Caffe Luna Rosa

Reviews

Name: Starr Hibbert
Occupation:Forensic Psychologist
Lives In: Delray Beach
Restaurant Pick: Caffe Luna Rosa
Reviewed: Caffe Luna Rosa

I always valet when I dine at Caffe Luna Rosa, so I prepared myself to pay for $5.00 parking. As I approached the restaurant, I was happy to see that there was not much of a wait. The host stands in front of the restaurant and he seated me immediately. The restaurant was not very packed, but was well attended. I asked to have a seat that over looked the street; facing the ocean and to my liking, that was possible. My server came over and helped me to narrow my choices down. I chose the Scamponi con Granchio and ordered seltzer water. As I waited on the meal, my drink arrived and the server presented me with a lovely basket of warm bread accompanied by a bowl of fresh garlic in olive oil, the bread with garlic oil is one of my favorite things at the restaurant. I enjoyed that as I people watched, strollers passed by, leaving the beach. Before I knew it, my meal arrived. The plate was absolutely spectacular looking! The colossal shrimp were humungous! My sides were broccoli rabe and crispy polenta. As I tried everything on my plate, all were scrumptious! My server checked on me numerous times. Even though my selection was very delicious, it was such a large portion that I had to take half of it home, which was pretty exciting to me because eating that all over again would be a real treat!

Name: Carmel Gilson
Occupation: Accountant
Lives In: Fort Lauderdale
Restaurant Pick: Shuck N’ Dive
Reviewed:Caffe Luna Rosa

It was a dark and stormy evening. It was 7pm and the rush hour traffic was easing but the rain had delayed everyone. We come from Fort Lauderdale so exited 95 on Atlantic which brought us straight into Delray Beach. Lots of restaurants were buzzing and traffic was at a snail’s pace. We continued on and Caffe Luna Rosa is on the corner of Atlantic and North Ocean Blvd. We pulled into valet and it was pouring rain, too wet to get out of the car, the few seconds it would have taken to run to the restaurant would have soaked us through, making us endure wet clothes and being uncomfortable for the evening. We pulled out and drove around and waited for the rain to ease, in SoFlo style we didn't have to wait too long. We spotted a metered parking space directly across from the restaurant and pulled in there instead of the valet, valet was only $5 with a restaurant validation so both were good choices.

It was still raining but less heavy and we dashed across the road. We were greeted by a few older Italian men who seated us immediately. We had a reservation but it wasn't required. A wet Wednesday evening in October is not peak season. The restaurant was busy and the bar was buzzing, people were having fun. The decor was lovely and would work during the day or in the evening, lots of white tablecloths and square tables. The menu was long and very detailed. Prices were good, appetizers from $5 to $15 and entrees $20 to $30. A few different staff members introduced themselves along with our main server, Stephen. We were included in the restaurant chatter between the staff and customers, all easy going and professional. The service was very fluid and everyone was friendly but not intrusive. There are options with everything and even the water menu has a filter water option at $1 per person, a new one to us. It was a classic Italian menu with lots of food choices, we ordered a glass of bubbles and a cocktail to start, a perfectly made straight up Manhattan arrived. John ordered a meatball starter and I ordered a baby artichoke tempura special. Both were lovely, well made, good quality ingredients and very tasty, either plate would have done to share. Along with the classic Italian theme of Caffe Luna Rosa, the portions were enormous. We decided to order wine by the glass, the wine list was great with lots of great choices and good value too. There were additional wines by the glass in the wine menu and we ordered two glasses of a super Tuscan, in keeping with the generous food portions, the wine was also a very generous pour. For our entrees, I ordered a chicken dish, polo con pancetta with a side of rigatoni and my husband ordered four cheese ravioli. Again, both well-made and tasty, the tomato sauce was delicious and featured in all our dishes. We only made a dent in the dishes as again the portion size defeated us. For dessert we shared a tiramisu, which was very good. I ordered a coffee and John ordered a glass of desert wine, again lots of good quality wine options to choose from and very well trained staff to help us. The bill came to just over $150, which was good for all the food we ate and drinks we drank. We left after a fun evening of catching up and chatting in a buzzy nice restaurant. If it was closer we would definitely visit more as it does the classic Italian restaurant very well, we left wishing that it was our local Italian at the beach.

Name: Ray Gentile
Occupation: Attorney
Lives In:
Restaurant Pick: Gluttonous Goat
Reviewed: Caffe Luna Rosa

The restaurant is located on the ocean in Delray Beach, so my wife and I parked and walked around a bit to work up some additional appetite, as the location is the greatest asset of this restaurant. The establishment itself is very casual and not pretentious at all. It has a real flip flop, lay-back and enjoy the view food vibe but it’s certainly not a dive, as the menu focuses on fresh seafood and pasta dishes with other items such as pizza and salads. The host brought us to our table, which was located outside under an awning right across the street from the ocean, and was perhaps the greatest selling point of the restaurant. Our waitress came and introduced herself and gave us a bread basket (seeded Italian and semolina) with a ramekin of oil poached garlic to wake-up the bread a bit, which was a great start to the meal. I initially ordered the little neck clam appetizer in white wine and garlic but they had just run out of clams unfortunately. The waitress suggested the calamari, zucchini and arugula appetizer, so I followed her suggestion. It was served with San Marzano tomato sauce and Creole/Cajun Aioli. The calamari and zucchini had good texture and were not overly breaded or battered, and the handful of fried arugula mixed into the basket for a bit of color. I preferred the aioli to the tomato sauce, which still had “the tomato straight out of the can” taste because it wasn’t cooked long enough. Next, I ordered the crab meat stuffed “colossal” shrimp. Arguably some of the largest “shrimp” I’ve ever seen, it was basically like eating two stuffed lobster tails. The dish was served with drawn butter, rice pilaf and mixed vegetables. The crab-meat stuffing was the highlight of the dish, not too much breading, plenty of crab….and it spent the perfect amount of time under the salamander/broiler so it had that crispy on the outside, moist on the inside thing going on. We also ordered the Sunday Gravy special which was rigatoni with pork ragout, sausage and I think country spare ribs with San Marzano tomato sauce. The dish was also very large in size and easily had a ½ pound of pork product contained within. The sauce again was a bit underdeveloped, as it could have used a bit more cooking time and perhaps some additional ingredients or more garlic and onion, since the tomatoes had a metallic type taste from the can. Despite the sauce, the sausage was good and the country spare ribs were delicious. The prices were reasonable considering the portion size and quality of the ingredients. I would definitely return to try the brunch and enjoy the view.

Restaurant Information

Location: 34 SOUTH OCEAN BLVD, DELRAY BEACH 33483
Parking: Valet located on Atlantic Ave and A1A
Phone: 561-274-9404
Website: WWW.CAFFELUNAROSA.COM
Restaurant Owners: Fran Marincola, Ernie Deblasi, Bonnie Beer, Nikola Stijak, Marvin Barrera
Executive Chef: Ernie Deblasi 
Pastry Chef: Mariana Hernandez

Type of Cuisine: Italian at night and traditional American/ Italian for brunch 
Signature Dishes: Mediterranean scamponi, veal chop and crab eggs benedict for brunch
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Alcohol Served: Yes
Corkage Fee: $25
Bottle Limit: N/A

Restaurant Hours: 
Monday –7 AM-10 PM
Tuesday – 7 AM-10 PM
Wednesday –7 AM-10 PM
Thursday –7 AM-10 PM
Friday – 7 AM-10 PM
Saturday – 7 AM-10 PM
Sunday – 7 AM-10 PM

Meals Served: Brunch and Dinner daily 
Prix Fix Menu: No
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Delivery Dudes
Average Dinner Price Range (per person, full meal, tax, 20% gratuity, w/o alcohol): $26-55
Average Lunch Price Range (per person, full meal, tax, 20% gratuity, w/o alcohol): $10-22
Payment Options: do you accept credit cards and if so, which ones? AMEX, VISA, MC
Accept Reservations: Yes
Need Reservations: 
How far in advance do you require reservations be made: Few days in advance for primetimes

Accommodations for Children: Children’s menu
Dining Style: Fine Casual
Disabled Access: Yes
Restaurant Size: 1500 SQ Feet
Accommodate Groups: Yes
Private Dining Room: No
Tables with Scenic Views: Yes
Outdoor Dining: Yes 
Entertainment: Yes Tuesdays and Thursdays