Luciana's Ristorante

I loved everything about this place!Started off with their Melanzane Rollatini appetizer which was very yummy! Then we had their pastas that was super delicious: mine was the linguine vongole with alfredo cream sauce instead of the white wine sauce (I wanted something creamy, and I'm so glad they accommodated for me!) and my husband got the melanzane parmigiana. We ended with two desserts: a creme brulee and vanilla gelato :)Everything was so delicious! The atmosphere was cozy and romantic. We sat outside with the clear windows facing the sidewalks; there were heated lamps near us. Service was 10/10! We loved our server, Eder, who was extremely accommodating, warm, and kind! We will definitely be back :)

My wife and I love this spot. We've always lucked out and sat at the bar inside but it is always crowded and last week we weren't lucky so we sat at the bar outside (in the tent). ITS EVEN BETTER!!!We love the bartenders inside and outside! Both are pros. Food as always is awesome. Can't say enough except we go there at least 6 times a year and it never gets old.

We had a lovely dinner at Luciana's! Started off with lemon drop martini + calamari + fresh yummy burrata. Then came the pastas that were so tasty and delicious: my pesto rigatoni with chicken & pine nuts was a good size, just the right amount of creaminess and pasta was al dente; my husband's rigatoni salsiccia was just as tasty with generous servings of sausage, I kept on digging into his plate! Son enjoyed his porchetta as well. Dinner was well-paced, ambience was cozy and festive and service was attentive and friendly. For the quality and location, it was also reasonably priced.We will definitely return!

Nicely decorated and located at the heart of Dana Point, this restaurant offers reservation and very accommodating for us that arrived earlier. The service was friendly and patient to our requests. Food was delicious and well presented. Price is a little bit expensive but that is to be expected base on the location. Overall it was worth the experience to dine here coming to Dana Point.

Last night I had the Tagliata, flat iron steak with balsamic vinegar, arugula and shitake mushrooms, and it was a luscious blending of flavors gently spices and cooked to perfection. Complemented with a Negroni and dessert, made for a very enjoyable time out.

This a great Italian restaurant to go with your family. The inside is so beautiful and cute I love how it's so small but fancy. The food is great. I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and it was very creamy, but very good. The food came fast but not very fast. The desert is amazing. THE LEMON SORBET IS SO GOOD. The chocolate gelato is good too. definitely recommend!!

Oh man. This is a hard one because I really don't like bringing down a local restaurants score- but this whole dinner was a miss for me. It's strange- the outside of this restaurant looks like modern, but warm. Painted and decorated with perfectly placed lighting. Once you walk in- it's like a flash back to I don't even know when but somewhere in Italy long ago. This wouldn't be a bad thing, if the food was closer to authentic Italian food. Maybe the "list of ingredients" is the same.. but the combination seemed off in certain dishes. For example, there were chunks of barely cooked tomatoes in the broth? I can see the dish working of maybe the tomatoes had been fire roasted in olive oil and some Italian spices... but it was just a miss. Also, there was soooo much sand in my clams . I don't know how other restaurants do it- but this one needs to figure out a better way to clean them before serving.I ordered the Chicken with Kale risotto as my main and I really liked this dish. Very flavorful! I'm going to circle back to getting seated once we were in the restaurant since I got sidetracked :). We had a reservation for 5:30, arrived on time and were seated at one of the worst tables with constant traffic. It was near the opening separating two rooms. They shouldn't even have a table there honestly. Although- maybe some people don't mind this? It felt like we were seated on an airplane aisle. Not ideal. Also- we didn't even realize we could've sat outside, as it was never even offered to us? We only saw it was an option as we left (and there were still plenty of open tables out there as it was early). Our server- who I swear called himself Eric (but receipt said Eder G). He saved the night. He was great! I would not come back here. Finding Italian food as a gluten free girl is hard because I have been spoiled by Italy itself. Corn penne is cheap and just plain yucky (and always genetically modified- so no thank you)... I wish they were more creative in their GF pasta choice. My husband said his veal ravioli was ok... he didn't like how much sauce/gravy was on top, but that's just his preference. There were a few other things that happened during our meal that I won't bore you with- but all in all, we wouldn't return. It seemed like a lot of older locals were regulars here though- so maybe just not our cup of tea.

My friend and I knew we wanted to grab dinner in Dana Point, but didn't know where. We ended up here as a long-standing favorite in town and valeted the car with their complimentary service. They sat us relatively fast without a reservation and the dining room was warm and cozy with a lit fire in the fireplace. The server was great, Mike, and he guided our choices for apps, salads and entrees. We started with a glass of wine, bread and the baked eggplant appetizer that was a light, tasty and different dish that was delicious. We then shared the pear and Gorgonzola cream salad that was unexpected, rich and fantastic. We shared the risotto with large shrimp and it was a perfect choice for the cold evening. Luciana's is wonderful and special with staff that has been there forever and that's a good thing!

We went here for the fixed price Valentine's Day special. It was a four course meal. The appetizer was a shared cheese dish that I didn't care for. They brought bread to the table after they took the cheese away. Would have been nice to eat them together. The salad was the next course. It tasted alright but had grapes in it which I didn't like. I ordered a chicken pasta cheese dish that was really good. My husband got the steak. The flourless chocolate cake for dessert was good. The restaurant was very crowded but the service was good. We will probably go back for their regular menu.

Came to Luciana's for dinner to celebrate our anniversary on a Thursday night. The first thing we noticed was they have a separate outdoor covered dining space for special events. I think someone was having a wedding reception or rehearsal dinner taking place so that's awesome! Within the restaurant, it's a very homey Italian feel - very dark. The table next to us had an older lady and I heard her make a comment that she couldn't see the menu very well. If you want a brighter spot, there is covered outdoor seating connected to the main restaurant as well. My husband and I ordered:-Burrata ($15) - absolutely delicious, the cherry tomatoes were well balanced with the burrata (not too soggy or wet) with the perfect flavor of balsamic and guanciale-Special Zuppa del Giorno ($9) - cream of mushroom soup of the day. Very earthy, borderline too potent when you bit into the actual mushroom but the soup was very flavorful!-Farfalle Contadina ($23) - pasta was al dente, definitely made in house. The cream was a bit too runny for me and portion was a bit smaller than I would've expected for a dinner portion. I had to add quite a lot of parmesan cheese to thicken up the sauce-Pollo alla Parmigiana ($22) - chicken parm. Wanted more mozzarella on the chicken but the breading was on point, the crisp just perfect. Marinara sauce was aamazing-Linguine Vongole ($27) - a bit flat, not as flavorful as I'd hoped (garlic overpowered the clam sauce). Would not order again.We got a vanilla bean scoop for free as our anniversary dessert. Henriett was our waitress and was a bit hard to flag her down, she must've been waiting on several tables. Overall, would return to try other things on the menu and really enjoyed the appetizers!