This is a restaurant I'd been meaning to review for some time now and
I'm glad I finally got the chance. The Vigna Ilaria has a rather rustic
chic decor that creates an atmosphere of casual elegance. It has several
different intimate dinning areas which I think allows it to be very
versatile. You could easily have a romantic dinner for two in one of the
smaller dinning areas, or a large family dinner in one of the larger
areas or on the outside patio in fine weather.
I would characterize the menu as traditional Tuscan favorites
reinterpreted with a bit of pizazz.
To start, I had a vegetable souflee
which was served in a light cream sauce. Excellent! Very light and
delicate flavors. My husband had a fantastic octopus and potato warm
salad. This is traditionally a very simple dish and I normally don't
bother to order it because it bores me. However, the way it was prepared
by the chef was really wonderful. He somehow managed to keep the dish
simple, but added some extra twist, what I don't know, that gave real
depth to the flavor. The octopus was really tender, something a lot of
chefs don't always manage to pull off. I would have switched plates with
my husband if I could, it was that good. My next dish was a warm seafood
salad. This, in my opinion, was not as good as the octopus. The fish was
very fresh and cooked to perfection, but honestly, it lacked something.
It was a bit too bland for my taste. I found myself wondering why the
chef did such a great job with the octupus, a similar dish, and then
chose to season the warm seafood salad only with olive oil, lemon and
parsley. I could have done that myself at home. I understand about
letting fresh seafood speak for itself, but I still think the dish could
of used a little help. My son, who is 5 years old, had the fresh ravioli
stuffed with eggplant and mozzarella cheese in a light tomatoe sauce.
This was very good and very fresh. He cleaned his plate and pronounced
it delicious, so that was a real winner as far as I'm concerned. My
husband had the duck for his second course. I have to state that he is
French, from the part of France that produces duck, so he is not easy to
please when it comes to duck. In fact, he thought that the duck breast
had been slightly overcooked and that it was just "o.k." I would have to agree
with him. My son had a warm chocolate cake with chocolate sauce for his
dessert that was really wonderful. My husband and I both had a macchiato
(espresso with a bit of foam and a spoonfull of warm milk) and called it
a day as we were both stuffed. We ordered a half bottle of Peppoli, one
of our favorites, to go with the meal and it was, as usual, quite good.
So, what do I think of this restaurant? I like it. My only caveat would
be that for an equivalent price, you can eat better at Il Gazebo
Restaurant. It is still a very good restaurant and merits a visit, but
if you have limited time and have to choose between two really good
restaurants, I'd still choose Il Gazebo hands down, as their work is
consistent from start to finish.
Vigna Ilaria is definitely not a cheap restaurant, we paid close to 100
euros for the 3 of us.
Directions: From the town walls of Lucca, exit out of
Porta San Jiacopo and
turn left at the first stop light. At the first round about, go right
onto the via Matteo Civitali in the direction of Camaiore.
Still following the signs for Camaiore, go through
two stop lights until you come to a stop sign where you can either go
left or right, but not forward. Go left, then immediately right again.
This will put you on a bridge that goes over the Serchio River. Just
after having crossed the bridge, make a left in the direction of Sant'Allessio/
Pieve Santo Stefano. You'll find the restaurant about 300 meters after the
road begins to climb upward. You should see a sign for the Vigna Ilaria
on your left. Turn left into the gates, then go straight past the
restaurant as you will need to park in the lot behind it.
The restaurant also has a large patio with white umbrellas that looks
like it would be really pleasant for outdoor dinning. They also rent 4
double bedrooms just above the restaurant. I've not seen the rooms, so
can't comment on the level of accomodation.
Vigna Ilaria Address: Via per Pieve Santo Stefano, 967/C S. Alessio,
Lucca Phone number: 0583 332091 Closed Mondays
web site: www.locandavignailaria.it
