably the best I've ever had. They offer a nice price fixed menu that's included on the weekends, $29pp includes app salad and entree. Lobster ravioli was good but only 5 raviolis on the plate, veal Milanese was good as well and nice portion size . We skipped out on dessert 8.95 for a piece of cake was a little bit much~ read more

Ristorante Luce - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

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It was my first time to dine in here and I had a great time! Celebrated my birthday with my husband and had a good spot at the bar. Ambiance was good and foods was outstanding! Great wine list and friendly staffs! Come and visit and you won't regret it! read more

Ristorante Luce - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

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Well as a first experience I was not disappointed at all. A friend of mine son frequent this restaurant heard so much about it and I finally had an opportunity to eat there the food was delicious the service was impeccable the atmosphere was beautiful the waiter we had Christopher was phenomenal being very new to the job he did a spectacular job and I definitely would recommend this place to anyone that's looking for a good Italian restaurant. read more

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Consistent... the food, the staff, the atmosphere... all great every time. Love the New York style calamari. Salmon risotto and so much more... read more

Beautiful restaurant! I enjoy the options of dining inside the restaurant and/or at their outside tables. The staff are all very kind, the waiters are extremely courteous and are willing to go the extra mile for their guests. The food is spot on, very very delicious! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. read more

Ristorante Luce - Penne pasta with julienne of grilled chicken breast, fresh asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, touch of cream. Loved it!! - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

Went for lunch with a friend. My friend is from Italy and he likes this place so I trusted him. The service was very good and my meal was delicious. We had wine that was suggested by our server and was very nice. All in all I had a pleasant experience. I will return. read more

We went during Quinnipiac Parents weekend. Menu was changed due to expected large crowd. Calamari was inedible.. undercooked and overly fishy tasting. Meals were average at best. No pasta with chicken Parmesan. Very loud and tables were so tight that it was hard to navigate around restaurant. Spent $200 for four with only mixed drink. read more

I felt compelled to write a review after my first visit here. First off, when we made a reservation I feel we should have been told they were not offering the full Menu this evening due to Graduation going on. We arrived to a paper menu with limited choices. On the cover of said menu it asked to please be mindful of your reservation as there are others to follow. That was also dissapointing and made me feel rushed right from the start. I asked for a martini menu to be told they are redoing said menu. My meal was mediocre for $28. My husband however loved his. I will not go back. read more

an OK Italian place. I mean, it feels like they are trying real hard to be good and fancy, but maybe are falling a little short. Apps were ok, but really nothing worth mentioning. I don't know if my rigatoni was fresh, but it seemed like it was from a box. Sauce was OK but SUPER rich and creamy but i guess thats expected from a cream sauce. I guess I was lucky and didn't find pubic hairs in my dinner as someone had mentioned earlier. Dessert .. ok this was the weakest point. Pastry looked like it was from BJs and sprinkled with powdered sugar - maybe a few days old. read more

Ristorante Luce - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

Six family members have spent the last six months critiquing restaurants of high repute in the lower Connecticut area. We've established six standards to ensure a fair rating: ambiance, presentation, service, taste, price, and most of all "would you return?" Our latest venue: Ristorante Luce in Hamden. Fortunately, we were served by Enzo, the best waiter to date, which made our experience a 10 on all counts. This restaurant has moved to number one on our preferred list of restaurants to revisit. read more

This is just one more sub-par Italian restaurant that over-charges for mediocre food, sub-par cleanliness/hygiene, and below average service. 7 of my family members attended on a Thursday night. The waiter brought out wine glasses, 2 of which were dirty enough that we requested new ones. Mine had notable 3-dimensional food crud caked on it, and visible marks on the lip from the last person that used it. When I politely asked for another, the waiter took it from the table, wiped it off a little, and returned it, still with visible food crud and lip marks on it. The salad and appetizers were good. Good. Not great. Greens tasted fresh, and the dishes were freshly prepped (not pulled out of a refrigerator after sitting for hours like some places). I had the gnocchi, which was cooked well, but with bland sauce that had clearly been overheated and tasted sort of burned. There was a good deal of mushy spaghetti noodles mixed in with the gnocchi (an indicator of how well they clean the pots/dishes). My brother got penne with chicken, and complained it tasted like tuna. My Mom's water glass smelled absolutely foul, like it didn't even get cleaned and had been sitting in old food. Then Men's room smelled like raw sewage (not just odors from a used bathroom). They must have a pipe backing up, or a leak. And there were paper towels all over the floor because no one had bothered to empty the trash bin. Overall, if you want mediocre Italian, I'd recommend just going to the Olive Garden over Luce. At least the service and cleanliness would be better. For some reason, people tolerate below average food and cleanliness at expensive Italian restaurants. In my opinion, the dining experience at Luce is laughable for the menu prices. At half the cost, I still would be unlikely to return, due to the cleanliness. For the cost of our meal, there's no chance of a return visit. There are far too many good restaurants out there to waste time and money on a place that's so out of touch with what they need to do in order to justify these menu prices. Add in the cleanliness issues, and I can't say I'd recommend them to anyone. This is just experience from a single visit. But unfortunately, that's all I need to sway me towards a higher quality establishment next time. read more

I had my birthday here. I expected a special dinner. From beginning to end this restaurant was a disaster. My family was seated. The waiter was a disaster. No class. He didn't tell us the specials- he didn't bring us olive oil or cheese to dip the bread in. He treated us horribly. My daughter was so insulted by the waiter. And she frequently goes here. We ordered and after a very long time he came and said filet is not available tonight. He SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! We were ignored all night. This was hideously embarrassing. We weren't offered wine, it was so broken! This restaurant should know the lack of professionalism, respect, and complete distastefulness that I had to deal with. read more

Never disappoints in almost ten years. A wine list that has great variety and bargains on vintage high end bottles. Just go!! Trust me... read more

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Was invited to a family celebration recently. It was supposed to be on their private dining room but because they double booked we ended up in the bar area. Loud and noisy, it truly wasn't the area for 14 people to share a meal. The predetermined menu was not as ordered and was disappointing to all. The server, a true pro tries to smoothie everything over but couldn't make up for the lack of attention paid to this crowd. The food was nothing outstanding and overall the night, which should have been a fun and joyous celebration was nothing more than just an average night out. A shame, really. read more

Party of 6, each with a different main course & all were excellent. Sad to say, my chicken parm was so outstanding I will never ever order it anywhere else. Same for what the others ordered & of course I had to taste each one. Even the coffee was superb ... and it didn't keep me up all night. Though pricey & out of our usual price range, we would definitely go back for special occasions. read more

Hamden Restaurant Week brought us here for the first time this past Saturday. We ordered from the pre-fix $29 dinner menu which included an appetizer, salad, and entree. I had the mussels as my appetizer and it was by far the best part of the meal. The mussels were incredibly fresh and the broth was to die for. If I come back to Luce, it will be to have the mussels. The salad was standard, nothing inspiring and the gnocchi bolognese was the same. The gnocchi itself was good but I felt the sauce was a little too thick. I've been to many restaurant weeks in different CT towns and the one critique I have is that normally the pre-fix three course meals are appetizer, entree and dessert. This felt more like less of a good deal because the salad was so simple it was really more of a two course meal as opposed to three. read more

I think of this restaurant as an above average relaxing place to go and have a good meal. The prices seem to guarantee that, and the food measures up. It is very good. The dining areas are very nice. The service is great. Where it falls down is the bar area. A restaurant of this caliber should have a nice bar area where you can enjoy a drink and even a meal and still be able to talk to your partner. Unfortunately this isn't true here. This is not a sports bar but people think they can talk (or should I say shout) and swear and not care who else is there. There was a large table in the bar tonight and they had absolutely no respect or consideration for others in the bar.. It's too bad the owners don't feel they can approach them and remind them where they are. I don't know why people can't respect that others are nearby and act accordingly. Very disappointing. And I might mention these were older people....not kids. I hope this is an anomaly and not happens regularly. read more

Pretty unimpressive for the price. My wife got the pesto that was drowned in cream sauce, and I got the angel hair pasta with jumbo shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and olives. Mine was not as bad as my wife's but it was pretty bland. The service was good - our waiter was attentive. The only problem there was I saw the waiter refill someone's glass but when he poured too much in, he wound up pouring it back in the water picture from the used glass. Yuck! read more

I used to come here all of the time in college when parents came to visit me at QU & decided it give it a shot after wine tasting in Wallingford. The food & service were outstanding & their $29 4 course menu made the entire experience very worthwhile. We showed up on a Saturday night without a reservation & they sat us outside straight away. I had the eggplant rollatini, salad & the chicken limone. Everything was delicious. The chicken limone came over delicious mashed potatoes & spinach. My desert was exceptional too, chocolate cake with coffee ice cream. Loved it! Come hungry, you will definitely leave full a& satisfied. We ordered a bottle of wine & coffee & the bill was just over $100 for two people. They ran out of an item on the menu, so the waiter was happy to give my boyfriend an altered entree not on the pre fix menu, no questions asked. The ambiance inside is really nice too :) read more

Overall, I like Luce. They have a very extensive wine list, which is nice, because you will always be able to find just what you are looking for, albeit for a steeper price than at restaurants of comparable quality. Also, the food here is pretty good. The Pane Cotto appetizer is excellent, and filling, so make sure you have people to share it with. The different entrees I've tried have also been pretty decent, so no real complaints there. Inside, Luce is very nice. While the dining room is pleasant, I prefer the bar area. There's a few full sized tables for four, and you can get the full menu served to you there. I just think it's more intimate, yet a tad bit more relaxed. read more

The first time I came here I had a good experience. This time around, I'd never go back again. First was given the wrong appetizer. Then brought it out again 45 mins later, wrong once again and over cooked. It was over an hour by the time the salad came out. The waiter never came to check on us. And when he did he was rude. He was also pissy about his screw up on the appetizer. We got up and left after almost an hour and a half waiting for our entrees that never came. Horrible horrible service. And sub par food. Save your time and money and go somewhere else. Would never ever come back. read more

I'll start out by saying this restaurant is VERY pricy. Definitely, expensive. For such a pricy restaurant I expected top-notch service. The service...was eh. The food, pretty good! I would give this restaurant more than 3 stars if this review was just based on the food, but if I add in the service, I'm afraid I can't give it more than 3 stars. A few weeks ago, my father and I were at iHop. We were discussing how fabulous the service was at iHop in comparison to restaurants like Luce where you'd expect only the best service. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the food. It was nothing, but yummy. But...I like being treated well. ESPECIALLY, if I'm paying $60 for my meal alone. Luce, step up your service and maybe I'll be back again. For now...I can pay a lot less for my food and be treated a lot better. read more

My date and I started with the Pane Cotto, which was delicious and prepared exactly as I like. For dinner, as usual, I enjoyed the Rigatoni Vodka. I would rate it pretty high compared to other pasta vodka dishes I've had. I maybe wish there was an option to add chicken, etc. but it was still quite good. My date had the Costata di Maiale (grilled pork chops) which he enjoyed but said it was heavy (if he read the menu, he should have known this). It came with sautéed broccoli rabe, sautéed peppers, onions, cherry peppers and fried potatoes, all of which he ate despite it being "heavy", so I guess he enjoyed it! Overall, good food, good service and good wine! read more

Luce offers you very good chow with attentive service. Add to that superior acoustics, something that is becoming a rarity these days. Very reasonably priced. I make it a point to go there for lunch whenever I am in Hamden and have yet to be disappointed. Enjoy! read more

Ristorante Luce - Excellent clams casino. - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

This restaurant leaves me with mixed feelings, which makes it hard for me to assign a star rating. We have been there a few times- The first two times we quite some time ago, before the renovation and when it was known as Rafaelo's. I can't put an exact date on when this might have been, except to say it was likely in the mid 1990s. We were in our mid to late twenties at the time. Both times, we had advance reservations and were seated at a funny little table for two that used to be at the top of the stairs, next to the railing. Both times, we asked to be moved and this request was declined. The response was 'we are saving those tables for larger parties'. Those tables remained empty throughout our meals. We were left with the distinct impression that our business was not appreciated, and said we would not return. About 6 months ago we decided that perhaps we were too harsh, and that we would give it another shot. We were seated in the lower dining room, had excellent food and impeccable service. We were just commenting to each other that we had certainly missed out over the past several years, and were planning our return visit, when we saw a young couple enter the dining area. This couple was seated at a table for two in what can only be described as the 'hallway' between the bar and dining room. There were plenty of tables available in the upper dining room. From where I sat, it seemed that the couple was visibly upset with the table they had been given. My husband was so upset that he almost asked to speak to the manager, to tell them of our past experiences and how it seemed this was being repeated with this other, young couple. We are left (again) with the impression that this restaurant does not value business brought by young couples. While we ourselves are no longer young by anyone's definition, I can say that we are unlikely to return. read more

First off let me say I give it 3.5 stars. For the last 6 months I keep saying I will go the Luce for dinner well a few weeks ago a group of us went for dinner on a Sunday night. Atmosphere is cool - I dig it. Friendly staff - (that's always a plus!). The menu has a lot of good choices. They also have a "Pre Fixe"(fancy for fixed menu) selection for $30.00 which includes your appetizer, salad, main course and dessert. Great deal right!?! I ended up ordering from the fixed menu. I ordered the clams casino - not bad. It was a little bit on the small side. Salad is was salad.... For the main course I picked the Veal Sorrentino. It was delicious. My only complaint was I could of eaten two plates (portion size is small). Dessert was good. I did go home and make a turkey sandwich as I was not full - FYI I'm not a fattie - 165LBS I will go again and order from the regular menu and see if there is a difference. read more

Service was HORRIBLE. The food wasn't much better. Salad looked like it sat in the kitchen for a long time. Entrees took 40 minutes and my pork chop came RAW in the middle. My daughter ordered chicken parm and had to order a side of spaghetti. Never heard of that before. Rather than sitting here forever waiting for your undercooked food to arrive, drive to New Haven or Shelton. The managers words, "If we gave something to every customer who had a problem, we'd go out of business." 'Nuf said. read more

One of the best Italian restaurants in CT.. great service and awesome food. They even made special requests off the menu.. I was craving spaghetti carbonara and the chef made it for me even though it was not on the menu. So delicious and on top of great dinners, they have amazing dessert.. gelato and tiramisu are my fave! read more

The note left on my receipt called us "f*cking putos"...my girlfriend was very offended. It may have been a mistake but the owner never compensated us and rudely walked away after saying "it will never happen again" .....I've never written a yelp review but this restaurant experience compelled me to do so. read more

Ristorante Luce - The note on our receipt called me and my girlfriend "f*cking putos"....maybe I was too basic for ordering penne vodka - Pizza Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

My loud, large family came here for easter dinner. I don't think anyone had a food related complaint. They sat us 'downstairs', in a lower area that gave us a bit of privacy. Our party shrunk a bit due to car troubles and we gave the extra table for a random unsuspecting family that was kind enough to let my father take their picture as 'honoraries'. Onto the food. Our table started with the calamari and the mozzarella, tomato and arugula apps. Holy crap yelpers. I have never had such good mozzarella, not even in Italy. Ditto the calamari. We opted out of the fried and breaded option and instead got it with a red sauce with a but of a kick. Best decision ever. I think a lot of people's complaints about calamari are that it is chewy and tough to eat. Not this stuff. It was tender and delicious. For my main I got the Portofino Misto, a red sauce with scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp, and more calamari. It was absolutely divine. My sister's eggplant ziti dish was wonderful, with a great smokey flavor. My cousin got the vodka sauce and I would have finished her plate had I not eaten so much of mine. The finances chicken parm was enormous and he ate every bite. Dad and brother got the lamb and gnawed it to the bone. Needless to say, we all love our meals. They would have done well to give the ladies room a quick sweep. Yes it was super busy but little things like that count. The only lags in service were a missing diet coke, dropped dishes that thankfully landed between my sister and I, and a waiter who came very close to kicking over the car seat, baby and all. Luce is great for groups, and my guess is it works for a romantic date night as well. read more

Good Italian dining in the New Haven area? Nope, not here. Luce is no longer one of the forerunners of fine dining and needs to take a serious look at its kitchen. The same menu has been offered for quite a long time and food preparation has plummeted. A simple pork dish delivered two dried out chops. Happens to be hubby's favorite dish with hot cherry peppers and potatoes. He only finished one chop - that says it all. The gnocchi creation with fresh mozzarella went more than half uneaten despite ordering an appetizer portion. The marinara sauce was inedible and tasted like puree out of a can, and not good puree at that. The pillows of pasta were gooey. Ugh. We've been disappointed the last number of times we have eaten here and went under pressure from friends. Not again. Ambience is nice and wine offerings are good which is why I gave one star. Geez, get your act together and talk to your sis about Bin 100 and her chef. Food there far surpasses Luce. read more

I just went last night after not having been in a while. It's gorgeous inside and has a nice atmosphere and the menu options are great- especially the pre fix menu! My food was ok, however it was so disappointing to see that in the chicken sausage appetizer and pork siciliano style instead of using potatoes they threw in frozen french fries like people feed their kids from the grocery store. That totally ruined the dinner which was supposed to be for a special occasion and made it seem cheap and pretty much a ripoff read more

I took my husband here for a birthday dinner on Friday 9/27. We had been saying that we'd like to try Luce for quite some time and figured it would be a nice, special occasion type place. I read all the reviews here first and while some were pretty "meh" I decided to make reservations anyway. First off, they sat us at this awkward little table near some stairs. Honestly, it felt like we were sitting in a hallway. You could literally feel the breeze of the servers as they walked past as well as the steady stream of people making their way to the bathroom. I wouldn't mind but there were plenty of 4 top tables open they could've sat us at. That being said I could've asked to be moved but I didn't want to make a scene. We sat and waited for a good 10 minutes before the server stopped over. I requested the wine list (wasn't given to us when we were seated) and then the server proceeded to tell us that she didn't realize she had a table hence not coming over sooner. We ordered our wine (GREAT wine list) and the meatball app which both served promptly. The meatballs were delicious so I thought the place was redeeming itself! Not so much... I ordered the angel hair pasta w/ prosciutto, peas and onions. It came and it looked like angel hair swimming in soup. THERE WAS SO MUCH SAUCE! Again, not wanting to be a pain I sat there and ate it. It was really, really, bland and needless to say I didn't eat much of it. My husband got the boneless pork chop which was ok, but pretty over cooked. He is not a complainer so he, like myself, sat there and ate it. The best part of the meal was dessert. We ordered a peanut butter bomb type thing and it was amazing. It's funny because it's one of the only desserts they don't make onsite according to their menu...maybe that's why it was so good? So to summarize, I would not be back. I do not like to spend over $200 on dinner to have mediocre at best service and so-so food. read more

One of our favorite restaurants! We have eaten here so many times, I've lost count. Contrary to other reviewers, I believe the food is fairly priced. My family has never had a bad experience with Luce. The atmosphere is great, although it can be a little noisy on a busy night. They have several appetizer and dinner specials most weekends. Their menu is well-rounded with pasta dishes, steak, chicken, veal and fish dishes. Home-made house salad dressing in to die for. My family's favorites are the penne ala vodka, chicken parmigiana and NY Strip in pepper sauce. Tiramisu - Awesome! Great restaurant! Check it out! read more

I arrived at Luce on Saturday night to pick up the food ordered for the birthday of my son. There were people in front of me who picked up their food and were checking plate by plate to make sure they were given all what they had ordered, likely because of their prior experiences with this place. I had an internal smile, not thinking much of it. After a 15 minute wait, they finally gave me a large bag with our food. I drove home only to find out that some of the order was missing. I had to share my risotto with my wife, which by the way, was the worst seafood risotto I have ever had. When I called the manager, he was apologetic, but clearly overwhelmed and said "it happens once or twice a night. This time it was your bad luck". I would steer away from this place. Food is hit-or-miss and staff and management are terrible. read more

BF and I went here for a celebration. Really great Italian food. I had the most delicious gnocchi. Little cold but otherwise truly lovely.