A La Lucia

Came here for late evening dessert and coffee. Gelato was delicious (straciatella and pistachio), two scoops per serving. Coffee was good! Friendly service — we did not wait long to be served and were not discouraged from lingering after we finished eating. Nice place to end our evening.

OMG! The food was delicious… the service was friendly and helpful… and the atmosphere was comfortable. The veal ravioli goes on my favorites list. And the chocolate panecotta was creamy chocolatey. Yum! These waiters don’t let you wait for anything. No matter who walks by, they are ready to help. I’ll be back!!!

I’m from upstate NY, grew up primarily around many mom and pop Italian restaurants, where good Italian was easy to find. I can happily say that I truly enjoyed the Italian food that A La Lucia had to offer! Yummy focaccia bread paired with delicious olive oil, homemade pasta with homemade marinara sauce, and an excellent Caesar salad. Service was excellent too! This is my new favorite Italian restaurant in the area. Probably the only one. Since being in DC for 10 years, I have not found one that I loved. Thanks A La Lucia!

My boyfriend brought me here for my birthday. I really enjoyed A La Lucia. It is a smaller restaurant with a cozy authentic feel. We both ordered the 3 course meal for $ 30. For the appateizer we both ordered the poached pear with gorgonzola salad and enjoyed it. For the main course, I ordered the Pumpkin Ravioli with Amaretto cookie crumbles on top and it was soooo good. I would definitely give it 5 stars. My boyfriend ordered the Manicotti and it was excellent as well. As for dessert, my boyfriend ordered the Pistachio Gelato and it was a nice sized portion and tasty. I ordered the Baba Rum cake and it was DELICIOUS! My boyfriend actually ate half of it and see remarked a couple times how he should have ordered that even though his Gelato was great. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is there was no music playing. Because it’s a smaller restaurant with no music you can very easily hone in on others conversations.

We were recommended by a fellow vegetarian to visit this restaurant. It is very quaint and has a nice area for outside dining as well. It appeared pretty hip from the outside but when we were seated inside, I was surprised by the old fashioned but classy décor. It was dimly lit and romantic.
First tip, make a reservation. My BFF and I did not have one but since they had seating inside, we were accommodated. The diners were older, well dressed, and definitely wealthy. Men were wearing dinner jackets and the ladies wore pearls. Thank god I happened to be wearing a nice scarf to mask my casual outfit.
The menu offers a nice 3 course dinner for $ 30. We took advantage of this deal. We ordered the endive salad, caprese salad, seafood linguine and spicy eggplant pasta. Everything was delicious. My only con was that the spicy pasta was not spicy whatsoever and the fussilli was over cooked. I had to add tons of red pepper to bring it up a notch. But all in all it was not terrible. I still ate it. However we did have dessert and ordered cappuccinos, the cappuccinos wound up being lattes (we are both mildly lactose intolerant)! After a couple sips my stomach started turning which ultimately made me lose my mojo for the dessert.
The service was a little hovering but attentive. I felt a little rushed as the courses came out one right after another. But our waiter was apologetic about the cappuccino fiasco and deducted it from our check. All in all, it was a pleasant experience. Not sure if I would return or recommend this place. I guess it would be nice to take someone here on a date because you would be more focused on each other than the actual food.

Very good food, I had the black pasta with some seafood and it tasted great. Portions are kind of small for the price but would rather spend this money on good food then less for bigger portions of Olive Garden anyday. One of the better Italian places in Alexandria and better then that hypefest Carlussios on King. This is off the beaten path but worth it for those that want good Italian food.
If you want to get fat and eat a lot and not spend a lot then this aint the place for you. The bread is also excellent.

Jorge was our waiter and he helped guide us to a delicious meal. We tried two different salads, the veal, & the rockfish. Each dish was superb. The hostess was a delight as was the rest of the wait staff. This is a little gem tucked away innOld Town.

Let me start out by stating I take my Italian food seriously. A La Lucia’s is the only restaurant I can find in NOVA that serves authentic Italian food like I am used to from Upstate NY. They make the best calamari and spinach ricotta manicotti. In my experience, the servers are very attentive.
Pro Tip: A La Lucia’s offers a three course dinner special for $ 30, which includes an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. You can get this EXACT special for $ 15 (possibly $ 20) during the lunch hour!
Finally, if you are like me and Love cannoli, this is the place to go. They make their cannoli THE REAL WAY with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. As opposed to cool whip like some places in Old Town.

Store bought focaccia instead of REAL garlic bread, pasta that was undercooked (there is a difference between undercooked and al dente), no flavor in said pasta, chicken parm that was mostly breading and cheese, and no pasta in the minestrone soup!
I feel like they were playing a joke on us with this food! For $ 30 per person, I expected a little more than watery, undercooked, flavorless pasta and pasta-​less soup! They get two stars because the servers were very friendly and attentive. Everything else was just terrible! I’m sure you can find better Italian food in the Alexandria area.

Really great and freshly prepared food. Homemade pasta is awesome. Lunch is more affordable. Can get pricey but everything is homemade! Great focaccia bread yummmm.

So I move into the area and have friends visiting. I have no clue where to go and eat, someone says «Hey how about Italian?» I jump on Unilocal and see some reviews and make a split second decision that I would regret for the whole 2 hour ordeal. Lets start with the first impression, because to me I can tell whether its going to be good, or a train wreck, rarely do restaurants about face after a bad first impression, and this one didn’t disappoint. So its supposed to be old style Italian or whatever, when we walk in with a group of 6, call me crazy but would it be PC to see maybe one Italian in the place? I had a French woman greet me, an Asian woman seat me and a Mexican waiter take my order, as far as I know the only Italian thing in the place were the words on the menu.
Anyhoo we sit down, I look around and see that its mainly older (elderly) people eating, no one under 30, but who cares, the food its supposed to be good right, because the service wasn’t. We waited and waited for water, drinks, the food, the bill, it took 2 hours just to finish. I ordered a basic spaghetti and marinara sauce, and so did the 9 year old who was with us. We both ordered from the same menu, but when mine came it looked like a kids portion, and when the 9 yr olds came, it looked like the cook wanted to get rid of the spaghetti in the kitchen for the rest of the night. The 9yr old had Mt. Kilimanjaro of spaghetti and I had an anthill, oh and a watery anthill at that. The spaghetti was cooked perfectly, too bad the sauce was watery and tasted like the inside of an oil receptacle at a Jiffy Lube. The rest of the party wasn’t impressed either, (guess who got blamed) the food was lacking flavor, but what it lacked in flavor it made up for in the price, yikes I paid way too much for an awful dinner. However maybe its more for older folks? Who knows, lesson learned i will not be back.

The service was mediocre, the food was not good, and it was horribly overpriced… especially for what you get! The menu items didn’t make sense and the combinations were all wrong. Definitely will not be returning here!

Several friends had said to try A La Lucia so when a friend got us a gift card we had no reason to not try it. We went on a Wednesday evening at 6pm and there was only one other table with people at the place and by the time we left around 7pm, there were only 3 – 4 other tables with people.
The food was ok. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer and it had the typical rubbery texture you find with subpar calamari, and neither the batter or sauce had flavor. I definitely expected decent quality calamari. I would bet Red Lobster or Applebee’s calamari would about equal to A La Lucia’s.
The main courses we pretty good. We had chicken marsala and veal scallopini. The green beans served with the main dish were barely ok. Had some very dry, overcooked parts.
Dessert, usually an easy thing to do get fairly right, was pretty bad. The cannoli did not seem fresh and was not sweet at all. The stracciatella was not good and it did not seem fresh or a decent quality. Cookies and cream ice cream from Safeway would have been just as good. The service was ok.
The staff was fairly attentive, but I wouldn’t say friendly. The gentleman who poured the water looked completely ticked off to be there and that we had glasses to fill.

I could not agree with the other reviews more about the service and food at A La Lucia. If I was rating the food alone, it would be 4 – 4.5 stars. However if I was rating the service alone, it would be 1 – 2 stars.
We came here on a Thursday night for dinner with my parents. We brought our 6 month old and he was not out of place. There were many other children there so we can’t complain about that. I would not say this location is «on the waterfront» like I head read on Old Town’s website but it was a few blocks away. We were unable to get outdoor seating because it was extremely limited.
The service was absurdly terrible. We sat for over half an hour before our order was taken. There were probably two waiters for the entire restaurant (although many busboys). I was tempted to leave but am glad I didn’t because the food was good. Their 3 course meal was a fairly nice price so 3 out of the 4 of us got that. The highlights were:
–veal parmigiana was awesome. Flavorful and piping hot
–black linguinibwith seafood was a good sized portion (not large, not small) and extremely well done
–Caesar salad: typical but yummy
–endive and arugula salad: liked by my dad
Skip-​able things:
— calamari: I’ve had better, you could skip this
–tiramisu, sorbet and chocolate cake: all wee just meh
They only had one chocolate cake left and the service never improved. I’m torn because the food was good so I would like to eat there again but the service was so bad I would prefer takeout.

Going to dinner at A La Lucia is kind of like traveling back in time (or maybe just traveling outside the trendy, «of the moment» DC dining scene). The tables are topped with white table clothes, the walls are decorated with plates, and the servers are dressed formally. There is no exposed brick, or mason jars, or other trendy modern interior design elements. No one has to explain «how it works»; they don’t have to suggest that you order 3 – 4 plates per person because its «family style.» Don’t get me wrong, I like those places too, but coming to A La Lucia is a refreshing break from feeling like you’re not quite cool enough for your dinner (or your server). Here you feel truly welcome and comfortable. The service is impeccable and kind, without being stuffy. You never feel rushed. The food is good. And the prices are very reasonable.
The menu changes regularly, but the homemade pastas are one of the main draws. I loved the black fettuccine with scallops, shrimp, and clams in a light and spicy wine sauce. The scallops melt in your mouth, and the dish is surprisingly light for pasta. If you’re not feeling pasta, you can’t go wrong with the branzino if it’s available, such a flavorful fish. They bring it out whole to show you, then ask if you want it fileted or prefer the whole fish. I can never resist broccoli rabe when I see it on a menu, and theirs is probably the best I’ve had in a restaurant. Very tender and well seasoned to balance out the natural bitterness.
The three course prix fixe menu ($ 30-​$ 35 depending on the entrée you select) is a good deal if you’re a dessert person, because it basically comes out to a free dessert. I’ve only sampled the chocolate cake, but it wasn’t something I’d order, although I hear the gelato is lovely. It’s also worth mentioning that the wine list has some very reasonably priced bottles – a blessing and a curse. I can never resist ordering the whole bottle when it’s only $ 12 more than two glasses.

We were in Old Town Alexandria with a large group for the weekend. We wanted to try something different not on the restaurant row of King St. Based on a recommendation we called ahead for the group of 14. They put us in a separate room so we could mingle. The menu featured three course $ 30 & $ 35 dinner meals as well as a la cart. Each of the special dinners featured about 6 choices for appetizer, entrée & dessert. We all tried different items and everything was very good if not better. I had angliotti in a white sauce as the appetizer, grilled salmon and panna cotta for dessert. All extremely good. We will not hesitate to return to A La Lucia our next time in town.

My husband and I came here for dinner for a little date on Saturday: D I was really excited to try this place out, as I haven’t heard of it, and my husband, with his mad researching skills, was able to find this little neighborhood restaurant located in Old Town Alexandria: D They offer lunch and dinner menu, featuring items such as fresh mozzarella with sliced tomato and basil, bean soup, salads, linguine, penne, etc. (they used to offer brick oven pizzas, but their oven is not in working order currently). They also offer either a $ 30 or a $ 35 3-​course prix-​fixe menu that also features their main and signature items. My husband had the Fried Calamari appetizer (very light batter, large pieces, fresh, and came with a very light/​slightly chunky marinara sauce and half of a lemon (with its hairnet to catch all the seeds: D For his entrée, he had the Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage, Peppers, and Tomato Sauce — this was pretty delicious, as the rigatoni was cooked al dente; the marinara sauce was the same as the calamari sauce; I really loved the slightly spiced up sausage chunks throughout — it wasn’t a heavy dish, which I appreciated, and it was very good. The hubsters also had a side of Fried Zuchinni, which was kind of like a zucchi-​spear-​tempura-​esque, slightly battered; I highly recommend in having it sprinkled with the Parm cheese, as the zucchinis come out piping out, and the cheese gets all melty-​goodiness :D I opted for the $ 35 prix-​fixe menu, in which I chose the Homemade Burrata (double cream fresh mozzarella) with Roasted Peppers as my appetizer (this was absolutely delicious! Very fresh, generous in size! It was one of the best burratas I’ve tasted, as it was creamy, and the lovely roasted peppers was a perfect complement); for my entrée, I had the Filet of Beef with Red Wine Sauce served with A La Lucia Mashed Potatoes and Spinach (this has an additional surcharge, so keep that in mind; the beef was cooked medium and it was very juicy; the red wine sauce was minimal (just wished there was a bit more, but the meat was flavorful as it was; the mashed potatoes were ever-​so-​slightly bland, but creamy, and the spinach had a slight garlic taste to it and sauteed); for my dessert, I chose the Cheese Plate (the evening featured Taleggio (Italian raw cow’s milk that is semi-​soft), Ubriaco (Italian raw cow’s milk rubbed with wine/​grape), and Gorgonzola Dolce (Italian organic cow’s milk that has been cave-​aged for 3 months)) — the platter came with grilled raisin crostini and macerated plump cranberries, and a sprig of mint. We were even served a complimentary bruschetta on very crunchy crostini, topped with fresh diced tomatoes and basil — yum! There was also a basket of foccacia with olive oil (you can also request Parm cheese to be added to your oil (of course, which I did)). Our server was nice, but was a little MIA; I absolutely loved our other server, Wilson Ramos — he was so so SO sweet, very efficient, and had a great sense of humor! When you walk in, there’s a dim-​lit area, but I was happy that we were seated in a cute corner booth (ooo, romantic) in another dining section with little plates as the wall décor. The managers seem to know most of the patrons, as they seemed like regulars. Definitely a cute hidden gem of an Italian restaurant in OT, as I was very pleasantly surprised to find a solid dining place around there — the combination of great service from Wilson and delicious food makes this place well-​worth it! I would love to come back and try out their other pasta dishes as well as the brick oven pizzas once that oven starts working again!
+hidden gem of an Italian restaurant, nestled in OT Alexandria
+ask for Wilson Ramos — he is SO BOMB: D
+Homemade Burrata (SO DELICIOUS!) :D
+Fried Zucchini (as a side — don’t forget to request some Parm cheese on them sticks!) :D
+Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage, Peppers, and Tomato Sauce (nom nom nom)
+Filet of Beef with Red Wine Sauce (perfectly-​cooked, juicy filet)
+generous sprinkles of the Parm: D
+3-​course prix-​fixe dinner menu available (great bargain!)
+ask for a corner booth in the back!
+plenty of free street parking around the area

The mussels appetizer was a great choice, especially with the spicy white sauce. The rigatoni with spicy sausage was average. My wife tried the black linguine with crab and cream sauce (instead of the spicy red sauce), a great dish.
The bread was also very good. Only downside is they don’t serve any Italian beers…

If you’re looking to do it up right on your 88^th birthday, or any birthday, for that matter, A La Lucia will make you feel like royalty. The food, the ambiance, the wine, the gracious service, it’s virtually unparalleled at this price point. I give A La Lucia the Shae Nae Nae SOA — Seal of Approval!
Yesterday was my Nana’s special day. I used that as an excuse to coerce her into taking me to A La Lucia, under the guise that it was for her birthday celebration. Ahahahahhaha. No, I’m not that big of a jerk, really. Actually, we went to A La Lucia for one of her other birthdays in her 8^th decade, and we remembered it so fondly, we thought it was time to go back! So me, Nana and her bestest girlfriend got all gussied up and headed over to A La Lucia’s and proceeded to get all liquored up. Dinner with two 80+ year olds is NEVER boring, my friends. In fact, I highly recommend it, especially when you add a few glasses of pinot grigio — the house selection, of course.
From the moment you walk in, until you stagger out hours later, you are well taken care of by their fabulous team of servers. We had lots of lovely visitors over the course of our dinner bearing many gifts — including bread and olive oil for dipping. Our servers kept our wine glasses full and tempted us with offers of house made sorbet… it was all very lovely.
The décor is contemporary — the walls are painted crisp, bright hues, very cool reflective bead-​like strands hang from the large front window, casting color. Juxtaposing the modern vibe, the artwork is very classic. Heavy gold baroque looking frames complement traditional subject matter. It works well. And a trip to the bathroom does not disappoint. It’s the perfect respite. Black and white photos of divas from the days of bygone Hollywood glamour cast their gazes while you take care of business. A little Madamoiselle Coco Chanel is thrown in for good measure.
And the food. The FOOD. It’s fabulous. Delicious. I went with one of their daily specials — the salmon entrée. It melted in my mouth. It made my heart sing and when Nana pays for it, it’s an added bonus. I can’t wait until her 89^th!

I’ve been to La Lucia twice. Both times for one of those office lunches that leave one feeling shorted and alcohol deprived. The first time I got a pizza and a salad. The last time I went all out and got the prix-​fixe lunch, which, for $ 18, got me a starter and an entre. I also got two glasses of submediocre chianti that cost me as much as the food. What this leaves us with is four food items to consider – a pizza, a salad, a bowl of white bean soup, and veal raviolini (little ravioli) – and not enough booze to take away the pain of something close to, but not quite, nonexistent.
Let’s start with my first time, with the pizza. If there’s a minimum requirement for something being a pizza, La Lucia has achieved it. Open a can of Hunt’s tomato sauce. Smear some on a wafer-​thin disc of dough, sprinkle some Kraft mozzarella on it, bake it, and there you have it – a pizza. I guess you could say I got exactly what I paid for. As for the salad, it escapes my memory as quickly as it escaped my taste buds. I think it was light green.
On to the bean soup. I’ve got the recipe for this one as well. Open a can of Progresso cannellini beans, empty it, water and all, into a saucepan. Open a can of Hunt’s tomato sauce and pour it into the beans. Heat and serve. Do not provide grated romano to make it taste like something. Rather, serve it, as is, lukewarm, so that it tastes bland, almost, but not quite, predigested. Again, this is exactly what I ordered so I have no complaints.
Now comes the veal raviolini. This is a fantastic mid-​day snack for those who don’t have time to enjoy the taste of veal, or anything else. It also takes seconds to make. Take half a 25-​oz bag of frozen veal ravioli and boil it in half a can of Hunt’s tomato sauce. Serve tepid in a shallow bowl. It should taste almost like nothingness itself. The busboy may ask if you want grated Kraft parmesan cheese on it. Ask if the parmesan has plenty of cellulose in it to prevent caking, dilute the flavor, and save the Kraft Foods Group, Inc the expense of having to use cheese in its cheese. If he says yes, and you say okay, he’ll shuffle over to your table, sprinkle a bit of almost parmesan over your near nothingness, and shuffle away. And there you have it. Italian existentialist dining at its finest.