Lucca Trattoria: I live here now.

Lucca Trattoria Aruba is here to tell that Italian restaurants can be great while having a sense of nowness. The place takes its food, quality, and aesthetics seriously.

Lucca Trattoria Aruba Enrique Balestrini The Foode Life

Located in the same building as Brutto in Palm Beach Aruba, Lucca Trattoria sits casually, alfresco, with a casual Terrazza feel. When the group began operations Lucca was the first that started making waves amongst the local foodies. Quickly I heard about the "Straordinaria" section of the pizza menu, which listed 8 varieties of pizzas with the most indulgent and luxurious toppings. A visit was long overdue!

Stunning and simple at the same time. The natural wood tones are complimented with mint green accents and a fantastic lighting design. I am so glad to see the standards rising here in Aruba, entrepreneurs are bringing it.

An outing to Lucca can be anything you want: a get-together with friends, a pizza night, a pasta feast, or a coffee date. They offer everything you could desire.

No Friday night is complete without a cocktail and Lucca has 8 fantastic choices for you to pick. I am a Spritzer aficionado and Lucca has 3 on the menu: the Spritz de la passione, Banana Spritz, and the Spritz Tropicale, all unique recipes.

Italian place + Aperol seemed like the proper thing to do! Plus these are loaded. No just looks and no substance here.

If you are up for dinner I highly recommend you start with bread and butter. Home-made bread and a unique recipe of pesto butter is the perfect bite if you're feeling hungry and want something to calm the anxiety while you read the menu.

The appetizers menu has all the Italian cravings you can think of. From Arancini, Polenta, tomato soup, carpaccio, burrata... are all there but with their own flair.

The Carciofi Lucca ($12) were amazing! the tastiest pickled artichoke hearts in parsley, lemon butter, very Pasta al Limone vibes. Can't recommend these enough! you're gonna lose your mind.

Carpaccio di Manzo ($17) was our second choice. All you can expect from a great carpaccio, delicate, thinly sliced, well seasoned, shaved parm... the basil mayo was a nice touch.

If you are a cheese lover, you can go all the way down that road while dining at Lucca. For main courses and by recommendations we ordered one pasta dish and one pizza to share.

This is the Mezzaluna Bosco ($20) little pockets of pasta filled with goat cheese served on cream with cherry tomatoes sauce. Mix a little to make it pink. Silky smooth and delicate and by no means overpowered by the goat cheese.

Now let's talk about pizza. Lucca takes pizza seriously. SO much that they shipped in a 3 ton Stefano Ferrara oven from Italy to make their pizzas the right way. The dough goes through a 3-day long fermentation and proofing process to make it more delicious and surprisingly more gentle on your body. Sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes and no less.

The great and most valuable touch comes from the guys behind the counter, pizza masters that pridefully claim they are making the best pizza in Aruba.

Of course, I had to do the most and order the Imperiale Deluxe (what a name!) which is the most indulging thing I've seen in the shape of a pizza. Burrata, truffle oil, prosciutto, straciatella, arugula and parmesan shavings. You can't tell me you did not get hungry by reading this. It is truly a beauty. And a sin.

The dough is insanely good. The leoparding (culinary term used to call the dark spots in pizza dough) is so beautiful. It is $28 and it is worth every cent.

More drinks to recommend:

The Watermelon Spritz (not on the menu, just ask for it)