A Lovely Late Lunch at La Lucciola

We'd heard so much about La Lucciola while we were researching for this trip... the beautiful beachfront location, its fresh fruit granitas, the fancy brunch specials... that we knew we just had to squeeze in a visit no matter what! So after a bit of incredible spa time at Jari Menari, we headed up to La Lucciola for a late lunch and we're happy to report that La Lucciola met all of our expectations and then some!!

the view from our table at La Lucciola

There was an ongoing temple ceremony at neighbouring Petitenget temple so all the gamelan playing from next door made crossing the bridge to La Lucciola even more surreal than it already was for us!

La Lucciola sits on beautiful Seminyak Beach, so from wherever you're seated, you get this gorgeous view of just this wide expanse of sand and sea, hampered only by a few coconut trees standing guard in front of the restaurant. We chose to sit upstairs on the mezzanine for an even better view!

a view of horses on the beach

that's right... horses!

We were given our Drinks & Lunch menu as soon as we were seated and we immediately zeroed in on the granitas. The Mister had the Strawberry & Guava Granita and I had the Mango & Tangerine (both at Rp30,000) while the Little Boy ordered a glass of fresh Strawberry & Watermelon juice (Rp30,000).

our granitas & fresh fruit juice

These were excellent granitas! Perfect for a hot afternoon in Bali! I would trek the beach to La Lucciola every single day for these granitas! Served on big glasses set on saucers to catch the overflow, the granitas were the perfect balance of ice and freshly squeezed fruit goodness!

the Mango & Tangerine Granita

the Strawberry & Guava Granita

the Strawberry & Watermelon juice

While the Strawberry & Watermelon juice was also good, it did not hold up to just how refreshing the granitas were. The Little Boy kept stealing sips from my glass throughout our meal and ended up finishing my Mango & Tangerine Granita!

taking sips from his drink...

...before he decides he likes my drink better!

For lunch, we went for a light meal and ordered the Calamari with Tangy Lemon & Dill Mayonaisse, Rocket & Balsamic (Rp58,000) for me and the Risotto with Balinese Duck, Porcini Mushrooms, Spinach & Roasted Hazelnuts (Rp98,000) for the Mister.

butter & bread before the food arrives

I was a bit disappointed with the calamari's small portion but taste-wise, it was great. The calamari went perfectly well with the arugula and just the light seafood lunch with my granita just made for that perfect beach lunch!

Calamari with Tangy & Dill Mayonaisse,
Rocket and Balsamic

The risotto with the Balinese duck was the clear winner here though! It was soooo good! The porcini mushrooms, the duck, the roasted hazelnuts all gave to that earthy, rich risotto goodness!

Risotto with Balinese Duck, Porcini Mushrooms,
Spinach & Roasted Hazelnuts

The Little Boy ordered a plate of Penne Pasta with Cream & Bacon (Rp59,000) from the Kids' Menu that we found a tad overpriced, but he liked it very much and finished it right away so we didn't mind.

the Little Boy's Penne Pasta with Bacon & Cream

For dessert, we had their Apple Tarte Tatin A La Mode in Caramel Sauce (Rp75,000) and a small cone of Chocolate Ice Cream (Rp36,000) for the little boy and a small glass of Caffe Latte (Rp28,000).

the Apple Tart Tatin with Caramel Sauce & Ice Cream

a cone of homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

The Apple Tart was heavenly, bathed in all that caramel! And just the warm apple tart paired with the ice cream made it the perfect end to the meal! They've got very good coffee, too, a nice pick-me-up before we go on the rest of our day-tripping!

my Caffe Latte

For lunch + dessert + coffee + granitas, our bill came to a little more than a whopping Rp500,000 / $55 after 5% service charge and 10% Gov. Tax was added so it turned out to be a pricey lunch for us! But I think that while you can maybe have food as good as theirs at lower prices somewhere else, the beautiful view at La Lucciola is what makes the whole dining experience worth it. So while it was a bit of a splurge for us, we found that it was well worth every Rupiah! Our late lunch at La Lucciola really stood out as one of the best dining experiences we had in Bali!

Another plus? When you've had too much to eat, Seminyak Beach is literally steps away and perfect for a nice after-meal stroll. :)