"The first thing that caught my eye was that the menu board outside and the menus inside were all in Italian for me a very good sign! Lucca is a city popular with English speaking tourists and my experience with restaurants everywhere on the planet is that one often get disappointing meals in places where the business relies on one time only customers. We were a mixed table of Italians and Americans and we started with a couple of platters of antipasto (charcuterie and cheese) which were extremely fresh and delicious, as well as abundant. Then we ordered a selection of primi to share amoung us (10 11 people). All were good, but for me the pici with black truffles was outstanding. I am a truffle fan, but often in restaurants, the truffles have no taste or there is an overpowering taste derived from truffle oil, which is often in large part artificial aroma. In this dish, the taste was perfect, a delicate aroma and taste I could have just stuffed myself on several orders of this dish alone!!! As it was, I was a guest and was too timid to ask to clean the serving dish of the left over bit at the end of our table... the tagliatelle with porcini was also excellent. The filled ravioli with ragu was also good, but for me paled in comparison with the mushroom dishes. On to the secondo. I had a baccalà al forno, surrounded with those small elongated tomatoes (not the typical round cherry tomato). It is the height of the tomato season here at the moment, so they were fresh and flavourful. The baccalà was moist and very good. In addition, it was a manageable portion, which suits me fine as I like to sample different things but without completely stuffing myself, or having to leave food on my plate! But be warned if you prefer a large serving. The meal finished with an excellent expresso. One more plus. I was gobsmacked at how good the bottles of house wine were. Really. Incredible as it sounds, it was even drinkable with the baccalà, even though it best complemented the pasta dishes. All in all a memorable evening and even if the menu is in Italian, the waiter can help you out in English if needed, so don 't let that hold you back!"
