Restaurante Luka in Guardamar: we keep going back… and there’s a reason!

Some restaurants you try once.

And then there are the ones you go back to.

Luka, in Guardamar del Segura, is firmly in the second category for us.

We’d already been several times and, on 26 September, we decided to go back for dinner with friends and our 7-year-old daughter.

The verdict?

Another really lovely evening.

With a lovely welcome, a genuinely friendly waitress, a setting as pleasant as ever, several beautiful plates… and, because I’d rather tell things the way they actually happen, a small caveat about my dish this time.

Because a good restaurant isn’t necessarily one where absolutely everything is perfect every single time.

And that’s exactly why I like to go back before telling you about a place.

Impossible to walk past without noticing 🌿

Before we even talk about what’s on the plate, we need to talk about the restaurant itself.

Because honestly, you can’t walk past Luka without seeing it.

The terrace opens straight onto the street and it’s so pretty, so green and so well kept that it catches your eye immediately.

Big plants, beautifully laid tables, comfy armchairs, white tablecloths…

You almost want to stop just because you spotted it in passing.

And the inside is even lovelier.

In fact, I’m kicking myself for not taking more photos this time, because it really deserves to be seen.

The atmosphere is very cosy and fairly intimate.

There aren’t loads of tables — from memory, around twenty covers inside — and that’s part of its charm.

There’s a small living green wall and, at the back of the room, a little fireplace that makes it feel even warmer.

It isn’t huge.

It isn’t impersonal.

And it’s certainly not the kind of dining room where tables are crammed in next to each other.

It’s elegant, warm, full of thoughtful details… and frankly beautiful.

That’s one of the things I love about Luka: of course you come to eat well, but the setting is genuinely part of the evening.

And despite that fairly smart, polished feel, we’ve always felt completely at ease there — this time too, with our 7-year-old.

The little velouté that arrives before you’ve even started 🎃

There’s a small detail I love at Luka.

Before the starters, we were given a small complimentary pumpkin velouté.

Now, I need to explain something:

I DON’T LIKE PUMPKIN. 😂

Really.

So if someone tells me:

“Tonight I’ve made you pumpkin soup,”

I’m unlikely to jump for joy.

And yet…

I adore Luka’s velouté.

I’d had it before, and this time again it was excellent: smooth, creamy, delicate…

The kind of thing that makes me wonder how anyone managed to make me like something I normally don’t.

But the best test that evening wasn’t even me.

It was my 7-year-old daughter.

She’s currently going through that wonderful phase of childhood many parents will recognise:

vegetables = NO. 😂

She looks at the bowl:

“No, I don’t like it.”

Me:

“Try it before you say you don’t like it. They give you things like this at school too.”

And then, a very serious reply:

“Yes, but at school it’s not nice.”

Well.

Hard to argue with that. 😂

I ask her to try it anyway.

One spoonful.

And then:

“Ohhhh, that’s so yummy!”

The result?

She ate the whole bowl.

EVERY LAST DROP.

If you can get my 7-year-old, in the middle of her “I don’t eat vegetables any more” phase, to eat a pumpkin velouté of her own free will, as far as I’m concerned you’ve already achieved something. 😂

Then come the little extras… 🥖

We were also brought small bread rolls with garlic and herb butter.

Very simple on paper.

Except it was really, really good.

And that’s exactly something I appreciate about Luka: the meal isn’t just about the dish you order.

There are all these little touches around it that are part of the experience.

The confit duck croquetas: as good as they look 🦆

For starters, we chose the croquetas de pato confit, confit duck croquettes, among other things.

And then…

Just look at the photo.

The presentation is stunning.

The croquettes arrive on a very carefully composed plate, with fruit, green touches and lots of colour.

But thankfully, it isn’t just pretty for the photo.

It was excellent.

Crispy outside, rich and creamy inside, with a sweet-and-savoury combination that makes it far more interesting than the classic croqueta served on its own.

It’s exactly the kind of starter that sums up Luka: something everyone knows, but presented and worked in a much more refined way.

And the mains? 🥩

This time, several people at our table chose the aged beef entrecôte (rib-eye), served with chips and a side.

And without meaning to, we ran a pretty thorough test of how the steaks were cooked. 😂

My husband wanted his blue.

It arrived blue.

Our friend wanted his well done.

It arrived well done.

And I’d asked for mine medium.

That was spot on too.

So on that front: no complaints.

But my steak had a small problem…

I promised you Casa Costa would tell you about the little misses too.

So here goes.

Unfortunately, my piece was extremely fatty.

A rib-eye obviously has fat — that’s part of what gives it flavour — but mine really had a lot.

Too much for my taste.

In the end, it felt like I had lots of fat and relatively little meat to eat.

Does that mean the meat at Luka is bad?

No.

Nobody else at the table had that problem, and their steaks were cooked just right.

It was simply the piece I ended up with that evening.

But if I could choose again…

I probably wouldn’t order the rib-eye.

Because I spent part of the meal staring at the plate next to mine 🍝

My friend’s husband had chosen scampi tagliatelle.

And then…

You know that moment when you look at your plate.

Then your neighbour’s.

Then your own again.

And you slowly start questioning your life choices? 😂

There you go.

His tagliatelle looked ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR.

Honestly.

I’m definitely not going to tell you they were excellent, because I wasn’t the one who ate them.

But looks-wise?

Clearly the kind of dish that made me think:

“Hmm… maybe I should have ordered that.”

Probably next time.

A menu that’s changed a bit 🍔

We also noticed the menu had changed slightly since our previous visits.

And there’s one disappearance I was particularly sad about:

the solomillo (pork tenderloin) burger.

I’d had it before and it was really excellent.

This time, it was no longer on the menu.

Of course, menus evolve, dishes change and some may come back depending on the season.

But Luka…

if you ever read this…

feel free to bring back the solomillo burger. 😂

And with children? 👧

That’s another nice surprise.

Because the décor might give the impression of a restaurant aimed more at grown-ups, whereas we actually felt completely at ease with our daughter.

During our visit, children could choose, among other things:

🍝 pasta with tomato sauce and cheese

or

🍗 chicken nuggets with chips.

And to finish, there were little ice creams in several flavours.

We spotted, among others:

🍦 vanilla
🍫 chocolate
💚 pistachio
💜 violet
🍑 peach

Simple, but it works.

And above all: children are welcomed perfectly normally.

None of that feeling of walking into a place with a child while everyone looks at you as if you’d just turned up with a herd of goats. 😂

The brownie… we need to talk about it anyway 🍫

We didn’t have dessert this time.

Simply because I didn’t particularly fancy one.

But since I’ve eaten at Luka before, I have to tell you about a dessert I had on another visit:

their brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel.

To die for.

There.

I could go on for three paragraphs, but it would only be to find different ways of saying:

TO DIE FOR. 😂

If you like chocolate, you might want to save a little room.

And to finish… 🍋

At the end of the meal, another little gesture from the house:

we were offered little shots of limoncello.

These are exactly the details I love.

The velouté at the start.

The bread rolls and their butter.

The little touches during the meal.

The limoncello to finish.

On their own, they may just be small things.

But put together, they make a huge difference to how you remember a restaurant.

Lunch and dinner: careful, it’s not the same format ☀️

Another important point before you book.

At the time of our visit, Luka offered a menú del día (set lunch menu) at €38.50 during the day.

In the evening, however, the restaurant was serving à la carte only.

We went in the evening this time, so everything I’m telling you here is about our à la carte experience.

As always, menus, prices and dishes can change: check directly with the restaurant when you book.

So, would I go back? ❤️

Yes.

And it isn’t even a theoretical question, since we’ve already been back several times.

My too-fatty steak that evening doesn’t change my overall opinion of Luka.

Because a restaurant isn’t a piece of meat.

It’s the whole package.

And that evening we had:

a really warm welcome,
a lovely waitress,
pleasant service,
very good starters,
steaks cooked as ordered,
a beautiful setting,
a little girl made perfectly welcome,
a velouté that achieved the unlikely feat of getting her to eat pumpkin,
and a really lovely evening with friends.

With just one piece of meat that didn’t win me over this time.

And in the end, maybe that’s what a truly good restaurant is:

a place where, even when one of your dishes disappoints a little, you still leave thinking…

Next time, I’m having the scampi tagliatelle. 😂

Practical information

⚠️ As opening hours, dishes, prices and menus can change, check the latest information directly with the restaurant before you go.

How we work

This article reflects our personal experience during our visit on 26 September 2026, as well as some of our previous visits to Luka.

The opinions expressed are subjective and may naturally differ from one visit to another.

As opening hours, prices, menus and services can change, we recommend checking them directly with the restaurant before your visit.

This visit was independent and is not sponsored content.

Article and experience: Letisia · Photos: Casa Costa