De Lucia's Italian Restaurant & Bar

Happen to stop by De Lucia's which is located at the same location in Lake Forest where a very popular neighborhood restaurant used to be at for over 30 years. The reason for me saying that is because it would be very hard for a restaurant to follow that.

Well, they didn't disappoint, we had a party of 8 and we all loved what we ordered. The portions are very big, the hot table bread and butter were amazing I'll just talk about my dish. I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana, which was cooked to perfection, the side of pasta I subbed for rigatoni alfredo's sauce and that was amazing. We also ate the spinach and eggplant rolls (hint Lina rolls) and fried calamari both outstanding. . . I left there stuffed and fully satisfied.

The ambiance is really nice, comfortable and up to date. Lighting was perfect, not too bright. And the service was awesome. They have a really nice and big bar area with TVs.

Highly recommend it, if you're in the neighborhood south O.C.

It was my first time going to this place after they remodeled. Ambiance looks modern, chairs and table were new, bar was remodeled, some of the staff were from before, I noticed new owner, and menu was the same, honestly the quality wasn't as good as before.
I tried the Meat lasagna it wasn't same taste as before.
I tried the Espresso Martini was the best.
I will be back again and tried new dishes.
I love the menu lots of different dishes.

Food as always excellent. I had a ROASTED SALMON PRIMAVERA with clams & veggies on top of linguini. It, literally, was ample enough for THREE full meals & it was fantastic & I'm not a salmon lover. It was truly amazing.
The service was mediocre at best which is unusual but we had a newbie server in a VERY busy restaurant.
It was noisy & chaotic but at least we were in a corner so our environment could have been worse. It probably is a good idea not to go there on a late Friday or Saturday night.
Otherwise I Highly recommend it for families & Italian food lovers.

Looked for a nice Italian dinner spot nearby in Mission Viejo that was had a nice balance of casual/fancy atmosphere, quality to price, and good reviews. Came upon De Lucia's on Yelp with a high rating and several good reviews. My girlfriends noted that it might be the old Peppino's but rebranded, but from my past experience with Peppino's, I enjoyed it very much so saw it as just a slightly higher end sister to it.

We were able to make a reservation very easily on Yelp but when we arrived on a Monday evening, I could tell there was more than enough room to have just walked in without a reservation. They have a happy hour menu with some appetizers and discounts on drinks, with my girlfriends each ordering a wine. Everything looked and sounded so good on the menu. There was so much to offer, from pastas to soups to salads to baked dishes, and more! Both me and Connie B ordered their Rigatoni alla Gina while Vicky V ordered the clam pasta. While we waited, we were served fresh Italian bread and focaccia. The bread was so fluffy and fresh.

Our dishes came out hot and packed! There was so much food. It would even feed my hungry husband with some left over. My pasta was absolutely delicious. Big thick rigatoni cooked al dente in a fresh red sauce with eggplant, basil, mozzarella, and garlic. It was soo good, I had to stop myself from eating too much. I took some home and was able to make two lunches with it afterward! My friends equally enjoyed their pastas too.

For dessert, we shared a tiramisu and cheesecake. Both were very good. Cheesecake was a little too sweet and thick for me, but the tiramisu was just perfect. Just the right ratio of ladyfingers (cake) to cream. This was also served as a HUGE square.

Our server was very attentive and kept stopping by to see how we were doing and refilling our water. Even the manager or owner stopped by to see how we enjoyed everything.

Overall, phenomenal food, service, ambiance, and price. For additional information, there is a very spacious bar area with lots of TVs to watch sports and stuff.

I would totally come back here again and again for dates, special family dinners, or birthdays. Love a local place doing things right, keeping prices right, and serving good portions that still maintain high quality taste.

A friend told us about DeLucia's and we decided to come on a Saturday night in December after church. We got on the wait list as soon as we were on our way and had no problem getting a table upon arrival. Delucia's is a large restaurant and with a very nice decor.

We were warmly greeted and seated. With a couple of minutes, our server, Zach greeted us and said that he would be taking care of us. And he did! We told Zach that we were new and he shared with us the favorites on the menu. After order our drinks and later, our entrees, we settled in to enjoy our experience.

Between the three of us, we ordered: Fettuccini Carbonara, Linguini and clam sauce and Chicken Sorrentino. All were very nice, but we all agreed the Chicken Sorrentino was the shining star. This dish is sauteed chicken breast with mushrooms, onion, bacon and black olives in a marsala wine sauce then baked with mozzarella cheese and served with a side dish of spaghetti with meat sauce.

The portions are quite large so we each took home half of our dinner to eat for lunch the next day. That really makes the prices seem reasonable since we each got two meals for the price. The bread was delicious and my friend asked if she could take it home. Zach said "absolutely." When he returned with a container, he also included a couple of fresh pieces just out of the oven. Wow! So nice.

Zach was an excellent server who checked on us just enough, but was so friendly and engaging. He was like finding a new friend. We will definitely return for another visit soon.

This restaurant is located in the old Peppinos location in Lake Forest. If you ever went to that previous restaurant, you'll see a lot of the similarities in DeLucia's. In fact, The menu is exactly the same as Peppino's with all the favorites that you love. I believe the head chef is the same who used to work for that restaurant. Nevertheless, the pizza here is excellent, the pasta portions are massive and they have a really lively bar. We like to either sit at the bar or at a high top. What the game and enjoy some good beverages with some good Italian stick to your ribs food.
Couple other highlights
Salmon Salad
Fettuccine de la casa
Veal or chicken Marsala
Tortellini Alfredo
Oh and they're salad dressing. The creamy Italian is delicious. Service is always friendly and the managers are very nice.

Great overall experience. Came here for Christmas Eve lunch with the family. Made advance reservations. Our table was all set and ready for us. We were assigned two wait staff. Awesome customer service from beginning to end. We were treated with top notch service.

I started out with a Moscow mule. Delicious. The usual complimentary bread. For appetizers, I also tried the bruschetta. Yummy. I ordered the Cioppino as my entree which even included a partial crab leg. It comes with a side of spaghetti with sauce, so I obviously over ate. Still, had to sample the tiramisu. Just a sliver from the large slice served. Delicious.

Nice, clean interior. Unassuming exterior, located in a strip mall. Plenty of free, shared parking.

We came to this restaurant on Christmas Eve. This was for a large family function, so there was a lot of people involved. When we got to the restaurant, they had the long table nicely set up, and everything laid out awaiting our arrival. Meaning, they were all set to go, we didn't have to wait.

The very first thing I want to say about this restaurant is that the staff here is very good. Not only ddid they handle our party of about twenty-five people with exceptional care, but they also took care of all the other tables in the restaurant. They really handled the number of people in the overall restaurant very well. The staff were all super nice, and they did their job exceptionally. .

Obviously, this is an Italian restaurant. So, the things they offer are Italian based food items. They have a large variety of pastas, pizzas, and the like. It is all very good and very well prepared. They also have a nice selection of wine, beers, and cocktails. So, you know you can find something that you'll enjoy for your meal.

This restaurant is located in a shopping plaza. From this, there is a large parking lot in front of the restaurant so you're be sure to be able to find parking with very little problem.

The overall design of the interior of the restaurant is open and airy. The tables are well spaced. From this, you'll be able to enjoy your meal without any problems.

Overall, if you're in the OC, this is a great place to enjoy an Italian orientated meal.

A friend introduced this restaurant to us a few months ago and since then we came back quite a few times already!! Everything we tried is delicious! I especially like the calamari appetizer- cooked perfectly! I had their cioppino- lots of seafood, chicken masala- chicken are so tender, and the chicken Marco pollo- big portions are pasta are cooked perfectly! I also love their tiramisu! So yummy! This is definitely my favorite new Italian restaurant!!

Mario,
After reading several reviews, I realized my experience is not unique. Although I discussed all of the problems with the manager, nothing was done. When I asked twice for the bill, the server said " What is your problem? You didn't have to pay for your salad." The salad was never served so why would I pay for an item I didn't receive? If the server was having a bad day, I missed that because in the middle of taking our order he ran over to the entrance to greet his friends. Please don't reply to this review. Take the time to manage your restaurant.