Lupa

A Greenwich Village favorite, this collaboration between partners Jason Denton, Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich, and Mark Ladner specializes in high quality, moderately priced Roman fare with a New York edge. Lupa is a fun, boisterous and unpretentious trattoria with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Tags

* Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Late Night, Non-Smoking...

What to Drink: The stellar Italian wine list features many rare, regional selections in the $20 to $35 range. Ciro's San Felice Ducale, a rootsy red from Calabria, is a fave.

Know Before You Go: Parties of seven or more must order the tasting menu, which is $60 per person.

Just "like home – with incredible food" – this "informal" Villager is a showcase for Mario Batali's "simple" yet "flavorful" Roman dishes dispatched in "rustic" digs by a "good-humored" crew; "reasonable prices" offset the "seating squeeze" and "boisterous" decibels ("lunch is quieter"), and regulars report that "advance reservations" are a must.

Even the most hard-to-please connoisseurs have a soft spot for Lupa, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich's "downscale" Roman trattoria. Rough-hewn wood, great Italian wines, and simple preparations with top-quality ingredients define the restaurant, along with the "gentle" prices. People come repeatedly for dishes such as ricotta gnocchi with sweet-sausage ragout, house-made salumi, and sardines...

Of Mario Batali's restaurants, Babbo may get all the highfalutin glory, but Lupa gets all the love. The Greenwich Village hot spot is everything a trattoria should be: laid back, casual yet stylish, and serving heaps of house-cured hams, luscious pastas and soul-warming meat dishes. And like all the best Italian restaurants, preparations are simple, letting the primo ingredients speak for...

Inviting, warm, energetic, and still mostly packed. Mario Batali grub at sub-Babbo prices. Hard to say what's best since it all rocks: ricotta gnocchi, prosciutto plates, crispy raisin duck, wood-oven red peppers, cacio e pepe spaghetti. Cheese for dessert, in addition to dessert for dessert. Reservations still essential, as it's still Mario Batali, unless you hit it late, or are willing to sit...

LUPA OSTERIA ROMANA opened in the fall of 1999, a partnership between Joe Bastianich, Mark Ladner and Jason Denton. The three men wanted to open a casual restaurant specializing in Roman trattoria fare of the highest quality at a moderate price. The space is simple, as you might imagine a trattoria on an alleyway in Rome, with warm bare-brick walls and arches. The kitchen's concept is to create...