I thought I’d fallen in love with meals in Styrofoam and foil, with swiping up burger sauce off my car seat. But Acqua di Luca, a sleek downtown coliseum of seafood in a 147-year-old brick space that opened last summer, shocked me out of that pandemic-induced Stockholm syndrome.
Damnit, I deserve a little elegance! I don’t go to the spa or drive a sports car. For me, pampering is chef Luca Sema’s opulent lemon-stuffed sole ($38), an afternoon on the bustling West Sixth Street corner patio, a pricey bottle of wine and a waiter who won’t let me pour it.
“All we care about is that the people who come here to spend money have a great experience,” says co-owner Lola Sema. acquadiluca.com
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