On a Friday afternoon, following a fruitful business meeting, I decided to call it a day and treat myself to a nice Italian lunch at Luigi Cucina Italiana in Achrafieh. It was my first visit and my expectations were rather high. I arrived there at 3:30pm. The place was understandably quiet, with only two ladies occupying a table on the patio, chit-chatting over coffee. Discretely peeking into the indoor area, I noticed that the restaurant staff members were having lunch together. The head waiter and his assistant quickly left their table and greeted me kindly. I asked them if they were still serving lunch, their answer was positive. I chose a table on the patio, partly to enjoy the beautiful spring breeze typical of Achrafieh during this time of year, but mostly out of discretion vis-à-vis the house table.
Luigi Cucina Italiana is owned and managed by a gentleman by the name of Sandro Casini. Sandro’s parents, Luigi and Josephine, are the owners of Romano 222 Ristorante Italiano, for those of you who know this authentic Italian place, with its two locales, in Horsh Tabet and Hamra. As you may have guessed, Luigi Cucina Italiana is named after Sandro’s father, a fine Italian gentleman whom you have probably met already if you have been to Romano Horsh Tabet previously. Luigi and his wife are always at the restaurant with their staff members, which explains why they have been able to maintain their exquisite quality food and service for such a long time.
Romano 222 Horsh Tabet is very dear to my heart partly because it reminds me of my childhood and also because they serve exquisite authentic Italian food. My family and I have been going to this place for over 20 years now. And it still boasts the same quality food and service, in a warm yet distinguished atmosphere. With this picture in mind, I couldn’t wait to taste the food at Luigi Cucina Italiana.
What I had:
- Bread Basket served with butter and olive tapenade on the side: I couldn’t recognize the bread as something I had ever seen or tasted before. Just by looking at it, one could tell that it’s poor quality bread, both crust- and crumb-wise. The slices were stale and the crust was oily (?). It’s meant to be filone bread, that’s what I was told. Go figure!
- Gnocchi Al Funghi Porcini & Tartufo (Homemade gnocchi with porcini mushroom, truffle and fresh cream) This is a very tasty dish, quite rich and the serving is generous. If you’re not a heavy eater, make sure you order it as your main dish or share it with someone. However, I personally like it better when a dish leaves me wanting more of it rather than giving me more than I can eat. It also typically shows more finesse. But this is just splitting hairs. It’s a dish I definitely recommend.
- Saltimbocca Alla Romana (Veal with Parma ham, sage in white wine sauce) Where shall I begin! Thankfully, the picture speaks for itself. Plating-wise, it’s a dish from the 70’s, par excellence, and it does not look appetizing at all! Starting with the sides, they appeared to be hanging on for their life on the outer rim of the plate. As far as I know, all elements of a dish should fit in the center of the plate. The vegetables looked like leftover shreds made into a ball and carelessly dumped on to the plate, horrendously lacking in color and in freshness. I would not venture anywhere near something that looks this awful and unappetizing and I did not. It looked like an insult on a plate.
- The “Pomme au Four” is a failed attempt to copy Romano’s original version, which I happen to love! It’s a fake look-alike to say the least. Bland flavor and texture, it tasted as though it had been re-heated in a microwave oven before being served.
- The veal cutlets were thick and chewy, the exact opposite of what a veal cutlet should be. The sage was overwhelming and overall, the dish was over salted (that’s coming from someone who loves salt). The veal cutlets and the Parma ham were held together with a giant yet somehow invisible toothpick that no one warns you about. They were so deeply tucked into the meat that the only way I could get rid of them was by going in with my bare hands and struggling for a while.
Thankfully, no one was around so the embarrassment was at its minimum. At this point, I could not take it anymore. I put down my fork and knife, along with my napkin, wiped the veal debris off my fingers and called it a meal! Apparently, the look on my face gave away my irritation and prompted the owner and the waiters to come pay me a visit. With a very sarcastic tone and an arrogant attitude, the owner asked me if there was a problem with my dish. When I began enumerating the flaws, he started taking me a little more seriously and admitted to the fact that the Veal Saltimbocca was not as it should be. He added that this is a dish that is normally prepared “à la minute” and we both agreed that it looked nothing like it. However, justifying this by saying that the sous-chef had to prepare my meal as the chef was having lunch is unacceptable! A restaurant is either ready to feed its guests or it’s not!
- Tiramisu: This was a complimentary dish, to make up for my dissatisfaction with the veal. Although I am appreciative of the gesture, I am in obligation to say things as they are. It is the second worst tiramisu I have ever tasted in my life. I couldn’t taste the espresso; some lady fingers were too dry while others were moist enough. Unfortunately, the whole thing was not well incorporated. And the funniest thing of all was the piece of lady finger that stuck out all of a sudden as I was eating away, as if to add to my aggravation (see picture). This was the culmination of the culinary insults I had been exposed to up to that point, both literally and figuratively!
My Recommendations:
- Please don’t try to copy Romano. Learn from them as much as possible but find your own identity. Develop a unique offering that will make you stand out from the rest of the Italian restaurants and I’m sure you’ll be fine
- The Veal Saltimbocca and the tiramisu need an urgent make-over
- Never under-estimate anyone who comes in; every guest counts
- Always keep in mind that nothing justifies serving bad food
- Thank you for the complimentary dessert and for not charging me for the veal dish. However, please don’t make this a habit like some other places. Find the root cause of the problem and work on it. For real food lovers and gourmets, the ultimate aim is to enjoy a great culinary experience and not to have items taken off their bill
I look forward to visiting again and seeing a big improvement in the food quality and customer service.
Luigi Cucina Italiana. St. Nicolas, Achrafieh, Beirut +961 1 218622
