Luce Ristorante e Enoteca

This is truly a little hidden gem of San Antonio. The staff is fantastic, the food tastes as good as it looks and the place itself is truly beautiful. I’m rather fond of the patio myself. A truly authentic Italian eatery.

Luce is a pretty underrated Italian restaurant, tucked away in the corner of a shopping plaza on Huebner. The atmosphere is nice; there’s wine bottles everywhere and there’s no obnoxious sounds around, making Luce a great place that’s fancy enough for date night or for a quiet celebration that won’t break your wallet.
Service is pretty good here; all the waiters and host were pretty tentative. For the food… I rate it a leeeeeettle bit fancier (I don’t know if this is because of the prices?) than those average Italian restaurants you find at the mall (i.e. Olive Garden, Carinos, Maggianos, etc).
Things I tried were
–calamari which was good. I wouldn’t say spectacular but if you mess up calamari idk if your restaurant is gonna make it lol
–capricciosa pizza, which was not bad but also too salty after the first initial bites. I believe this was due to the olives and the pancetta. I did like the flavors though.
–linguine mare chiaro, which is like a spaghetti with seafood items. I liked this dish a lot but my friend didn’t like it due to the strong «seafood» taste due to the mussels. (He doesn’t like mussels.?)
–TIRAMISU. This was pretty bomb and probably the most exciting part of the meal. ***PSA PSA PSA IT IS FREE WITH A Unilocal CHECK IN*** (actually the primary reason why I chose to eat here)
Worth a try if you’re in the area or want to eat a bit nicer/don’t want to go to a huge establishment like Maggianos, but unsure if I will drive all the way out here anytime soon!

Decent food, terrible service
We visited for the first time during lunch. The place was not busy, yet service was slow. We had a pizza, which was just ok. The crust was like a chewy, stale cracker. I think our waiter was mad at us for no reason. He was very inattentive and rude. He spoke very little and walked away before we were done talking almost every time we interacted. I won’t go back. PS the pizza was actually better re-​heated than it was fresh.

3.5 stars to start with. This is a cozy restaurant with a great selection of wine. Cute romantic dinner spot if you are looking for a place to take your significant other. Prices are a little bit on the higher end but not too expensive. Their lobster ravioli was ok… just ok for me. It was a little cold when it arrived and I’m not sure but the sauce wasn’t as creamy or flavorful. But on a lighter note, their crème brûlée was really good.
If you’re checking in, u get a free tiramisu dessert! One per table though.
Servers were catering (most of the time). I actually came here with a big group of people and service was pretty prompt except some of us didn’t have menus to look at. Also I noticed my dessert spoon was a bit dirty so I went over to their stand and grabbed a new one myself… I hate it when they don’t check how clean their utensils are before distributing them. If I was a server that would be my first priority. How can you bring a dirty spoon over to guests… what else is dirty behind closed doors? Tsk… maybe I’m a bit harsh but it’s true.

My girlfriend and I like coming here for happy hour. It is a nice upscale place with good food. We started coming here two to three years ago and everything we had was good until this last time we went. We ordered a margarita pizza, an item we had many times prior to this. However, this time the pizza was slightly raw. We sent it back and we received another one. Unfortunately the second time around we had a pizza that was burnt in some spots and raw in others. I am not sure how that is even possible.

Once again, another amazing meal! My husband was able to special order chicken Marsala even though it wasn’t on the menu (and it was delicious!). I had the NYE special, filet was perfect, and was able to substitute shrimp for the scallop. The service was excellent, and the owner was friendly and personable. We are looking forward to going back!

Out Christmas shopping and we thought we would grab an appetizer and a beverage. We chose to sit on the patio and the ambiance was wonderful. Our server was outstanding. She was very attentive and accommodating. We ordered two beers and three appetizers. I ordered the insalati di mare and was very surprised by the amount of shrimp, calimari, and scallops. The seafood was fresh and tender. My wife ordered the fried artichoke hearts and sausage & peppers. We ended up too full and walked out with a doggy bag. Did I mention our bill was less than $ 25? Exceptional value and fantastic food. Without a doubt we will be back.

Great little restaurant with an awesome happy hour, we love to come here and sit at the bar area and order a pizza (their pizzas are delicious) and also their meatballs (delicious as well), they have a great variety of appetizers and cocktails. Beautiful restaurant with excellent service!

Great good; intelligent and polite wait staff– and awesome lunch specials! I would highly recommend this place to anyone– including my boss!

Luce has a happy hour you won’t want to miss. Sure, the drinks are priced well, but the food they have on the HH menu is tasty, filling, and undeniably a great value. We ordered Polpette alla Napoletana (meatballs), Arancini di Riso (rice balls), and a variety of the pizzas, figuring it might not be enough. Happy hour specials can be notorious for small portions and perhaps some skimping on the ingredients to slash costs further, but what arrived at our table exceeded expectations. The food was plentiful and superb, a shocking value for the money. It was honestly more than we could eat. We went in expecting to leave hungry if we didn’t sample many many things, and left with stomachs full, just as our arms laden with styrofoam cartons! I can’t wait to experience happy hour at Luce again, but next time we’ll bring friends as reinforcements and order more modestly.

Luce is an fancy, upscale, and tasteful Italian restaurant. The waiter took great care of us during lunch, changing out utensils between the change in courses and checking in frequently.
Most importantly, the food was great. Luce gave some interesting appetizers, including bread, dips, and mascarpone. I loved the special of the day, which was the Halibut; the rice under the fish was perfectly cooked, the fish was nicely baked, and the sauce had an amazing finish; it was subtle — not overwhelming enough to cover the taste of the fish, but just faint enough to mask the scent. The dish came with a side of squash soup, which was delicious as well; with all of the dishes, people have the choice between soup or salad.
I can’t wait to be in San Antonio to go to this restaurant again — I would highly recommend this place!

My sister and her family have been going to this place for about a year now and they are always raving about the food. On my recent trip to San Antonio, we went for a celebratory dinner after my bro-​in-​law finished his bar exam. This is a great place for celebrating: decadent food, extensive wine list. and indulgent desserts added up to a great time for us!
We ordered a variety of pasta dishes. Bro-​in-​law had the Pennette con Polpette e Salsiccia, which was small penne with a rich tomato sauce, meatballs and spicy sausage. The sausage wasn’t too spicy and he really enjoyed it. Sis had the Ravioli di Aragosta (lobster ravioli) which was probably our least favorite of the dishes. The lobster inside the ravioli was too bland; the pasta improved significantly after a few shakes from the pepper mill. My sis said she wouldn’t order this again, and after tasting it, I agreed. It wasn’t as decadent or flavorful as it should have been; what a disservice to lobster! I had the Penne a la Vodka and that was absolutely delicious! Large penne pasta in a rich sauce that was the right blend of cheesy and tomato-​y! It’s a must try!
We finished with crème brûlée (sweet with the right texture of sugary crust), the chocolate gelato (super rich chocolate taste –divine!) and the tiramisu (free with Unilocal check-​in!). I normally don’t care for tiramisu but I was so glad I had it here — Luce’s version is incredible! Creamy, rich, moist and the right balance of espresso and chocolate.
The service is really the only thing that keeps this place from being a five-​star kind of place, because the food was wonderful. After our main course came, the service got a bit slow, and my sister told me that in May she had a private party here after my bro-​in-​law graduated from law school and that the service had disappointed her. The waiter did not communicate clearly with members of the dinner party (leading to an inflated bill — not cool!) and was generally inattentive and unprofessional. Sure enough, as we sat there in the dining room, we saw him serving the table next to us. We were relieved that he was not our waiter. I concur with other reviewers here who say that the service could be improved.
Overall, I enjoyed our dinner at Luce, and would return.

Wine selection is outstanding, servers were very knowledgable about the wine menu. Food is also quite good, there were some variations from the menu but I am fine with this as long as the ingredients are fresh (which they were). The bread and butter they bring out is very tasty: the bread resembles a corn bread by the way it crumbles, they present you with classic, basil, and roasted red pepper butter spreads. I got the Misto salad, which was absolutely divine, standout of my visit. The margarita pizza was good as well, I shared it with my brother who asked for sausage on his half. I will be returning here for date nights or wine with the girls!

Came here in a fairly large group. They start you off some pretty good bread with butter, mascarpone, and ricotta.
I got the butternut squash ravioli but instead of just tomato sauce I asked for the pink vodka sauce. It was great.
Some of my friends decided to split two pizzas and they said both were amazing. One was just a regular margarita while the other was a white pizza.
One of my friends for the lobster ravioli while another got salmon with pasta. They both claimed that their respective dishes were great.
The food came rather quickly so that was good too.
The reason I’m giving this place 4 instead of 5 starts is because the pink vodka sauce could be better. I have had much better sauce at much cheaper restaurants.

Came here for my birthday and the wait staff made it very special. I enjoyed some lovely cocktails (one of which was complimentary) and happy hour salmon pizza. I’ve been to Italy many times and comparatively the food at Luce is pretty authentic!

This place is amazing 1 appitizer, 2 entrees, and 2 drinks with a free dessert came out to 80 $. Not a place if you don’t want to spend to much. Maybe great for a anniversary or birthday but not just to come and eat. Lol. But food was amazing. I had the fish, which was the special and it was AMAZING (: Deff will be coming here for my anniversary (:

The food was so mediocre, I should have known it would be since there were more waiters than people during the dinner rush hour. I got a Stromboli and it was cold, my date got the lasagna. He’s not a picky eater and wasn’t satisfied by his meal he said it was «just ok». We also got the free tiramisu for checking in and didn’t even bother to finish eating it, it was not a good dessert. The only reason I’m giving them two stars is for the ambiance and décor. Other than that it should stay tucked away, nothing worth seeing on Huebner road.

Reliable place. Happy hour is great here. The last time I was here, the only guys I saw in the place were the waiters. Was it ladies night? No complaints here.
The gamberi al limone is one of my favorites. The mussells are also good.
The rice balls could be a little cheesier and the polenta had strong calamata olive flavor that overwhelmed the palate.
Overall, a great place to have few drinks, happy hour, or dinner.

We came here based on a referral from a stranger in Dallas! We just moved to town and are still searching for our favorite spots.
Besides the hostess entertaining us waiting guests while she was dealing with someone on the phone, the service was quite good. We had an attentive waitor who was fairly quiet but did his job well.
We started with callimari for an appetizer. It was ok. Not over cooked so you could actually taste more than grease.
I had the meatball and sausage pasta. I thought both meats were very good. I am excited to five into my leftovers for that reason! The marinaria sauce was spicy but a bit watered down. I like a thicker sauce I guess. Good flavor.
My wife had the seafood pasta. She enjoyed it except she is not a huge fan of spicy food. She didn’t realize it was going to be so spicy.
The bread came with 3 different butters. All were unique and yummy.
I’m sure there were items on the menu that were a much better value than what we got. 2 glasses of wine, appetizer, salad, and 2 entries were over $ 100 after tip. Both entres were $ 22+.
We’ve been to about 6 Italian restaurants in SA so far. I’d put this place 3^rd or 4^th on the list. Not the best but far from the worst. Worth the trip.

The food and service are both really hit or miss here. We’ve had experiences ranging from golly, that was excellent to damn, I wish I would have elsewhere instead. So it really depends on who you get waiting on you and who’s in the kitchen.
When the kitchen is on point, there are a few dishes that are quite good: carpaccio, polenta, meatballs, & pizza.
I don’t think the pasta dishes are worth the price they’re asking. I doubt that it’s fresh pasta. I keep forgetting to confirm. But, it doesn’t taste like fresh pasta. And if I’m paying over $ 20 for a plate of pasta, I want fresh pasta.
Another thing they can definitely improve upon is the bread and butter situation. Baskets of bread and plates of butter are set out in the middle of the dining room so that the staff can easily access them. I get that it’s convenient for the staff. But, the bread is always cold, hard, and stale tasting by the time it gets to the customer. The different butters/​spreads develop a hard crust that makes them quite unappetizing. Who would want to eat that?! Seems like such a waste.
So, come. Roll the dice. Hopefully you will have a nice experience and receive an excellent meal. If nothing else, you will get free dessert with Unilocal check-​in.