Lucia’s On The Lake

After the recommendation of a co-​worker, I made reservations here for dinner on my boyfriend’s birthday for 9:30 pm last night. We both weren’t free until then. Long story short… we were late… very late! Showed up around 9:55pm and I was pretty sure that they were going to turn us away since their kitchen would be closed, which would have been terrible since we are from North Buffalo and would have been a waste of a trip, but completely understandable since it was our own fault. To my surprise though, we were greeted with a smile and sat right away. The kitchen staff stayed! And, I never even mentioned it was my boyfriend’s birthday so extra points to them for just letting us eat regardless!
Even despite our terrible lateness, we were never rushed and our server was so great! Everything was fresh, fast, and SO GOOD! We started with Bang Bang Shrimp, the best I’ve ever had, and then settled on Lobster Ravioli for him and Lasgana for me! Just choosing what to eat was hard enough and I promise I will be back to try everythinggggg! Such a great offering of seafood and they had a pretty large specials menu. We finished with my personal favorite dessert, PECAN PIE, made in-​house and served with the most amazing homemade whipped cream I’ve ever had!
We had a great experience and are absolutely coming back!

We had to wait nearly 30 minutes for our table, even though we had made reservations 4 days earlier. However, the wait was worth it– the food was delicious and our server very attentive. Definitely will return!

Wonderful food! We have the filet mignon and scallops over risotto. Both were fantastic and came with a delicious side salad. We had the bang bang calamari as an app. It was very tasty, but a little too saucy. Giant portion. They also capped our wine to go when we didn’t finish it. We will be back!

The menu is limited, but the food is amazing! The restaurant is on the small size, but it looks like they are remodeling to add a patio for the summer months. It was a busy night and we had to wait, but we grabbed a drink from the bar. The restaurant was kinda loud due to the tables being very close to one another. We got the meatball to try as an appetizer and it was huge and very tasty the red sauce they have is very good. The Cajun chicken sandwich was cooked perfectly and just the right amount of spice. The chicken was so tender and moist that it melted in your mouth. You had to squish it down to fit it in your mouth. They give you bread to enjoy while you wait which is a nice touch because I was starving that night. They waitress made sure we had everything we needed and was very efficient getting our orders out. The owners came by to make sure everything was going well and took our check up to get us change because our waitress was busy. I thought that was a nice touch that the owners are there on a busy night helping out. I was very impressed with the food and cannot wait to come back and eat some more. One think I would suggest is more parking.

We ate here in July and I waited this long to write the review, to see if I was having a bad day. I wasn’t and it still upsets me when I think about this. Hubby and I headed out on a Friday after work for a nice dinner, we called ahead — all Reservations were full but the restaurant wasn’t busy and it should be no problem for us to get a table. We arrived 10 minutes after the phone call — and nope… no tables for 1 hour and 45 mins. I get it — Friday, nice day in the summer, our fault for no reservation, (however, I did just call and you said no issue… but still. I know better). So we got a drink and decided to wait — hoping the odds were in our favor. Well… 20 minutes into our wait — I look around, the Bar is MOBBED you can hardly move but the rest of the place was quiet. too quiet for all of these people — I counted 12! tables that were open — no one was sitting at them, they were all on «hold» for other guests… some others who were waiting walked out as the bar kept crowding and the restaurant kept emptying. Finally, we were lucky enough to grab a table by the bar and sit down… it took 20 minutes before our server realized we where there… (still no rush in the restaurant). Finally, a server came, we ordered, we ate, we left. Of those 12 tables that I counted that were open… 6 were still open when we left. there must have been an issue with the reservation system or something — however, no one should have to wait that long for a table — when no one is sitting there. It was a huge loss to me as a customer and to the restaurant they missed a whole turn of tables where they could have made money as no one else was sitting there. I may go back but will be sure to have a reservation first.

This was my second time here although the first time for dinner. When we arrived the place was pretty busy, as the regulars said it always is, even being across the street from the lake. Once seated out server was right there to get us started. She was just right with being there though out our visit without being overly present, truly a professional. Friends suggested the stuffed peppers to start so we did and they were great. For dinner I had the halibut special and my friends had lasagna and meatball. The meatballs were huge and I was told they were great. The halibut was slightly over cooked for me and a little too salty, but the service and company of good friends made the overall experience very good. I will be back!

This was our first visit to Lucia’s and it did not disappoint! They accommodated our large group perfectly well & the service and food were outstanding. Their dishes are made with care and use fresh ingredients, they take tremendous pride in this. The lake view was outstanding and the staff/​owners were very attentive to lowering and raising the shades when needed during the beautiful sunset. Our only suggestion would be to modify the acoustics in the lake view dining area. Overall would recommend this place to anyone and we look forward to our return!

Tried the bang bang shrimp and the salmon. Both were very good but the wait (an hour) was too long. Overall good but they need to get more efficient on delivery

My boyfriend and i were interested in trying the place out since new ownership. We were impressed overall.
The greeting was a little bit delayed, and after getting pretty aggravated with the other 2 waitresses walking past us and ignoring us, finally our pleasant waitress came out. She was very friendly. We ordered our wine and app right away (boom boom Shrimp). The shrimp was great!
We then ordered the lobster ravioli and a ½ pound burger. It came with fresh cut fries and we opted for the stuffed peppers. Everything was spectacular! We enjoyed the food, the waitress was friendly and attentive.
The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star review was: we ordered more than 1 item that we felt they should have told us prior to, that they were out of. 1 being on the special list. Also, it took roughly 5 minutes before we were greeted. Finally, the complimentary bread was a little hard. (This is my boyfriends complaint… He’s a little pickier than me, personally, I would’ve given 5 stars and the server was new.) I plan to update this review upon my next visit!

I had the Lobster Ravioli for dinner. Which there was 2 small scallops and a few small shrimps.
The dinner was awesome, I truly enjoyed it. The service was great. She came to our table several times to make everything was good and if we needed anything else.
The only thing I do have to mention is that it was loud in the restaurant. It was very hard to have a conversation while you are eating.
All in all I do recommend trying it.

From the friendly attentive staff and owner dedicated to the detail of producing a consistent exceptional dining experience, Lucia’s on the lake is a hidden gem to say the least!
The extensive menu along with daily specials is sure to accommodate any pallet and then some!
After multiple visits to this fine restaurant enjoying the relaxed ambiance to catch the summer sunset on the attached patio overlooking the lake and enjoying the creations put forth by the kitchen I can’t say enough. Obviously!
ENJOY!

Excellent food and service with a great view on the patio. Meal selection was much more than we expected — a great mix of seafood, steak and pasta. Our servers were very attentive and helpful. Guided without being pushy. Overall a great experience, we will be back.

If the food tastes as good as it looks going by me while I wait for a table, it’ll probably be five stars. The owner talked me into the stuffed hot peppers, we reminisced about Billy Ogdens stuffed peppers.

This is a nice place. That’s about the long and short of it.
The food is excellent. I got a cajun pasta dish (it was a special), and it was done right. Completely right. Now I disclose that I don’t have a discerning palate, but I now live in the south and have been privileged to befriend a true cajun from a town on the Louisiana shore. The cajun pasta at Lucia’s definitely lived up to the amazing cuisine of Louisiana that my neighbor produces. I also tried the cajun mac n cheese, which was as delicious as it sounds. Both are solid choices. There was not, however, a complaint from anyone on their meal beyond the caeser dressing, which seemed to be pretty much just garlic paste.
There is a fantastic view. The sun does still set in the west though (the West has made a deal with the sun), so hopefully you can hit that sweet spot of seeing the lake without being blinded by the magical glowing orb in the sky as it sets.
Service is excellent. There are numerous silent walkers who tend to things like dirty dishes and water refills, and you are not likely to have a problem getting what you want. I figure that’s because of some animated and imposing white men who seem to run the place (this is my impression). They cycled rapidly between joviality and anger, which fits the Small Businessman bill. Cocaine.
While we’re talking drawbacks, the men’s bathroom is uncomfortably small and lacked clever graffiti.
Of course it all comes at a price, which is substantial but not unthinkable. In fact, if you get something modest like pasta or a sandwich, it’s really not that much more than going to, say, Phở Saigon in Fairbanks, Alaska. Probably should creep into the $$$ category, but just barely.
Overall, I say go for it. It’s a good value for the very generous positives they offer.

Great location with windows overlooking the lake. Food was OK and the bar was very crowded. To get to the bathroom you have to constantly walk through the bar crowd, which got kind of annoying. The waitress we has was fantastic, service was great. I have to say it is a HUGE improvement from McKenzie’s.

Tried the tiger striped ravioli and the chicken entrée. Both looked and tasted delicious. The atmosphere is great! Kind of reminded me of Hutch’s. Was a great place to bring friends from out of town as it has a good vibe. The south town’s needed another great restaurant.

Lucia’s was on my ‘try’ list ever since it reopened after being McKenzies. Then seeing them listed as a Restaurant Week participant it seemed like a good time for a visit. First impression is that it was very nicely remodeled and decorated right down to the white tablecloths. We had reservations and were quickly seated and saw maybe 2 open tables. With such a nice crowd for 6 pm on a weeknight made parking a little tight. Wonder if this is due to Restaurant Week or it is normally like this.
Our server was pleasant and quick, almost too quick. We had to quickly decide on a wine and it was quickly delivered. We decided on the Stuffed Pepper App. It came in a reasonable time. The stuffing was a little dry and lacking so were just OK.
The normal menu entrée items looked interesting but we ordered off the RW special menu to experience their event offering. Tonight’s soup was a Sweet Potato and it was VG! Unfortunately our server forgot to bring it until we reminded her as she brought our entrees. As for the Shrimp/​Risotto, the Shrimp was good, the Risotto not so much. As I’ve said in previous reviews, I know Risotto is a hard item to make well and keep well for any length of time so this is a gauge as to dish quality to me. Next from the ‘special’ menu was the Lasagna. Without going into detail, again, just OK.
We would like to come back again and order from the regular menu but for now it was just 2 ½ star OK. A nice sunset was enjoyed upon leaving.
Sláinte