we live in Old Greenwich and usually go to our staple restaurants that Bella and Gabriel's Steakhouse. We thought we would try something new on Valentine's Day and it was the worst mistake ever. If you are going to proclaim that you area high-end restaurant then you need your staff and management to act accordingly. Waiters need to be more attentive to patrons needs we had to ask several times for him. For example fresh pepper for Caesar salad we ran out of Pellegrino no one came over and asked if we wanted more to drink just little simple things. When I sat down my silverware I had no fork in my knife was dirty. I must say our appetizers were delicious we were very pleased. when dinner came my husband ordered the short rib it was fabulous. I ordered the filet mignon and lobster tail special medium well. As you can see with a picture I have attached that is nowhere near medium well and the fat and Grizzle in my filet mignon was atrocious and I will relay this to our waiter. At any high-end establishment management would have come over apologized and said is there anything that we can do this was never done. At the end of the evening our waiter was very apologetic and said I tried to get your meal taken off the bill but our manager would not do it she wanted to buy you a dessert or a after dinner drink well we did not want an after-dinner drink. Being a business owner myself I am shocked at how the situation was handled when you are involved in a business when you are dealing with the public for your livelihood, their happiness should be your first priority at least it is in my business I always go above and beyond. The way everything was handled was like we were in a fast food joint. When we told some of our friends that live in Old Greenwich they were not surprised and they had similar experiences. I no this restaurant will not be a staple in our town like Valbella because of how management runs the establishment and it is a shame we will not be coming back indefinitely passing the word on. Remember in any business customer service will make or break your business in the long term. read more

Food was Delicious IMO had a great time really enjoyed it that's all i have to say. Highly recommended

Been a few times and generally very good. Appetizers (and tapas) are exceptional (octopus, italian meat/cheese plate, short rib) while main courses are OK (a little heavy on the salt). Room can get a little noisy from larger central tables and the very large bar area. read more

So i have been eating at the bar for the past few years and really have come to know the bartenders and like the food. i will have to write up a bad recent experience. It was friday happy hour so i realize its busy but the bartender ignored me and served the person near me which was odd since he must have recognized me? anyways a different bar tender, kept serving wine to the drunk guy next to me, who spilled his drink on me and wouldnt leave me alone. WHen i told the young male bar tender that the guy was really drunk, he said "dont worry i will drive him home" and he gave him another pour. well after also not receiving the appetizer i had ordered and seeing that they gave more appetizers to the drunk guy and his friend, i left the restaurant and called the manager later who said he will speak to the bar tender. i said fire him. this is how drunk drivers get on the road. i will still go back to Lugano great food and the other bartenders are nice. thumbs down RIGHT NOW ONLY. read more

First the good; the service was great, very good and professional waitstaff, which is often not the case. Second the decor; very nice, industrial look, but well done and pleasant place to look at. Where it started to go pear shaped was with the food of course, not very good. Sirloin steak could double as shoe leather, I'm not kidding. And I asked for it medium. Then there was this underlying. most unpleasant acoustic to the place - very noisy, perhaps the noisiest restaurant I've ever been in actually. Add to that an atrocious choice of music. Unless they're trying to achieve a Euro disco vibe for diners to endure. Kind of all you could hear (and feel) was THROB THROB BOOM BOOM THROB THROB BOOM BOOM the whole time. Impossible to carry on conversation. It reminded me of that scene in the Bourne Supremacy when the assassin is in the Russian disco/bar/brothel whatever it was. When he learns he hasn't killed Bourne after all. That kind of music, but take away all the top notes, and you're left with just this noise really. They need to fix it IMHO. Oh and do better with the food. read more

Wine was delicious. Bathrooms were impecably clean. Food was a great disappointment. The salad was the only thing that edible. The meatball "flight" was ok. Turkey meatball was boring. It was served cold which we thought was a fluke. Then we got our entrees and the pasta was tasteless and the veal was cold. Sent it all back. Not worth the calories or the cost. We ended up leaving there and stopping at another Italian restaurant... read more

We stopped for lunch on a Sunday. Pretty empty. We had a breakfast dish of eggs that was fine but we had to ask for a fresh pot of coffee as they served us something that had been sitting in a thermal pitcher and was cold and old. They quickly made a fresh pot and that was fine. The chicken scarpiello was delicious but the steak salad was inedible. The steak pieces were chewy and inedible. The salad portion was very small for $19. I should have sent it back but after sending coffee back didn't want to bother. read more

My primary disappointment likely wouldn't matter to the average patron, but I was hoping for something at least Swiss tinged from a place called 'Lugano'. I didn't see a single Swiss beer or wine on the menu, and the waitress seemed genuinely confused when I asked if there were any Swiss favorites. After that, just little things like saying they had certain drinks that they did not (then serving what you did order in spotted glasses), and a slightly unsettling 'guest book' style receipt. Also have never had more people reach entirely across the table in front of people's faces without even a cursory 'pardon my reach.' Our table was cleared and then 20 minutes later we had to awkwardly locate our waitress and ask for a check. Great pasta, decent tapas. Not sure if they have dessert, nobody ever asked if we wanted any. Wish them luck in hitting their stride, but I'm not entirely sure they can. read more

We had our wedding rehearsal dinner in the private room at Lugano. We couldn't have been happier with the food, service, and atmosphere. The price for a four course meal was very reasonable and there was no charge to reserve the room for a private event. The portions were a good size, and the food for 25 people came out together and hot. Everyone was raving about their dinners. Our waitress, Rosana, was sweet, attentive, and fun. We will definitely return and I recommend it for parties. read more

We ordered Cesar Salad and then they charged us $2 extra for anchovies. Whoever heard of such a dumb thing. Shame on them.

The food is awesome. Although probably not as good as Zaza. But the restaurant is far too loud. It's fine for a bar but it's not enjoyable to go and sit for dinner. They should turn the music volume down and put up something to help dampen the sound. read more

This place is TOP notch! We had a company staff New Years gathering this year at this location and I can't imagine we will be going anywhere but here next year! Absolutely a very good place for good food, great service and I highly suggest going here! read more

Recently dined here on a Friday night with another couple. The menu is terrific. We did a few rounds of all the different tapas and nothing disappointed. The lamb chops were among my favorites and the grilled calamari. The atmosphere inside is beautiful. However I found the service both at the bar and our table to be unsatisfactory. At the bar we arrived, the bartender wasn't busy and he didn't acknowledge us. We were ignored for quite some time and others were acknowledge and served before us. We were seated fairly promptly. Our server was not friendly and didn't know wine menu, which I don't find fault with except bring a staff member by our table that would be able to answer our questions. The rest of the meal he was slow to return and overall didn't offer us the service that is found among other restaurants in town. The worst part was all four of us who ate here that night were sick that night and the next day! read more

I hesitate to write as Lugano is a gem and sometimes such places are best kept a secret. That said, I have great respect for the chefs and servers and it is only fair that they be recognized: Lugano is an excellent neighborhood Italian--solid food at reasonable prices served expertly. The ambient noise can be a bit high on the weekends but to my mind this is largely a function of a lot of people having a very good time. The wine selection is good and the pricing is refreshingly reasonable. read more

I've been meaning to try Lugano's for a while after hearing positive things about it from a friend and finally got a chance to try it last night with my wife. We arrived around 7pm with no reservations and seated promptly. The service was quick and friendly right from the start. The food was all 5 stars, from the cured meat and fresh mozz appetizer to our meals, I had the gnocchi which was absolutely out of this world, my wife had angel hair primavera pasta. Can't wait to go back again, I think we've found a new favorite restaurant. read more

Heard so many good things about this place, we decided to go for my birthday. Took about 10 mins before our server actually came to table to greet us. Not a good way to start off having worked in the restaurant industry myself. We started with some tapas of cheese, meats and olives. The portions were huge! Wish our server had informed us as we were only a party of 2. We brought most of it home. House salad and Cesar salad was very fresh and flavorful. Portion was a nice size. Not too big. Entrees of the Balsamic pork chop and macaroni with bolognese was outstanding! Ordered the chocolate lava cake for dessert which was sufficient. The only disappointment was the server was lacking attention. I will say the food runners were very attentive to us and we would ask the runners for anything we needed. We will definitely visit again. Just hoping to have a more attentive server. read more

The service the food the atmosphere was excellent appetizers wine entrées everything was spectacular

Absolutely Delicious! Attentive Smart Staff (they watch you from a distance and notice if you dropped your fork, need another napkin, etc with hovering) Ordered the Chopped Salad which is a composed salad of Hearts of Palm, Tomato, Corn & Avocado, beautiful presentation, The Insalata di Casa which is their House Salad. Fresh, Delicious! and a dozen little neck clams, ice cold & really fresh. Sat outside in the back in a tiny area but very comfortable. Can't wait to go back. read more

Terrible food and service! Also, chairs are super uncomfortable-- This place is a must miss.

Dropped in on a rainy day after a movie, looking for a glass of good wine and a quick bite. Loved it as soon as we walked in. Awesome bar and equally awesome wines by the glass. The apps we ordered were very good and really liked the whole vibe of the place. Waiting to dine there before we give it 5 stars. read more

The bottom line is that this restaurant has outstanding food. I highly recommend eating a bunch of tapas for dinner. We really enjoyed the lamb chops and shrimp. My only complaint is the noise level of the restaurant. It was so loud that it was hard to carry a conversation with out feeling like we were yelling. read more

Thought this place was great! Started off with the Cucumber Moscow mule, very refreshing. Ordered the Brussel sprouts, crustini, and a meat dish. All came as they were ready, which I prefer more since I was starving! All were very good. Ordered spaghetti with clams and that was very good and filling!! True devine flavors, all tasted very fresh. Waitress was very attentive. I will be back soon! read more

I want this place be successful (not a great track record for this location) so I am giving it 4 stars. The quality of food here is very good but not spectacular. For tapas, the brussel sprouts were delicious - slightly charred and with a tiny bit of sweetness. The fried calamari was a little too thin and overcooked. I've had much better. I had the branzino which was perfectly cooked. Very tasty with lots of thyme, rosemary and capers. Never thought I'd say this, but it was way better than the branzino at Cafe Silvium. My dining companions had the short ribs (excellent but could have used more of the red wine reduction) and pastas - cavatelli and fettuccini. Both were cooked al dente and flavorful. There was a kitchen mix up so my entree came out about 20 minutes after the others but the management did the right thing and took it off the bill. Nice! The main dining area is loud with a very mixed crowd - senior citizens visibly annoyed by the noise and spandex'd young women with skyscraper heels who had a couple of drinks too many and contributing to the noise. I would definitely go again but get I will try to snag a table in the quieter separate room with table cloths. read more

If 3.5 was a choice, that's what I would rate Lugano's. The appetizers were just okay, they didn't meet our expectations. The Mac and cheese lacked flavor and we had to add extra salt to make it more flavorful. The grilled octopus was suppose to come with cannellini beans and it had 2...literally. We also got a burrata, which was missing a drizzle of oil and balsamic vinegar. Our entrees though were better...we got chicken parm, penne vodka, short rib and the shrimp and scallop marechiara. Everything was good except that I my shrimp and scallop marechiara was too salty...I felt they dumped salt to just give it flavor. Also, I asked to substitute the pasta with a different vegetable and they were unable to do so for the same price so the waitress said she'll give me "extra" spinach...the pile of spinach was so small, I'm not sure it included that "extra". Overall, Lugano was good but not sure I would return soon...both the food and service were just okay. read more