Why This Uptown Gem Should be Your Next Date Night or Girls’ Night Spot
In a former yoga studio, the owners of Costera have opened Uptown’s favorite new Italian spot: Osteria Lupo.
As soon as we found out they were opening, my husband booked our reservations. We went on a Wednesday, 5 days after they opened, and even at 6pm they were SLAMMED.
Here’s why this new spot should be your next date night…or girls’ night.
The Food
Honestly… this is enough. The food is impeccable. We ordered too much, and don’t regret it. We got an app (the burrata con panna, because CHEESE), 2 pastas: radiatori with crab and the campanelle with mushrooms, and the lamb…oh, and also the zucchini. All of it was perfection. We had one lamb rib left, and some zucchini. Our 1.5 bites of radiatori were accidentally and tragically thrown out. (I will never go and not order the radiatori with crab.) Because we ordered too much, we didn’t have room for dessert.
What we didn’t try, but will next time (or the next):
- Black Truffle Arancini
- Bigola ala Carbonara
- Spaghetti alla Chittara
- Mortadella Pizza
I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m certain every single item on the menu is delicious, so you cannot go wrong here. I’d recommend ordering: an app, a pasta, and a secondi …maybe and side, and dessert. OR You could skip the secondi and get two or three paste if you love carbs as much as I do.
The Atmosphere (or Vibes, as the kids say)
As wonderful as the food is, it is only half of what makes a restaurant worthy of an outing with your partner or besties — the other bit is the “feel” of the place. Osteria Lupo has both. I know we went on opening week … but I feel confident that the exciting and laid back atmosphere will last way past the restaurant’s first days. We sat along the banquette with a perfect view of the kitchen (for me) and the rest of the place, including the bustling bar (for him – perfect for people watching).
I should note that the floors are polished concrete and there are no soft surfaces to catch the noise, so it can seem a little loud to some. However, we actually found it perfect – no expectation of hushed conversation in a nearly silent dining room. We noted that even though we were sitting two feet from our neighbors, we couldn’t hear their conversation, and they couldn’t hear ours).
So, there you have it. Get yourself, your partner, your friends (but maybe not your kids*) to Osteria Lupo, stat.
*Note: There is nothing stated on the website or formally noted that this spot isn’t kid friendly. In fact, there were kids there the night we dined. I just won’t be bringing mine any time soon…
*Also note, as all good Magazine Street spots, parking can be a little tricky. We live Uptown, so we walked, but there is ample parking on Valence Street, one of the side streets, or on Camp Street, the back street behind Magazine that is mostly residential parking.
