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Longing for a taste of Tuscany? Then head down to Da Luca Italian Restaurant at Goldhill Plaza in Singapore. Owner and chef, Luca Pucciani, had previously helmed the kitchens at Garibaldi and Gunter’s. With that kind of track record, you can be assured the Italian fare offered here would not disappoint.
Opened in October last year, Da Luca serves authentic Italian food. While having a no-frills look, the place has a homely and cosy feel about it. This is definitely not an upmarket Italian restaurant. Décor-wise, it is simple with one side of the wall covered in old bricks and the tables decked with chequered tablecloths.
Chef Luca was born and bred in Italy. After graduating from culinary school, he worked in Tuscany for seven years before venturing out of Italy. He was a sous chef in Australia for one year before coming to Singapore.
The menu at Da Luca is a typical one found in all Italian restaurants. It was divided into various sections such as appetisers, salads, soups, pastas, mains, pizzas and desserts.
The Calamari Fritter Con Salsa Arrabbiata E Salsa Tartara (S$18), which is fried calamari with spicy tomato sauce and tartar sauce as an appetiser, was done to perfection. The calamari was not chewy and the sauce complemented the dish very well.
For spaghetti, we tried the Spaghetti Alle Vongole (S$23), which is spaghetti with clam in white wine sauce, garlic, chilli and parsley. The restaurant was generous with the serving of the clams. The spaghetti was lightly tossed with olive oil and silky smooth ‒ definitely a slurp-worthy dish.
We had the Braciola Di Maiale Con Funghi (S$29), which is grilled pork chop with sautéed mushroom as the main course. The pork was well marinated and the mushroom aroma was infused into the gravy. The meat was also tender and the knife sliced through it effortlessly.
You can’t go into an Italian restaurant without trying the pizzas. The serving staff recommended us the Pizza Con Prosciutto Di Parma (S$27), which is pizza with tomato, mozzarella and parma ham as the topping. The thin crusted pizza here is passable but not outstanding. There were too little ingredients to make an impact.
Desserts at Da Luca are good. Obviously, Chef Luca has not lost his touch as a former sous chef. We tried two types of desserts. The Torta Di Mele Della Mia Nonna (S$10) is an apple tart with vanilla ice cream and almonds sprinkled on top. The tart had a crusty base. Inside, there were thin slices of apples that provided a delightful flavour to it. The apple tart combined well with the vanilla ice cream.
The other dessert we had was the Fondente Al Cioccolato Con Gelato Al Torroncino (S$12), which is molten lava chocolate cake with Torroncino ice cream. The chocolate cream oozed out of the cake when scooped up. Also, the rich lava cake was served warm and when eaten with the ice cream, it was heavenly.
On the whole, the food was good. We were quite surprised that the restaurant was well patronised on a Sunday afternoon. There are plenty of parking lots especially during the weekends as there is no office crowd. Service was efficient.
This is one place you can go and have your meal without feeling out of place if you want to go casual. We were told that during the weekdays, the restaurant is often filled with office workers. Set lunches are available during weekdays.
Address: 1 Goldhill Plaza (Novena)
#01-19/21
Singapore 308899
Opening Hours (Daily): Lunch: 12 pm – 3 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm – 11 pm
Tel: +65-6258-4846
