Luciano’s

To start out, I just want to point out that the food was fantastic, and always has been. Service has always been great.
The service on our last visit however was absolutely terrible. We waited an hour and a half for a table (we were a party of 7, and had no issue with waiting). While we were waiting, we enjoyed some drinks at the bar. As we are being seated, the waitress comes up and puts water on the table, I attempt to ask for a refill on a drink I had at the bar (a soda). She promptly cuts me off and responds with «yes I already know, we transfer the tab over.» A bit shocked at the attitude, I let it go and she went away from the table… I assumed she was going to get my refill. She comes back and asks if I was having a beer. Well, if you wouldn’t have interrupted me, you would have known that I was drinking a soda.
After this, we ordered an appetizer and before the rest of the table could order drinks, she was gone. While we wait for her to come back, we look over the menu to decide what to eat. After she returned, my nephew politely asked for a lemonade, to which she replies while rolling her eyes: «Well, I already asked if anyone wanted drinks earlier, but I guess we can order drinks now.»
Now we have our drinks ordered and are ready to order food. The waitress comes back and takes our order, I was splitting my meal with someone, so the waitress let us know it would be an extra charge, which was fine. She also noted that it would be on separate plates.
As the food arrives, all the orders appeared fine, but my order was not split, and the waitress seemed to have an issue with us asking for an extra plate to split it. Even though she said she would during the order. After she returned to drop off the plate, she nearly slams the plate into my fiancée’s head.
For the most part, the main course was fine, food was delicious as always. After the main course, we ordered Spinoni ice cream, and after the waitress dropped off the ice cream, while moving the tray away from the table, it got so close to my niece’s head, that it went through her hair.
After the check was paid and we were leaving, my mother was getting out of the booth, and slipped on some water (she did not fall, she was able to catch herself) that was under the table. When notifying someone about this, we were told: «Oh, yes, that was from the previous guests, I guess we just forgot to clean it up».
All in all, as stated, the food was delicious, but the service was absolutely terrible, making me wonder if I will return or recommend this place.

The Food: Awesome! Fresh buttery foccacia bread with balsamic and oil for dipping was superb as an appetizer. The bruschetta was equally as tasty with fresh ingredients. I ordered the mushroom risotto which was mushroom plentiful and delicious! My friend ordered the agave-​lime chicken pasta which proved to be unique and very flavorful. The meal ended with Spumoni ice cream and of course, tiramisu! Both were great, but the tiramisu was my favorite. Tons of flavor combinations and a great texture.
The Service: I can’t remember the last time I was legitimately impressed by service at a restaurant. From the time we stepped in the door to when we left, we were well taken care of. The sense of professionalism was evident in every staff member I saw and also a friendliness that was welcoming. Our server was well versed on menu items and gave appropriate recommendations concerning food and wine. Wow!
Overall, this has become one of my favorite places in Boise for great Italian food! Impressed!

Followed some others’ advice and stopped in. Fantastic food and nice ambiance. Very reasonably priced, to boot.
The bread was warm and wonderful… crispy outside and fluffy inside. The soup was just-​right hot. And the entrees were delicious.

This is a nice little gem on the Bench that I head to when I don’t want to deal with downtown parking or driving out to West Ada. I usually opt for the eggplant parm — my go-​to for any Italian restaurant.
They also have an excellent Ciopino seafood stew that my friend says is the best in the area. He’s a soup guy so he should know. Although I think I like Bella Aquila’s Ciopino better.
They do a Caesar salad the right way with a good dressing. Maybe it has anchovies like it should. Anyway it has the right level of umami.
Try out the berry dessert if you still have room.

I came for a Saturday lunch right at noon. There were a couple of couples already seated and the restaurant filled during the hour i was there. Without the Monday-​through-​Friday work crowd coming in, I was surprised to see so many people there for lunch. That seemed like a positive.
My waitress was friendly and recommended two dishes that she said she personally likes, the salmon portofino and the chicken marsala. Both sound good, but I chose the agave chicken penne, with bells peppers, onions, garlic and jalapenos in a tequila-​lime-​crème sauce. I also ordered a bowl of minestrone.
Everyone has an opinion of the bread pillows served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I do, too. I liked it, but I would have left off the brush of butter on the top. That makes it messy to eat. I ended up using a knife and fork to keep from spreading grease all over.
The minestrone was substantial and packed a lot of ingredients. The broth was flavorful.
Penne makes macaroni look like a waste product. Ditch the macaroni and cheese and opt for a much more substantial pasta. The agave chicken was flavorful and had a slight bite due to the jalapenos, but would not be overwhelming for someone who doesn’t care for real spicy food.
One of the waitresses dropped a cheese shaver onto the floor and immediately took it back to the kitchen. Nothing I would not have expected, but nice to see there wasn’t any hesitation.
The reviews here have been all over the place, good and bad. Some of the not so stellar ones are from people I trust and respect. Maybe some of the complaints have led them to up their service. I didn’t have any problems on this day and it looked like people were being seated, their orders taken and food served in good time. The staff members were friendly and efficient and it looked like all the guests were enjoying themselves.
I’ll certainly return.

Parking is terrible is my only complaint! The food and the service is always wonderful. I try to get something different every time I go and I have never been disappointed. It is spendy, but you get what you pay for here. This is one of my favorite places.

Once again: delicious! Went to Luciano’s tonight for Valentine’s Day with my husband and some friends. Great atmosphere! Great food! Great friends!
The beef tenderloin was tender and full of flavor. The risotto was divine! My husband and our friends all had pasta that they raved about. For dessert we had the milk chocolate bailey’s Irish cream cheesecake and the cannoli. The only minor complaint is that only the ends of the cannoli were filled instead of the whole cookie. But the price is right, the food is tasty, and this place can’t be beat!

Honestly this is my second review for Luciano’s but I have to give it to them. Their seafood fettuccine is so bomb, their bread and clams are fantastic too… pretty much everything is great… good portion sizes and fresh ingredients! My husband and I ate here one last time before we moved to California and I am so desperate to come visit Boise just to have the seafood pasta again! We’ve tried to duplicate the dish but we couldn’t :(((and it’s my favorite ever! I’ve even tried to find something like it on all the menus on San Diego Unilocal… no luck. Guess we’ll be frequenting the area once again for that last meal ;) love this place.

Very good Italian food in a cozy setting. Main dishes were better than the desserts. Good wine selection.

I can’t believe that we’ve lived in Boise for so many years and not run into Luciano’s before. We loved this place. We had veil parmigiana and shrimp scampi linguini, and both were very good. The calamari appetizer was excellent as well. For desert we shared the chocolate cake. The service was great, and the setting was casual, but nice. Prices were reasonable too. Be warned… As others have noted, the parking lot is crowded, and the lobby area is small. It is best make reservations, or at least call ahead, since it seems they are busy most nights.

Parking tonight was horrible. Wait was long. Get into find out no heat in the restaurant and the temp is in the mid 50’s. Ate with our coats on. Food was still great. Odd thing about our bill though. After 20 min. of waiting for our server to return with our card we asked him and he acted surprised. He pulled out card out of his apron (by it’s self no bill folder) and said sorry he had forgot us. Went ran our card and brought it back with someone else’s bill. We really started to question it at this point. When he realized he had actually already ran our card the first time. Now our card had been ran twice. He said he fixed it but now we have to double check our card.
Total dinner time for four with waits. 2:35
Frustrating for a place we have enjoyed in the past. Everyone has a bad night but it was not thief not at every turn.

Hello packed parking lot and packed restaurant! This place was hopping on a Friday night. If you choose to embark on some great Italian here, expect to wait 30 or more minutes easily. If you don’t, you lucked out and I would buy a lotto ticket stat!
Good news though! Right outside the buzzing restaurant there is a heated mini yurt! Yes, that is what I said, a mini yurt and while you wait, grab a drink and venture outside to the yurt to wait for your table. Such a great idea.
For dinner we had a large group and were seated quickly because we called ahead to be on the waiting list. Yayee for friends that plan!
The ambiance is loud but the lights are low with romantic candlelit tables. Service was great!
Hot buttered bread with dipping olive oil were quickly ushered to our table. Remember, you have a whole huge dinner ahead of you so challenge yourself not to eat too much melty, delectable bread. Naaaaa, eat it all! Take some food home for lunch tomorrow!
Moving forward we ordered our food and drinks fairly quickly and shortly there after our table was filled like we were at an Italian wedding celebration! Let’s eat!
I ended up ordering the classic chicken parm and a neighboring friend got the Gabriel. I must admit, once the table was full I wished I went outside of the box a little more. All the dishes looked so beautiful and delectable. Although, I left satisfied with my dish too. The chicken was cooked to perfection!
After the eating frenzy was over, we all ordered a to-​go box because yes, we ate all the bread. Hip, hip, hooray us!
We all had a great night and I will definitely be back to get that Gabriel that stared me down all night!
Next time!

This is the first time that I am writing a review here on Unilocal.I am new here in Idaho and Luciano’s been my fave restaurant so far. The ambiance, the food and service is really awesome! I love the bread that they serve for starters and we actually order that for to go! Mostly we just order pastas and not even a time they disappointed my taste buds. My hubby and I loves their stuffed mushrooms, pesto linguine and carbonara. I like their ceasar salad as well. I am excited to try other dishes on their menu the next time we go their and maybe try their featured dish when we dine next time. Will definitely go back here again and again!

I need to update this to say Luciano’s day manager’s response back to my 2 star review was pitch perfect for top notch follow up…5 stars for that. In the hospitality business, and restaurants are a hospitality industry business, this is called «guest recovery». That is taking critical feedback from a guest, using it to improve the business and reaching out to the guest to let them know they were heard and see if you can recover their good will to come back again. The day manager’s gracious reply to my review did just that.

An excellent neighborhood Italian restaurant. Food is well prepared and the service very accommodating. Our party of four indulged in salmon, spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccini and minestrone.
Well prepared, good portions and a nice presentation. On the weekends, call 30 minutes beforehand and get on the wait list. All and all, a very nice experience.

Rarely do I ever give out reviews this high however ever item I ate tasted remarkable. The service was remarkable and they honestly didn’t have to be with food this good. Still they were kind and went above.
I ordered the clam appetizers, lobster bisque, and Prima Vera. All of which was much better than I anticipated. I will advise however that the clams were deliciously salty and garlicky but if that’s not your thing I wouldn’t order them.
Lobster Bisque was the perfect viscosity and presented beautifully.
Prima Vera not covered in sauce and the vegetables were fresh and every ingredient had a taste and purpose.
Can’t wait to eat here again!

Had the Quattro Formaggio pasta with Chicken and it was excellent! Starter bread was fresh, also had the hand cut fried mozzarella which was also very good. Also had excellent service from the staff here. Really made sure we had a great meal. Our whole table consensus was unanimous: great Italian dining experience!
Like a lot of reviewers have said here, ditch Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill and make this your Boise staple for Italian food!

Love it! Went for our 1 month anniversary (Yes, we are babies) and both loved our dishes. I had the fettuccine Alfredo and he had the pasta with the vodka sauce. Both dishes had an absurd amount of cheese! We will be back for sure!
Note: If there is a bit of a wait, you are able to get drinks from the bar and have the bill transferred to your table.

My husband and I visited Luciano’s for a date night dinner hoping to dine at a fine Italian establishment. The evening started pleasantly enough, with an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms that were cooked and seasoned to perfection.
Our waiter was a total space cadet, (the entire evening), and had forgotten to give us any bread. After we’d finished our bread, he brought us another… this time with olive oil and balsalmic… thanks?
My husband enjoyed his seafood entrée and it was of a decent proportion. I ordered the eggplant parmesan; it was a paper thin slice of eggplant between two thick slabs of breadcrumbs, served atop a bed of pasta with a dollop of thick marinara. For the eggplant slice being so thin, it was still watery and lacking that meaty texture you’d expect, as if it hadn’t been properly «sweated» prior to cooking.
All in all, our waiter didn’t listen to us (offering dessert multiple times when I’d said no, not bringing bread accoutrements, generally lackadaisical on an otherwise slow night), and my simple meal was disappointing. Sad.

I really wanted to like this place the first time I went and the second time I hoped that it got better. I agree with other Unilocalers on here that for Boise this is probably pretty good but in a big city it would be pretty average.
The bread loaf with olive oil and balsamic is out of this world.
Salad is good with a blue cheese vinaigrette, but nothing out of this world.
Spaghetti was overly salted marinara sauce and too much oregano but the garlic bread was like toasted french bread with butter and no garlic flavor.
Quattro Formaggio was super oily with no flavor which I can’t believe because it had bacon in it. Not sure how that happens. Took 2 bites and decided to take the rest to go for a reheat leftover. I had to choke it down as a leftover, ate half and threw the rest away, still had no flavor.
Berry crisp started out great but as we kept eating still had frozen berries.
Server asked if we liked our food when we were done. She did say she would pass on to the kitchen staff the info we gave her.
Overall it seemed like dishes couldn’t balance between no flavor and overly seasoned. Like I said I really wanted to like this place. :-(