Lucrezia Cafe & Catering

I love this restaurant BUT, in the summer the lack of adequate air conditioning makes indoor dining a sweaty experience. It used to be the rotating ceiling fan in the dining/​bar area made the heat bearable, but the fan hasn’t worked for over a year.
My other complaint is the sauces can be waaaay too plentiful where a lot less could be more! For example, the caprese salad is frequently drowned in oil. Still, I keep coming back because the staff is friendly and helpful. 3 stars for facility, 5 stars in my heart.

Consistently ‘over-​the-​top’ in food, service, and creativity. Just the best of the best from their incredible EVOO for bread dipping to their salads & apps. (I had the soft shell crab with a rosemary mayo), their martinis, specials & signature dishes (don’t mis the braised lamb shank). I don’t want to over-​use review cliches, but I could. Every time I visit they just keep their consistency & standards at the top of their game. If you haven’t been, GO (both here & their Crown Point location in an old mansion). There’s no way you’ll be sorry!

The upper echelon of Chesterton dining, Lucrezia’s has had a tasty presence in this town for quite some time. The inside is intimate, but with character, and the cuisines are worth every penny. It makes for a fantastic date night restaurant.
Lucrezia’s could use more vegetarian/​vegan options (this isn’t the 90’s anymore). What they lack in dietary options, they make up for in every other way. And save room for dessert; trust me, it’s worth the price!

Cute place, nice servers, good food! We stopped in for an appetizer and had a terrific flatbread with a glass of wine. Great atmosphere. Worth the stop!

I’ve liked everything I’ve eaten here. I’ve been a few times and most recently about a week ago on a snowy, blowy evening, so the place wasn’t too crowded and the service was outstanding. Stephanie, our server, was friendly and attentive. The menu is good sized, with several specials on a chalk board, which were all tempting, but I wanted to try the chicken vesuvio, as I hadn’t had it in a long long time (factory farmed chicken generally stays off of my plate, but sometimes I make exceptions for sentimental reasons). It’s good — garlicky, nice potatoes and a side of vegetables, (I miss the peas I remember with this dish) and best of all the cheaper option brings chicken pieces with bones (the only way to eat chicken, if you ask me). Caesar salad with the anchovies we asked for was good, too. Dining companion had the chicken piccata (I guess we both were feeling peckish that night), with a creamy orzo that was nicely seasoned. The bar area is cozy. My one complaint, which is merely a matter of my taste, is that the place is small and the tables are close and there are no booths. Somehow, my classic Italian restaurant experiences occur in big, squishy booths. I’ll go back for sure, though.

We’ve eaten here for years. Used to be incredible every time but since they opened their second location, it seems to have slipped. It also used to be much busier in the evenings. last 3 times we’ve gone, we got seated upon arrival.

Chesterton’s best restaurant. The daily specials never disappoint and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The wine selections pair well with the menu.
The atmosphere is small and cozy yet somewhat loud and boisterous like an English pub. Great for hanging out with friends and seeing the fellow town folk.

I am not sure I can recommend anything to Change. Not only was the food excellent the Service was even better. Every employee there was extremely helpful snd pleasant, always making sure everything was perfect. Food WOW… Lamb shank was the best. Fettuccini Alfredo was homemade and great flavor. The temperature of all food was perfect and high quality. This is a must if you are within a couple hours of the restaurant
Thanks for a great dinner experience

For us this was a must stop on the way home from an afternoon Notre Dame football game. We had more time to be out in the beautiful fall weather on their charming patio. Order from the specials. Delicious.

The food did taste fresh, but I think it was a little to pricey. The dessert was excellent! I probably would only go back for the dessert.

My friend and I decided to take an impromptu trip to the, Indiana Dunes. We decided to stop at, Lucrezia for dinner on the way to our hotel. As we drove up, we were charmed by the quaint atmosphere. It was picturesque; with bright lights strung in trees, overhead. We were seated immediately. We got our food in 10 minutes or less, and the staff were very friendly.

We took a detour after being stuck in traffic for over an hour. We originally stopped at Octave Grill, and it was so small and packed. It probably had about 8 tables. So out we walked from the restaurant, drove another block and stopped at this quaint restaurant and what a great decision that was! I had the stuffed eggplant, my kids had the chicken piccata and Alfredo fettuccine, and my husband had the 3 meat lasagna. Everything was excellent! For dessert, we had triple chocolate mousse, zoccoto, tiramisu and Crème Brûlée. All were delicious!

Great place for dinner. We had 3 different pastas and all were great. The service was super nice giving my brother one complementary glass of wine. It was all topped by the amazing homemade desert.
They also had enough high chairs for kids. Overall I would definitely come back.

Food is delicious. Went for lunch when my sister came in town and we all loved it. The wait wasn’t too long, and the staff was very friendly. Great service!

This place is fantastic, each sauce for their pasta is uniquely light and delicious; nothing is overdone; I wish I came here more to eat when I was younger. (We had the sacchetti, linguine, pescatore, and stuffed eggplant)

One of our favorites. Love the patio.

My goodness has this place declined. What was a diamond is now a piece of coal. Stuffed chicken was overcooked and presented with mini carrots that came out of a bag with little seasoning. The parsnips and pear soup was attractively presented but tasted more like a sweet desert than a savory soup. Service at the bar was attentive and met expectations. $ 45 pre tip with one glass of wine would have been better spent at many of the higher end spots in Valpo.

A hidden gem unless you’re from the area, I guess. Highlighted in local restaurant guide and recommended by hotel staff.
First, greeting and seating done nicely. Nice décor with outdoor and a few rooms inside. Wait staff very friendly and welcoming. Wine recommendation, right on.
Okay, now the food. Ordered the onion, risotto, sausage special. Well done cooking staff. Ordered stuffed eggplant, which is one of my favorite vegetables and well cooked, not breaded (which I dislike). Recommend this dish.
Friend had chicken Vesuvius (spelling?) and tasty, well seasoned. AlwYs a plus when the white meat is not dried out.
Ended with mango sorbet, sweet and cleansing.
Glad we checked it out.

Cozy little Italian restaurant. This is one of my parent’s FAVORITE places, and they always stop by on the way home from Chicago (we live in Northwest Indiana). My mother is completely obsessed with the lamb shank. I had the seafood pasta the last time I was there — delish! I also like that they have the option for whole wheat or gluten free pasta. The scallop appetizer was divine! Good wine list. Live accordion was playing Havana Gilla which was pretty hilarious and kind of loud.
Great dinning experience and I love the outdoor patio area in the summer time too :)

This will be very short. My chicken caprese was tasteless. Basil rubbed on top of a tasteless chicken breast. The spaghetti with veal meat balls had a sour marinara sauce and not enough of it. The lamb shank tasted very good. I tasted the cabbage. it was good but too sweet. the green beans were good. The stuffed pepper was alittle hot and tasteless. Over all the food needed better seasoning.
The service was very good. The prices were extreme since it was mostly generic. Not even organic or local grown and if it was did not say so. The Dish is much better.