Trattoria Lucca

So amazing. Charming little place. Wait staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Food is delicious. Seriously one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Charleston. All of the waiters suggestions were spot on. The pork belly starter was so great. The swordfish with pickled jus was out of this world. But the desert was arguably the star of the show! Everyone goes to Magnolia, S.N.O.B, Cypress etc. Break out of the norm and try this amazing restaurant! You won’t be disappointed!

Fantastic food, consistently delightful. My favorite pasta in Charleston.
We’ve experienced professional, noticeably warm service as well. It feels like a family celebration every time we go-​the entire atmosphere is just comfortable.
Both their family style night and regular nights are filled with tasty food that is the opposite of over-​buttered, over-​sauced «italian» you find at most other places. This food always tastes fresh, vibrant, and well balanced.
Highly recommend!

This is a great restaurant with very creative dishes, the service was excellent wine choices are excellent and desert was excellent. I would recommend it to anyone anytime!

Server was good. Told us he had one salmon dish left, we ordered it. Then told table next to us they had one left, couldn’t care less that was just funny though.
Salmon dish was sweet, maybe kitchen left it on the sugar cure for too long.
Cauliflower flan is good, needs a few more crostini.
‘Porchetta’ (not Porchetta, maybe just pork belly confit, Ken do you know what Porchetta is?) was good but more sweet sauce on top ruined it.
Pasta with squid was absolutely delicious. Perfectly al dente, seasoned, and spiced with love.
Pork ‘milanese’ was also sweet with sugary red sauce. My gf and I are usually easy customers but almost started laughing at this point. No dessert needed
Really don’t want to hate too much (hence 5 star) but seems like another situation where the chef has maybe become a little too big and needs to spend a bit more time in the kitchen
Lucca, Italia has good olive oil but not nearly the best. Perhaps a few more trips over there may do some good as well.

I knew almost nothing about this place other than our local hostess said it was in her Top 10. So, we went to check it out. Excellent!
Trattoria Lucca is located on the first floor of an old home. So, arriving is kinda cool. It’s not in a traditional commercial district, but instead feels like a local neighborhood bistro.
The «bistro» impression quickly vanishes when one sees the complexity of the menu. It was clear from first glance that this chef was serious about food. It became clearer upon first bite that my impression was correct.
We skipped the Antipasti and went straight for the entrees. I ordered the Pappardelle «Grano Arso» and my wife ordered a duck dish that is not on their online menu. The two couldn’t have been any different in profile, but they both delivered an amazing depth of flavor. I savored every single bite and came away incredibly satisfied with my hostess’ recommendation.
If I’m ever in Charleston again, I’ll be back to Trattoria Lucca with a little bit bigger appetite so we can take in the Antipasti and dessert.

Another outstanding dinner at the best Italian in Charleston. The food is wonderful and imaginative. The service is fantastic. We have never been disappointed.

Three words: Monday Family Supper. This is absolutely one of the BEST food deals in Charleston: 4 generous family style courses (antipasti, pasta, entrée, dessert) for $ 44. Come hungry because you will want to finish everything, but it is a LOT of food. Last time I went the menu was as follows:
First course: shrimp escobiche, octopus with yellow beets, potato salad with frutte de marre, burrata with romesco and baby lettuces, soppressata and capicola
Second course: fusilli with spiny lobster bolognese
Third course: ribeye with mushroom marsala sauce and braised Brussels sprouts
Fourth course: chocolate hazelnut budino (this is the dessert they serve every time and it is DIVINE)
Bottom line: if you can swing it, come on a Monday (and make reservations!). I can understand some of the less stellar reviews, because when I came on a different night and ordered from the regular menu, it was good but not great. Monday nights are consistently great.

Amazing meal. I had the red cress and pear salad appetizer which was really fresh and very filling. Then I had the pasta with shrimp, anchovy, lemon and breadcrumbs. The pasta is homemade and very light. Then, to end… a chocolate pudding, a scoop of hazelnut gelato and a cake that can best be described as an Italian kit Kat.

Would have rated more stars but service last visit was horrible. First off our reservation was at 8. they then told us it was for 815. Fine. Now waiting for 20 minutes to be seated, in a very crammed restaurant mind you, we asked the hostess if our table was ready, as we saw 2 open tables in which we got the response «your reservation isn’t till 815, it’s 8:13 we will let you know when your table is ready» i kid you not, 2 minutes. Now 8:25, we are finally seated.
Our server (female, started with an S, different name) was absolutely horrible. She seemed very annoyed, with 0 personality. My fiancé and I took his family there after we had a great first experience. I am so disappointed. I am 8 months pregnant and had been RAVING about their cauliflower starter, which I had the first time. I cannot have an uncooked egg, which was left off the first time. I asked this last time and she immediately said no. I explained I was pregnant and can’t have the part of the uncooked egg, she absolutely did not care. Made me pick something else. That was the one thing I came in wanting. My only choice was a salad. I was not happy. Again for my dinner options, i tried to alter one ingredient to keep off. Nope. These were simple requests that will now keep me from ever suggesting this restaurant to anyone. What a shame.

The food may be terrific; however, the noise is unbearable. We were there with another couple for a Valentine’s Day. It’s the configuration of an open kitchen, cement flooring and metal ceiling that doesn’t lend itself to having an enjoyable conversation with friends

The food was really good. They say the menu changes often, but the best entrée on the table was the crab pasta. The veal medaliions were just okay but the corn risotto was excellent. The third dish ordered was the sauteed grouper. The waiter was pleasant but the service was very slow. The dining room was cozy and intimate although it had limited seating. The noise level in the restaurant was high which makes it harder for conversation. Overall the dinner was enjoyable but mostly because of the company and a few gems we ordered.

Went here with a couple of close friends to enjoy some good Italian. We had a mixture of Veal, Corn Risotto and Crab Pasta. The Crab pasta was awesome. The other two dishes were OK. The service was VERY slow and the noise level was way too high. OK food with slow service is not going to cut it in the great neighborhood. There are way to many other choices.

One of the best meals I’ve ever had, truly excellent service, intimate location, made a 630 reservation on a Friday night which made the place almost empty and very quiet. Perfect place for a date; did I also say the food was borderline incredible?

A for Ambiance! And our waiter who was wonderful. But the food was just /​okay/​. We had the crudo, cauliflower appetizer, carpaccio, a pasta, and the olive oil cake. The dessert was our favorite part. The rest lacked perfection and punch.
Good spot for an intimate meal, with a close friend or loved one.
Take an über, they only have street parking and it’s nearly impossible to find a spot nearby.

Found on Unilocal.The reviews were right on. The food and service were great. The pork chop Milanese was outstanding. I ordered the veal. Also very good and worth ordering. I would come back again in a minute.

One word to describe the food… ahhhh-​mazing!
One huge regret was that we were in a hurry & not able to try more off this menu (no apps & no dessert)…make sure you have at least 2hrs to experience everything. Luckily I was able to try tastes from everyone’s dishes at the table– all were fabulous (the only one that I didn’t care for was the «ink» pasta, very smoky & heavy– just a personal pref though, guess not my cup of tea).
My dish was so good though that I’m still having dreams about a week later… handmade pasta + capers & lemon + scallops + 24hr sauce… again it was sooooo good I kept eating even after I was full!
Like I said previously we had a slight time constraint… little over an hour to enjoy dinner. We ordered wine for the table & let the server know we had to be out in 1hr… she kinda looked worried about the time constraint so we immediately placed our order for entrees, since we noticed in the full restaurant no one else had their main courses. We waited and our dishes came out with 15mins to spare… it was totally our fault that we didn’t have more time; all good things take time to make, and the food was great. Just please head my warning– take the time to savor this experience!
Go here at least once during your visit.

Charleston does Italian food really well, and Trattoria Lucca did not let me down. It’s a great date night spot, with comfy seating and dim lighting, and tucked in this downtown neighborhood, it’s quaint, quiet, and far enough from the bustle of King St. (though parking can be difficult).
Hubby was a little disappointed that there was not a full bar, but the wine we did have paired wonderfully with the hearty rustic fare.
We had an amazing steak dish with delicious risotto, and the squid ink pasta with a spicy sausage kick. Both very good, filling, and made you feel like family. Plus, the desserts were worth coming back for on their own. I personally loved the pot de crème, though I can see how some of the desserts can be too sweet/​rich for some.
I cannot wait to come back and try the family dinners!

My wife and I have eaten at many restaurants all over the world including several in the Tuscany region. We were so excited to learn that there was a restaurant that took pride to pattern itself after legitimate Tuscan cuisine. I have never left a negative review of any restaurant but this experience left me more offended than any other dining experience I have known.
First, let me say the food was good, not great but good. However, the flavor was not comparable to restaurants in Tuscany/​the North End in Boston/​or Manhattan. Of note, this restaurant is priced higher than almost all restaurants in Tuscany and more than many in the North End in Boston and Manhattan. Frankly, I have found other italian restaurants in Charleston to provide substantially better food.
This restaurant prides itself of their claim to authenticity of a Tuscan food/​experience. This is part of what makes this restaurant experience so insulting…
My wife and I ordered a multi-​course meal and a bottle of wine with dinner. Almost immediately after finishing the last bite of desert my wife and I were approached by the hostess who asked if she could take my coffee. I responded that I wasn’t yet finished. She then also attempted to take my wife’s full glass of wine who also informed her that she was not yet finished. The hostess then told us that we needed to leave as they had other people waiting on our table. She not only informed us of this but used a very rude tone and hand motions that clarified that it was time for us to leave.
I have seldom ever asked to talk to the manager in a restaurant for any other purpose than to complement the food/​service. Upon asking for the manager, our waitress returned to the table to inform us that she was acting as a temporary manager. We told her about our experience with the hostess who oddly made an attempt to engage herself in the conversation. The hostess actually stood behind our waitress/?temporary manager and laughed in a mocking fashion. She then proceeded to check outside the restaurant, walk back in and say that «they left anyway at this point, tell them they can just stay as long as they want (with a very stern look at us as if we had done something very rude ourselves). She also continued to give very harsh looks in our direction for the next two minutes until we left the restaurant. I have never felt so unwelcome in any food establishment.
Oddly, European cuisine and especially Tuscany prides itself on a meal experience that often is a long meal. My wife and I were not even attempting to have a long meal and were actually about to leave but instead felt like we were thrown out of a restaurant after spending almost $ 200 on the meal.

Charleston is well recognized as a town with exceptional dining opportunities. When you dine at some of those exceptional restaurants and ask the servers where they dine, most that I have asked have said Trattoria Lucca.
It can be loud, busy and expensive, but is well worth it.
Monday night is family style dining, and the rest of the week is their regular menu.
It’s a great place to bring visiting family and friends.

Monday’s is a pre fixe menu or as they called it «Family Style Supper». Be prepared it’s going to be a lot of food.
I went with friends that have been here before. I was not disappointed in the least.
We got there on time for our 19:30 reservation and the table was ready without any delay or wait especially for a group of 11 people.
Atmosphere was close knit so all conversation that happened while the tables was full was very difficult to hear since everyone’s voice seemed to echo.
The first course or antipasti had 4 choices. We got a 2 trays of each and it’s hard to explain what we got. One tray had like a deconstructed bruschetta. One tray had proscuitto 2 types. One tray with a squash salad. The last had a calamari with anchovy like paste with black eyed peas.
The second course was a spiral pasta dish with prosciutto, parmesan cheese. This was very rich and saucy.
The third course was was a chicken platter with arugula and beet salad atop.
The final course was a tiramisu cheesecase which was delicious but I have a feeling they ran out of the original dessert since I saw chocolate cake with white mousse filling on everyone else’s table. We were the last table to leave so I think there may not have been enough.
The service I need to mention was great and eveyone was very attentive.