With a hankering for Italian, Luciano's seemed like a reasonable choice. We knew it was likely going to be a little tourist oriented, but we took the chance.

For Luciano's, located downtown on lower Yates, in an old town red brick building, with a patio out front, ambiance is almost a given. Thanks to renovations made by the previous restaurant that occupied this space, Luciano's enjoys easy rustic charm.

We were seated promptly, but quickly noted that the restaurant was fairly busy and only one server was on the floor. Despite that challenge our server did pretty well in providing all her patrons with equitable service. She didn't appear at all frazzled, although it would have been impossible for anyone to receive exceptional service under the circumstances. What was clear was, she hadn't been trained adequately to serve and sell the restaurant's wine list. When the bottle we ordered wasn't available, a Chianti classico, she brought an alternative - but couldn't justify her choice. It was another, cheaper, Chianti, but she'd never tried it. With a list as brief as Luciano's, there's no excuse for the management not to have provided the servers with an opportunity to taste all the wines. At the very least, they should have access to a cheat sheet of descriptions, so they can recommend wines seemingly knowledgably. From a business perspective, bringing a cheaper bottle of wine wouldn't be my preference as a restaurant owner. Optimally, the server should select a wine in the same price range, or offer a slightly nicer wine at the same price as the bottle that wasn't available.  

Our first courses arrived with our cocktails, a funny combination, but we lived with it. I had the caprese salad ($8), your classic tomato and boccocini with basil. This version was served on top of a mixed green salad. I was pleased that the tomatoes were not entirely flavourless, given the time of year, and the portion of cheese appropriate. Patty had the bruchetta, served with toast, rather than crostini, the tomato and garlic topping was fresh and tasty. Unlike some bread you get in Italian restaurants, Patty was delighted with the richness of the toast. In addition, to the tomato mixture, the dish was also served with a small serving of tapenade and white bean dip.

For our main courses I had the veal scaloppini with marsala sauce ($18) and Patty had the pasta Carbonera ($18). The portions were huge - too huge. I realise that the restaurant is catering to American appetites, but had we eaten all the food we would have been sick. We ate a lot, but nevertheless our doggy bag was enough for two lunches. Crossing the line between value and excess, no one wants to leave this much food on their plate. My veal was tender and the accompanying pasta properly cooked, although I suspect my veal might have deep-fried and the oil in the fryer a little past its prime. Patty's carbonara had good flavour, the pasta again was cooked correctly and they used real pancetta. A vegetable side might have been nice and would have neutralised the intrinsic fattiness of the dish.

Obviously, when the server came to offer us dessert, there was no chance in hell of us having an appetite to eat it. Another good business argument for smaller portions.  

Luciano's has a lot of stuff going for it, location, ambiance, prices...but if they want to be taken more seriously and attract a local clientele they need to enhance staff training, cut portion sizes in order to use more interesting and/or local products.

Value of Food: 68/100

Quality of Food: 65/100

Service:64/100 (under-staffed and wine training needed)

Ambiance: 80/100

Wine and beverage 67/100

average score:69/100

  Reviewed: March 20. 2006