点评:I discovered Ristorante LUCCA and Piano Bar online when looking for someplace unique to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary. It is in Bordentown just above the intersection of NJ130 and NJ206, across from Jimmy’s American Grill and replaces the iconic Mastoris Diner and bakery. We have dined at Mastoris many times in the past, but this would be our first visit to this building since it changed ownership.
LUCCA offers fine Italian dining in an elegant setting with unique tableside service for some dishes in its Main Dining Room in addition to live jazz musical entertainment in its Piano lounge at no extra charge to its patrons. It was the promise of excellent food and its commitment to great service with live professional entertainment that led us to choose LUCCA to celebrate our anniversary. They also offer self-parking and valet in their private parking lot for the convenience of their guests.
The Piano Lounge employs a rotating set of professional jazz performers for each night of the week which is published on their web site in advance. Prior to making reservations, I listened to online recordings of each performer and booked our reservations to hear our favorite. While all the performers were excellent, we were really drawn to the musical styling of Charlene Holloway with her sassy delivery and big voice. She was performing at LUCCA Friday night at 8PM the last week of Aug. So, we used Open Table to book reservations for two in the Piano Lounge at 7:30PM – prior to the start of the entertainment so we would not miss a moment of her performance while we dined. (Open Table offered options for booking tables in either the Piano Lounge or Main Dining Room at that time which we later learned was NOT true.)
LUCCA does have a dress code for guests which is clearly spelled out on their web site. LUCCA discourages guests from wearing graphic T shirts and shorts to maintain the elegant experience. Guests should dress business casual. Jackets are suggested for men but is not required. So, for our visit I wore a full suit with a tie like I was attending a wedding.
Ristorante LUCCA promises to make your visit a dining experience and we are pleased that it delivers on that promise at all levels. From the moment we parked our car and approached the restaurant we were warmly greeted. First by the valet parking attendant who ran up the stairs ahead of us to open the door and welcome us into LUCCA. Then by the hostess who checked our reservations and presented my wife with a single long stem rose in honor of our anniversary.
However, after entering, we were surprised when our host escorted us to a table in the Main Dining Room and not the Piano lounge as we requested online. Despite Open Table accepting our reservation to the Lounge, we were told LUCCA does not accept reservations to the Piano Lounge. Since the entertainment had not begun, we only needed to request our waiter to escort us into the Piano Lounge whenever we were ready after 8PM.
The Main dining room was elegantly and romantically decorated with white tablecloths and candles and was not full. There was plenty of space between each occupied table, so we felt like we were dining alone in an intimate setting. The iconic music of Frank Sinatra was played in the background throughout the meal.
Our waiter served as our guide throughout the entire dining experience. He was our server for the duration of our dinner in the Main Dining room and moved with us into the Piano Lounge for coffee and dessert. He got us started by filling our drink orders and explained in detail LUCCA’s unique menu.
LUCCA’s menu is organized for a 4-course meal. First course is Italian appetizers. The second course is pasta dishes. The third course is meat or fish dishes. And the fourth course is dessert and coffee. One of the ways LUCCA excels in service is by providing tableside service for many of its dishes. For example, Caesar salad is served for two and is professionally prepared tableside from fresh ingredients by your waiter. The waiter can also debone fish and meat dishes (like branzino and lamb) to be plated tableside.
For dinner we ordered the Ceasar salad for two as our appetizer mostly for the unique experience of being served tableside. I ordered the beef pasta dish (Tagliatelle – Ragu Bolognese- Meat Ragu) and the center cut 8-ounce Filet mignon with mash potatoes. My wife ordered the clam pasta dish (Tagliolini -Alle Vongole- with Clams) and the chicken breast with wine sauce and capers
The Caesar salad tasted fresh, topped with a layer of Swiss cheese and was very good. Our second course pasta dishes were equally good - served on special plates with small bowls in the middle. But our third course dishes were excellent. I really enjoyed my Filet Mignon. It was perfectly cooked medium well and was so soft and flavorful. I sampled my wife’s’ chicken dish and I was surprised they can make chicken taste that good. It was also soft and flavorful from the capers. My wife ate every bit of her dinner, which was a lot of food for her. I was concerned that four courses would be too much food for us to handle, but each serving was not large. Just adequate to fill us up even without desert. My wife finished eating after the third course and said she had no room for dessert. Though I planned to order dessert for myself.
As we dined, at about 8:15PM we could hear clapping from another room in the restaurant signaling that the entertainment had begun in the Piano Lounge. (The Main Dining room was still playing Frank Sintra at this point, so they do not broadcast the Piano Lounge music throughout the restaurant.) Since we were ready for coffee and dessert, we requested our waiter to move us into the Lounge for coffee and dessert.
The decor and layout of the Piano Lounge was more casual than the Main Dining room. The room was ringed with regular sized, white clothed tables along the walls, while the center of the room consisted of smaller tables with lounge chairs that swivel, lean back and turn. Unlike the spread-out dining arrangement of the Main Dining room, guests were seated in the center portion of the room and were much closer together. Everyone was facing the small stage where Charlene Holloway and a three-piece band consisting of a piano, an upright bass and drum set performed. Charlene worked the room, engaging guests and expertly singing familiar jazz tunes like “Simply the Best” Tina Turner, “Dr Feel Good” Aretha Franklin, and “Unforgettable” Natalie Cole. Charlene was phenomenal as we were all entertained and partied with her.
Our waiter from the Main dining room took our dessert and coffee orders in the Lounge. He pointed out that the restaurant dessert chef excels in making tiramisu, but my preference was for something chocolate. So, I ordered the raspberry chocolate mousse cake, just for me of course. As a special treat, when our waiter returned, he delivered my dessert on a plate with the words “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate and two butter cookies. The chocolate cake was very sweet and delicious – especially when I got to the raspberry filling in the center. My wife, who said she was too full for dessert, could not resist sampling it.
Dining at LUCCA was a special night for both of us. It is an ideal place to celebrate special occasions. It is very expensive for a four-course meal but the personal service, quality of the food and complementary entertainment sets LUCCA above what you would get at any other restaurant in the area. As a future recommendation I would book a table at 7PM for the 8PM entertainment to ensure dinner is completely done so we to go the Piano Lounge at the start. LUCCA Lounge also offers piano jazz solos starting at 6PM in addition to singers with jazz trios at 8PM, depending on the day of the week. We look forward to our next visit to repeat this experience again.
翻译:当我在网上寻找一个独特的地方庆祝我们 41 周年结婚纪念日时,我发现了 Ristorante LUCCA and Piano Bar。它位于 Bordentown,就在 NJ130 和 NJ206 交叉口上方,在 Jimmy’s American Grill 对面,取代了标志性的 Mastoris Diner and bakery。我们过去曾多次在 Mastoris 用餐,但这是自它易主以来我们第一次来这家餐厅。
LUCCA 在优雅的环境中提供精致的意大利美食,主餐厅提供独特的桌边服务,此外,钢琴休息室还提供现场爵士音乐娱乐,不向顾客收取额外费用。正是对美味佳肴的承诺以及对优质服务和现场专业娱乐的承诺,让我们选择了 LUCCA 来庆祝我们的周年纪念日。他们还在私人停车场提供自助停车和代客泊车服务,以方便客人。
钢琴休息室每周晚上都会轮流聘请一组专业爵士乐表演者,并提前在其网站上公布。在预订座位之前,我听了每位表演者的在线录音,并预订了我们最喜欢的座位。虽然所有表演者都很出色,但我们真正被 Charlene Holloway 的音乐风格所吸引,她活泼的表演方式和洪亮的嗓音。8 月最后一周的周五晚上 8 点,她在 LUCCA 演出。因此,我们使用 Open Table 预订了晚上 7:30 在钢琴休息室的两人座位——在娱乐活动开始之前,这样我们就不会在用餐时错过她的表演。(当时 Open Table 提供了在钢琴休息室或主餐厅预订座位的选项,但我们后来得知事实并非如此。)
LUCCA 确实有客人的着装要求,其网站上有明确说明。LUCCA 不鼓励客人穿有图案的 T 恤和短裤,以保持优雅的体验。客人应穿着商务休闲装。建议男士穿夹克,但这不是强制性的。因此,在我们访问时,我穿着全套西装,打着领带,就像参加婚礼一样。
Ristorante LUCCA 承诺让您的访问成为一次用餐体验,我们很高兴它在各个层面都兑现了这一承诺。从我们停好车走近餐厅的那一刻起,我们就受到了热烈的欢迎。首先是代客泊车服务员跑上我们前面的楼梯,打开门,欢迎我们进入 LUCCA。然后是女主人检查了我们的预订,并送给我妻子一朵长茎玫瑰,以庆祝我们的周年纪念日。
然而,进门后,我们很惊讶,主人把我们带到了主餐厅的一张桌子,而不是我们在线请求的钢琴休息室。尽管 Open Table 接受了我们对休息室的预订,但我们被告知 LUCCA 不接受钢琴休息室的预订。由于娱乐活动尚未开始,我们只需要在晚上 8 点后,只要我们准备好了,就要求服务员护送我们进入钢琴休息室。
主餐厅装饰优雅而浪漫,铺着白色桌布,点着蜡烛,座位并不满。每张桌子之间都有足够的空间,所以我们感觉就像在私密的环境中独自用餐。整个用餐过程中,背景音乐都是 Frank Sinatra 的标志性音乐。
我们的服务员在整个用餐过程中都充当我们的向导。在主餐厅用餐期间,他一直为我们服务,并和我们一起去了钢琴休息室喝咖啡和甜点。他先帮我们填好饮料订单,然后详细解释了 LUCCA 的独特菜单。
LUCCA 的菜单是 4 道菜。第一道菜是意大利开胃菜。第二道菜是意大利面食。第三道菜是肉类或鱼类菜肴。第四道菜是甜点和咖啡。LUCCA 在服务方面表现出色的方式之一是为许多菜肴提供桌边服务。例如,凯撒沙拉是两人份的,由服务员用新鲜食材在桌边专业制作。服务员还可以将鱼和肉类菜肴(如鲈鱼和羊肉)去骨,然后端到餐桌旁。
晚餐时,我们点了凯撒沙拉作为开胃菜,主要是为了享受在餐桌旁享用美食的独特体验。我点了牛肉意大利面(Tagliatelle - Ragu Bolognese- Meat Ragu)和 8 盎司菲力牛排配土豆泥。我妻子点了蛤蜊意大利面(Tagliolini -Alle Vongole- 配蛤蜊)和鸡胸肉配葡萄酒酱和刺山柑
凯撒沙拉味道新鲜,上面铺了一层瑞士奶酪,非常好吃。我们的第二道菜意大利面也同样美味 - 盛在中间有小碗的特殊盘子里。但我们的第三道菜非常美味。我非常喜欢我的菲力牛排。它煮得恰到好处,非常柔软可口。我品尝了妻子的鸡肉菜,我很惊讶他们能把鸡肉做得那么好吃。刺山柑也让它变得柔软可口。我妻子把晚餐吃得一干二净,对她来说,这已经是一大餐了。我担心四道菜对我们来说太多了,但每道菜的份量都不大。即使没有甜点,也足以让我们吃饱。我妻子吃完第三道菜后就吃完了,说她没有空间吃甜点了。虽然我打算给自己点甜点。
我们吃饭的时候,大约晚上 8:15,我们听到餐厅另一个房间传来掌声,表示钢琴休息室的娱乐活动已经开始了。(主餐厅此时仍在播放弗兰克·辛特拉的音乐,因此他们不会在整个餐厅播放钢琴休息室的音乐。)由于我们准备好喝咖啡和吃甜点,所以我们要求服务员把我们带到休息室喝咖啡和吃甜点。
钢琴休息室的装饰和布局比主餐厅更休闲。房间的墙壁周围摆放着常规尺寸的白色桌布桌子,而房间的中央则摆放着较小的桌子和可旋转、向后倾斜和转动的躺椅。与主餐厅分散的就餐安排不同,客人们坐在房间的中央,彼此距离更近。每个人都面朝小舞台,Charlene Holloway 和一支由钢琴、低音提琴和架子鼓组成的三重奏乐队正在那里表演。Charlene 在房间里表演,与客人互动,熟练地演唱熟悉的爵士乐曲,如蒂娜·特纳的“Simply the Best”、艾瑞莎·弗兰克林的“Dr Feel Good”和娜塔莉·科尔的“Unforgettable”。Charlene 非常出色,我们都被她逗乐了,和她一起狂欢。
主餐厅的服务员在休息室为我们点了甜点和咖啡。他指出,餐厅的甜点厨师擅长制作提拉米苏,但我更喜欢巧克力。所以我点了覆盆子巧克力慕斯蛋糕,当然是我自己点的。作为一种特别款待,当我们的服务员回来时,他把甜点放在一个盘子里,上面用巧克力写着“结婚周年快乐”,还有两块黄油饼干。巧克力蛋糕非常甜美可口,尤其是中间的覆盆子馅。我的妻子说她吃饱了,吃不下甜点,但还是忍不住尝了尝。
在 LUCCA 用餐对我们两个人来说都是一个特别的夜晚。这里是庆祝特殊场合的理想场所。四道菜的餐点非常昂贵,但个性化服务、食物质量和免费娱乐活动使 LUCCA 优于您在该地区的任何其他餐厅。作为未来的建议,我会在晚上 7 点预订一张桌子,观看晚上 8 点的娱乐活动,以确保晚餐完全结束,这样我们就可以一开始就去钢琴休息室。LUCCA 休息室还提供从晚上 6 点开始的钢琴爵士独奏,以及晚上 8 点的歌手和爵士三重奏,具体取决于星期几。我们期待下次再来,再次体验这种体验。