La Luca Cucina

This is an absolute CBD gem! The quality and variety of the food they offer is outstanding.

Fresh salad and hot buffet on offer every day.

On top of this they offer a range of delicious pre made wraps and homemade sweet treats.

On top of that they have a sandwhich and salad bar where you can order a sandwhich or salad off the menu or customise your own.

The service is always reliable and friendly.

Very much recommend!

Hands down best muffins in Brisbane (and believe me, I've looked). I usually visit La Luca at least once a week to grab something for breakfast, and they never disappoint. Everything is decently priced and fresh, and the staff are so lovely. I'd also highly recommend the chocolate banana bread, toasted croissants and brownies!

Delicious takeaway breakfasts here with great service - most mornings there is a different variation of quiche available (all good). Excellent muffins and the ham and cheese croissants are nice and fresh but I also love their vegetarian wrap which comes toasted with egg, avo, spinach, mushrooms, halloumi, hash brown and a yummy relish. This morning I added bacon!

I enjoy their variety of food at the salad / hot bar, for it is always different and the flavours are delicious. I have taken friends there for lunch and they have also enjoyed on many occasions. For a quaint cafe, it has also boomed with success and has great coffee.

This place is quite small from a look on the outside, plus it is pretty plain to see. Okay, this is not going to go down as one of the best overall, but when short on cash it can be utilised to be one of the biggest winners on your behalf - mostly because of the numerous bain maries with hefty servings of numerous types of dishes. It has willfully gained a following in town, and it is easy to see why.

Going here a couple of times, the first time around was when meeting a friend as per usual in the city, and with her being busy and this place not being to far from where she was it was the chosen one. With the second one, I figured it worked the best since it was nearby where I had some business that day, and thinking ahead to a weight training session this was perfect to get a whole lot of energy efficiently and for a decent price.

The major attraction of this place is their buffet. Heaps of office workers from all around the nearby buildings come here around lunch-time filling in the different sized containers with their choosing from the selection. Either that, or a choice of two plate sizes to select and pile up the foods where seen put. Keep in mind, this is a one-trip affair so if you are feeling really hungry just put as much on as possible and pile it high - that's what I did. Take your plate, go up and pay, then find a table and enjoy. That is the extent of service beyond clearing the table to what I know.

If the buffet does not sound appealing, they also have sandwiches - made on either Turkish bread or a pannini - salads, and wraps to eat, all which are freshly made to order. As well as that, there is a range of drinks. That is the usual kinds: coffee, tea, milkshakes and all that. In addition, a few sweets are in the cabinet. This fare is quite wholesome and inexpensive - there is a niche that is being filled here.

What they have on the buffet varies upon the day, and fresh batches are always being cooked in the back kitchen. Half of the bar consists of salad, which I myself gleefully bypass to get to the hot stuff. Between the two times, the hot items have included a beef lasagne, some penne pasta with a bacon-cream sauce, Italian style meatballs, roasted sweet potato, cheese rosti, fried chicken, beef croquettes and a potato bake. Those are at least the ones that I piled onto the plate, but there is plenty of other options including a curry here and there, some fries, mixed fresh vegetables and all that. You can give it credit at least that changing often is a way to bring customers back.

Overall, it is not bad and there is a good range of flavours on board. There were one or two items that were not up to scratch - namely the sweet potatoes which might have needed a bit more cooking. This lasagne is up to standards of some Italian restaurants that I have been to, and by that I mean mid-range Italian restaurants. The meatballs were tasty and made with some solid quality beef. To be honest, I often become a sucker for the fried snacks - and the pieces of chicken, as well as croquettes and araccini balls were all hot and tasty; this was deep frying done right. Pasta dishes were cooked al dente, and the proportions were more sauce heavy than usual. What is to be expected is filling food that is decent quality, nothing really else on that front. I have managed to try the coffee from here, and it is not half-bad. I forget what kind of coffee they offer, but the doppio that I had was strong and hit the spot.

Even if this place is far from the best quality, what is not deniable is the potential in value for money. I must have walked by here so many times within the years, and during that time a fair bit of it was as an unemployed student - all that I am saying about that was why did I not think about going here in all that time, being able to eat a lot, looking after finances and get a surplus of energy for when I have weight training sessions? Far from great with the food quality, and a lot of it is really serve yourself. As far as considering what it is goes, it does well enough. It would normally not get around that high, but a 4.0 will hold it in accord for convenience, quality and value.

If I'm a hungry hippo at lunchtime, my No.1 CBD go-to is La Luca's buffet/salad bar.  A large tub with a mix of salad and hot Asian, Mexican and European selections will take away those hunger pains and still give you change from a 10'er.  The staff are super friendly too - all in all a really welcoming and satisfying experience.

Service was amazing, staff were super lovely and kind. Food was plated so beautifully, coffee was smooth, rich and creamy. 10/10 recommend

Delicious sandwich and good coffee. Very friendly helpful service. Highly recommend.

La Luca is an office favourite. Great range of fresh food, good prices, and friendly service.

Lovely eggs. Good coffee, a little strong bitter for some. Mine was fine. Nice bacon. Generous serving. Friendly staff.