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Serving: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday (Take-out available 4-11 p.m.). Cuisine: Italian Prices: Dinner entrees average $15. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance 7/10
OG: Lucciano’s is located in the house where the restaurant Primrose was located years ago, just behind the former Gladstone Ford. The interior is pretty simple, with fewer than 20 tables and vintage posters on the wall. It’s clean and comfortable; nice, but nothing special. 3.5/5
The Dining Companion: I had never been to Primrose or Lucciano’s prior to this dinner. The restaurant looks like it has lived other lives as other establishments since being converted from someone’s house years ago. 3.5/5
Appetizer 13.5/20
OG: Lucciano’s has quite an extensive menu, so deciding on what to order isn’t easy. In the end I opted for the crab cakes ($8.95), two large cakes with a Dijon dipping sauce. The crab cakes were crunchy and a bit overdone, but the portion was generous. Flavor-wise, however, they were unexceptional and didn’t compare to the excellent ones TDC reviewed last week. 6.5/10
A side note for those readers who like to know about the wine selection. While Lucciano’s has a variety of different types of wine — Chianti, Merlot, Chardonnay, etc. — they don’t have different labels of wine. They serve only a house wine, and only by the glass. The waitress said the owner brings in bottles for sale only on the weekends, which I found a bit unusual.
TDC: I decided to do the healthy thing and ordered a salad as my appetizer. It was a spinach and Gorgonzola salad, which had curlicues of cheese over spinach and mixed greens with a strange sweet dill dressing that spoiled the salad for me. Sometimes a simple salad with a light dressing is better and in this case it would have been. 7/10
Entrée 13/20
OG: I love penne with vodka sauce, so ordering Lucciano’s vodka penne ($12.95) was a no-brainer. Their version has ground Italian sausage and scallions in the spicy tomato cream sauce. It did have a nice flavor – the sausage adds a little something savory and the sauce has just the right amount of heat — but it wasn’t especially memorable.
However, the first thing I was struck by was the enormous size of the dish. If you like large portions, you’ll love Lucciano’s, but to me, it was grotesquely oversized and there was no way I’d ever finish it. Is it really necessary to serve anyone this much food? 7.5/10
TDC: I decided to try one of their Italian specialties and a favorite of mine, veal Parmesan ($13.95), which is described as “tender veal pounded thin and breaded, simmered in marinara sauce.” Unfortunately, the chef this night didn’t think tender or pounded thin were important as neither was apparent in the dish. The veal was very rubbery and not very appetizing. While the sauce was very good, it wasn’t enough to make this meal enjoyable. 5.5/10
Dessert 12.5/20
OG: Lucciano’s didn’t have a very extensive dessert menu. In fact, on the night we went, the waitress listed only two things: A cranberry walnut cake and a tiramisu made by the chef. I’m no fool — I chose the tiramisu. It was a creamy and sweet; not bad, although it had a strong cinnamon overtone, which is not a flavor I ever remember tasting in tiramisu before. 7.5/10
TDC: I went with the cranberry walnut cake, which seemed to be a leftover as it was very stale. Hopefully I got the last piece and they had a new one made for the next day. 5/10
Service 8/10
OG: Our waitress was personable and friendly. The food came out as ordered. 4/5
TDC: Our waitress took good care of us and did a fine job. 4/5
Value 13.5/20
OG: Lucciano’s prices are moderate, and their portions are oversized, so there are probably a lot of people who would think it’s a great value. However, I couldn’t find anything outstanding about our dinner and I’ve had better food for the price, so the best I can do is 7/10.
TDC: Lucciano’s prices are reasonable, but I’m having a tough time recommending it since there was no one part of my meal that I could praise on its own. 6.5/10
Total score: 67.5/100
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