This restaurant is amazing. We were visiting family in this small quirky town and decided to go out to eat. The Bella Luca is a new restaurant in town so we decided to try it. We couldn't believe the caliber of restaurant that it is, as is is located in a small town, as I mentionned before. The food is italian style, but not the boring spaghetti and meatballs and greasy pizza that you might think. Everything is a fresh, mouth watering, piece of art. We were starving when we arrived so we ordered the fried calamari and capri salad as appetizers. They were both delectible, the capri salad had fresh buffalo mozzarella and beautiful tomatoes and a house made balsalmic reduction with fresh basil, it left us excited to see what our entrees would entail. The calamari was unbelievably fresh and was accompanied by the most delightful sauce I have ever experienced that included roasted garlic and red pepers, yumm, to the last bite.
I think that I would have been happy with just that, we were so amazed at the quality of the restaurant, which compares to some of the best restaurants that I have been to in the city, but what a unique gem it is to find in the middle of the desert in New Mexico, what a treat.
We decided to order a bottle of wine with our meal and chose a bottle that truly blew us away. It was among many Very well priced fine quality wines that they had on the menu as well as fun, cool and unique beers. The bottle that we got was called the Stratton Lummis and the waitress told us about its interesting story. It comes from an undisclosed vineyard in Napa Valley from which hundred dollar bottles of wine are sold . The producers of this wine got a contract with the vineyard a long time ago, so they are selling excellent wine at incredilble prices. Ours was only $48!!!
We didn't think that is could get any better until our entrees arrived. I ordered the sea scallop risotto on the recommendation of the waitress. I could have died and gone to heaven right there!! The scallops were the size of golf balls, and again they were FRESH!! wow they came over a creamy risotto with asparagus and a beurre fondu that made me want to lick the plate. My husband ordered the Frutti di Mar which had the largest shrimp that I have ever seen as well as clams, mussels, and squid. The sauce was divine with a hint of spice. My sister orderd the filet. It was cooked to perfection and topped with carmelized onion, garlic and a roasted red pepper chutney. It had the most beautiful array of rainbow swiss chard next to it and "smashed" potatoes that had hints of garlic and lots of butter. We couldn't get enough. Her husband ordered a classic with Chef Byron's twist, the Rigatoni Bolognese. He told us on the way over there that a friend told him "I would eat a dirty shoe with that sauce on it." And it truly lived up to its reputation. They also had food for the little ones including chicken cutlets that they call fingers, mac and cheese, grilled cheese and a few other things, that made all of the kids happy. We couldn't leave without tryig the deserts which included a light beautiful fresh fruit cream tarte and vanilla bean creme brulee that were both out of this world!! How could we resist when the waitress offered organic espresso roast coffee go with our desserts? It was the best coffee that I have ever had. And it's nice to know that this place cares about the environment, they do organic and free range as well as ecofriendly to go products, and straws!! how cool.
They also have delightful pizzas, which we tried the next day at lunch time. They are cooked in a brick oven and are oh so good, especially the grilled pizza with a crispy crust, the dough was grilled and topped with garlic sauce, carmelized onions and goat cheese. It is the pizza for any gourmande like me. It was a sunday so they were serving brunch, which is also unbelievably delicious. The menu included things like prosciutto wrapped fruit, eggs florentine, brioche french toast, Byron's biscuits and gravy (oh my god) and much more!! All in all this place was fabulous and it is like a diamond in the rough. If you are ever near this area make the detour. It's only a few hours from Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and El Paso and there are a couple of great places to stay (did I mention they have hot springs??) It is most definetely worth the trip. And would make a great weekend getaway location.

This may not be the best Italian restaurant you have ever been to, but it is a GREAT addition to the local choices. We have been there 4 or 5 times now and ordered something different almost every time and have rarely been disappointed. Prices may be higher than average for this little town, but are not the highest, and we think are quite reasonable for what it offers--a refreshing and well-done change of pace! Yaaay, variety!

While we do wish Chef/Owner Byron would put just a little more sauce on the Pasta Alfredo and Marsala, the flavors are divine; and the portions of the pasta dishes are large enough that we always bring some home for later (that's when we add a little milk or sour cream before 'waving it.) Their Italian Grinder was very tasty on Foccacia bread; the fried calimari was excellent the first time and pretty good the second (once again, by far the best in town; it's all relative, isn't it?) One time I had the crabcake as my dinner entree, and though a bit small for the price, was delicious and was served on a good amount of fresh mixed greens. All there appetizers seem to come on a nice bed of FRESH mixed greens. Add to that the pre-ordering petit serving of olives, bread & olive oil, and I was so full that I took home more than half my dessert. The espresso was a real treat.

Oh yes, love the salads and desserts! No iceberg lettuce! Truly Mixed Green (organic, I do believe). Cafe Bella Luca opened just a few months ago, and these folks are working hard and doing better all the time. They need your support for us ALL to be able to continue to enjoy what they have to offer.

We just returned from T or C and had a wonderful meal at Bella Luca. There was nothing to find fault with. The service was excellent and the food outstanding. We had the fired calamari for an appetizer and were pleasantly surprised. A wonderful blend of cheese, peppers, calamari, a little olive oil. We both had the grouper for our entree and just as our waiter described it was a firm fish served over smashed potatoes. This sounded unusual but was delicious. The fish was topped with capers,peppers, and some other wonderful ingredients. You could have squash or spinach as the vegetable and they were both cooked to perfection. Dessert was a creme brule and this was also superb. Also a great selection of beer and wine.
We couldn't have been more pleased with this restaurant!

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!