Lucina Eatery & Bar

I loved my experience at Lucina. The hostess was very accommodating with a next day reservation. We were seated promptly and service was attentive despite the restaurant being rather busy. The space is lovely.Food was absolutely amazing. The arepas was crispy on the outside and the lamb inside was soft and flavorful. Ceviche was bright and fish forward (not a ton of fillers like onions tomatoes etc which was fab. The Mofungo was super tasty. We were lucky to be there on a night there was paella and it was amazing. Seafood was delicately cooked while the rice had a nice crispy to it . The cocktails were delicious and overall we had a fabulous time.Would definitely return.

This restaurant was recommended by a friend. So we came here with high expectations. Pricy $65 for seafood paella but it was plentiful seafood and oyster mushrooms and other vegetables. They suggested that it's big enough for two but we were still hungry afterwards. Service was friendly and our waitress is knowledgeable. But the wait for the food, was brutal! We came at 6pm on a Saturday and waited 1 hour for paella (she told us it would be 40 min) so we wished that we had ordered an appetizer. We tried their cocktails, tiki taka, and la guardana. Both were delicious! The restaurant is Latin American with some Hawaii vibe. They have bright interior. We opted for outdoor dining and it was lovely on a cloudy evening. The bill came to $102 for food and drinks.

The flavors of savored childhood memories! Lucina excels at taking traditional Latin flavors and modernizes them in such a savory way. The menu honors the origins and introduces the delicious food it into your heart in such a way that makes you determined to come back for more! Upon walking in we were delighted at the bright but calming lighting. It made you think of being outside while inside. The general hum of conversation and laughter while maybe to some, a little loud, was inviting. The decor a true mix of Latin culture but blended for a cohesive feeling.The menu offerings plentiful and unique without being overwhelming. Our server Christian was a true delight, attentive and just so friendly. He offered great recommendations for food and drink. We each got a cocktail which is Lucina's take on classics, a Cafe Con Leche and El Burro Oscuro. The cocktails were enjoyed. Our first plate to share, was the Mofongo with Chicharron Pork Belly and Herb Mint Salad. You know that moment in Ratatouille when the food critic drops his pen at the first bite and is immediately transported back to a comforting childhood memory? Well that was me tonight at Lucina. Love and comfort in a single bite of Mofongo. The chef, Diego, was so kind to indulge me in a lovely conversation about Puerto Rico. The next dish was the larger Pato con Mole with the Arroz Congri & Maduros. Rich duck with true mole well portioned and cooked perfectly. Lastly, the Pastel De Horchata, a unique take on Tres Leches with a less spongy more crumbly masa texture internally. The passion fruit coulis leveled up this dessert. Diego wished us well on our way out and even gave me a hug, just good people.

Wow! What a fun place! It's bright and compelling. From the minute we walked in the door, we were met with bustling, energetic staff who were happy to advise us on drinks (yes, the caipirinha's were exceptional!) and food.We sat at the bar, because it was a very busy weeknight at Lucina. I love sitting at the bar to interact with both the bartender and other staff -- even other customers. After much interaction with all, we decided on three sensational entrees. Mofongo, a creative and delicious pork belly dish; a Moqueca de Peixe, a fabulous Brazilian cod stew; and a wonderful Tlacoyo Cochinita, a slow roasted pork on masa roja. Truly, they were all inventive and so so tasty. And... even though the three of us were stuffed, we had to try dessert. We split a Y Claro -- an eclair with cream out of this world. You gotta go -- just to experience the energy and enthusiasm of the staff, which passes on to its patrons. It's contagious and so much fun.

I absolutely love coming in to dine at Lucina. We always get incredible service and well presented eats. Tasty and well seasoned eats at that. Upon entering, you're greeted at the host stand. The dining area is a great space, and I love that you can see the kitchen. They also have a beautiful bar with well crafted cocktails. Fun facts, most of their cocktails can also be made into mocktails. The food. I've never had a bad bite. The paella is a must try, and something that needs to be ordered at the beginning of your meal. It's studded with beautiful seafood and chicken. Yum. Be sure to check the menu as they also have specials that don't disappoint! Desserts are a must try as well! Ambience, check. Vibe, check. Food, 100% check. Service, check. Don't wait, run to Lucina and enjoy! @platedforkim

One of the best meals I've ever had HANDS DOWN!!! Wow where to start the bread with Chimichurri Butter, the Ceviche with salmon and the Salad all amazing. Next we got the Steak Chimichurri and Pork Chop and wowza the Pork Chop was sooooooooooo AMAZING. So tender and flavorful. The drinks were so good- Cafe con Leche and Hibiscus Margarita were both TOP NOTCH. Cannot say enough great things about this place and will definitely be back. The staff is so welcoming and gracious. My new Fav restaurant!!

I found the menu here very intriguing as I had never heard of several of the dishes. I spent some time researching before I could decide what I might want to order. That's usually not the case with my jaded palate, so it was fun to try something completely new.I enjoyed a great, properly-composed mojito which is not easy to find in Denver. We started with the empanadas, two very large pastries stuffed with shredded chicken braised in sherry with an herb remoulade. The pastry was perfectly crispy and the chicken was tender and delicious. I did find the portion of remoulade stingy and would have preferred twice as much.We continued with the tlacoyo cochinita, a native dish from Mexico that probably dates back to the Aztecs. This was a boat-shaped corn cake with slow roasted pork, refried beans, salsa macha (a native chile paste from Veracruz), pickled onions, and garlic sour cream. This was also a great mix of flavors with a perfect corn cake and tender meat.Most of the menu is appetizers and "small" plates. Our server proudly explained that the portions were very large. This left us confused and disappointed. We would have very much liked to try two more dishes, but one appetizer and one small plate filled us up. I don't understand the large portions with such an interesting, sharable menu.Other items on the menu wander from Spain to traditional dishes with Mayan and Aztec roots to Puerto Rico and El Salvador. Most of this is street food that has been tweaked and elevated to fine dining. We're eager to go back to try some of the other items.Service was great. Our server was very helpful and had many suggestions. The space is long and very narrow, especially the front with a row of tables very close to the bar. My handicapped friend had difficulty navigating and we had to ask several people to move. The sound level is stupefying. We could barely hear the server and carrying on a conversation was almost impossible. We'd still like to return, although probably right at opening time.

3.5/5 We came by on a Friday evening for date night. We had a reservation and still had to wait a few for our table, but nothing too bad!Service was very average, possibly below average. After we were seated by one of the hosts, we did not have somebody come by for well over 10 minutes. Water glasses were empty throughout the majority of the meal.Our waiter recommended we order 3-5 small plates for the two of us. We went with the Pan de Casa, Empanadas, Tlacoyo Cochinita, Pupusa de Res, and the roasted heirloom carrots. We expected to still be hungry after those dishes and to order more, but the portions were actually quite large and filling.The Tlacoyo Cochinita was tasty and flavorful. We also really liked the carrots and the bread & (chimichurri!) butter was surprisingly delicious. We were not impressed with the empanadas and thought the pupusa was pretty bad. Not sure if we got a bad batch, but our pupusa was super doughy/sticky and we couldn't even taste that there was beef or cheese inside. Pretty yucky -- thought about sending that one back.We also got Abuelita's Xoco Flan to go -- that was a fun combination of flavors, a flan-cake-like fusion. Overall, we were not super impressed with this meal, though I think it could be that we just ordered poorly. Next time we'd probably go with the paella, we just didn't have the time (it takes 45 minutes) this time.

This was our second time at Lucina and it was another wonderful dinner. We had the amazing paella and everyone loved the ceviche, salads and empanadas. We especially appreciated the manager and staff who were incredibly accommodating to us allowing us to move to another part of the restaurant. We look forward to going back again soon

My wife and I went to this restaurant excitingly to celebrate her birthday. While we definitely appreciate the diversity of cuisine this restaurant adds to the Denver food scene, the service could have been better. We had a 9pm dinner reservation. We ordered drinks within minutes and all of our food within 10 minutes of being seated. We ordered an assortment of small plates. The cocktails came out timely and were great. Food also came out timely in batches as expected and was overall good. By the time our last plate came out, it was 10:10pm, they were already picking up tables/chairs and mopping the floors, and our waitress asked how everything was. We were getting full, but coming in to this restaurant, we were most excited about dessert and couldn't pass that up. We asked for a dessert to-go. Our waitress returned and said they couldn't make it because the kitchen was closed. Not only did she not let us know as a courtesy when the kitchen was closing to see if we wanted anything else, but I also included in our reservation notes online that we were celebrating a birthday. I don't think it's too much to ask to let a table know when the kitchen is closing, or just don't accept 9pm reservations if the kitchen closes at 10 and you're going to begin cleaning up exactly then. Overall, we appreciate what the restaurant is doing to create a more diverse food scene in Denver, drinks were great, food was good (we especially liked the empanadas and mofongo) but we expected better service and an overall experience.