Luc’s Bistro

My family and I ate here and we all loved it. My wife had the chicken dumplings and I had the ravioli. We both felt that the quality of the food was surprisingly high. Deserts are apparently made in house and they were fantastic. Prices were very reasonable. Service staff was prompt, helpful and friendly.
I look forward to going back for more.

First time, after change of ownership. We had the lobster ravioli and salmon. Both dishes were delicious and the service was excellent.
It is a little bit pricier than before, so we will not go as often as we would like, but we definitely recommend Luc’s Bistro!

Sadly, this place appears to be out of business. I haven’t been in about 6 months, but the food and service were always consistently good. Saw the reviews citing a change of ownership and drop in quality. I guess it dropped further than anyone could imagine, as they’re CLOSED.

Sadly, Luc’s Bistro was sold. The new owners raised prices, and the quality went down. What made the place a truly special neighborhood restaurant is gone. My family doesn’t come here anymore.

Cute restaurant and friendly staff. I would come for the vibe of the place but the food is mediocre. I ordered a turkey sandwich and my wife ordered a breakfast burrito. Food was something you can find anywhere or even make at home.
Would come back just for a coffee however.

Don’t order the Kobe burger. Factory pad that is the same as the normal burger but couple bucks more.
No taste and boring. Caesar salad was good.

I’ve been to Luc’s only a handful of time in the past few years. It honestly isn’t one of my go to places but being in Poway with the choices somewhat limited it gets fit into the rotation sometimes.
That being said, it definitely feels different that the last time I came. We figured it was under a different owner than before. The décor had to have been different right? We weren’t 100% sure. Anyway, after looking at the menu and ordering our lunch we started chatting and waited. And waited. And waited…
It took almost 45 minutes for our food to come out. We were pretty hangry by then. Might have been understandable if we ordered appetizers and drinks in addition to our food, but not when there was only one other group in the restaurant on a very non busy lunch day. Now that I think of it, the service was very slow before as well… so maybe it’s this place and it bends the time space continuum to slow down time. Still, it only reinforces my not coming here that often.
The meatloaf lunch plate I got was pretty decent though, quite honestly it was the only thing that saved them from getting a low review.

Let me start out by saying that even though the name is the same it has new owners and a new chef. I thought that was odd because wouldn’t you give yourself a new name if everything was different? So we went there thinking that it was going to be the same delicious food… We were wrong.
In my opinion, for the prices they are charging the food was subpar. I had the lamb burger which tasted kinda fishy and my mom had the filet mignon which also kinda tasted fishy… maybe they didnt clean the grill after the last person who ordered fish. who knows…
I gave it a 2 because the waiter was super nice and friendly…
Bottom line: false advertising! they seem to be trying to hard to be something they’re not, the «old» Luc’s Bistro.

The filet was perfect. Also we really enjoyed the sweet potato fries and Caesar salad. Why are you reading this? You should just go there and eat the food. I swear it is fabulous.
OK it’s a really quaint ambience and a rare find in Poway. The view is lame it’s into a strip center parking lot. But if you want a sophisticated inside you will be pleased.
Great wait staff they are sweet says my GF.

Had their 100% beef Angus burger and it was delicious! Sweet onions with a delicious patty! Oh and their vanilla ice cream with peaches are to die for!!! I really can not wait to come back. Although this place is very much out of the way for me…

This is our second visit to Luc’s bistro. My wife had shrimp and grits and I had the Mac & cheese. They were both quite couldn’t let the shrimp and grits with somewhat salty. We were hoping to try the bignets and the short ribs but they were out. In fact we were told that they only served bignets on weekends. The service was mediocre, our server just didn’t have a welcoming or friendly demeanor. On our second visit they were also out of the braised short ribs, bignets, and the portions seemed quite small, even stingy. I’m not sure I will be back anytime soon.

Cream of turnip soup was off the hook ridiculous. Trying the shrimp and grits now. Holy crap!!!
If there is anyone out there following thus, get your ass over to Luc’s Bistro. Not only was the shrimp and grits mind blowing, the scallop risotto is like crack. And the roasted chicken breast? Please keep this place in business. It blows most fine dining out of the water. Oh yeah, the chocolate mousse… I really don’t want to leave.

I stopped in Luc’s for a light lunch during their brunch hours. I had their Caesar salad and chicken wrap at $ 8.50, which included a side salad, and the soup du jour, a mushroom soup for $ 4.50. With a Unilocal check in, I was able to get a dessert in the form of Profiteroles with stuffed vanilla ice cream topped with a chocolate sauce. (
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The soup mushroom soup came garnished with croutons, was quite tasty, and was well seasoned. (
) The mushroom flavor was great and the soup had a light appeal to it. It was a little grainy but not by much, and I felt the soup needed so thin sliced cooked mushroom for added texture because the croutons quickly soften in the soup. (
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The chicken wrap was excellent and was a generous size with good girth. (
) The chicken was exceptionally tender and flavorful. The lettuce was crisp and the Caesar dressing was just right. It was not heavy handed, and not only light in consistency, but also light in flavor. (
) The wrap came with shaved Parmesan which added a nice salty and nutty flavor. The wrap itself, was large well toasted flour tortilla. The side salad came with a balsamic vinaigrette and was good.
The Profiteroles were okay. The Profiterole itself needed to be a little more flakier and easy to break apart. These had me working a bit, to break them apart, and once I did, I was met with some good vanilla ice cream, that probably should of been creamier. (
) It was a little icy. The chocolate sauce was very light and with a liquidity viscosity.
Service was quite nice and exceptionally friendly. Both, the floor manager and my server were very cordial and helpful. I enjoyed their conversations and them making me feel welcomed.

While the food wasn’t spectacular, factoring in the great quality of service, the cozy ambiance, and the generous portion sizes, I’d say that Luc’s is a nice little intimate spot for dinner.
Came with a girl friend since I purchased a Groupon, I’ve never heard of Luc’s before even though I live close by. Restaurant was quiet on Thursday and no reservations were necessary. We were seated immediately. The hostess and servers were all very friendly, attentive and helpful.
Started with the crab cakes and cajun fries which were just OK, crab cakes were fried and had peas and carrots in them which I thought was odd. The fries were a bit on the stale side and bland, despite being labeled as «cajun.» Entrees were better. The chicken and dumplings was such a hearty dish, big portion and very well seasoned. I thought it was great and definitely very comforting. We also shared the rib eye steak. The steak was very tender, cooked perfectly, although again I thought a bit under-​seasoned despite the pepper sauce on top.
For dessert we ordered the profiteroles stuffed with ice cream. Not blown away, but overall decent. I thought the pastry was a bit tough, but hey drizzle chocolate on anything and I’d wolf it down.
Again, cute little place to have a nice dinner and a glass of wine, top notch service, but the food is average if not forgettable. Overall decent experience.

I had a gift certificate for this place so my bf and I decided to make reservations here for New Years Eve 2013.
Upon walking into the place I thought it was fairly small but packed full of people, understandably so, since it was NYE. The crowd was older and we were the only minorities so it was a bit awkward. We were seated, given menus, and no one came by again for another 30 minutes. A middle-​aged couple was seated next to us not too long after we were seated. A waitress said she will get to us in a minute and then proceeded to help the couple next to us. They were immediately greeted and ordered their wines while we waited and waited and waited. I got pretty heated at this point and started calling other restaurants to see how the long the wait was. Unfortunately, they were all 30+ minute waits. FINALLY, she came over to take our orders. We originally came in at 7pm, and at this point it was 7:30 pm. They ran out of the drink I wanted and she said our food was going to take another 30 minutes. The couple next us noticed how we were ignored for so long and told us how odd and rude they thought that was. I couldn’t agree more. So we went up to our waitress at the register and told her that we’d like to cancel our order. She actually had the audacity to scoff at my bf and gave him an attitude because we wanted to cancel.
We were SO GLAD to leave and ended up having better service at Cotixan’s next door (can you believe that?!)… It’s such a shame because the couple next us said the food is normally really good, but the service can make any food taste like trash. I was so disgusted by our treatment here. I don’t know if we were discriminated because of our age or race or what, but it sure felt that way. Way to end the year!

Absolutely horrendous service. My gf and I made reservations and knew it would be packed so I expected service to be a bit slow. What I did NOT expect was to NOT be serviced at ALL! They sat us down, then we looked at the menu and decided on our items. Then we waited, and waited, AND waited, AND WAITED. We waited for exactly 30 MINUTES until the waitress came to us. Get this– the waitress tended to an older couple next to us that came 15 mins after we did just because they were ordering pinot grigio. And it’s not like we were passive about it. In fact, many occasions I tried to make eye contact with the waitress and raised my finger indicating we’re ready to order. She never looked back. We finally got to order, but were told the food would take 20 mins to come.
So what did we do? We literally stood up and left the restaurant. Never coming back again!

Wow. Food here was great.
Went on a date night with my wife Saturday night. I ordered the meatloaf and my wife had the linguini bolognese. The dishes were delicious. Everything tasted homemade. Surprising to taste a dish like it was made at home. You cannot get this quality at an Olive Garden or other chain restaurant.
Also tried the Red Velvet cupcake. It was very good! Better than Sprinkle’s red velvet cupcake! It was also free. If you use Unilocal and check-​in you will get a free dessert!
The service was very good too and very friendly. It was the waitress who told us to check-​in and we would get a free dessert!

Some friends and I came here because this place was listed as «soul food». The menu is way too varied to be listed as a soul food joint. There were some items akin to the cuisine on the menu, but it’s super misleading. This restaurant has no idea what it wants to be when it grows up, because there’s something from every cuisine on there barring Asian.
Service was pretty middle of the road. Nobody seemed like they really wanted to be there. I’ve waited tables, and I know there are bad days, but would it kill them to smile, even if it’s fake?
Food was extremely hit-​or-​miss. One friend got the short ribs, which are freaking AWESOME. If you go, get these, do not pass GO, do not collect $ 200. I had a New York strip that was just kind of okay. Can’t quite recall what my other friend had — apparently it wasn’t that memorable.
I wouldn’t waste my time or money here, especially if you’re expecting authentic soul food. You will be sorely disappointed.

Had a good time here — A-​OK. The two servers worked together and gave nice friendly service. They checked on us, were good about sweet ice tea refills, and it was a nice weekend lunch.
We ordered:
3 corn muffins (regular and jalapeño w/​butter and honey on the side.) These were a little dry for me. (0.75 each)
Lunch Mac n Cheese w/​side salad — ($ 10.75) The side salad was nice, but the Mac n Cheese was a little oily for me. I think the sauce had separated a little, however, this may have been an off day for the pasta; I ordered it because of all the Unilocal raves.
We requested the Braised Short Ribs (it was not on the lunch menu) and the chef graciously accommodated our request. These were super tender and delicious. Lovely mashed potatoes, some parsnip pieces, big delicious carrots, sauteed spinach — lovely beef wine sauce. It was a dinner portion and charge ($ 17.95)
Kids chicken dumplings, w/​milk and side of applesauce ($ 5)
Due to Unilocal check in special, we got the recommended profriteroles free! ($ 5 value)
these were two large pastries which were nice and crunchy (not frozen-​doughy) with ice cream inside and chocolate sauce on top. Tasty.
The overall restaurant was nice, and I’d come back, but at least today, to me it felt too hot and stuffy as the air conditioning wasn’t on.
All in all, a good experience, but unfortunately not one that I loved. Solid three stars.
Remember kids eat free on Wednesdays.

I’ve had Luc’s bookmarked for quite a while. The 4 stars helped me talk my friend into dining here despite the fact that she didn’t want soul/​southern food. Well… we walked in around 1:15. There were people at around 5 tables but they were all finishing up. There were only 2 women working in the front of the house. We ordered tropical iced teas. They were bitter, but we couldn’t get anyone to come by. We finally flagged one of the women down to tell her about the iced teas and to tell her that we needed to order our food. She apologized for the iced teas and told us it might have been because it had settled. But she had to get the other woman to take our order. So, we must have been sitting for about 20 minutes before our food order was taken. Disappointing.
We both ordered the crab cake sandwich. The crab cakes were shaped into little weird patties, kind of looked like fried oysters. And there was not enough crab and too much of some kind of filler in the crab cake. The 3 mini crab cakes were served on a big, dry hamburger bun. Way too big for the amount of crab cakes. The fries were just ordinary.
Maybe we just ordered the wrong item or came on a bad day but I’m not sure why Luc’s has 4 stars. I promised my friend the next lunch pick. Sorry!