This Luca2 Zurich Restaurant Review is one of our several Zurich and Switzerland reviews and articles. See all posts tagged Switzerland.
Luca2 is the eponymous restaurant of its two Italian owners, Chef Luca Ronzani and Sommelier Luca Todaro.
Luca2 Location and Hours
Luca2 is located at Asylstrasse 81, which is a short walk from Römerhof Station (trams 3, 8, 9 and 11, funicular 25) and an even shorter walk from Hölderlinstrasse Station (trams 3, 8, 9). Count on about 15 min. from The Dolder Grand (20-25 min. if walking), or about 20-25 min. from the Park Hyatt Zurich.
Luca2 is open Tuesdays-Saturdays for dinner from 6:30pm-midnight, and also for lunch Tuesdays-Fridays 11:30-2pm, closed Sundays and Mondays. Since the restaurant is popular among locals, I recommend a dinner reservation during peak dining times and Fridays and Saturdays.
Luca2 Seating and Ambience
When we arrived for our 6:30pm dinner reservation, there were a couple tables already seated, one of them an extended family and another a couple, both Swiss.
We were warmly greeted and seated by Luca Todaro, one of the owners, who also obligingly translated the menu for us, as the dishes are in Italian and German. If you want to avoid a touristy restaurant, this is a great choice, since there isn't even an English menu.
Luca2 Menu and Food
Luca2's menu is modest in size, with 5 appetizer choices and 7 main course options on the night we dined.
After deciding, we enjoyed some of the whole grain bread with olive oil. It's uncommon to be served whole grain bread at an Italian restaurant in Italy or the U.S., but given how good whole grain breads are in Switzerland, I was happy for the change of pace.
We were also served a fresh basil and spinach soup amuse bouche, which all of us enjoyed.
The Gazpacho Andaluz, which I ordered mainly to ensure that we had some vegetables as part of our meal, was excellent, with a bit of a spicy kick that my husband and I loved (our son, not so much).
The creamy goat cheese with pear and dabs of raspberry coulis was delicious as well–we just wished there were a few more of them, given the CHF 21.50 price.
One of Luca2's specialties is the sauteed octopus with olives, tomatoes and young potatoes. The octopus was tender and cooked perfectly, and it was a fantastic dish; again, though, we'd have appreciated more of it.
Our son wanted this pasta dish, which sounded a little boring (Pasta Fregola Sarda is Sardinian couscous, similar to pearl couscous in that it's round pasta) and Luca described it as cooked with vegetables and Scamorza cheese. That said, the smoked Scamorza really made the dish so satisfying.
We didn't order any dessert, but were presented this trio of dark chocolates with the restaurant's name, a welcome sweet ending.
The Verdict
We really enjoyed the warmth and delicious dishes at Luca2, it felt much more like a favorite neighborhood haunt than the restaurants most visitors are likely to encounter in Zurich. My favorites were the sauteed octopus and the pasta fregola with smoked scamorza cheese, but the gazpacho and the creamy goat cheese with pear were delicious as well. My only criticism is that I'd love for the dishes to be slightly more generous in portion size, particularly the octopus, which seemed a little small given the CHF 45 price.
What's your favorite Italian restaurant in Zurich?
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