We chose Lucano because we hoped it would be quiet enough for us to enjoy each other's company. It was indeed quiet, and the food was truly delicious. It is expensive but worth every penny for the atmosphere and the food.
Last night a friend treated my wife and me to our first dining experience at Ristorante Lucano. It has been a favorite of his for years. His remarks seemed too good to be true. It turned out that they were no exaggeration.
Upon entering we were greeted with a warm friendly smile by the hostess who I believe to be co-owner JoAnn Formoso. We loved the initial ambiance and even more so the dining area’s in which we were seated by a very friendly and attentive maître d’ who I believe was co-owner Chuck Formoso – JoAnn’s husband. Our server, Chris, was attentive and very helpful with guidance and explanations of menu items and specials alike. Working together Chris and Chuck ensured our water glasses were monitored for refilling, appetizer dishes promptly removed upon finishing, and likewise with our entrée dishes.
With Chris’s’s experienced assistance we each made selections that were exactly what we hoped for and more! We started with and tremendously a Shrimp and Calamari appetizer special that was delicious due to the flavor of the proteins and the delicate crust and accompanying sauce. The portion was perfect for three hungry people. My friend and I each opted for the Veal Chop (which I believe was a special). The 12 ounce portion was filling but even more importantly was the most delicious veal chop I have ever eaten. Our garlic mashed potatoes, and buttery carrots were perfect and tasty sides. My wife found her Pappardelle ala Montanara (pappardelle with sausage, mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes and sauce) to be outstanding – so much so that she would be hard pressed not to order it again. After all of this we thought that we finished with a beautifully plated and delicious Ripieni (lemon sorbet served in lemon shells) only to be presented with a complimentary Profiterois (a cream puff filled with chocolate and coated with vanilla cream) that was “to die for”!
Our evening with our friend at Ristorante Lucano was truly excellent by every measure! It might have been our first experience here – but it certainly won’t be our last!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Chop
John Farnan
Have been going there 30 ys+. Church and Joann are wonderful hosts. Service is AWALYS excellent. This trip had a wonderful veal chop, potato leak soup - outstanding! Well worth the trip!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Marsala, Veal Chop, Rack of Lamb
Derek Dimond
Awesome place good food great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bone Marrow
AM Sinan
Lovely waiter. All good but be ready to pay almost 60 pounds for a pizza, main dish and appetizer.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carol Pizer
Lovely dinner a half hour ago. Food tasty, quiet atmosphere, good service . Would certainly go again. .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Herman Diep
A cozy and upscale Italian restaurant with excellent food, wine, and attentive service
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Brian Wirth
Wanted to try this place for a long time finally did. We were not disappointed it was fantastic. Great food friendly staff.
First time here. Came with friends familiar with the place bc they highly recommend it. The food was a fresh, nicely presented, tasty and pleasing medley of textures and colors. What made it a truly exceptional experience was Amanda, the person who took such good care of us. Personable in every way, knowledgeable, passionate for her coworkers and workplace and just a real pleasure to talk with (hopefully we didn't keep her detained for too long). Everyone enjoyed our time thoroughly and we look forward to coming back. We should probably return on a day Amanda works because, while I'm sure all the other employees are great, Amanda set the bar so high for service excellence that I will hereafter likely be unable to avoid disappointment in any future server anywhere.
Dietary restrictions: Our gluten intolerant person was well cared for.
Parking: If the lot is full, there are two other large lots, nextdoor and across the street.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Carol Ralph
Our waiter was charming and the food was out of this world.
I came to Lucanos with high expectations, and those expectations have been exceeded. The food was absolutely Devine, and the staff is so kind and welcoming. We really felt like part of the family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bruce Gordon
Feels like family when you're dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes
Angelo
Fantastic food! And very friendly staff, will be going back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Osur
I feel as though I was punked ! How is it that a restaurant with a 4.7 rating can serve such shockingly bad food. I ordered the beet salad which was a lot of jarred beets on a couple of over-dressed lettuce leaves with two triangles of hard cheese- no dressing, acidity, herbs or flavor on the beets at all- and how do you even eat mushy beets with a chunk of hard cheese? The pasta dish- advertised on the menu as pappardelle with house made sausage and eggplant, was over-cooked, tasteless and no eggplant in sight- even after adding graded cheese, then cracked pepper (the pepper grinder was simply dropped off at our table- so strange), then salt- none of which helped. The dish arrived cold even though our reservation was for 6 pm before the restaurant became busy (the excuse given). Although the servers were friendly, they were not attentive, it took a long time for our food to come, no one checked back after the food was delivered, and even after the owner finally stopped by and we communicated our displeasure, it took over 15 minutes for our plates to be removed. In the end we were not charged for the dishes- but that’s not the point. I just don’t understand the rating of 4.7 and feel I can no longer trust ratings- incredibly disappointed!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Alex Winslow
Lucano is truly a gem in Rochester, there is nowhere else like it! The service is so warm and friendly and of course the food incredible. They always have a great list of rotating specials, I highly recommend trying the frito misto and barramundi specials if they’re available!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bucatini All'Amatriciana, Barramundi, Tiramisù Zuppa Inglese Profiteroles
We chose Lucano because we hoped it would be quiet enough for us to enjoy each other's company. It was indeed quiet, and the food was truly delicious. It is expensive but worth every penny for the atmosphere and the food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fritto Misto, Tiramisu, Carrots
Last night a friend treated my wife and me to our first dining experience at Ristorante Lucano. It has been a favorite of his for years. His remarks seemed too good to be true. It turned out that they were no exaggeration.
Upon entering we were greeted with a warm friendly smile by the hostess who I believe to be co-owner JoAnn Formoso. We loved the initial ambiance and even more so the dining area’s in which we were seated by a very friendly and attentive maître d’ who I believe was co-owner Chuck Formoso – JoAnn’s husband. Our server, Chris, was attentive and very helpful with guidance and explanations of menu items and specials alike. Working together Chris and Chuck ensured our water glasses were monitored for refilling, appetizer dishes promptly removed upon finishing, and likewise with our entrée dishes.
With Chris’s’s experienced assistance we each made selections that were exactly what we hoped for and more! We started with and tremendously a Shrimp and Calamari appetizer special that was delicious due to the flavor of the proteins and the delicate crust and accompanying sauce. The portion was perfect for three hungry people. My friend and I each opted for the Veal Chop (which I believe was a special). The 12 ounce portion was filling but even more importantly was the most delicious veal chop I have ever eaten. Our garlic mashed potatoes, and buttery carrots were perfect and tasty sides. My wife found her Pappardelle ala Montanara (pappardelle with sausage, mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes and sauce) to be outstanding – so much so that she would be hard pressed not to order it again. After all of this we thought that we finished with a beautifully plated and delicious Ripieni (lemon sorbet served in lemon shells) only to be presented with a complimentary Profiterois (a cream puff filled with chocolate and coated with vanilla cream) that was “to die for”!
Our evening with our friend at Ristorante Lucano was truly excellent by every measure! It might have been our first experience here – but it certainly won’t be our last!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Chop
Have been going there 30 ys+. Church and Joann are wonderful hosts. Service is AWALYS excellent. This trip had a wonderful veal chop, potato leak soup - outstanding! Well worth the trip!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Marsala, Veal Chop, Rack of Lamb
Awesome place good food great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bone Marrow
Lovely waiter. All good but be ready to pay almost 60 pounds for a pizza, main dish and appetizer.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lovely dinner a half hour ago. Food tasty, quiet atmosphere, good service . Would certainly go again.
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Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A cozy and upscale Italian restaurant with excellent food, wine, and attentive service
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Wanted to try this place for a long time finally did. We were not disappointed it was fantastic. Great food friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Calamari, Lasagna, Antipasto
First time here. Came with friends familiar with the place bc they highly recommend it. The food was a fresh, nicely presented, tasty and pleasing medley of textures and colors. What made it a truly exceptional experience was Amanda, the person who took such good care of us. Personable in every way, knowledgeable, passionate for her coworkers and workplace and just a real pleasure to talk with (hopefully we didn't keep her detained for too long). Everyone enjoyed our time thoroughly and we look forward to coming back. We should probably return on a day Amanda works because, while I'm sure all the other employees are great, Amanda set the bar so high for service excellence that I will hereafter likely be unable to avoid disappointment in any future server anywhere.
Dietary restrictions: Our gluten intolerant person was well cared for.
Parking: If the lot is full, there are two other large lots, nextdoor and across the street.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Our waiter was charming and the food was out of this world.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I came to Lucanos with high expectations, and those expectations have been exceeded. The food was absolutely Devine, and the staff is so kind and welcoming. We really felt like part of the family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Feels like family when you're dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes
Fantastic food! And very friendly staff, will be going back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I feel as though I was punked ! How is it that a restaurant with a 4.7 rating can serve such shockingly bad food. I ordered the beet salad which was a lot of jarred beets on a couple of over-dressed lettuce leaves with two triangles of hard cheese- no dressing, acidity, herbs or flavor on the beets at all- and how do you even eat mushy beets with a chunk of hard cheese? The pasta dish- advertised on the menu as pappardelle with house made sausage and eggplant, was over-cooked, tasteless and no eggplant in sight- even after adding graded cheese, then cracked pepper (the pepper grinder was simply dropped off at our table- so strange), then salt- none of which helped. The dish arrived cold even though our reservation was for 6 pm before the restaurant became busy (the excuse given). Although the servers were friendly, they were not attentive, it took a long time for our food to come, no one checked back after the food was delivered, and even after the owner finally stopped by and we communicated our displeasure, it took over 15 minutes for our plates to be removed. In the end we were not charged for the dishes- but that’s not the point. I just don’t understand the rating of 4.7 and feel I can no longer trust ratings- incredibly disappointed!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Lucano is truly a gem in Rochester, there is nowhere else like it! The service is so warm and friendly and of course the food incredible. They always have a great list of rotating specials, I highly recommend trying the frito misto and barramundi specials if they’re available!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bucatini All'Amatriciana, Barramundi, Tiramisù Zuppa Inglese Profiteroles
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