Delightful Italian Cuisine at Luciana's Ristorante

Located on Del Prado near Ruby Lantern in Dana Point, is a beautiful, little historical home, which has been converted into a restaurant called Although it has been open for 25 years, this was our first visit.

The front patio of the home has lots of seating and heat lamps, and looks like a very inviting place to dine or just have a cocktail and appetizer. Inside, it is very cozy with dark wood, white plaster walls and used brick. We were led to the main dining room, which has a brick fireplace and little nooks, for various-sized dining tables.

We checked out the wine list, which was fairly extensive, offering a number of good choices by the glass and bottle. With the warm weather, Chardonnay sounded good, so we each ordered a glass.

The dinner menu is strictly Italian. Antipasti choices include calamari, bruschetta, scampi, and sautéed clams and Carpaccio. In addition, there is Melanzane Arrosto, roasted eggplant with mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. Another interesting choice, Fagiolini Verdi, chili-battered green beans served with a roasted pepper aioli and balsamic vinegar. Other options to start the meal include some tempting soup and salad choices.

The pasta dishes are too numerous to list here ranging from classic to some more sophisticated and interesting options. I am sure most diners can find an appealing pasta preparation to suit them. In addition, there are a number of veal, chicken and a few beef entrees. The waiter described the day’s specials to give us even a few more choices.

I selected the minestra del orto, or vegetable soup, while my husband chose the Caesar salad. For dinner, I chose the risotto del mare, a dish made with Arborio rice, deep-sea scallops, shrimp, spinach and a little marinara sauce. Jim chose the Linguine Luciana, which is pasta topped with Manila clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari and served with Pomodoro sauce.

We enjoyed our wine and the basket of Italian bread and butter that was brought to our table. As we sat there, the restaurant really began to fill up. Because the dining room is small, the tables are fairly close together, and it did feel like we really needed to speak quietly so as not to bother the diners nearby.

The soup and salad arrived and looked delicious. The Caesar arrived with a thin slice of toast and had freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. The soup arrived in a fairly large soup plate. It was topped with fresh chives and had large pieces of celery, fresh green beans and carrots in a spicy, flavorful broth. Both were great ways to begin our meal. I did notice a gorgeous Caprese salad at the table next to us that would have also been a great choice.

Soon, the entrees arrived. Both were beautiful. My husband’s came with a good amount of clams and mussels in the shells, intertwined with the linguine and was topped with some large shrimp, fresh basil and the sauce. My risotto looked great with the fresh spinach and shrimp and scallops mixed in with the risotto. It was absolutely delicious, too. The scallops and shrimp were cooked perfectly. The dish was very hot, and the spinach added an unexpected pleasant, fresh flavor.

My husband enjoyed his linguine and agreed that the fish was very well prepared. Although I thought his dish was spicy, when I had a bite of it, he said he had hoped it would have had a little more of a kick to it.

Overall, we both thought the food was very good. We enjoyed the cozy ambiance and thought the service was friendly and helpful. Luciana’s Ristorante is a good find for authentic Italian food.

It is open for dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

I give Luciana’s 4 Patches out of 5.