On the recommendation of the staff at the Sierra Grande Lodge, we ate Mother's Day brunch at Cafe Bella Luca and found it to be an excellent experience, with the exception of a waitress who was really rather studiously inattentive. The menu had been shortened for the brunch, but there were an adequate number of choices. A request for a slight modification to a menu item for a child brought a "I don't know if the chef is going to want to do that" from the waitress, but the chef ended up being accommodating.

The food itself tasted great and was wonderfully and whimsically presented, and the entire meal was incredibly inexpensive. The best part of it was a dessert called Chocolate Decadence, which LOOKED like a deconstructed Ding-Dong (yes, the packaged cake) but TASTED like ambrosial dark-chocolate mousse molded into a circular shape, atop a berry sauce with a little extrusion of creme alongside (wow).

I would definitely eat there again, I just hope I don't get the same waitress!

I have eaten at Cafe Bella Luca several times and have found the food to be uniformly excellent.

The service the first couple of times was less than sterling but then the cafe had been open only for a week when I first went there. Now with the staff trained and current with the menu offerings, it is first rate.

Chef Byron is extremely accessible and is genuinely enthusiastic and concerned about the quality of the food and service his restaurant provides.

One of the more interesting variations this chef offers is a "deconstruction" of the classic Ceasar Salad. One has to try it because it is so much better than if I were to describe it here.

I have had the chicken marsala and I agree with the other reviewer that it is not the typical marsala. Chef Byron handled the more difficult aspects of this dish with ease and controlled the salt overtones which usually (at least to me) is the most common downfall of this dish.

I am not much of a fish eater, but I tried the Roasted Grouper and after eating it, I almost ordered a second dish of it.

Lamb was on the menu tonight and it was perfectly cooked and the polanta it was served with was the perfect complement to the lamb. The herbs and spices were just aromatic enough to enhance the subtleties of the lamb. The greens which accompanied the entree initially played a great supporting role, but as the dish cooled over the course of dinner, it rose to the forefront and ended up dominating with a slightly bitter overtone; kind of like a jazz sax solo that went on a couple of measures too far.

Hopefully Cafe Bella Luca will be around for quite a long time and I wish them continued success.

This new Italian restaurant, located downtown T or C, was recommended to us by two locals, and for good reason—the food was excellent. The menu includes appetizers and salads, pasta, pizza, and a selection of entrees such as seared salmon, Italian marinated 10 oz. ribeye, and chicken cutlet. My wife had the roasted chicken marsala with mashed potatoes, which she declared to be excellent, in spite of the fact that the “marsala” was unusual. I had standard old spaghetti and meatballs. The pasta was clearly homemade and fresh, the tomato sauce was excellent and four meatballs were included.

We were greeted at the door and stated that we had made reservations. The hostess immediately seated us at a table reserved for us. The ambiance was sparkling new and the service was friendly, prompt, and courteous. The cost of the entrees plus two glasses of wine was $38.