Open Sunday - Thursday: 8:00am till 1:30am. Friday: 8:00am till 2:30pm.
Motzai Shabbat: Open one hour after Shabbat till 12:00 midnight. Closed Shabbat.

Revised April 2018
Luciana restaurant is situated on the top floor of the Mamila center, just above the Mamila amphitheater. There is a glass elevator and an escalator in the Fox shop that takes you right up to the top floor. Luciana boasts one of the best views in Mamila. Ask to be seated at the round table facing Migdal David. From there you'll have a picture postcard view of Mamila and the Old CIty walls.

The Best, Amazing Desserts

Let me start at the end, which is actually where you will be when you enter the restaurant. At the entrance is a glass case of gorgeous desserts, beautifully displayed, like jewels. This is a promise that whatever else happens, your visit to Luciana is going to end well.

Luciana Restaurant is designed to look like an Italian Piazza, and it works. You'll feel that you are in an Italian street scene on a movie set. There are trees and a fountain inside the restaurant, all around a shiny inviting well-stocked bar. Some sections are raised and separated by wrought iron banisters. Other sections are on wood flooring. A brick path delineates the areas. There are small one-table porches that overlook the main Mamila thoroughfare.

The look is Italian but the architecture is Ottoman. The restaurant is constructed from two heritage buildings. When we asked about it, they brought out a book with photos of the building during Ottoman times. This, you've got to see. There are also photos showing the original Jewish family that lived in this building, and we understand that they visit the restaurant occasionally.

The history is not the only impressive aspect of this restaurant. In addition to the history, we were impressed both with the food and the service. The menu is varied and portions are generous. We especially appreciated having the table cleaned between courses and a new set of silverware provided. The menu is available in English and the staff speak English. The menu starts with a fine selection of breakfast dishes and then fixed price lunches. You can select from the many other menu items throughout the day.

eLuna Revisited Luciana Restaurant March 2018
eLuna revisited Luciana in Mamila. This restaurant just keeps getting better. We have enjoyed this restaurant in the past, but on this visit we felt that the food and the service were better than ever.

You can't keep a soup man down, so perusing the menu my companion was immediately attracted to the Gazpacho. The Gazpacho was a thick soup with slices of cucumber, parsley and other herbs. This cold soup made a cool and refreshing starter.

Which are the Luciana signature dishes? We asked Joseph, the attentive manager of the restaurant. Red beet tortellini in a red sauce with Goat Cheese is a point of pride and one of Luciana's most popular dishes. This is a heavy pasta dish, that should be shared. We loved the unique kashkaval cigars almonds and Mascarpone cheese.

Main courses include a nice selection of fish. pasta dishes, salads and pizza. We thought we had chosen from the menu when the waitress came along and recited the specials of the day. These were so enticing that we forgot all about our choices and went for the fish special: salmon fillet served on a bed of gnocchi. The fish was perfectly prepared and with the gnocchi was delicious.

What is an Italian restaurant without its pasta and pizza? The selection of Pastas is impressive, but don't miss the section of specials with unusual ravioli dishes and tortollini, gnocchi and home made lasagna. There is also gluten free pasta.

Luciana has an open kitchen, and I could not resist peeking into the hub of all this great food. If you also take a peek you will be pleased to find a clean well-run operation. You may also meet Eyal, "the legendary pizza man." He has been making the restaurant's pizzas from the start.

Another key person in this operation is the amazing pastry chef who without a doubt presents the worlds greatest desserts on site. These pastries are not available elsewhere, but the restaurant will pack em' up for you to take home.

Luciana is a great place to enjoy a full meal, but this restaurant is also a place to take a shopping break. Enjoy a cuppa and dessert, or maybe a cocktail. From its popularity, we advise calling for reservations in advance. The restaurant can host parties of up to 70 guests.

From the Menu: Focaccia Caprese with sea salt, zatar, tomatoes and buffalo Mozarella NIS 44. Beet and goat cheese tortellini NIS 52. Kashkaval cigars nis 46. Fish dishes NIS 120. . pizza nis 64 - 72, pasta nis 64 - 79.

From Our Readers

Date: April 13, 2015. Submitted by: Sara Rotenberg. Description: Don't forget to bring cash! I was very surprised to be told by our waitress that Luciana charges a 12% surcharge when paying with a credit card. Unbelievable!

Date: October 24, 2013. Submitted by: shiny. Description: My husband and I went to Luciana's in Mamilla with an eluna voucher that we were given as a gift. We were there for lunch, and, walking in, it was lovely. The decor and ambience were very pleasant, and I was looking forward to our meal. We checked that we could use the voucher for the set meal, and were told yes.

As an appetiser, my husband ordered the polenta with mushrooms and parmesan, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and I ordered the caprese salad, with tomato, basil, mozzarella and olives. It was tasty, but there were no olives in my salad.

We both ordered the tuna for main course, with a glass of wine from the business lunch menu. It came on a bed of green beans, with a lemon relish on top. My husband really liked it, but the inside of my fish was raw and cold. When I told the waiter, he tried to convince me that it was supposed to be rare-medium. I pointed out that there is a difference between cooked rare-medium and being cold and uncooked. They took it away and re-cooked my fish. By the time it was returned, my husband had almost finished, and my fish had been replated, missing half my beans. We shared a chocolate tart for dessert, which was delicious.

When the bill came, we noticed that not only had the dessert not been added to our bill, but that they had charged us full price for the glasses of wine, which we had ordered from the business lunch menu. The bill ended up being about 20 shekel lower than it should have been. We pointed this out to the waiter, who told us that the extra wine charge cancels out hte dessert non-charge, and just to pay what's there and not worry.

The food was tasty, and the service is pretty good, but I don't think I'd rush to eat there again.