Cucina Lucia Italiana - Porters Neck

We arrived on a night where they disclosed to us up front they were short staffed and let us know that if we wanted to stay they would seat us but not to expect quick or normal service. They were not lying! Our young male server was afraid, anxious, and nervous. The atmosphere is that old school Italian vibe that I really dig. The menu was very limited and they did not really have any specials or variety. I got the lemon chicken and it was delicious. I was sad they did not put a slice of bread on my plate to sop up the sauce. My husband got the eggplant and loved it. Grandson got a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs and we were not offered a childs menu due to the party in the backroom and that was were the menus were located and nobody wanted to go back there because they may be asked for something. I could hear the Italian lady in the back just a cussing out the staff while cooking. I am positive they are all afraid of her. It was good and I guess if I lived there I would go back on another night but really wanted a bigger menu with more variety.

I'm having a difficult time writing this review because I wanted to like this place, but I just didn't. The good: The service The lasagna The house wine is actually pretty good The bad: Everything else. The serving sizes are just too big! The garlic was too much for the bruschetta and it was all we could taste. The tomatoes were grainy. It was just subpar. The place needs a thorough cleaning.

My experience here was truly lovely. The food was absolutely amazing, i got the spinach ravioli and I must say I definitely need to come back and try the other dishes on my next vacation to Wilmington. I ordered some canolis which were veryyy delicious. My friends were all satisfied with their food as well everyone pretty much finished their whole plate. My mom also told the waitress it was my birthday so they gave me a little something to take home with me ; The owner is a very kind woman who made my vacation even more special. The experience was very heart-warming and overall wonderful.

Sadly, this restaurant has deteriorated since our last visit pre-COVID. The food used to be excellent. True homemade Italian. Four of us went there last week and were shocked at how empty it was. We made it clear that we wanted to relax and enjoy a pre-dinner drink but the over-zealous waitress kept returning to our table. We tried to order calamari but they were “out”. All of our entrees were boring and nothing special. Even the bread was ordinary. I was embarrassed because I had had such good memories of this place and had recommended it to my friends. To add insult to injury we were charged $3 because we used a credit card. In my opinion Mamma is struggling. If she reduced the menu by half and focused on quality over quantity, people would line up to eat there. I sincerely hope she follows my advice.

At there with my wife last month and the food was just horrible. Very small eating area and small parking lot. Food was not worth the high prices we paid. So many better Italian restaurants to eat in Wilmington. Skip this one!