Luciano’s Ristorante Italiano

Usually I love the fettuccini Alfredo and carbonara sauce!
This time the carbonara on pasta which they ended up making twice. Still not very good. I settled for some plane pasta with butter and cheese so I wouldn’t be hungry.
They make good drinks. Gin a tonic and vodka tonic.
Crème Brulee — Worst I’ve ever had. The top wasn’t crunchy. The inside was grainy. Cold, old, & yucky!
Usually everything is amazing, so I will probably try them again.

Food was a 10 outta 10. The same goes for the service. We are NJ transplants and can easily state this restaurant is as good if not better. Will definitely be back over and over.

Totally delightful! The reception and service were excellent. We were seated promptly and the server checked on us only enough during the meal. My wife had the lobster ravioli with PEI mussels — really great. I picked this linguini carbonara which was very wealthy. We were presented wonderful desserts, yet passed given we were so full. A must-​visit if in South End!

Went to Luciano’s back in January with a colleague. Fairly nice and upscale restaurant, very friendly waitstaff and great food! If I find myself in the area again, I will be sure to visit again!

We went here with my 2 yr daughter. we loved the food and service.

This place is awesome. I’m from California and I came here for my birthday dinner and everything was spectacular. We had the Sol and the seafood linguine! It was amazing. Then we ordered a strawberry shortcake and it was awesome! The whipped cream was to die for! I completely recommend this place!

Absolutely fabulous! Dined here at Unilocal’s suggestion and was not disappointed. Charcuterie plate, pasta, wine, and dessert was fabulous and the service was excellent. Took a chef friend who had been working at an ultra high end restaurant in Manhattan and she said that this was the best restaurant experience she’d had in a long time.

My wife and I were nearby and came here on the good reviews. We are coming back again tonight. The atmosphere is fantastic, the food is amazing.

My husband and I came here this past Tuesday night (4÷19÷16) and we were extremely glad we had picked this place to go to! We went around 9:30PM and decided to sit outside since the weather was so nice. The service staff was extremely nice and helpful. Our server (who also appeared to be the bartender as well) was able to make the best recommendations for both of our entrees. I would have taken pictures, but my phone battery was too low :(
We were served bread and butter to start, and I loved the bread as it was warm, soft and yummy. The entrees did take a while to come out, but that was my only complaint through the entire night and it was so delicious that it was well worth the wait. My husband ordered their version of a deconstructed lasagna and it was the best lasagna we had ever eaten. I ordered the capellini bolognese and it was also absolutely delicious! Both dishes were extremely flavorful but not overpowering. There was literally nothing that could have been changed to either dish to improve anything about them as they tasted perfectly as they were already! We also tried the strawberry shortcake which was also absolutely amazing!
I really enjoyed being able to sit outside and the atmosphere that was created outside using the candle light was very pleasant and romantic for us since we were celebrating.
Overall, for two drinks and two entrees, we spent about $ 60 before tip, which was extremely reasonable considering the great experience we had. I would definitely recommend eating here and I also plan to dine here again the next time I visit Charlotte. Thank you to our server and everyone involved in giving us a wonderful birthday dining experience! Please keep up the great work! :)

My wife and I went to Luciano’s this past weekend for a belated birthday dinner. I’d never been, but she had on a work outing a while back.
I started with a Goose Island IPA and she got the red sangria. Bread and a small dish of a tomato spread were promptly delivered to our table. The bread was warm and crusty and the tomato was bright and flavorful.
We got white wine mussels as our appetizer. The mussels were tasty but as everyone knows, you don’t get the mussels for the mussels. We got some extra bread to dip into the white wine sauce they came in. It was absolutely delicious. At first I thought it was a bit too heavy on the lemon but after my third piece of bread soaked in the stuff, I realized it was necessary to cut the richness of it and it would have tasted a bit too heavy without it.
Both of us got a caesar salad before our mains. The homemade garlic croutons were excellent. The dressing coated every piece of lettuce evenly and the shavings of parm on top were perfect. I also really enjoyed the very coarse grind of the fresh black pepper offered by our server, Omar.
For my entrée I got the braised beef agnolotti. It is one of the best things I’ve eaten at a restaurant in years. It came with brown butter, fried sage, and parmiagiano shavings. The meat inside each one was soft, supple, and delicious. With this entrée you only get five or six agnolotti, so there won’t be any leftovers, but it’s so rich that you don’t need any more than that.
My wife got the chicken fra diavolo. I was quite impressed at how tender the chicken was, as breast meat can be woefully overcooked in dishes like that. The herbal complexity of the sauce was also impressive, and the pasta was perfectly al dente.
After all of this we were stuffed but hey, it’s my birthday, right? We got our desserts to go. I saw a table of bluehairs order the cannoli and it looked so good I had to have it. My wife got the tiramisu. Even coming out of the fridge a couple hours later, both of them were excellent.
Service was pretty good, and ambiance was fine. The food was the absolute star of the show here, and we will certainly be back.

My husband and I had a wonderful experience at Luciano’s! It was our anniversary and we decided to try something new. We were immediately greeted by our waiter Alberto and treated very kindly. Alberto didn’t hound us but was very honest and attentive. We ordered the flatbread pepperoni pizza which was DELICIOUS!!! We also had the Caesar salad, rigatoni, and the carbonara pasta-​everything was outstanding. Since it was our anniversary they gave us a complimentary dessert and it was sublime. The manager even came by and boxed our food. We will definitely be back to this wonderful restaurant. Thank you Lucianos for making our anniversary special.

I was actually really really excited about this place as my boyfriend and I absolutely adore Italian food. We both work so much and have pretty much opposite schedules so getting a night off — finally — together and able to go out to eat was really exciting especially to a place we talked about for months since we’ve moved to this side of town. For whatever reason it was completely empty inside around 815 or so except for us and another table and one couple at the bar. I had been dreaming about the Gorgonzola crusted filet for what had seemed forever. We sat at the bar and the bartender was great attentive and friendly. We were served the bread and red sauce upon sitting down and ordered a glass of wine and a beer. My boyfriend ordered a pasta dish that was quite good but I can’t remember the name of it and I ordered the filet I mentioned earlier. His came out perfect however my Gorgonzola crusted filet came out with no Gorgonzola instead with a mushroom sauce of some sort and that is probably the one thing I really just cannot handle, mushrooms… so even though I hate doing it I sent it back. When they returned with my «new» steak it was undoubtedly the same just wiped clean and with Gorgonzola cheese on top and not even warm. Needless to say I was just really sad mostly because of how excited I had been for so long leading up to getting to try it. I ate it it was just ok the actual filet itself didn’t have much flavor and was a little tougher than I thought a filet should be. To remedy the issue the manager never came to talk to me just sent out a random dessert which unfortunately was wasted on me since I never order dessert I really am not a sweets person.
It seemed like a nice place and there were other good aspects to it. I would definitely consider another visit to see if I caught them on an off day but the fact that they reused my steak without asking if mushrooms were a dislike or if it was an allergy didn’t sit well with me. My boyfriends pasta was really good though and all the other reviews on Unilocal seem to be consistently great so maybe we’ll give it another go later down the road.

Stellar Italian food! I was passing through Charlotte for the night and thank Unilocal for helping me pick a top notch Italian restaurant!
I went at 7:30pm on a Friday night. They had no Open Table times left, but I called them at 6pm, and they had seating for two people available. We ended up eating at the bar with comfortable chairs (great back support too).
The entire restaurant had a classy ambiance and high-​end design with live music.
They provide complimentary fresh bread and a yummy red dipping sauce.
I ordered their gnocchi and it was FANTASTIC! My all-​time favorite gnocchi is at Filomena in Georgetown, and Luciano’s gnocchi was extremely comparable, definitely my top 2 favorites now. It was smothered in cheeses and flavors that made me eat the entire plate!
There is some parking nearby, but it was easier to Über there. You will want to after having their amazing craft cocktails. I had a fresh strawberries and vodka cocktail that was delightful.
For two meals and four drinks, we spent less than $ 100. It’s great with friends or date night! Highly recommend!

3.5 stars
My boyfriend and I returned to Luciano’s for Restaurant Week as our second try. We were seated in the extension area, not the actual main room, despite our reservations. Our server Phillip was nice but not spectacular, I wish he actually brought the bread that he said he would bring back, the comp bread and marinara app was very tasty and fresh. I felt pretty neglected after our appetizers were brought up.
Drinks:
Strawberry Basil– I didn’t like this at all, I even struggled to finish it. It was a bit too bland and bubbly for me.
App:
Antipasto Salad: the bf loved this! The balsamic vinaigrette was so on point. It had a little too many olives for my unconditional liking.
Peppers Alla Romana: Very good! Though stuffed with goat cheese, the chorizo and arrabiata sauce toned it down to a great balance. I could have munched on these all night. This was my second favorite dish of the night.
Entrée:
Linguini Pescatore: I loved the fact that so much seafood was included in the actual dish and not just on the menu. It was generously garnished with yummy shrimp, clams, oysters, and mini scallops. I’m usually not a fan of white wine sauce, but I did enjoy this dish. I wasn’t as overpowering as I expected it to be. However, I do think that the pasta noodles were waaaay overcooked.
Chicken Capricciosa: It was a little dry, I think a little arrabiata sauce would perfect this dish. The lemon risotto was so creamy, I could have eaten a whole bowl. The tomato arugalla salad was delicous and paired well with the Romano encrusted chicken. This was also a very large dish, we came back with left overs.
Dessert:
Banana Bread Pudding: OMG, put the twinkie down and head to Luciano’s for this! We loved this! The bread pudding itself was not overly sweet but the caramelized bananas were delicious with the salted caramel. The bf and I have agreed that we would return just to order this. OUR FAVORITE DISH OF THE NIGHT.
Chocolate Mousse Cannoli: also very good. I’ve never had a cannoli but, Luciano’s does it right. It was very fresh and light.
We did enjoy the food here, we will be back. Shout out to Miguel the GM for bringing me back, I appreciated the effort you put in to Luciano’s, it has clearly paid off.

Best Italian food I’ve had in Charlotte so far. I visited with my girlfriend this week, and the food and service were both phenomenal.
The food: we started with the goat cheese pomodoro. It was a delicious marinara and goat cheese blend with awesome garlic bread — great appetizer. I ordered the rigatoni salsicia and she got the spaghetti & meatballs. Both pasta dishes were excellent, and you could tell the pasta was freshly made egg pasta, rather than dry pasta from a box. The flavors were great in both dishes, and the meatballs were huge and tasty! We chose the triple layer mousse cake for dessert after viewing all the selections, and it was light and delicious. It was a perfect sweet endnote to the meal without being a huge portion of dessert that leaves you stuffed.
The service was great as well. Our waiter was attentive, and the busboy/​server assistant helped box our food, take plates, etc. The main sticking point: my girlfriend and I were debating about whether a cherry or strawberry on top would be better on the mousse cake. so our server brought out ramekins with a few of each for us. It was a small but nice touch to end a great meal.

I thought with the fantastic reviews, especially from some Unilocalers that I usually have very similar tastes to, that I was going to be wowed and then some by Luciano’s. Well… it was decent, but I felt our meal was one small step above Olive Garden (gasped and clutched my pearls as I typed that).
With a Unilocal check-​in, you could enjoy 10% off of your meal as of 12÷27÷15.
The interior space is lovely — the chandeliers on the patio are beautiful.
The food:
Menu: BAKED GOAT CHEESE POMODORO: Baked herbed goat cheese, toasted garlic ciabatta bread.
Realness: A golf ball sized lump of very good goat cheese dropped in a bowl full of pomodoro sauce. The cheese and bread were quite good, but was not expecting the tomato bath — I should have asked more questions, my bad.
Menu: WEDGE: Fresh Iceberg, chopped tomatoes, bacon, creamy authentic Parmigiano dressing, and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Realness: The iceberg had a very tough core portion that was left on. Bacon tasted a bit off, dressing and cheese were good. I really love wedge salads, but was not atwitter over this one.
Menu: GNOCCHI: Baked with prosciutto di parma, and gorgonzola cream
Realness: Barely any prosciutto (I had 2 small pieces with dinner and 3 small pieces when I had it reheated for lunch the next day). The gnocchi and sauce were good. It was better reheated the next day.
I had the strawberry shortcake for dessert and it was light and tasty.
Complimentary bread is served with a plate of tomato sauce for your meal. Bread was warm and fresh.
The wait staff was excellent and stayed on top of drink refills, though we did need to ask for plates to be removed. We were at a small 2-​top table even though the restaurant was basically empty on the Sunday after Christmas from 6 until 8.
After looking at pictures of the interior, I thought I needed to dress a little better than jeans and a cardigan, but it seems that most of the people there had on jeans, polos, khakis and even a couple of mooks who didn’t take their baseball caps off while dining.
They have a separate area for large group dining.
There is valet parking or you can try your luck in the parking garage that is shared with Sullivan’s. The lot is a bit of a cluster, so during peak times, I would use the valet, but we had no trouble on a rainy Sunday night.
For an appetizer, 2 salads, 2 entrees and 2 desserts, the total was just under $ 80. My date was absolutely delightful and the setting was lovely, so it was a very nice evening, but it was just A-​OK, nothing stood out.

Wonderful restaurant. Beautiful interior design, very elegant Italian upscale features including imprinted tin ceilings, luxurious crown molding, beautiful piers and stanchions make you feel as if you on a lovely vacation. The detail work is amazingly intricate.
Our waiter Roy is an engaging, friendly perfectionist who always seemed to appear when you thought you might need anything. He was knowledgeable, informative and interested in meeting all of our needs. He introduced some of the restaurant’s guest favorites — all yummy!
We had Greek salad, bean and sausage soup, meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and spinach pizza, wine, peach bellini’s, and tiramisu (sp.) dessert
Foodies — Please go and enjoy.
Regina Taylor-​Hines

I’ve been waiting to try Luciano’s and finally got the chance for a friend’s birthday dinner. And it was well worth the wait!
There were about 14 of us in the party so we were seated in the private dining area and that worked out so well! We were able to enjoy the evening and feel like we basically had the place to ourselves!
Our waiter was Fernando and he was awesome! He was supper attentive and we always had what we needed and that’s no easy task when you have 14 starving ladies! We started off with some sangrias and the bread with marinara. Those sangrias definitely packed a punch. Don’t think of your typical sangria mix… kick it up a few notches and you have the Luciano’s version. So good!
To start, I ordered the Wedge salad which come topped with tomatoes, bacon, parmigiano dressing, and gorgonzola cheese. It’s a classic, not overdone or too fancy. Add to that the dressing was perfect! I’d definitely recommend. For my dinner I ordered the Shrimp Fra Diavolo. My goodness. The large shrimp were perfectly cooked and the marinara and brandy combination was so flavorful!
So glad I had the opportunity to give this place a try. The service and food were both excellent and I look forward to my next visit.

Foot and service was very good. Salads were substantial and great home made dressungs.
We were glad we tried it and if back in Charlotte it would be one to try again.

I tried out Luciano’s thanks to Queen’s Feast aka a food lover’s favorite time of the year! Reservations were made so it made dining on a Saturday evening a breeze.
We were greeted and immediately seated in the room off of the main dining room. The main dining area is very nice, all black & white décor. Our table of fabulous ladies started off dinner properly with glasses of wine.
To note, if you order a glass of red wine, the wine will be poured into a comically oversized wine glass. My glass of sauvignon blanc appeared in an adequately sized glass.
For appetizer, I ordered the fried zucchini. Forgive me, because I forget the actual Italian name for it. They were delicious! Thin zucchini patties served with arugula and a side of marinara sauce for dipping. Main entrée, I ordered the seafood cannelloni. I wasn’t as happy with this dish. It tasted a little too shrimp-​y for me. Dessert, I got the chocolate cannoli. It was good but nothing special.
I found the portions to be just right and the meals were spaced out with just enough time in between. A lot of the time with restaurant week menus, the wait staff seems to rush to bring out the dishes with you not being able to fully enjoy each plate. Not at Luciano’s, I got to enjoy and eat every bite of my meals.
I was very pleased with my experience and look forward to going back!