La Vecchia Lupiae - Roma

If you find yourself wanting something different than Cucina Romana (which is amazing), this is an excellent option. Great Salento cooking, friendly accommodating staff!

We were attracted by the great reviews on T/A and decided to give the place a try. It was well worth it. We arrived at 8 PM and were seated promptly. The waiter was very helpful in explaining the blackboard specials. We started with the antipasto Salentino which was a medley of 4 vegetable dishes and a serving of assorted fried items. They were very tasty. For pasta, we had orecchiette cime di rapa and cavatelli ai sapori di mare. Both were strictly al dente and very good. We were interested in a meat course and felt adventurous: We tried pezzetti di cavallo a pignata. Yes, it's horse meat. It was very tender and mild in flavor, similar to veal. The wine list is limited but fairly priced. For white, we had the Menhir Verdeca Puglia 2017. For red, we had the Masseria Spaccafico Salice Salentino Spioncello 2014. Both were good, especially the white. Service was very attentive and cordial. Dining here was a pleasure.

We were blown away by the quality of this restaurant, which was far from crowded when we visited. The food on offer comes from Salento, the southern tip of Puglia. It is beautifully simple and sophisticated at the same time. The desserts were simply amazing. They were clearly the products of great care and painstaking research. There was a custard filled dumpling of sorts that was just phenomenal. The chef and the manager are eager to talk to the clients about what they are trying to accomplish and they take great pride in what they do. This was a truly positive experience. Highly recommended. Maybe the place is not more popular because it doesn’t have al fresco dining. Do not let deter you, if you care about food!

Walking into La Vecchia Lupiae is like walk in to Paolo’s home. Even if the English is not perfekt the enthusiasm about the food and wine that he serves makes up for this! The food was good local Roman food and the place looked like an Italien kitchen. So if you want to get away from the noisy and touristic Rome here is a good place to eat.

Having lived in this city for almost three decades, I strongly recommend this lovely little pugliese restaurant in Testaccio. Food is superb and authentic, a rare commodity in a touristic city like Rome. Good place for lunch too, especially in spring time....