Its name is Lucca

But don't expect dinner for a song at this elegant Italian trattoria

by SARAH MUSGRAVE

It's easier to describe what Lucca isn't than what it is, because it's really the absence of a few key things that make this place classy. There's none of the red-velvet frumpiness of old-style Italian restaurants, barely a whiff of the annoying stuckuppityness of the lower St-Laurent strip and no style-over-substance cheapness when it comes to its market-fresh ingredients.

Almost three years old, this Little Italy resto (named for the town in Tuscany, not the Suzanne Vega tune) offers hearty food at heart-stopping prices. Tastefully decorated in sandy shades, with a tiled floor, white tablecloths and black and white photos on the walls, it's certainly a pleasant place to part with your money--although more so if you're used to having it than if you're suddenly flush thanks to a tax return. The menu changes regularly and is written on a chalkboard. Expect to pay about $10 or more for appetizers and at least $20 for main courses. Despite the price tags, the atmosphere is relatively casual.

I'd heard that the glassware was something special and I got a glimpse of some huge hand-blown goblets imported from Italy that retail for about $70 (each!) on Laurier. So I bit the bullet and ordered a $50 bottle of reserve Chianti and waited for the usual dinky wine glasses to be changed. Nothing doing, but I wasn't all that surprised since prices on the wine list range as high as $450.

That said, the service is charming and the staff on both sides of the kitchen are genuinely interested in food. Someone behind the scenes has certainly perfected the art of fried calamari. The batter on this large appetizer portion was divinely light, thin and textured as it clung to the melt-in-your-mouth squid. It was just as good squeezed with lemon or dipped in the herbed tomato sauce that accompanied it. The salad of arugula and parmegiano consisted of pleasantly bitter greens, shards of freshly shaved cheese and a zesty but not too present dressing.

There were a handful of main courses on offer, ranging from filet mignon with porto to a duo de pesce (fish) with grilled vegetables. I opted for the seafood linguine, served with a red tomato sauce that had a nice spicy kick. It was most memorable for the generous amount of clams, shrimp, and cubes of fish--in fact, I kept discovering more and more seafood under the noodles.

The ample serving of risotto con funghi was pleasantly infused with the flavour of porcini mushrooms and admirably walked that line between soupy and solid. My dinner date declared it tasty although perhaps a little less meaty than he was used to.

Our desserts were excellent, even for standards. The tiramisu looked like it had been scooped from a fluffy snow-peaked mountain and sprinkled with fresh raspberries and cacao. The crème caramel was among the creamiest I've had and came surrounded by more raspberries and gigantic blackberries. At this point I'd blown so much money and already been lulled into such complacency that I didn't even ask how much they cost.

Lucca's Italian cuisine was refined and simple enough that I'm not quite sure why it left us as overwhelmingly full as it did. Even the complimentary grappa offered by the friendly host couldn't quite do its job as a digestif: we rolled out of there as helpless as babies. As we lurched south, we passed some strangely fitting graffiti on a side street that read: "The Québécois depend on Italians and Greeks for food, and yet they want independence! Ha ha!"

Restaurant Lucca

Address: 12 Dante E.

Phone: 278-6502

Hours: lunch weekdays noon-3:30pm; dinner 6-10:30pm; closed Sun

Best features: fine ingredients, elegant but casual ambiance

Vegetarian friendly: so-so

Wheelchair access: two steps up

Alcohol: yes

Credit cards: yes

Price: $35 per person before tax, tip or drinks

Rating: HHH out of HHHH