Review La Luca Cucina - Brisbane

I had the breaky Bagel 🥯 special, it was so tasty. Service excellent. I did start eating before I took the pic.

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

Best sandwich I’ve ever had!!! The people working were very lovely and kind, and everything looked fresh and delicious! They do gluten free to! I’d definitely recommend La Luca Cucina!

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

wonderful choice of salads and hot food that you can get either takeaway or dine in. good range of vegetarian and meat dishes too. they also have prepared food like wraps and cakes available. if you’re dining in use the actual plate instead of takeaway container to save some plastic.

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

So great to be able to grab a non pretentious breakfast for a great price with great service. Coffee is excellent too. Highly recommended.

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

Mid week lunch catch up with Brisvegustation. Had a fair amount of decision fatigue lately, so I let him decide where we were to go. Having done a good amount of research, he opted to go to La Luca, a quick little lunch place conveniently situated between both of our workplaces. Arriving at midday, it was definitely busy, but service was very fast, which was definitely necessary for the workday lunch rush.

This is an absolute CBD gem! The quality and variety of the food they offer is outstanding.<br/><br/>Fresh salad and hot buffet on offer every day.<br/><br/>On top of this they offer a range of delicious pre made wraps and homemade sweet treats.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>The service is always reliable and friendly. <br/><br/>Very much recommend!

I go to La Luca Cucina nearly every day. The food is consistently delicious and the staff are always very friendly.<br/>It's so easy to grab a fresh-out-of-the-oven muffin and coffee on the way to work, and at lunch they offer a great variety of hot foods and fresh, healthy salads.

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!

Am absolutely obsessed with this place for my midweek lunches. They were closed over the Christmas break and I was devastated! My colleagues actually joke that I should be paid commissions by the cafe because I'm always raving about it in the office and inviting everyone to come try it! <br/><br/>As a vegetarian I find there are many things to choose from. I'm a sucker for the buffet salads as there's always such variety and they're so fresh, tasty, and inventive. There's also a hot food style buffet with gorgeous home cooked style meals; generally a beef pie, lasagne, roast veggies, steamed veggies, chips and an assortment of other goodies. In the fridge you'll find huge gourmet wraps, sandwiches, and delightful looking brownies and other sweets. Something for everyone! <br/><br/>Would love to know how the chef does it! He/she is incredible and should share their knowledge with me haha!

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!

Best salads in the CBD, I don't know how the chef does it, but every combination is dynamite.  The muffins and slices are amazing too. 5/5 food.

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.

Enjoyed the tuna & grilled vegetable  panini here for lunch. All the ingredients were really fresh & tasty & that is all I require for a quick lunch in town

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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.

There were a variety of options available, I went for the buffet and it was delicious! Amazing salads and the hot food was a cherry on top! My friend had the banana smoothie and loved it

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.

It’s time to start working on those tax returns and I’m unfortunately one of those people who will have to pay the tax man this year (again). Boo!. So while I’ll be tightening my belt, I thought I might share where I score cheap meals in Brisbane city. And when I say ‘cheap’, I mean ‘CHEEEEEEAP’. I love a good bargain, especially when it’s food. Great food doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, so here are my top 5 cheap eats in the Brisbane CBD (read: meals are $10 or less).

This is a great cafe with a completely different take on cafe food.<br/>I  had lunch there every day last week and they have a delicious salad bar and hot buffet section that would show up many 5 star hotels. As it changes every day I find myself taking home meals because it is so easy and better than I could ever make.<br/>Don't try the cakes and brownies unless you want to join a gym as you will be hooked!!  Definitely all made in house and not from the usual mass produced selection out there. <br/>I am not a coffee aficionado but by the queue waiting must believe they are good!

Quick bite. On my way to Queen street I spotted this busy cafe and decided to drop in.<br/>So glad I did as it has become my local haunt.<br/>If its a bit cold I have the delicious homestyle buffet, but lately I have been trying all the paninis and wraps. The best so far is the Grilled chicken TBM, but the wraps are also fresh and tasty. Their banana and honey smoothy is my best as I don't drink coffee, but by the long queue in the mornings it must be pretty good. <br/>Oh and the raspberry white chocolate muffins ruined my new years resolution!

Came in for my usual breakfast the eggs were not to a great standard they were like rubber, the bacon was very over cooked and the hash browns were cold just like all of it really. I don't think I shall be returning standards are hit and miss with no consistency. I'd go for a maccys brekkie instead

Nice little layout but that's as far as it goes. We went for a "hot" lasagne which tasted like it had been there for a few days and just heated again to a warmish temperature. We thought we'd have some salad with it but decided against it as it just looked like anything and everything had been thrown it in didn't look very fresh either. The chef bringing dishes out looked very unhappy like she didn't want to be there. A little hi wouldn't go a miss. Definitely won't be returning there are plenty of other cafés in the area.

Good City Lunch. Good spot for a quick but delicious lunch. Got the deluxe sandwiches on Turkish bread. Delicious. Friendly staff, reasonably priced and food came out nice and quick. Will return.

The Muffins at La Luca are some of the best I have ever had. If you are in the city early they will still be hot out of the oven, 11 out of 10 for the muffins !<br/><br/>Have also tried the wraps and sandwitches and they are also great for a small cafe they get a lot of traffic at luch time so go early to beat the lines.

Scrumptious. Try the Grilled Chicken TBM.... TOO DIE FOR!!!<br/>Reckon the muffins are the best in town especially if you are there by 7.30am. Still hot out of the oven.

Muffins. Best in town

Best value breakfast in town. I regularly go to La Luca for my morning fix as the food is always good and service exceptional...even when busy!<br/>Try the Quick brekkie for $7.95 or Eggs Benedict for $9.95. They really walk the extra mile for everyone...Love the happy faces.<br/>They have hundreds of freshly baked items which are sold out before the end of the day. Must be good...<br/>My only irritation is they are not open weekends!!<br/><br/><br/>-----23 Oct, 2012-----<br/><br/>Luch in the city. Was looking to kill time while my partner was at Bellissima in Edward street choosing an outfit.<br/>I went over to a busy cafe called La Luca and had a divine latte on the street watching the world go by.<br/>I watched as the chef brought bowls of fresh salads and filled a huge hot buffet section and decided I would give it a bash.<br/>Well... well this was just like my mum had cooked. My wife joined me a little later and had a delicious toasted turkish sandwich with smoked salmon and creme cheese. <br/>We will definitely be back!!<br/>Great service and so fresh.

I came. I saw. I ate. I left… Pretty much sums it all up.. La Luca Cucina is a nice looking little spot complete with tables for two right on Edward Street, and inside has a salad bar on one side and a sandwich or sub counter where the staff will make it for you. Although the waitress I was dealing with was fantastic, the manager or owner lacked any personality and was more concerned with me being charged a 50 cent surcharge than to what was really going on around her. The wrap I had was okay but with so many other little eateries around, I’d have to think twice about going back.<br/><br/>I went to La Luca Cucina because of a 25% off coupon I had. Although I was having a late lunch, there was a steady stream of customers coming and going. <br/><br/>One of the girls working was so helpful in that I was having trouble reading the menu as it was up on a board behind the counter and they did not have an actual menu I could pick up and read. The two categories that I did hear about were sandwiches and wraps. I stopped the waitress at wraps so I’m not sure what else was listed or even what the prices were.<br/><br/>I settled on the Crunchy Chicken Wrap which came with lettuce, shredded carrot and I thought she said a sweet chili sauce. I didn’t get to choose any of the fresh toppings they had behind the glass because it was not a sandwich which was too bad as I always like fresh toppings. I misunderstood that the wraps didn’t get this feature but it didn’t overly matter; I just didn’t want to take up any more of the waitress’ time.<br/><br/>Paying with the coupon, the waitress wasn’t sure how to ring it through and the other girl working was busy putting together meals. The manager, and perhaps owner, but I’m not sure, appeared and took my coupon and grumbled to the waitress under her breath “Help someone else”. I asked if I could use my credit card and the manager said yes, but that there would be a 50 cent charge for not hitting the minimum $10. I told her that I had cash instead, but the manager had started speaking to the customer beside me. The waitress I was originally dealing with jumped back in and I gave her some cash. She asked the manager that with the coupon taken off that I only owed $7.50. The manager again grumbled “yes, but don’t forget the 50 cents” and went back to the customer she was dealing with. I said I was paying cash, but the manager was no longer listening. As my waitress was trying to get into the till the manager said again, “don’t forget the 50 cents’. By this time I’d given up saying anything else and my waitress gave me back the correct change.<br/><br/>I sat outside and within about 5 minutes my wrap appeared. It was the same waitress and she said a few pleasantries with a big smile on her face then went back inside.<br/><br/>The “wrap” was not so much of a wrap but rather a soft tortilla folded over and pinned into place with a toothpick, leaving both ends open and after removing the toothpick it basically flopped open. It’s not easy to eat a wrap that isn’t wrapped. Needless to say, it was quite messy.<br/><br/>The crunchy chicken was just breaded chicken that had most likely been frozen. Not homemade, by any stretch of the imagination. I doubt it was even breast of chicken as it didn’t look or taste like white meat, just processed. The amount of chicken was okay but not overly generous, however to fill up the wrap, there was certainly a lot of lettuce. A nice, rich green coloured lettuce, complete with shredded carrot and the distinct taste of Dijon mayonnaise. I thought the waitress had said that there was a sweet chili sauce, but I can’t be sure if that was on there. It felt to me that the lettuce seemed to be a bit gritty, but that wasn’t confirmed until I ate the same lettuce (and shredded carrot) that was a garnish on the side of the plate. It didn’t have anything on it so it was definitely gritty.<br/><br/>Although I had used a coupon, this wrap was regularly $9.95. Was it worth it? I would have to say no, not really. For $10 there are a lot of other places around. And other than my waitress being wonderful and friendly, there wasn’t a lot about La Luca Cucina that seemed overly special. I did notice that during my lunch, there was a lot of regular customers stopping by and getting a coffee to go. I could tell this by the chat and interaction they were having with the staff.<br/><br/>I may come back to try just a coffee, but for a bite, I’ll most likely go somewhere else.

La Luca Cucina is fast becoming my go-to lunch stop whenever I haven’t brought in a home packed lunch. Their bain marie style salad bar is terribly convenient. You simply pick up the appropriate sized container: small (AUD$8.95), medium (AUD$9.95) or large (AUD$10.95), and fill with how much and as many varieties of dishes from either the cold or hot sections. And if you’re anything like me, you’d have learnt the art of stuffing your container. Mine are courtesy of my days working as a waitress in an Asian eatery. The cold section usually has 4 chilled options, which are usually salads. These range from chicken cob or ceasar to a more gourmet low GI brown rice salad or roasted veg with couscous. And there is a larger section of hot food, which ranges from traditional British pub food (eg lasagne, chicken parmigiana, roast sweet potatoes, fish and chips) to fusion Asian for the slightly more adventurous (eg pork belly stirfried noodles, green curry and sticky meatballs). If you don’t kn