Lucia's Italian

My family and I live in Helena, and, like many others, first heard about Lucia's through Joe's Italian Restaurant in Pelham. We are very glad we found Lucia's!

The ambience is great at Lucia's - it's in a strip mall, but you honestly feel like you've been transported to a quaint little nook in Italy. The owners are gracious and truly care about the quality of the food and your experience, and the wait staff have always been very friendly and prompt.

The food is very good, and the portions are quite generous. I've tried a lot of different things, and honestly,

Lucia's is fantastic. It is basically the same as the very popular Joe's Italian in Weatherly (Alabaster), but I mean that in a good way. The food is good, the service is great, everyone is friendly.

The tomato soup, as another reviewer mentioned, is incredible. They undersold it when I asked if it was good. Save some of the delicious bread and dip it in the soup. You can thank me later.

Great food, and prices are very reasonable. My wife and I love the place.

A good neighborhood kind of place. We used to live near Joe's Italian in Alabaster, and when we moved to Helena we were sad to know Joe's wouldn't be nearby any longer. But, since Lucia's has been opened as a sister company to Joe's, we're happy again!

They have a good lunch menu, I typically get the Meatball sub for $5.95 - good portion and comes with a salad.

Their dinner menu isn't as well priced but still reasonable and the food is fantastic.

The wife and I decided to try Lucia's tonight after mentioning time and again that we would at some point. Lucia's is supposed to be a derivative of Joe's Italian in Alabaster, which is fantastic, so we were pretty excited about trying it out. Unfortunately my basis of comparison is Joe's (again, which is fantastic) so, to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed.

The restaurant offers similar dishes to Joe's (and probably a few identical ones), but as far as taste is concerned, the food was just "ok". To be fair, we arrived about one hour prior to closing, so perhaps that had something to do with it; but regardless there were certain aspects of the meal that were good and others that were just decent. The bread brought to the table when we were seated, for example, ended up being a lot tougher than you'd expect, even for focaccia. Kinda disappointing for someone that LOVES focaccia. With my entree I ordered the Tomato Basil soup which to Lucia's credit was very delicious, and even helped get down the bread challenge. My entree ended up being Baked Ziti which was, again, just ok - nothing bad, but nothing very memorable either. I will say, though, that if you enjoy the food you're in luck b/c the quantity far exceeds what you'd expect for the cost.

So, Lucia's - a nice place with decent food, and a good spot and opportunity to support business in the city of Helena. But if you're looking for a phenomenal italian meal close to the area, my money's still on Joe's Italian in Alabaster. (The continuous crowds don't lie, folks.)

I have been dying to try this place for so long since moving to the area, my being a lover of Italian cuisine and all. Fully knowing that this beautiful location doesn't yet have their liquer license, my focus was on trying the food. I'd say that the inability to order a glass of wine with my food is to the detriment of the restaurant; however, the bread and olive oil concoction in which to dip it is out of this world!

The concept behind the menu is great; however, I suffered some disappointment regarding the dishes served. On the first visit, my manicotti was barely warm in the center. On the second visit, I was super impressed with a fantastic panini (which in my opinion could use some sort of sauce flavoring inside, in comparison to those I've had out in Los Angeles). You simply MUST order the tomato basil soup. It's by far my new comfort food. Whenever I am sick, I will be sending my representatives there for this delicious, healthy, and mouth-watering creation! On the third visit, I ordered a long-time favorite of mine...the three cheese calzone. In comparison to the calzones in Los Angeles, I was relieved to find that these guys do it right INCLUDING the staple ingredient of a calzone...the ricotta cheese; however, they didn't use nearly enough. If you are a ricotta fan like myself...ask for extra inside!

Nice, cozy, family owned Italian restaurant. You will be surprised by the desserts! Give it a shot and let everyone know what you think!

Not impressed at all. The tomato & basil soup that received raves here was not much more than canned pizza sauce with shredded cheese sprinkled on top; the salad definitely came out of a bag; and the lasagna was okay but rather bland with not much flavor. Based on the Yelp reviews, we were very disappointed. It was our first time there and I doubt seriously if we will pay it a return visit. :-(

Having enjoyed several meals at Joe's Italian, my girlfriend and I recently decided to visit Lucia's.

The menu is quite similar to Joe's; indeed, some of the dishes are identical. The atmosphere, also, is reminiscent of Joe's but not as cluttered or crowded. Although Lucia's is smaller, there is more space between tables and comparatively fewer patrons; thus, I am more comfortable dining at Lucia's.

Service was friendly and prompt.

The bread was fresh and warm. Honestly, it was better than I've had at Joe's, which occasionally suffers from mediocrity in an attempt to keep up with the volume of customers.

I thought the Italian meatball soup was delightfully spicy, but some might find it a bit overwhelming.

The special of the evening was cheese tortellini with a pumpkin sauce. It was, without a doubt, the best tortellini I've ever had; the sauce is indescribable! I've enjoyed each visit to Joe's, but this dish is simply on another level. It's even better than Joe's lobster ravioli, which is hard to beat.

For dessert, there's a variety of enormous slices of cake that are more or less identical to Joe's offerings. We shared a slice of Italian cream, which was amazing.

In short, Lucia's will inevitably be compared to Joe's, but it's deserving of praise and recognition in its own right. I will definitely continue to dine at both restaurants, but I must say that I prefer the more intimate experience at Lucia's to the often noisy and sometimes rushed experience typical of Joe's.

This is the second time we've eaten at Lucia's and our experiences are much the same for both times. I was really hoping that Lucia's would be a restaurant that we'd become regular customers of. Unfortunately it won't be. Food is hohum and service is lacking. Bread is tasteless and dry; the dipping oil is bland. Hubby, who usually devours bread and asks for more, didn't even finish his first (little) piece. The bread is cut into small squares (about 1 1/2 inches square) and you get four in the basket. Three left in basket does not speak well of it. Spaghetti was bland - pasta was under salted, bland, and overcooked; sauce was good, and meatballs were good. But nothing spectacular. Hubby's Italian sausage looked rather pale. I've grown up on Arnone's Italian sausage, so anything else usually pales in comparison, so I won't comment on flavor of Lucia's sausage. Service was lacking - several times our tea glasses were empty a while before being refilled. When our spaghetti meals were brought with no cheese, we had to flag down our waitress to ASK for cheese, and then were only given a sprinkling. I am Italian and grew up in the culture, and when the cheese is being given it's always been, "Say when.", as in, tell us when you have enough cheese to your liking on your ______(whatever it is you're eating with cheese on it). I would have loved to love this restaurant, but both visits have been disappointing.