Mr. Rabbit was business-ing in Boston, and I was tagging along (avec thesis), when we found ourselves at Lucca for dinner.

We arrived without reservation, and squished up to the bar. Despite being a weeknight, the place was jammed — and really too loud to talk, so we sipped wine while waiting for our table. Before too long, we were seated. Service was pleasant throughout the meal, but our server was very busy, and so this thwarted professionalism and speed.

We started with the beef tatare, which was generous and really quite tasty. Then we both had the wild boar rigatoni. Mr. Rabbit had been to Lucca previously, and raved about this dish, but I found it slightly disappointing. While definitely flavourful, I felt the sauce/pasta ration was off. Less pasta would have been fine with me, and probably balanced everything out, but I think Lucca likely caters to some larger appetites, and tourists who really want a big, old plate full of carbs. We split a totally reasonable bottle of prosecco, and tried to hurry out of there to catch Mike’s before the pastry shop closed (note: missed Mike’s despite our rush, so there will be no adjunct pastry review today).

Overall, Lucca just wasn’t what I was expecting. On their web site, the resto looks candle-lit, cozy, and intimate. But it was a madhouse — so the romantic vibe I was anticipating was totally wrong. But maybe this isn’t fair… this was my first trip to Boston’s North End, and I failed to realize that the atmosphere is more like NYC’s Little Italy than Toronto’s Little Italy (which is much sexier, with lots of small boites and far fewer tourists). I wouldn’t say I had a bad experience at Lucca, but I wouldn’t recommend (too many other choices), and I wouldn’t plan to go back.

Posted on June 6th, 2007 by rabbit
Filed under: Boston, Restaurant Reviews