Recently, I had a business lunch here and thoroughly enjoyed it. Luce is a small restaurant that sits at the foot of the Hearst tower. If you are not paying attention, it is possible that you might miss it; even if you are looking for it. I have worked uptown for a while now and did not know it was even there until someone took me there. In fact, when we were walking to Luce's I thought that maybe the people I was dining with meant Lavecchia's.
Regardless, once I got there, I was impressed with the atmosphere. It was small and well appointed. I think this would be a good place for future business lunches or dinner. A date might be nice here as well. The dining room is dimly lit but not too dark and I swear all of the waiters are fresh imports from Italy. All are very attentive and have a strong Italian accent.
While you wait for your meal, you are presented with fresh bread and olive oil with beans and some sort of spice, a bruschetta of sorts, to munch on. For lunch I had a pasta dish made of spinach pasta and a heavy cream sauce - an alfreto of sorts with prosciutto. The flavors were amazing. The dish had a certain richness to it but was very light. Although I have not been to Italy before, I would suspect this to be very authentic.
I was impressed by my experience at Luce's and look forward to returning again soon.