102 ½ Grove Street
Worcester, Massachusetts
508.756.5014
One of the fun things about doing restaurant reviews in the Westborough Patch is hearing about restaurants not necessarily on the radar.
A note from Julie suggested a review of Lucky’s Café in Worcester. None of my Worcester friends had ever been there, with a couple never even hearing of this 20 year old restaurant.
Julie’s description was intriguing, and very accurate:
It’s in the basement of one of those huge brick buildings and it only serves dinner Fri and Sat nights from 5:00-9:00. They do have daily breakfast and lunch. The food is excellent - an a-la-cart menu. It seats few people and Fri/Sat at dinner there is a man who sings/plays guitar (great stage presence - subdues, pleasant music). I’m told anyone going there should call the restaurant and make a reservation because they almost always fill up totally for dinners. My friends had called in a reservation, and when we got there, around 6:00, there were few people…..but by 6:30-7:00 the place was full. Delightful!
Work schedules prompted a friend and I to head over on a Sunday for brunch. Thankfully, the GPS knew exactly where the restaurant is located. Sitting in the car, looking at Lucky’s Café’s modest sign, I commented, “You could drive by here every day and never know this place was here.”
Parking the car across the street in an unattended parking lot, we noticed some additional signage just before the st
eps. The menu looked great. “Let’s head into the bomb shelter.”
Down the stairs and at the rear of the building is a less than 50 seat restaurant. Brick walls are complemented by wood-grain laminate tops and wood flooring. “A Vermont feel,” declared my friend.
We were quickly seated, and immediate greeted with welcoming coffee on a chilly morning. The regular menu was complemented by a special menu.
We both went for the special menu. My friend wanted the broccoli, cheddar & ham omelet substituting spinach for broccoli. “No problem, we’ll prepare anything you’d like,” was our waiter Peter’s immediate response.
Scali French Toast with pear-strawberry topping“Anything? How about flaming cherries jubilee?” Peter pondered my joking question for a moment, and said he’d have to run out for a moment to pick up some ingredients. Instead, I went with the Scali bread French toast, with pear-strawberry topping. Peter said this was a good choice, one of his favorites.
Looking around the restaurant, we noted it was a youthful crowd. Andy, son of the owners, said the crowd on the weekends is often collegiate with WPI and some Clark students; at lunchtime it’s a bio-tech crowd, and for the evenings it’s a mix.
The walls were adorned with Kathy Hebert artwork, all colorful and all for sale. We like this; restaurants can stay fresh while showcasing interesting art.
The food was worth the wait. The omelet was light and fluffy, my friend exclaimed, “All the ingredients are retaining their flavors – this is fresh.”
Spinach, cheddar and ham omelete
The Scali French toast was….amazing. The Scali bread made it lighter, and the topping was fabulous.
This was a breakfast where sharing was the norm…so the delightful food could be sampled by all.
Both Peter and Andy said they get really busy for their BYOB dinners because everything is prepared fresh….they highly recommend calling ahead.
And the bill for two? $14.39.
There’s an expression in life about “good-fast-cheap”….you can have any two, and not all three at once. Lucky’s Café is great and inexpensive, and go when you have time to let the kitchen create. You’ll leave happy.
And thanks to Julie for sharing this neighborhood gem with the rest of us.
Hours
Breakfast:
Monday through Friday: 8:00 - 11:00 am
Sunday Brunch:
Sunday: 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Lunch:
Monday through Friday: 11:00 am - 2:30 pm
Dinner:
Friday & Saturday: 5:00 - 9:00 pm
with musical entertainment featuring Charles Edward Ketter
Lucky’s Cafe gets a GREEN LIGHT…go and enjoy.
About the RAG scale:
Green Light – Go and enjoy
Amber Light – Use caution
Red Light – Save your time and money
The Author
Gary Kelley has lived in Westborough since 1994. His reviews are what he would tell friends, and are not an academic analysis. You can follow him @glkelley or www.garylkelley.com