A recent Groupon deal brought me to Lucien last week for dinner.
I'll cut right to the chase: The food here is amazing; the prices are quite steep and the portions are small.
Reading the other reviews I thought the place was going to be a chaotic mess in terms of decor. It's really not that 'eclectic' in my opinion. Maybe they were referring to the melted wine bottle chandelier, which I thought was really cool. Apart from that it's quite normal. They did a good job renovating it, as this used to be Pravda.
The service was friendly and fairly quick, although it did fill up rather quickly once we got seated.
For an app, I tried the Red Deer tartare. It was, without better words to describe it, exquisite. I LOVE tartare and this was some of the best I've had. Spiced just right and the bright red of the venison added to the presentation. If it's on the menu, TRY IT.
After perusing the menu and changing my mind a few times, I decided on the pork shoulder. A little fatty but with a fantastic taste. The dish had two good size pieces of pork shoulder and was served with a side of chicharrĂ³n. Very delicious.
I also had a little bite of the pasta of the day, which was ok but $25 for a small plate of pasta never sits quite right with me (remember the portions are tiny).
Finally, I had a quick look at the desert menu as we were both still a bit hungry but nothing really appealed to me.
Their menu changes often and the chef seems to know what he's doing so it would be interesting to come back in a few months to check out what's new.