Ristorante Celide, Italia In Lucca

Really good seafood restaurant once you get to understand the menu and the tech, and indeed the booking credentials, but restaurant staff did not seem to want to engage, to speak any English, or at least did not want to trust their English, were not lighthearted in their approach to us, and rightly or wrongly that made us feel a tad unwelcome. Also, the booking process was odd. Booked in to the restaurant by our hotel next door, at first it was, "Oh well we only have a table for you in the courtyardoutside", (it had been raining), or maybe they they were not keen on us nor English in general? Clapton fans had just left and roadies for the next concert were 'teambuilding' over dinner all over the place, so maybe their nerves were on edge. The QR code provided to cope with the translation of the menu to English (and presumeably other languages) proved a problem: Reception of internet, bad eyesight, bad lighting, and a menu which turned out to be a menu devoid of specials was difficult to understand. I understand it is my fault for not understanding Italian and several other languages in the world, though I do have a few, but the menu seemed incomprehensible to me, and selection was made more difficult by shy service. There were clearly specials but could not understand what was offered, so that old adage, "I don't understand everything on the menu, but there is something on the menu I do understand so I'll just go for that!" was in play. This turned out to be a great shame, as it was my birthday treat, they knew that, but I then had to sit and watch my (in my head) magnificent lobster 'market special' waft past me on its way to someone else, I was understandably cheesed off. The table was laid up nicely, clean cutlery, good wine, comfy surrounding....in the main restaurant where they eventually put us, and service was reasonable, if distant. I might go back, but I would take my time understanding ev-er-y-thing on the menu, ask questions, and make sure I did not feel rushed. So good food, Nice restaurant, but no cigar.

This pleasant fish restaurant is located outside the old walled city of Lucca, well within walking distance of the old town. It is advisable to book as it is popular with locals, business travellers, groups and tourists alike, and initially they could only offer us an outside table. We booked through our hotel and they made a good choice for us as we only had to slip next door after a long day travelling. Not knowing much Italian, I found the menu a bit difficult to understand. My fault for failing to learn basic Italian 🇮🇹 . A QR code was supplied to translate the basic menu to English, but that is only helpful if you are ok with tech. Eventually, our waitress came to take the order, and though we still could not completely understand everything, I heard the word seabass, my husband heard the word tuna and we were ok. The fish was lovely! (Though I might have chosen the lobster/prawn special which floated by to someone else had I known it was available). More accurate translation required please? Lovely food. We will go back now we understand the system better.