Lupa Osteria Romana

[edo]

if anyone goes and they have the "fried minnows" as a special, get them. they were awesome. little whole fishes should be served instead of popcorn everywhere. I was expecting to notice some crunch from the bones, at least in the head, but nothing but pure goodness. And it was a very sizable portion too. Almost filled up on those critters and couldn't finish our pasta. actually, come to think of it, some of the very best things I've had there are the specials (not the weekly ones, which are excellent, but I'm referring to random things they tell you about)

[jimk]

This is all very exciting as we've got a resy for later this week. The minnows and the pork with honey are now at the top of my craving list. Any truth to the rumor they've replaced those wretched uncomfortable chairs they had?

[jm chen]

Can't speak to the chairs as we got the corner table and sat on the banquette, but the specials last night did not include the minnows nor pork with honey. There is a pork but the prep is with vinegar, and they had the prosciutto croquettes as a special but we went with regular prosciutto instead and were not sorry.

A very indulgent meal, and everything was great, some things greater than others. Would definitely order the prosciutto, the bavette, the escarole salad, the tripa, and the duck agrodolce (the Tuesday dish) again. The ricotta were good but not mindblowing, and I would not order the octopus with ceci again, as the sauce was kind of creamy and I just didn't like the fishy-creamy combo. Texture was great though, for octopus. Both the bavette (with cheese and pepper) and escarole (with walnuts, red onions, and pecorino) sounded, and were, pretty simple, but the flavors were just excellent. Should have stopped at one dessert instead of two but the tartufo and dates were both pretty awesome.

Wonderful service. The waitress' recommendations for both food and wine were excellent. Really enjoyed ourselves.

[weinoo]

Just a quick note as we had dinner here last Friday night with a party of six (back room with reservations). The food was universally liked (we ordered all the verdure as well as a vegetable side special for apps - snap peas with pancetta) and everyone ordered their own main - some pastas and some plates (I had the pork shoulder).

If anything, the service has improved...we had a really good waiter, and the wine guy was also nice and accommodating - it's rosato time, in my book, and we had a few bottles of fairly priced rosato. Along with 3 shared desserts, our friends were surprised at the gentleness of the bill, which came to about $100 a couple.

[daisy17]

A stroll past Lupa this evening at 7:30 revealed six empty seats at the bar. Almost in shock, I took one and ordered a refreshing cocktail suggested by one of the two very friendly bartenders (CioCiaro, maraschino, lemon/lime juice squeezed in front of me). Had 2 specials - greenmarket tomato salad with slivers of red onion and basil, ridiculously simple and good. What followed literally turned my day around: thick homemade tagliatelle with fresh corn, chanterelles and basil, with some cheese and a bit (ahem) of butter. Summer goodness. The food here is excellent. Reminded why I love this place.

[BryanZ]

Very solid meal at Lupa tonight. Walked in around nine or so and was told there was a 30 minute wait. Saw two seats at the bar, so we quickly hopped on those. We'd already done a bit of beer drinking before, so we were in the mood for something hearty enough to soak up some of the alcohol but not so rich as to leave us filling ill. The quick meal we put together fit the bill perfectly.

Split a primo of carbonara, which the kitchen put in two plates without being asked. Based on pastas I've had here in the past, the split seems to give you a bit more for your money. Nice and peppery, and I really liked what ever pork product they use--pancetta or guanciale, I can't quite tell--with the creamy sauce binding everything together. I thought the large chunks of green onion a bit heavy handed, however.

For mains, a striped bass with fennel and corn. Nice, clean end of summer dish. Very tasty with different textures and notes of sweetness. Kind of plopped on the plate off-center, though, so not the tightest presentation. This is fault of pretty much all of the Batali restaurants I've noted before. Our other main was the Tuesday special of crispy duck. For $22 this was a deal. A half duck, probably braised then roasted. Killer and easily shareable for two as a main course.

Bartender was friendly, but the food took a little while to get out. We seemed to come right on the back edge of the main rush. Best of all, we left for less than $40/person. I find that ordering wine at this restaurant really bumps it into that next price level and reduces its QPR. For the food alone, however, this place is pretty sweet. My friend thought it much better than Perbacco.

[Pan]

My friend took me out for a birthday dinner tonight at Lupa. Everything was very good, but I want to particularly recommend the butternut squash appetizer, which comes with pickled onion slices, and the braised oxtail secondo. Both were in my opinion standout delicious items.

Edited February 3, 2009 by Pan (log)

[weinoo]

Had dinner at Lupa this past week, and after I don't know how many chef changes, the food is still VERY good.

We started with the Affetati Grande (we were a hungry group) and the standouts to me were the testa (who makes testa this good?) and the cured or pickled veal tongue, which was almost corned beef like in taste and texture. And so delicious. To supplement the meats, we also indulged in the brussels sprouts veg appetizer, which when I make at home, guests flip-out over how delicious raw brussels can be.

As our primi, we actually shared one of the house special pastas that night - Papparadelle with a Veal Ragu, with perfectly cooked house-made pasta, that made me glad we decided to go with the extra course before our secondi.

I ordered the Saltimbocca, which was juicy and salty and everything I always want my Lupa saltimbocca to be...if there's a better version in this city, please let me know where. My dining companions had Bavette Cacio & Pepe (some people can't have enough of the pastas) and the daily special, Roasted Pork "Arista". What little I could steal away from them was tasty as well, but when your dining companions start to get that look in their eyes, stay away from their plates, please.

Service was great - our first bottle of wine was slightly corked, and was whisked away and replaced with grace. I've always liked the casual yet professional service here.

While this night's was not an inexpensive meal, (and we did have 3 cocktails and 2 bottles of wine), Lupa still remains one of the better bargains for food this good.

[Sneakeater]

Actually, one of your dining companions had the pork shoulder off the regular menu, which he prefers to the pork loin off the "daily specials" menu.

[weinoo]

Actually, one of your dining companions had the pork shoulder off the regular menu, which he prefers to the pork loin off the "daily specials" menu.

←

Oh shit, I knew there was more than one thing I couldn't remember.

I love the shoulder over the loin.

[weinoo]

A couple of years down the road, and Lupa finally has its NY Times review (proper).

I agree with most everything Asimov has to say about the place, especially...

At off hours — a late night, a midafternoon — Lupa continues to be delightful, satisfying and attentive. At prime times, Lupa feels more like commerce than cucina. I wish it were the other way around.

[WK2]

Lupa was my stand-by New York city treat when I was still a student and made it down on the bus. I could go at off hours, and just about afford it. Now that I can definitely afford it, I can never get in, because I have to go when everyone else is there.

The review reminds me that I need to make a trip soon.

[patrickamory]

A couple of years down the road, and Lupa finally has its NY Times review (proper).

I agree with most everything Asimov has to say about the place, especially...

At off hours — a late night, a midafternoon — Lupa continues to be delightful, satisfying and attentive. At prime times, Lupa feels more like commerce than cucina. I wish it were the other way around.

This is so true.

[weinoo]

What's also interesting, at least in my opinion, is that some of the dishes we found so ground breaking years ago (raw brussels sprouts dressed with olive oil and pecorino! house-cured tuna! warm testa!) are now practically de rigueur in any number of restaurants.

Be that as it may, that's no excuse for tired versions of those same dishes.

And the place never has felt quite the same without the Denton touch in the front of the house.

[weinoo]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen - even though it has taken a long time (about 25 years, actually).  Once, one of our favorite restaurants, with fine service, cooking Roman/Italian food just about right, then falling out of favor for reasons maybe not totally related to food. 

 

So, before a show at The Bitter End (!!), we decided to pop in for a few bites, as it's just around the corner.

 

 

The apps we started with were pretty good; baccala croquettes and marinated artichokes. No complaints there.

 

I ordered a special pasta (linguini with Jonah Crab) and here's where things started to go awry:

 

 

Now, I have no problem paying $38 for this pasta (I think they may feel a little guilty about charging so much, but then they've basically doubled the portion size), but enough with the bread crumbs!  And so much Jonah crab - which was basically tasteless. Kind of a hot mess, as was Significant Eater's ricotta gnocchi, which lacked both sausage and fennel in the sauce, at least to our taste.

 

We didn't order secondi, as how can one eat another full plate of food after so much pasta?  So maybe the play here is to order apps and secondi?

 

Oh, lest I forget - don't order the broccoli rabe...this is how it is served:

 

 

And this is how it ended up:

 

 

Impossible to eat, as it wasn't cut into any sort of pieces, which if you are going to not cook broccoli rabe as they do in Rome, is a necessity. I could not cut this broccoli rabe into pieces with the knife I had on the table. Oy.

 

Note how I cook and serve it at home, if I want it to remain bright green:

 

 

Either that way, or cook the hell out of it!

 

[KennethT]

17 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Oh, how the mighty have fallen - even though it has taken a long time (about 25 years, actually).  Once, one of our favorite restaurants, with fine service, cooking Roman/Italian food just about right, then falling out of favor for reasons maybe not totally related to food. 

 

So, before a show at The Bitter End (!!), we decided to pop in for a few bites, as it's just around the corner.

 

 

The apps we started with were pretty good; baccala croquettes and marinated artichokes. No complaints there.

 

I ordered a special pasta (linguini with Jonah Crab) and here's where things started to go awry:

 

 

Now, I have no problem paying $38 for this pasta (I think they may feel a little guilty about charging so much, but then they've basically doubled the portion size), but enough with the bread crumbs!  And so much Jonah crab - which was basically tasteless. Kind of a hot mess, as was Significant Eater's ricotta gnocchi, which lacked both sausage and fennel in the sauce, at least to our taste.

 

We didn't order secondi, as how can one eat another full plate of food after so much pasta?  So maybe the play here is to order apps and secondi?

 

Oh, lest I forget - don't order the broccoli rabe...this is how it is served:

 

 

And this is how it ended up:

 

 

Impossible to eat, as it wasn't cut into any sort of pieces, which if you are going to not cook broccoli rabe as they do in Rome, is a necessity. I could not cut this broccoli rabe into pieces with the knife I had on the table. Oy.

 

Note how I cook and serve it at home, if I want it to remain bright green:

 

 

Either that way, or cook the hell out of it!

 

Many years ago, we used to go to Lupa maybe once a month or so... back then, we felt the best thing to do was to order some salumi (especially their house made stuff like the head cheese) and some pasta/appetizer.  Every time we decided to try a secondi, we regretted it.  We actually felt exactly the same way  when we would go to Esca.  But then again, back then, prices were significantly less than what they are now - at these prices, it would be hard for me to justify the price/value proposition.  But how was the Bitter End?  I used to go there a couple times a month back in the days that we used to play gigs at other spots on that stretch of Bleecker and I'm happy to see it's still open.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Many years ago, we used to go to Lupa maybe once a month or so... back then, we felt the best thing to do was to order some salumi (especially their house made stuff like the head cheese) and some pasta/appetizer.  Every time we decided to try a secondi, we regretted it.  We actually felt exactly the same way  when we would go to Esca.  But then again, back then, prices were significantly less than what they are now - at these prices, it would be hard for me to justify the price/value proposition.  But how was the Bitter End?  I used to go there a couple times a month back in the days that we used to play gigs at other spots on that stretch of Bleecker and I'm happy to see it's still open.

 

We probably didn't eat too many secondi back in the day either, since we had filled up the same way as you (that warm testa was so good).  It's very hard to find practically any price/value these days, so I usually stick with the tried and true.

 

Until The Bitter End.

[SLB]

Yikes.  I used to love Lupa, and then had a TERRIBLE pandemic experience there.  Haven't been back.