Luca — that’s amore
THOSE parmesan fries
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So here’s the truth: I am simultaneously thrilled to be out again — eating food that I have not cooked and meeting friends that I have not seen in far too long — but I am also already socially exhausted (any other omniverts out there?).
Still, it would be wrong of me not to share my experience at Luca, which is one of my very favourite restaurants in London. It shares a road with the OG St John restaurant and I can’t help but feel that that 150m stretch is a bit spoilt.
Luca is high-end Italian enabled by top quality British ingredients. It’s the most beautiful restaurant: one of the few places that, in my opinion, strikes that balance between being beautiful but not stuffy or over-designed.
Their Bellini deserves a special mention — it can be such an average drink, but not in their hands. I still dream about the melon version that I had there a few years ago... and I don’t even like melon!?
The food is reliably excellent. See above for their parmesan fries (savoury churros, essentially, and every bit as good as that sounds) and below for their burrata with some nice/pretty stuff around it (can’t remember the specifics but it was great). We had scallops in the shell with nduja which, I’ll confess, didn’t rock my world — I’m not sure I’m as into nduja as the rest of the world, although I’ll absolutely take it when it comes in the form of the croquettes at Salon (in Brixton). We also had crab linguine (I would skip next time) and a beautilful version of Eton mess.
Particularly pretty burrata
Unpopular opinion but I just don’t think nduja belongs on everything…
But, the absolute highlight of the meal was the DOUBLE-FILLED RAVIOLI WITH BRAISED SHORT RIB IN ONE SIDE AND CACIO E PEPE IN THE OTHER. My God. I would go back tomorrow just for that dish.
Absolute GENIUS
In summary, I love Luca restaurant — it’s one of my top 10 in London and one of the few higher end restaurants that I really enjoy (most are too stuffy and/or corporate). Everything is carefully considered, the setting is beautiful and the staff are charming — perfect for a special occasion.
Here’s the deal:
Near: Smithfields meat market in the City, with the nearest station being Farringdon.
Bookable: Yes.
Occasion: A special date or business lunch.
Value: It’s not the cheapest — you’ll easily spend upwards of £100 (if not £150) per person if you have all of the things (antipasti, primo, secondo, dessert + cocktails) — so save it for a special occasion or reserve it for when the company’s paying.
Service: Formal, respectful, Italian.
Get: A bellini + the parmesan fries + double-filled ravioli + eton mess (avoid the crab linguine).
