Rarely in my dining experience has there been such a dramatic disconnect between the ambiance of a restaurant and its quality in food. Luciano’s House is a relatively new restaurant in Charlotte Amelie, so new that the taxi drivers in town do not know where it is and had to be instructed about its location because so few tourists have gone there. This is not without reason, as my mother and I were the only tourists eating at this place during dinner. The place seemed to be particularly popular with the local Dominican population, and there was some Spanish music as well as a lot of Spanish conversation in the restaurant from the staff as well as customers. By and large the ambiance of the place was a bit unwelcoming, with the music loud enough that talking over it was quite an effort, with wait staff that were dressed like ladies of the night (even though some of them brought their children), as well as loud and cursing customers, and some truly terrible music from a DJ Calvin who ought to have disguised his production credits rather than bragging about them.

Yet it must be admitted that the food and service at this restaurant are quite great. The place offers takeout as well as dine-in, and they have a fantastic chicken soup that is a full-sized meal for a very reasonable price. They also offer savory salad options, as my mother and I both ended up separately with the same salmon salad via different means. The meal was a bit interrupted by some electrical problems (more on that later), but a backup generator provided light and even music, which gradually became better. Overall, this is a restaurant that offers a lot of promise when it comes to tasty food options at reasonable prices, but its ambiance will likely turn off a great many people, unfortunately.