Luciano's, Stourbridge

Luciano's in Stourbridge may be tucked down an alleyway but that doesn't stop it doing a roaring trade during lunchtimes and evenings.

The restaurant in Victoria Passage offers a range of mainly traditional Italian dishes but there are also English options as well if you want to play it safe.

Mother and daughter Jane and Sheila Pilla first opened the restaurant in 1989.

They were later joined by Sheila's father Luciano, hence the name, who was at that time a manager at the Lyttleton Arms in Hagley.

He passed over the business to new owner Bakshish Chanina in October 2005 but Luciano is still a well-known figure at the restaurant as he still helps serve the food and happily chats away to customers.

The decor is cosy and adds to the friendly atmosphere - with Luciano himself adding his customary "Momma Mia"as he clears away the plates.

There is certainly something for everyone on the menu and the food is very reasonably priced.

I visited the restaurant at lunchtime with my Chronicle colleague Helen Guy, who having lived in Italy for four years, was the perfect judge for this review.

Casting her eye over the menu she said the dishes were pretty authentic with well-known favourites being spaghetti with crab. The lunchtime menu was superb value at £6.95 for two courses.

I opted for the strawberry melon as a light, tasty starter as I already had plans for dessert after hearing good things about the choices from my colleagues who work in advertising.

Helen opted for the more substantial garlic mushrooms and said they were excellent. Fortunately there was plenty of sauce left over so we asked for some bread to dip in it. I agreed it had a nice taste of garlic and was absolutely delicious.

Next up was the main course and I was pleased, as I had left plenty of room for it.

I had ordered pasta primavera which was a dish of penne served with chargrilled aubergine and courgette, with a creamy tomato sauce. It was simple, but really tasty.

Luciano was on hand to serve parmesan and black pepper aplenty.

Helen plumped for the vegetarian lasagne which was certainly a big enough portion when it arrived. She said the sauce was authentic and managed to finish it all off.

It came with an option called 50/50 which is a side plate of half chips and half salad.

We both picked at this, but could not make much of a dent in it.

Although starting to already feel very full, knowing the desserts were very popular we both decided to forge ahead with the next course.

Helen had the Luciano's raspberry which was an original creation of sponge biscuits, covered with a layer of raspberries, then a mixture of yogurt and whipped cream, topped with brown sugar and chilled.

The verdict - maybe not that light but very good nevertheless.

I took another safe option of cappucino ice cream, as for a lunchtime meal, I was starting to feel well and truly wobbly. To finish we had "Stourbridge" filter coffees, which I guess means not strong like the Italians would drink them.

All in all, we both thought that the food was excellent value and the kind of place that a return visit is almost essential - although an extended lunch hour was needed to fit in the full three courses. Evening meals are on offer for around £6.95 for a starter and just under £10 for a main meal.

All dishes are prepared fresh so customers are warned not to expect service at top speed.

I really think that it's best to sit back and enjoy your food the Italian way.

ADDRESS:

Luciano's Victoria Passage, Stourbridge

Tel: 01384 442119

By Rebecca Jones