La Lupa

Can only comment on pizza. Not a lot jumped out on the menu as being unique or interesting flavour combo. I was happy just to go with whatever other people wanted. The menu was very very heavy on the processed and cured meats which I don’t like. The “share style” focaccia pizza things were a bit different, and the one we had with pistachio, ham and mascarpone was very good. Mostly for the pistachio element. The pizzas looked good but too much processed meats. I liked the texture of the base but the flavour in the dough was underwhelming. I didn’t really get anything. The crust was firm and chewy, but not moist or spongy. Non of the flavours in the pizzas were wow either. There was a nice red base on one of them, but that all I can say. Wouldn’t go back for pizza. Ambience… ok. But cold seated outside. Service was good. Prices.. ok ish.

We had a table of 6 and found the service to be honestly quite awful from the get go. Initially we put it down to perhaps them being busy, but at least 4 of the servers were free but did not come to take our orders- we waited 5-10mins and having signalled with eye contact, then after having made eye contact several times and having no success i raised my arm in confusion as it was starting to feel like we were purposefully ignored, then just leaving my arm up for a long time- they made eye contact back but did not attempt to come let us know that they will take orders soon or anything. We were pretty confused. The guy who stands at the door + 2 waiters continued to chat near the front of the restaurant. I’m assuming it’s because they have waiters assigned to each table, and our guy was for some reason the only one bustling around on a few of the outside tables- he quite literally walked by our table maybe 10 times with other tasks to do with the other tables while my arm was raised, while the other servers did nothing. They appear to have a very inefficient service system in store at this restaurant. The pizzas were nice enough (but I prefer Elementi and beccofinos)- the mushroom/sausage one was quite good. The others aren’t much to write home about. Heirloom carrots as a side was deliciously- highlight of my meal. Potatoes as a side were a huge disappointment (not crunchy, but over cooked in a tough skin way). We ordered $120 aka 1kg of the t bone steak- don’t bother. Very chewy, also laden with a lot of fat- it’s a cheap cut. We couldn’t eat most of it as the fat on the steak took up a good 25% it was THAT thick. The reason why I rated this place so poorly was because of the poor service we received from our server- perhaps he was busy or had a bad day but he was quite snarky (very unnecessary). Later on there was a cockroach that crawled under our table and we had alerted them, they did nothing for a good 15 mins and I saw the staff go into the kitchen to all have a massive laugh together- quite unprofessional as we can see them through the glass windows. We’re a table of 6 girls so everyone was quite disturbed having to eat with it under us since it’s a flying cockroach and it was literally leaping around ffs- they only ended up actually doing something about it after my friend decided to move her chair away to the other side of the table as she was too uncomfortable. Our rude waiter came, heavied a very dramatic sigh and just whacked a tablecloth at it (which did nothing btw except for letting it fly off- of course chaos ensued thereafter). He didn’t say a word and just left. The cockroach flew onto the glass window then crawled to another group of lady’s table which is where I last saw it. Like honestly that’s pretty gross and poor handling from their staff. TLDR the most bizarre dining experience I’ve ever had, if you’re having a crabby day maybe don’t take it out on unsuspecting patrons? We left that dinner feeling very confused and uncomfortable- I’ve worked in hospitality myself for a number of years and could not imagine intentionally ignoring customers (or anyone really- like just be a decent person?), being rude to them with no provocation and being generally unpleasant for no reason. For that reason I don’t see myself coming back to this joint, especially when there are aplenty of wonderful Italian restaurants in the area (Julius, Elementi, Beccofino, Bianca, Voglia, you name it)

Hmmmmmm. Interesting. The menu is a hit and miss really. You might want to think of eating at another Italian place if you are a vegetarian like me. I went with friends who do eat meat and they liked their food. Anyway, the mushroom pizza was not good. I gotta give it to them for the pizza bases, they taste really fresh.

Lovely place and friendly staff Food was flavourful however they can be quite on the salty side, especially the pizzas. Gnocchi was nice although a bit doughy. Highly recommend the desserts - tiramisu & pancotta. Absolutely divine Update: Highly recommend the lupacchiotto Tasmania Pizza! • Pappardelle al ragu - nice seasoning although still quite salty and pasta very aldente • golden gaytime panna cotta - wasn't a fan, very heavy and the caramel was too dense