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| - Overall, Luce is one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. Delicious food (the gnocchi was amazing), excellent wait staff, wonderful atmosphere. If I was a "playa", I'd take my date here for the sure win in the restaurant category.
We were in town for the Charlotte Heroes Comic Con and stopped here for dinner. When we walked in, I immediately felt under dressed. Even though every other customer was in fully casual attire (more likely due to the nearby comic event), the restaurant immediately strikes you as an upscale, formal attire venue. The decorating is simple, yet beautiful, with large white columns, soft romantic lighting and a big brass chandelier over the main dining area.
Every single course was interesting, beautiful and delicious. A bread basket with a variety of bread was brought with a small bowl of oil and cannelloni beans. The bread as a bit on the hard side on the outside, but still very tasty and just filling enough to curb your appetite. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer, which comes with fried calamari, topped with shredded and fried zucchini, with two different sauces for dipping. We were both surprised by the shredded zucchini, but it was delicious and an excellent addition the crispy yet soft calamari.
For entrees I ordered the gnocchi, and my gf ordered the pesto. They were both delicious. The pesto had lots of flavor, with the pasta being soft and tender. It was great. Here's the thing though. The gnocchi was so good, it almost ruined the pesto. I've had a lot of Italian food, and tried gnocchi a few times. Each time I've tried gnocchi, it's been prepared al-dente which imo has made it too much on the chewy side. This gnocchi was soft. Not mushy, but soft and the texture combined with the large chunks of fresh mozzarella was wonderful. The tomato based sauce it was in, was easily some of the best I'd ever had. The flavor wasn't complex. It was just the best of the flavors in tomato sauce, amplified. It was not only the best gnocchi we'd ever had, it was one of the best Italian-style dishes I'd ever eaten.
For dessert we ordered the Semi-freddo. It's a small sweet bit of ice cream with some sort of yummy nougat inside, with a few assorted fresh berries on the side. It was tasty, and the flavors of the ice-cream and fresh berries mixed perfectly.
The restaurant isn't very large, but that only adds to charm and intimacy of the atmosphere. The hostess was professional, and personable and sat us at a table out of the way. Our waiter was polite and friendly (but not too friendly. You know what I mean.). It's important to note, that the entire wait staff was sharp, clean and well dressed. None of that half-assed, "I'm abiding by the dress code, but I really just rolled out of bed" look. I'm ok with that most times, but the wait staff of the night obviously put some effort into looking crisp, and it added to the high class feel of the place.
In addition to looking and behaving posh and professional, the wait staff also managed to always be near enough to get you something if you needed it, but rarely so intrusive that they were a bother. The small size of the restaurant and the number of staff hit the perfect balance of availability and perceived absence. We never felt annoyed at their presence or lack thereof.
As for the price, well, "If you ain't got no 'monay, take yo broke ass home." (or to another, more fiscally friendly venue, whichever)
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