Buca di Sant'Antonio

About Buca di Sant'Antonio

Buca di Sant'Antonio is one of the oldest restaurants in Lucca, with a history that runs back to 1782, set on Via della Cervia a few steps from Piazza San Michele in the walled historic centre. The dining rooms are hung with old copper pots and pans and the cooking is rooted in Lucchese and wider Tuscan tradition rather than reinvention — handmade pasta, slow-roasted meats and the city's own specialities. It is listed in the MICHELIN Guide and remains a benchmark for traditional dining inside the walls.

For the rest of Lucca's table, compare the refined cooking at Antica Locanda di Sesto, the long-running Ristorante Giglio or the modern All'Olivo. For the category, see our Italian guide.

The Kitchen

The kitchen cooks Lucchese and Tuscan classics with a steady hand. The signature plate is tortelli lucchesi al sugo — meat-stuffed pasta in a tomato-and-meat sauce that is the city's own — and the other landmark is the spit-roasted capretto, or kid goat, cooked with herbs until tender. Around them sit handmade pastas (ravioli, hare pappardelle, tagliolini with truffle in season), garmugia, the Lucchese spring vegetable soup, and braised meats such as veal cheeks. A full dinner for two with salad and coffee runs around €99, putting it in the mid-to-upper range for Lucca — fair for cooking this rooted and a room this old.

The Room

The setting is the draw as much as the food: low ceilings hung with gleaming copper pots and pans, white cloths and a warm, slightly old-fashioned formality that suits the building's age. It is romantic without being stiff, and the service is practised and traditional. The location, just off Piazza San Michele inside the city walls, makes it an easy walk from anywhere in the historic centre. Tables fill — particularly in season and at weekends — so book ahead, and dress smart-casual to match the room's quiet sense of occasion.