Luci Ancora

03/08/09

Excellent Italian with a great attention to detail, superb wine list and great service by the wait staff

by bschlaeger

I think my headline covers it all. I happen to consider myself an Italian specialist. I love my visits to Luci Ancora. If you haven't experienced it and you love Italian make it happen.

• Pros: Ambience service and the my favorite the wine list

04/18/08

Awesome

by WBLFoodie

Quickly becoming my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. I honestly say I can't say a bad thing about the place and I've been there 5 times.

Our last experience was the best. We tried the Chef's menu. A 4 course sampler meal with appetizer, salad, pasta course and main.

The wine list is extensive with knowlegable and friendly servers. We also went to the original Luci's across the street. I did not enjoy that place nearly enough as I did Ancora.

Northern Italian menu at it's finest. If you have never been to this little gem your missing a great experience.

Grazzi!!

• Pros: chef's specials, wine list, very romantic
• Cons: a little tight quarters

03/12/07

Nothing Special

by msuspar10

My first time here. Went with a group of 8 for my wife's birthday. The experience was average. I chose this place because the menu looked great online...it was a but of a disappointment. The spaghetti bolognese was very bland. The beef dishes were good...cooked well (though my medium was a little more towards medium rare) and portion sizes were good. People who ordered the fish seemed to enjoy it. The deserts were very good. I had the teramisu cheesecake... a large portion but very light. Overall, I felt the experience was slightly overpriced for what we recieved. The food was decent, but unoriginal...everything was very basic. I wouldn't turn down an invitation to go back, but I wouldn't select this restaurant again.

02/09/07

Not so good-issimo...

by oatmeal78

Alright folks, if you're living in the Mac/Groveland or Highland Park area of Saint Paul, and you are just too lazy to drive out of the neighborhood to find some good Italian food, then this place will suffice. However if you're a money-conscious spender and want to get a good Italian meal with your hard earned cash, I'd highly recommend going elsewhere.

After you buy entrees, an appetizer, drink, tax & tip, you'll probably spend around $60 - $80 here. It's just not worth it. I will say that the atmosphere is satisfactory (aside from the questionably close seating) and that the food is decent, but I think that as far as quality and taste goes, you'd probably be better off stopping at D'Amico's if you are looking for taste. The waitstaff seem to have good intentions but maybe need to pay closer attention to refilling drinks and bringing the check sometime within the 30-min timeframe after everyone has stopped eating. Had to go to the front counter and ask to have our bill after waiting for some time.

Anyway, again if you're in the neighborhood and don't care to stray far, and want to get out of the house for a bit, then you might as well stop in and try out Luci Ancora. Hopefully you'll have better luck than we did. But just as a message to the restaurant staff, you need to make some improvements if you want to compete with other Twin Cities restaurants.

Twin Cities restaurateurs offer classic Italian cuisine near St. Catherine's campus.

by Contributor

In Short
Al and Lucille Smith opened the restaurant in early 1996 as a sequel to their first smashing success, Ristorante Luci. But Luci Ancora, with its golden walls, wood-burning fireplace, and sketchpad-quality view of the scenic St. Catherine's campus, has a charm all its own. The menu is one-page simple, but you can make your decision easier by selecting the four-course taster's dinner. Options have included gnocchi with tomato sauce, pan-roasted chicken and grilled pork tenderloin.

10/21/05

Not that impressed

by womanonatrain

As with so many of the other upscale restaurants we've tried in the Twin Cities, the taste of our food did not keep pace with the price we had to pay for it. Our spinach salad was very tart with lemon juice. My Kobe beef was excellent, but the potato rice cakes that came with it were chewy and pasty. The tiramisu cheese cake was just okay. My husband enjoyed his pork but the saurkraut served with it was overwhelmed by onion. We shared a salad, had two entrees, half a carafe of wine and split dessert. Our dinner came to $73.00. When I'm spending that much money I want to feel great about our experience.

10/01/05

Good food, not good experience

by ruthbuzzi

The first time I went there I got a waitress that seemed to look down on my group the whole night. They offer cheese and pepper and when she was grading the cheese onto my friends plate for about 5 seconds she said, "You are supposed to say when," feeling a mixture of shock and snide he said "Oh whoops sorry," It didn't stop there but I won't go on. The waitress consistantly seemed to look down on me, and my group, as if we weren't worth her time. Since that was my first time there, it really put a damper on the night and even more so on the whole experience of dining there. But hey if you don't get that waitress and you got money that is worth wasting, Luci Ancora maybe the place to go.

• Pros: Good Food, Warm Eviroment, Fabulous Location
• Cons: Small Servings, Limited Selection, Cramped Seating

06/05/05

Always a Great Evening

by patnkt

Having dined here some 8 to 12 times, I am shocked at the negative reviews. The food has always pleased us & our companions. The service is warm, efficient, & friendly. The ambience is also warm & comfortable. The wine list is beyond extensive. We have also enjoyed many wine tasting dinners, enjoying the wonderful wines and the delightful food preparations of Chief Jim Kohler. Yes, the menu is limited, yet everything is special. The cost is not low, but the value is there. This is a resturant that works at & delivers excellence.

• Pros: Food, Service, Wine List
• Cons: Limited parking

05/21/05

Not what I had hoped...

by trunx

Truly a disappointing experience. We (2) waited over a half hour to even order, unfortunately the service did not improve from there. Theres not much on the menu, so it didnt take long to read. The pasta was awful and I didnt even eat half of my entree. My husband sent his back and ordered something else because neither of us could stomach the first entree. If youre in the mood for great Italian, go somewhere else.

• Pros: Wine list?
• Cons: Bad service, Awful Food, Over Priced

01/03/04

Bravissimo!

by heidik

WOW - what a great experience! We were seated promptly, next to the fireplace. The food was absoloutely incredible - flavors and textures that were deep but not overly complex. Lamb was perfectly prepared, the homemade pastas exquisite. The wait staff could not have been more helpful, offering smaller pasta portions so that we may still split a lamb entree. Also very knowledgable about wine. It was late in the evening, but we never felt rushed. A few days later, I called to ask about the wine we had ordered, and the person on the phone was very friendly and knowledgable, happy to tell me about the wine we had. We will definitely be back - a great place all around!!!

• Pros: Food, Service, Location
• Cons: Not cheap, Small parking lot