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2012-05-23
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Having heard such mixed reviews about Lupa, my friend booked a table for 4 to see what the fuss was all about. Unfortunately, we have to agree with the negative reviews - Mario Batali or not, the food is mediocre at best, and the place seems to be resting on its laurels relying on the celebrity name.Our dining experience did not start well with us being seated right by the toilets, on a tiny table for 4 which would have been a squeeze for 2. Everything appears to be in kiddy portions in order
Our dining experience did not start well with us being seated right by the toilets, on a tiny table for 4 which would have been a squeeze for 2. Everything appears to be in kiddy portions in order to fit on the ridiculously small tables - tiny plates, tiny forks, tiny bread. Maybe they are trying the good old dietary illusion trick - make the plates and cutlery look small so the portions look bigger than they are!
We ordered a selection of small bites to start, and they appeared at the table so quickly after we ordered that we had to conclude they were all ready made, and they tasted like they had been sitting around for a while. Arancine is one of my favorite things in the world, but their version had bland filling (my friend mentioned it reminded him of baby food), and the crust tasted quite stale. The sardines turned out to be tiny anchovies, and their clams dish tasted mostly of greasy pesto.
The mains were a bit better - at around $200 a main, it can be considered cheap for the location. Duck confit was competent, the homemade pasta with crab was good although could have done with more actual crab, and the roast chicken weirdly tasted of pure Szechuan peppers. Their long beans side had the same stale crust that ruined the arancine.
The service is also a mixed bag. I heard that they had imported some of their New York staff for this restaurant opening, and it is so clear which ones they were. We had some great service from the NYer in glasses, very charming. Unfortunately, he was helped by some rather unhelpful staff who seemed to lack both food and attire training - the waitresses in particular all needed to go and brush their hair, and we felt like we had to ask for every little thing, e.g. our mains arrived, but we had no cutlery, so cue the embarrassing 5 min wait staring at our food, waiting for cutlery.
The saving grace for the restaurant though is their terrace, which serves a smaller menu including pizza, vs. the finer dining room. The terrace is absolutely lovely to spend a few hours, and the pizza that my friend ordered was probably the best dish of the day (although at $198 not cheap). I would gladly return for drinks & pizza on the terrace, but the dining room itself needs a lot of work.
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