A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party at Lucia in Bishop Arts. In case it’s not clear from the pictures above: wow. Wow wow. Lucia is just… wow.
Five courses and thirteen dishes (so wow and a lot of food), Lucia is officially now one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas. The cheese plate and the meat board are pictured above. With the exception of the dessert, all of the dishes were served family-style with totally delicious wine pairings (Lucia has a great wine list!).
My favorite dishes were the the risotto with red wine and mushrooms (pictured above) and the polenta. They were seriously my absolute, hands-down, favorite dishes of the evening – they were both absolutely incredible!! I actually ate about 90% of the polenta (yes, it was meant for the entire table… don’t judge me!) – it was that good!
So why has it taken me so long to go to Lucia? Well, primarily, it’s pretty much impossible to get a reservation! To get a reservation, you need to call the restaurant over one full month in advance (Lucia will begin taking reservations for December on November 1st at 9:00AM). Insane, huh? But SO worth it!
PS In case you’re wondering, there is a trick to getting seated day-of without a reservation (if you’re feeling like taking a bit of a risk): simply ask if Lucia has any seats at the counter available. It’s the same menu and you get to see the chefs at work! However, as I said above, getting seated day-of and sans reservation is definitely risky: you may have to wait 1-2 hours for your seats, or seats might never become available. So I wouldn’t recommend attempting this tactic if you’re in any sort of rush or aren’t prepared to change your plans altogether (hint hint: Oddfellows and Tillman’s Roadhouse are both just around the corner!).
Last (but certainly not least), the dessert: milk chocolate buttermilk panna cotta. Definitely not something I ever would have normally ordered for myself, this dessert was totally unique, and kind of intriguing. For the first time in what seems like forever, I didn’t totally clean my dessert plate (well, bowl-like cup), but I also don’t regret the few stolen bites I tried of this totally different dish.
Lucia is located in the Bishop Arts district of Oak Cliff and is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner only, from 5:30PM until 10PM. As I said earlier, it’s damn near impossible to get a reservation… but, if you’re able to get in the door, your meal at Lucia will be one of the best meals you’ve ever had in Dallas!
What’s your favorite restaurant in Dallas? Any ones I should add to my list? Please share in the comments below!