Lucques

The ricotta dumplings were really good, but way too expensive. You get three little dumplings for $ 21. I wasn’t a fan of the short ribs. I know this place is known for it, but I didn’t care for it here. It had that boiled taste to the meat that I personally can’t stand. My friend ordered their onion pancakes and she took one bite and she didn’t like it at all so she couldn’t eat the rest. They ended up taking her dish back because she didn’t touch it. She said the flavors in the pancake just didn’t mesh well, it was an odd taste that maybe you have to be accustomed to eating. We had the chocolate pavlova desert which was really good. We enjoyed that. The place is cute and the staff is very friendly. Everyone who worked there said thank you and bye to us when we left and I really appreciated that.

Great date spot. Patio is the spot to be. Had a soft shell crab appetizer that we both liked and then split the short rib (best thing we had), and the veal chop with crispy prosciutto (pretty good but not great). Top notch bread service and selection. This spot should be considered for all special occasions.

Came here for a double date and had a good time but we weren’t incredibly wowed by the food.
The setting of the restaurant is pretty small. There’s a bar and tables spread throughout the restaurant. The tables were placed fairly close to each other so it was a little cramped.
The service was good, they were pretty attentive and nice but again, nothing that sticks out.
Food was good but nothing too exciting. I got the braised short rib which had a lot of flavor but it needed something to cut out the heaviness of the potatoes and rib. My SO got the steak which was cooked & seasoned well. We also got a few cocktails which I definitely recommend.
Overall the place was nice, fun to try and a good spot to go for a date.
Valet parking only unless you find street parking

Booked the reservation on Open Table and wrote «birthday!» in the comments box when reserving. They actually remembered to bring something special out for dessert! Those cookies were so yummy!
The food was delicious. We ordered about 5 plates and shared with 3 people. I loved the whiskey with the saffron. It was superb! I’ll definitely be back!

Cute place with great service. Mediterranean inspired dishes. The ambience is very dark. Not a loud dining place.
We ordered the chickpea soup, beef carpaccio, soft shell crab, and onion cake to start. Main course is the Halibut, pork confit and braised beef ribs.
Our favorite is the soup, soft shell crab, halibut and pork confit, and beef ribs. Prom confit reminds me of carne con salsa verde.
The saltiness progress as you go down the menu.
The dessert we had was kumquat with cake milk gelato and honey comb.
Small menu but intense flavors

The last time we were here was 2006, that was 10 years ago! Wow! They are still surviving and standing since Suzanne Goin maintain the uniqueness and exuberance of the way food is presented and made.
We had the Romeo’s lettuces with sliced cucumber to start and it’s also based on cucumber dressing which was so delicious. The ricotta dumplings with morels was our favorite for the night.
Halibut with frisée and soft boiled egg was cooked to perfection.
Desserts is a must too. Go for the berry tart and chocolate cremeaux if you have the room. We will not wait another 10 years to go back.

A very pleasant atmosphere with a refreshing concentration on vegetarian dishes. I mean yeah they have chicken and beef here and there, because they have to, but their focus is on raw, fresh and seasonal vegetables. But not so much hippie vegan substitutes as complements to seafood and cheese. I like to think that this is how medieval peasants ate.
The environs are awash with rustic charm and curb appeal. It’s a cozy venue that — while haute — is not pretentious. It’s figuratively and literally refreshing. A very nice venue for an intimate special occasion.

We really enjoyed our dinner here, but I had to give them 4 stars cause their food weren’t consistent. Some were full of flavor, while others lacked it. We had their Olives and Almonds (complementary), Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad (it’s a salad), Chopped Chicken (just okay), Hanger Steaks (my fave), and we finished it off with their chocolate crème caramel (not a fan) and hot chocolate (very chocolaty — perfect). Their alcohol drinks were good — bull’s blood, lucques gimlet, and cortez are all a must try.

Outdoor seating was the perfect setting for Mother’s Day Brunch. Snapper with beet salad was great. Steak frites were too salty for my taste. Burger was cooked perfectly.
Overall, very pleasant dining experience!

Service 5
Food 3
Ambiance 4
I made a reservation for an early Mother’s Day celebration for my family and BF, so I was prepared to drop some beaucoup cash on this meal. Needless to say, I had high expectations. This was further heightened after learning that Suzanne Goin won the James Beard award for outstanding chef of 2016.
Although the service was impeccable and ambiance was dreamy, the food didn’t live up to expectations. Do you think I like giving low rating for something I paid a lot of money for? $ 300 to be exact. So, it utterly pains me to even admit that Lucques had failed at even the most basic culinary skills. The hanger steak, a perfectly cooked piece of meat was ruined by over seasoning with very liberal use of salt. The pan roasted halibut was overcooked and dry. It’s not so much that I paid a lot of money for these, but that I’m more bothered by the general disregard and lack of respect paid to preserving the integrity of these ingredients. Disappointment is an understatement. I expected more from the kitchen of someone who trained under Alice Waters. My boyfriend said he would have sent these two dishes back, but didn’t because it was Mother’s Day and he didn’t want to ruin the mood.
To be fair, I will highlight some of table’s favorites: soft shell crab was a delight to eat, though fried it was light and refreshing. Paillard chicken was moist and tender and my personal favorite was the pork confit, very luscious and luxurious. Lastly, the berry tart added a sweet ending.

WOW!!! We ate here last weekend with our really good friends.
The food… well…it is beyond delicious. It is worth a splurge for sure.
We shared a couple of appetizers, the beef carpaccio, and the ricotta dumplings. A must have!
Two of us had the braised beef short ribs, I had the hanger steak, and one of us had the grilled veal chop. Everyone’s dish simply melted in your mouth.
We shared three deserts, the chocolate pavlova, the chocolate tart, and the brown butter date bar.
All of the above is a must try when you go. I am pretty confident everything on their menu is amazing however
Our server was stellar (sadly I cannot remember her name but she is French). She made our experience there even more wonderful. She was excited about her job and about the food which made us excited to be there and to eat said food.
We will definitely eat here again for an upcoming special occasion.

Hubby and I selected Lucques for an exuberant dinner date to celebrate our exciting prospects.
Made reservations thru Opentable.
There’s valet parking out front ($ 5.50).
We arrived early. Our table wasn’t ready, but they have a seating area in front of a fireplace and a bar with cocktails, so who mind’s a wait with that atmosphere?
We both had the Lucques Gimlet. Vodka, Fresh Lime Juice and little bits of fresh mint (only worry is the little green specks in your teeth). It was a refreshing cocktail.
A couple of minutes past our reservation time, the hostess alerted us and led us to our table. We were led to a back candle lit table that was private in the «garden» area. I’m guessing that the top is open in the summer time, but its still cool out and there was a top, but there are trees in the middle of the dining room and vines growing up the walls. Gorgeous, but I imagine it could be breathtaking on a summer evening.
We were brought water and freshly baked bread w/​flavorful butter & salt. Further, colorful olives & almonds. All of it was tasty and quickly eaten.
Starters:
Crab & little gems
Ricotta dumplings
Main Courses:
Braised Short Ribs & horseradish cream
Hanger Steak w/​cannelini beans
Dessert:
Chocolate cremeaux tart w/​espresso hazelnut & cardamom ice cream
Earl Grey Tea
EVERYTHING, from beginning to end was DELICIOUS. Bursting with flavor is an understatement. The Ricotta dumplings were delicate. The crab was fried, but a thin batter. The horseradish cream had a slight kick that wasn’t overpowering, but perfectly complemented the Short Ribs. The Hanger Steak was prepared perfect and the cannelini beans were probably the best cannelini beans I’ve tasted. Even the damn Earl Grey Tea was perfect.
Further, Service was excellent and attentive. Pacing was slow, but allowed for a long dinner; you Never felt rushed.
Fantastic Date Night.

An absolute must on Los Angeles’ restaurant scene, Caroline Styne’s and Suzanne Goin’s food heaven, Lucques, a true gem. Excellent food, superb service, nice cocktails and an amicable ambiance especially sitting outdoors on the patio. Highly recommended!

One of the best and most memorable meals I’ve ever had in my life! We went for their Sunday Supper pre-​fixe and had the most incredible duck cassoulet. It was rich, decadent, and perfectly paired with a salad of bitter greens. Further proof that if Suzanne Goin’s name is above the door, the food is going to be some of the best you’ll ever have.

Celebrated my husband’s birthday here and had a great time. Everything we ordered were delicious but particularly the short ribs were so tender and juicy that it is a must-​get. Awesome desserts too!

Beautiful décor but very mediocre dining. The squid salad was very, very salty. Our waitress asked how everything was, when we told her it was salty she gave us no replies, essentially ignoring us. No worries, i tipped her 15% the bare minimum for this lack of care and poor customer service. If you’re going to ask a question perhaps you should pay attention to the answer. Besides that hiccup we proceeded to ordering desert which was just as bad as the rest of the meal, meh.
The fish and faro was decent besides being too salty yet again. I don’t think it will be a place I will add to my regular rotation, the Little Door or Petit Trois are way better options.

Lucques is an institution restaurant for a reason. It still delivers on every faucet — great food, great cocktails, great service (we sat at the bar). The entire staff actually care. Look, the prices aren’t cheap but compared to other high-​end restaurants, they are pretty reasonable.
Christian the bar manager took care of us and he’s just amazing. Leave yourselves in his capable hands and let the master take you on a culinary journey. BTW — he makes a mean Manhattan!
Enough said — thank god i was on an expense account.

Really, really mediocre. A couple of friends and I dined here for our Valentine’s Day dinner and were disappointed. We split three appetizers — ricotta dumplings, a squid salad, and a forgettable last option — and found all three to be small and uninspired. The squid was way too chewy and the dumplings were flavorless.
Our entrees were served in the same vein. I had a short rib that was alright, but my friends were very unhappy with what they ordered. Desserts, as you can assume, were also bland and overpriced.
Also, why doesn’t the manager bother to ask how the food is? No one checked in on us to see how our experience was.
Don’t bother eating here. Take your business to any of the other fine dining establishments down the street.

Came here for their DineLA and the experience was fantastic. The food, ambiance, and service were all top-​notch. The wine list here is superb and Lucques get a lot of local wine that’s not easily available elsewhere. The semi-​outdoor seating area in the back in the way to be to enjoy the overall experience.
The chicken confit with radicchio soubise, crème fraîche and crushed red flame grapes is a must-​try! I also enjoyed their local squid salad, kabocha squash salad, and grilled market fish.
Book your reservations early and rest-​assured that you’ll have a great time here!

Great décor, ambiance and service. We ordered the pork chop and short ribs and both were excellent. The pork chop was accompanied by roasted brussel sprouts, diced apples, and roasted squash. The short ribs came with mashed potatoes and kale and topped with a horseradish cream. I also ordered the dolcetto alba which was really yummy and is one of their cheapest reds. Love everything about this place!

How you know you’re eating somewhere popular: you have a reservation for a restaurant at 9pm (super late by my standards), and there is STILL a small wait to get your table.
Lucques is cozy, intimate, but still pretty rowdy. It’s definitely upscale but not in a stuffy manner; it’s a perfect spot to dress up a bit to catch up with your friends over food and drink.
We originally came for dineLA, but in the end the menu seemed quite underwhelming, so we split a first course and individually ordered main courses.
But first, their bread: it’s really good. The butter was softened to the perfect spreading consistency, and sprinkled with the sea salt on the side — hoo boy, I could eat their bread, butter, and salt as its own meal.
Our split course was ricotta dumplings — I was kind of expecting dumplings like chicken and dumplings, but instead we got actual dumplings stuffed with ricotta (after typing it out so many times, dumplings is a really weird word…). Flavors were good — the chanterelles were FANTASTIC — but we literally only had 3 dumplings on the plate. Good thing there were only 3 people at our table!
My main was fish of the day (cod) with clams in a very, very rich aioli (it was essentially a butter-​based sauce). While the actual size of the fish was kind of disappointing, everything was cooked well and flavors meshed wonderfully together.
Perhaps I’m just used to Texas-​sized portions, but I’m glad I kind of went overboard with the bread because I do think portion sizes are lacking a bit here; however, great service, great bread, and great flavors helped make Lucques an overall enjoyable dining experience.

I ate here many years ago and finally returned the other night. I love this place. You walk in and there is a fireplace with brick walls and a bar. It is a cool and hip place. In the back is a covered patio and tables up front as well. We sat in the back and ordered almost everything on the menu. As usual, I ordered a steak for two and it made my night. I was in heaven. I posted a pic of it. I want to come back next Friday but they are closed for an event. My luck.

Nice place.
Attentive staff. Pleasant back garden — which seemed much nicer than the interior restaurant.
We were there a little on the early side — maybe 730 — but definitely an older crowd.
No matter, the food was delicious.
The steak for two — over a bed of arugula and potatoes is in the words of Luck Charms, was sinfully delicious.
For starters the endive and pear salad was great as were the ricotta dumplings.
One nice touch is we ordered sparkling water and they kept it refilled at no additional charge.
Nice wine list (big wine list maybe ten pages) and their up charge — according to Vivino at least — isn’t nearly as egregious as other restaurants.
Lucques is definitely not a «scene» but for a quiet, attractive restaurant with top notch cuisine it is really good.

enjoyed a great brunch here with the fam
definitely loved eating on the outside patio
and our server was attentive and made great suggestions
shared:
salad with persimmons, tamarind, walnut vinaigrette and sharfe maxx cheese
light and fresh — balanced out the rest of our meal
spanish grilled cheese with mahon, chorizo, roasted shallots and arugula salad
table fav — so crispy and flavorful. definitely share as it got a little heavy for me
market fish with farro, black rice, mustard greens and sicilian breadcrumbs
this was my least favorite. i thought it needed more flavor.
niman ranch steak frites with arugula salad, béarnaise and house-​made fries
tender steak and crispy fries. i liked their version of steak frites
libations:
communion — not a huge fan but brother bear liked it
lucques gimlet — refreshing but tasted like slightly spiked lemonade
silver fox — i liked this drink a lot because it was cool and minty but it’s a creeper!

10÷17÷15: This is my favorite restaurant of all time.
I’ve been coming here for probably nearly a decade, ever since I saw it ranked as The #1 Restaurant in all of the Southern California area, as written in some prominent magazine. It really has lived up to that title for me. Yes, I’ve had a less-​than-​absolutely-​spectacular meal here and there, but I’ve eaten here probably more than a dozen times and 9 times out of 10 it is flat out amazing.
There’s definitely a certain style to the food here. Most of the dishes feature multiple textures, almost always including something crunchy with the soft, and often balancing the savory with subtle bitterness. Also, I find that few dishes here have heavy or creamy sauces, but the majority leverage various flavored oils to supply that taste that only a liquid could provide. Each dish, especially the main courses, are very complex with many different ingredients, all varied visually and in taste characteristics. To me this is the hallmark of true cooking genius – to combine vastly different elements of seemingly completely different tastes into one coherent and mouth watering creation.
I just love the food here, but the food does not make a restaurant great by itself. And Lucques really shines as the complete dining experience. The staff is amazing and very polite. Your fellow diners are all sophisticated yet not stuffy, and the air is relaxed. Also, I noticed that there aren’t as many couples as you usually see in fancy places – many of the tables were for 4 or more. And everyone is happy, smiling. It’s going to be a great time.
Some notes of my last meal…
1. Bohemian Sour $ 14: Really great sweet cocktail. Perfect amounts of sweet and sour, with plenty of fruity flavors balanced with good alcoholic complexity. The presentation is pretty plain though. ⁸⁄₁₀.
2. Five Card Cash $ 14: Saffron in a cocktail? – hell yeah. This one definitely delivers for the serious cocktail connoisseur. Tons of different flavor notes here. Just taste after lingering taste. Quite amazing. Not a girly drink. Again, the presentation is extremely plain, but the taste is just so great I didn’t care. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
3. Bread & Olives (complimentary): They have great bread. Moist and fresh, and the crust is absolutely perfect. And the olives are great too. Probably made in-​house. ⁸⁄₁₀.
4. Warm Squid Salad (with arugula, chorizo, persimmons and sourdough breadcrumbs) $ 21: Quite the original and unique salad. Lots of exotic fresh vegetables here, with lots of pretty reds and purples. The squid is absolutely perfectly cooked, very soft and not chewy at all. The whole thing is masterful. My gf pondered its unique properties carefully with every bite – I could see her concentration. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
5. Heirloom Tomato Salad Mechouia (with charred vegetables, harissa and fried pita) $ 18: Oddly, this one was the heavier of the two salads we had. It still had fresh vegetables, but there’s quite a bit of sauteed onions and marinated tomatoes, so it felt less garden fresh. Also, there’s more abundant and thicker oil, as well as a big spoonful of cream on top. Quite unusual for Lucques. ⁸⁄₁₀.
6. Grilled Market Fish, Salmon (with heirloom tomatoes, torn croutons, black olive chimichurri and opal basil) $ 32: Salmon? – the most ubiquitous fish on menus everywhere… had to see what Lucques could do, and they did not disappoint! Plenty of crunch from the croutons, lots of flavor from the oils and chimichurri, and much more. And of course, the fish was absolutely perfectly medium rare. ⁸⁄₁₀.
7. Niman Ranch Hanger Steak (with swiss chard, bread pudding and roasted tomato soffrito) $ 35: Amazing. As a whole plate, I’ve never had a better steak dish. Digging below the steak is where I found the source of the magic – that bread pudding is something else. Soft and a strangely resilient texture – just melted in my mouth. And there was some kind of cracker or something, lending the crunch texture. Just so much going on under and around the steak… and the steak! – never had steak prepared this way before. Seems to me it might have been braised or something was done to it to give it that braised stewy outward layer, but the inside was the juicy meatiness you expect from good medium-​rare steak. And whatever the did to it, the outside still had a good grilled feel. So much on one plate. Was awesome. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
8. Tawny, 30 year, Dow’s Port $ 20: Disappointing. Not as rich or as complex as I’d expect for an older port. ⁵⁄₁₀
9. Tenerelli Peach Pie (with respberry jam and vanilla ice cream) $ 12: If Lucques has a weakness it would be dessert. I’ve had one of the best I’ve ever had here, but also some so-so’s. This was one of the so-so’s. I wish it had more peaches for one. ⁵⁄₁₀.
To me, Lucques exemplifies greatness as a restaurant. It really has everything.
Oh, and ask to eat in the patio – it’s beautiful.
For my favorite restaurant, ever: ⁵⁄₅
#american

I love this place. Beautiful inside and out, they have a great patio outside. Atmosphere is more formal and quiet. The staff is very friendly and accommodating, book in advanced. The menu is very seasonal so it changes throughout the year. I really like summer time because they have live soft shell crabs that they fry. They are incredible and so is the sauce that it is toped with. I also really like the stone fruit salad. The best and tastiest fruit from really impressive local farmers. Their main course that they are known for is the short ribs. They are very tender and deserve the hype they get. Very good, you should try them if you haven’t. I also really like the chicken and all the fish is very fresh and prepared well. Desserts are all good.

Just a tad warm outdoors; my only complaint. Our party of three sat outdoors and it was beautiful. The décor was romantic but clean. Hanging over patrons were impressive square baskets of light. BUT we needed a ceiling fan or something. It’s L.A., it gets unsettlingly warm and if you’re a busy, popular restaurant make sure you outdoor guests aren’t sweating.
The food was great. I had the market fish which was Barramundi. Delicious. It was perfectly cooked. I had Compound as my small, strong cocktail. Really packed a punch! I strongly recommend having a meal here on a nice cool day.

Allrite allrite allrite…
Okay at first impression, wow! this place is beautiful especially that nice patio outside area. Be forewarned, it gets a tad toasty outside esp on this particular summer night. Regardless, I still loved the outside area. Honestly, the food didn’t stick out to me too much for me at all but I did enjoy the ribs which many Unilocalers mention on here. I found the plates to be small in regards to portions. However, while the food didn’t leave an impression, it was the end of the night though that had me talking…
Now me and my girl friends are getting our paycheck and one of my friends goofs up on the math when she decides to tell us how much to tip as we split it 4 ways (honest mistake, she forgot to double the tax). Now its a silly mistake and honestly we didn’t catch it but did the server bring it to our attention?. You bet he did… very rude may I add. Look buddy, you did a great job but how about just a different approach. He comes up to me directly as we are leaving and goes how was the service? I tell him «great, thank you!» as he shakes his head walking away from me. I mention this to my friends and this is when our lil mathematical error was caught. I came up to him and gave him a 20 from my purse only for him to say «ohh thanks».ughh at this point you deserve what we tipped you in the first place.
In conclusion, it wasn’t the food that left the bad taste in our mouth at Lucques… it really put a small damper to our dining experience where me and my friends really had to ask ourselves, «did that really happen just now?»

Last year for my birthday, Ryan took me to Melisse… a bit hard to compete with in terms of Birthday Dinner, but this was incredibly special for one reason: when he told me the placed he picked, he said that it wasn’t because of their main menu, but because of the DESSERT menu. He knows me so well — I’m convinced that a place that can’t do desserts can’t really do much. It’s too easy to do so well!
Their dessert menu was intriguing from the get-​go. Earl grey pavlova with a pluot sauce? Espresso cremeaux tart with a cardamom ice cream? Almond-​layer cake with fresh figs and a honeyed-​yogurt ice cream? How wonderfully inventive! Not something you see normally on menus, sign me up!
Great wine. Great short ribs — get the goddamn short ribs with horseradish cream sauce oh my looorrrddddd — and now onto the dessert.
I had the almond-​layer cake — which looks like a baumkuchen — a layered german cake (usually for Christmas) that you make by having a fluffy batter you spoon in small amounts, «painting» the bottom of the pan, and broiling it really quickly. Then repeat, like 15 times. It’s time consuming yes, but it’s amazing. Some have almond paste in it, some don’t, either way it’s good. This looked like a baumkuchen, and it was — of course — amazing. The honeyed-​yogurt ice cream was to die for, and I wanted to eat an entire gallon of it.
The cremeaux tart was good — very rich — incredibly chocolatey, and but the cardamom ice cream cut into that richness like a spiced knife. What a brilliant combination. (By the way, if you don’t like marshmallow or meringue, don’t get the pavlova — that’s a meringue dessert).
We paired both our desserts with a 30 year tawny, and I fell face first into bed the MOMENT we arrived home.
The place wasn’t too crowded (for it being 9p on a Wednesday), so keep that in mind if you don’t like crowds. Otherwise, I hear it can get QUITE busy. There is valet, but if you’re there late enough you can probably find parking (which costs money up until midnight).

Still a fan of Suzanne Goin.
Lucques is one of my favorite restaurants and i was surprised with a reservation here for my 30^th birthday. I was ecstatic!
I delighted myself with the:
—-Sonoma Duck crèpinette with beluga lentils, foie gras, pancetta, treviso and nectarines $ 36.
Wow for the surprising way five gras was served. It is embedded inside the thick and juicy duck patty, so when you cut it open, the foie gras barely keeping its shape from the heat, slides out of the center. Sweet and fatty, much softer than previous foie gras I’ve had. The duck was excellent and even the surrounding beluga lentils, which weren’t horribly starchy as usual. This was the perfect dish for this celebration.
My friend who overheard me go crazy over how Suzanne Goin was my fave chef after she liked my instagram picture (of food needless to say) had the:
—-Market Fish with heirloom tomatoes, torn croutons, black olive chimichurri and opal basil $ 32
Oh, this is the way fish should be. Always. It was juicy. Fresh. Flaky yet softly solid. The black olive (love them) chimichurri was excellent, just rightly salted. The skin of the fish was thin and crispy with a nice charring to it. Juicy tomatoes, very nice and light. The right amount of texture variety made it a win win.
ALcohol
— I went for a white from Entre-​Deux-​Mers, I would’ve preferred something with more body, this was good with the fish, not with the duck, but it was chosen prior to the main entrée. Too light for my liking however, i enjoyed it given the big picture.
For dessert i opted for the:
—Earl grey pavlova with pluot preserve and pinenuts $ 12. The wrote Happy Birthday on the plate and added a nice candle. I think i made 30 wishes at that moment! It was a donut shaped merengue with a light earl grey infused cream and topped with pluot preserve (thin slices of extremely flavorful plum). It was good, maybe not the best choice (i prefer the semifredo) but i wanted to try something new. By the end, it was slightly too sweet.
Another great experience at Lucques. Thank you ;)

With 800+ reviews and counting I’m going to only call out what you need to know…
— Appetizers /​Small Plates vs. Entrees: If you are like me I like to try a lot of different dishes which usually means I will stick to the appetizer/​small plates portion of any menu. Also, many times the small plates are better than the larger portion entrees. At Lucques, the opposite approach is needed. The entrees both sounded more appealing and also out shined our appetizers. Don’t miss the Short Rib and the Duck Crèpinette entrees. Skip the chilled summer squash soup, and stick with the heirloom tomato salad mechouia appetizer instead.
— Don’t miss dessert! If you are not big on sweets, but love peanut anything you must get the peanut butter ice cream sundae with blondies and crushed pretzels. All the other desserts sounded good too, but this one was amazing. Pastry chef Sahar Shomali is doing some magic back there!
— Quality freebies?!? I try to stay away from carbs but the bread, butter, and course salt are worth a couple bites for sure. They also bring olives with almonds before your meal to snack on. Make sure to get a little of that course salt on a few almonds, yummy and complimentary!
All and all, we had a great night at a restaurant we have wanted to check out for years. Always glad to see a restaurant stand up to their long standing reputation.

***Suzanne Goin’s Lucques is one of the country’s very best restaurants; Lucques produces rustic but refined salads and entrees that celebrate high quality seasonal ingredients***
Of Suzanne Goin’s many LA restaurants, AOC gets all the attention with its small plates approach and crowd pleasing bites like bacon wrapped dates and perfectly cooked hanger steak topped with pungent roquefort butter, but her Lucques is the true gem. I’ve been going to Lucques for over a decade and while many culinary trends have come and gone, Lucques has kept true to its roots by focusing on delicious flavor combinations that celebrate high quality seasonal ingredients.
Salads are always exceptional at Lucques and the kitchen does not have to resort to using a great protein or maybe crispy fried goat cheese to elevate it. Instead, the focus of Lucques’ salads are always on the restaurant’s ability to source and showcase exceptional ingredients. Their current beet and avocado tartare is amazing. The avocado was incredibly creamy but also had a surprising subtle firmness. The beets were great and shredded to give it a unique texture. This helped make the beets feel lighter and more appropriate for a refreshing summer starter. The garnishes were great – fragrant cilantro, leafy and slightly bitter greens, a dollop of crème fraîche, and crunchy pepitas.
For my entrée, I had their signature dish of braised beef short rib. I am actually not a big fan of beef short rib. I often find short rib too rich as well as tasting too much of the braising liquor. Lucques’ version is the exception. They do a great job rendering down the fat to deliver fall apart tender beef where you do not have to eat around a lot of it. The bark of the beef was delicious – great char and a distinct crust to separate from the juicy interior. The short rib was topped with horseradish cream – light but with a noticeable horseradish punch.
The sides were all great – a hearty potato purée, sauteed greens that were warm and only slightly bitter and sweet cipollini onions.
Desserts are an area where Lucques often shines. Unlike a lot of restaurants where desserts are kind of a throwaway, Lucques really puts a lot of effort into desserts. Pastry elements are often featured in their desserts with cakes and seasonal items like persimmon pudding. On this visit, I had their peach pie, which definitely had strong points even if it was slightly too sweet for me.
The lattice pastry top was great – excellent sugar topped crust with a distinct crispness to contrast with the pie crust bottom. I also really enjoyed the pistachio ice cream. While the ice cream could have been creamier, this was the rare pistachio ice cream where the unique pistachio flavor really came across.
In addition to Lucques excellent food, barman Christiaan Rollich produces some of the best drinks in not only LA but the entire country. His approach of constantly changing his drink menu while showcasing seasonal ingredients meshes perfectly with Goin’s cuisine and his commitment to excellence (employing a made from scratch approach everywhere from juices and tinctures to bitters and colas) ensures that drinks are always smooth and balanced as well as incredibly complex where the flavors actually build and develop with each taste.
Lucques also has a really inviting look – whether it is the white tablecloth and upscale but also approachable dining room or the perfectly comfortable and shaded outdoor patio. Service is also excellent – very attentive, polite and friendly. Prices are high, but portions are generous and the sourcing of meats, seafood, vegetables, and fruits is among the best in the country. In addition, Lucques offers a 3-​course Sunday Supper for a better value while still providing an excellent representation of Lucques’ cuisine.
Like the more fine dining Manresa in Los Gatos, Lucques is the perfect California restaurant due to how it showcases California’s impressive bounty of seasonal produce and the diverse chefs who work here. In many ways, Lucques is underrated because it does not employ some of the recent attention getting culinary trends or cutting edge techniques used by the city’s newest restaurants. But if you really want to experience the purity of the ingredient and the skill it takes to deliver immensely satisfying flavors and textures, you will have a hard time finding a better restaurant anywhere in the U.S.
Metered street parking is available.

I love the rustic at home feeling Lucques exudes upon entering.
Be prepared to get cozy with your neighbor because they squeeze their patrons in. You are so close to the adjacent tables that you can’t help but overhear conversations and feel like you are dining with them.
Olives, almonds and bread– I knew I had to try the olives and almonds. On the menu it looks like you can order it as an appetizer, but it was complimentary. The olives and almonds were a simple, yet delicious start to our meal.
Just as the other Unilocalers mentioned, the short ribs were probably the highlight of the meal.
Everything we ordered was good, but nothing to write home about. I felt like it was one of those restaurants that is good to try once, but doesn’t give you that itch for a return visit.