Luciano's At Ammar Belal.

For a few months now I had been hearing about this restaurant called Luciano's. Last night I got a chance to try out this place. Luciano's is located on Kasuri Road, Lahore. I know naming the street does not help, so to make it simple, it is located opposite to Coffee Tea And Company (C.T.C.). The title Luciano's At Ammar Belal suggests how it is located on the first floor - above the Ammar Belal Display.

My first impression about the place when i stepped inside was WOW. White Everywhere. Curtains, floor, chairs, sofas. Literally white was tastefully placed all over. To complement white, the color orange was also used very nicely. The Two pillars had orange design made on them, along with the cushions and even on the air conditioners the orange patterns were pasted. They have also made a small outdoor area, with 3 tables which could accommodate around 12 people in total. One could have a nice time sitting in the outdoor area if the weather is pleasant. It was interesting to see how the roof was made of glass and little white lights were placed all over. That was definitely something unique to see.

Then came the manager suited up in a white suit to give us the menu card. Yes. White Suit. Menu was pretty interesting. From classic to contemporary Italian cuisine along with the fusion elements. I ordered Prawn Tempura for starters, Spaghetti with Meat Balls for main course and a Berry Margarita.

After a few minutes they served freshly baked dinner rolls along with what seemed to me like a sour cream spread and olive oil. Delicious. Then came the Prawn Tempura. 6 batter fried Prawns were served in a bowl along with a light ginger infused soy dip. The Tempura was oily, soggy and over cooked due to which the prawns had toughened up. For what its worth, the ginger and soy dip was nice.  Then after a little while came the main course. Served very nicely in a white bowl plate. A generous portion of spaghetti and meat balls in a tomato based sauce was served with a light grating of Parmesan cheese on top along with two pieces of toasted bread.

After what was a disastrous starter, the main course was ALMOST spot on. The pasta was cooked just right. In Pakistan specially people tend to over cook pasta which makes it mushy. The Meat Balls had a very clean taste, they were very delicately binded and the meat was tearing up in the mouth. Thank God they did not try to localize the taste by adding loads of Chillies and Spices. Out of the 4 components of the dish, the 2 I just talked about were commendable. The third component was the sauce. Honestly, it was one of the best tomato based pasta sauce i have ever tasted. This could have been labelled as a perfect dish, if the bread served with the pasta was not burnt. The Berry Margarita was very refreshing. The sweetness of the berry flavors with the tartness of the lemons in this icy amalgamation was just right.

Now the question that arises in the minds of the people is, Was it worth the money spent?
And in my view, how harsh it may be, the answer for now at least is a straight NO. The reasons are quite simple. When i'm spending so much money on such a classy dining experience, I don't expect my Prawn Tempura to be a soggy mess and the bread which is being served with my main course to be burnt. On another note, in such a fine restaurant, its always the minor details which count. The decor was so lovely, but it's effect was ruined as the huge glass panels which gave the outside view had dried water marks on them and the table on which our food was being served was had chipped off paint on the legs.

But being a food lover, I sincerely hope that the management at Luciano's takes notice of such details. Because if they are charging such a high price dining experience, then it shouldn't be one with so many minor mistakes made.