A Truly Great Find - Lucio Ristorante, Las Vegas, is the 'Real Deal!'
Written: Sep 13 '09
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
|
|
| Quality of Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: Womderful food, great service, intimate ambiance
Cons: none that I can think of!
The Bottom Line: If you are in Las Vegas and want really good, authentic Italian cuisine, I would recommend this over the more pricey, famous places on The Strip.
Jim
|
|
|
| tennis_player's Full Review: Lucio Ristorante |
Lucio Ristorante is the ‘Real Deal’
Background:
On a recent golf expedition to Arizona by car, we passed through Las Vegas and stopped for a few days to break up the long drive back to the SF Bay Area. We had the great and good fortune to be staying at a Holiday Inn Express in a newer part of town on the Western edge and far from the Strip. We had checked in during the late afternoon and asked about decent, nearby places for dinner. Lucio Ristorante was at the top of their list. They also were one of the closest. Only the Outback Steakhouse was closer (directly across the parking lot from the hotel lobby). Lucio is a tad further by, maybe 50 more yards!
The Ambiance:
It’s located in a small strip mall with a few other businesses and offices – all housed in inconspicuous, non-descript, single story, shared buildings. From the outside to the casual observer, it looks just like all the other commercial businesses within this small office park. Lucio has large picture windows on three sides that are covered by drapes to keep the hot sun out during the day. This means it has a darkened, intimate feeling upon entry. During dinner the noise level is quite low allowing conversation to be carried on without difficulty. This also qualifies it as a romantic spot but one would never know it from the outside.
Our Meal:
We started with an appetizer that is not commonly seen in the U.S., Arancini. This is a Sicilian dish, a deep-fried risotto ball stuffed with Mozzarella cheese and a little Italian Sausage and served with a Marinara Sauce. It was done to perfection – fried to a golden brown and thoroughly drained so it was not greasy and the cheese inside was heavenly. This was as good as the ones we had in Italy.
My wife chose the Fillet of Sole for her entrée. She reported that it was outstanding – perfectly broiled, not overdone, flaky and moist with a beautifully balanced Beurre Blanc Sauce. It came with a medley of sauteed vegetables were perfectly seasoned and not overcooked.
I had the Risotto with mushrooms and Italian Sausage. Oh my gosh, I was so happy. It, too, was beautifully balanced and seasoned with a perfect texture – not too soft/runny nor too firm – just right! Flavor was a work of art – just enough sausage but not enough to overpower the risotto or mushroom flavors.
A glass each of Chianti and Sauvignon Blanc with dinner made for a fantastic meal.
We finished our evening at Lucio with a leisurely glass of Limoncello, the hallmark lemon liqueur of Southern Italy. Their’s was very good with good lemon flavor. One has to be careful not to have too many of these as they are potent at 32% alcohol content. It was a great finish to a superb meal.
We would have split a salad following our appetizer but it was a fortuitous decision to forgo that course as the portions are generous and we were very happily full – so full that we did not even look at the dessert menu and simply decided to do the Limoncello for an after-dinner drink/night cap!
Service:
Alexander was our server. He’s from Romania and was the perfect gentleman. He was charming, gentle but very good at his job. He and his fellow server seemed a perfect fit into this nice, intimate, even a bit romantic Italian café. The service was smooth and seamless. We never felt rushed nor forgotten on either of our two visits.
Cost:
The bill for our wonderful meal was just under $70, not including tip. I was so impressed that I left a $20 tip! That will tell you how much we enjoyed this experience! Based on the quality, quantity of the food and the excellent service levels, this is real culinary value.
Additional Thoughts:
As you can tell, we really liked this place. And we were so lucky that it was just across the parking lot from our hotel. It was so good that we went there, again, the next night and just had appetizers for a light meal. The experience on that occasion was no different than our first!
We also learned that the sister of the famous Steve Winn comes here on a regular basis when she wants Filet of Sole. She could have her pick of all the famous and prestigious places on “The Strip” or in the Winn Hotels but, no, she’d rather drive over to the West side to have her sole here. We thought that to be pretty high praise.
If you are in Las Vegas, check this one out. We think it is worth a visit and will be on our list for ever visit to Las Vegas, along with Lotus of Siam.
Jim
Note:
Thank you, Lyagushka, for adding this restaurant to the Epinions database to make it possible for this review
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations This is a tremendous, lucky find for us. It is one of those rare occasions of good food, excellent serve and very nice ambiance. These all combine for a superperb value!
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tennis_player
|
 in Electronics |
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: James Quon
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 347
Trusted by: 251 members
About Me:
A retired Professional from 40 years in technical Sales & Marketing.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.