New York City: Lupa Osteria (October 2017)




My spouse and I visited Lupa Osteria for lunch on a Sunday afternoon in mid-October 2017. We booked a spot online using the Open Table reservation system. Lupa offers lunch and dinner daily.
Lupa opened in fall 1999 on Thompson Street (between Bleeker and Houston) in Greenwich Village. Lupa occupies the street level of a building row that contains other retail on the ground floor and living spaces above. The restaurant is jointly owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali and his business partner. The group also operates Del Posto, Casa Mono, Babbo, and Esca. (We have dined at all except Esca; see our separate reviews.) The name “Lupa” references the she-wolf from the Romulus and Remus tale in Roman mythology, although we couldn’t make a clear connection between that myth and the restaurant.



The long, narrow restaurant features a drinks bar and salumi counter on one side of the main dining room, with tables occupying the center area and along the opposite wall. Brick walls and arches lend a rustic feel. Tables are positioned closely together, creating a busy and energetic atmosphere. A small rear dining room provides additional dining space. The front wall of the restaurant can be opened to allow indoor-outdoor dining in appropriate weather, and two or three tiny tables on the adjacent front terrace offer true al fresco dining.

Lupa serves Roman trattoria cuisine, and it offers the same menu for lunch and dinner. (Note that Lupa does not offer any weekend brunch options that include eggs or pancakes.) As we perused the menu, our server delivered assaggi (house-made focaccia bread with olive oil for dipping). The restaurant offers an extensive wine list with hundreds of bottles from many regions of Italy. You can also order Italian liqueurs, bitters (amaro), and grappa, as well as beer and cocktails. We enjoyed the cleverly named “Just Beet It” cocktail. As appetizers, we shared the chicken liver mousse spread atop crostini (called fett’unta) with a pear sauce, and the squash with ricotta and garlic. As our main dishes, we ordered the cacio e pepe bavette (similar to a spaghetti noodle but with a slightly convex shape), and the short rib ragu casarecce (short rolled pasta noodles). For dessert, we shared the butterscotch and goat cheese panna cotta. 

We enjoyed our lunch at Lupa Osteria – the environment was comfortable, the food was tasty, and the service was good.
















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