The only Inn with a hole in the sock ...
And that doesn't hide it!
An acoustic, no-frills, express, local product-based cuisine (with local producers)







The only Osteria with
a hole in its sock...
And that doesn't hide it!
Acoustic, no-frills, express cuisine made from local products (and producers).







the Mecenate
The Mecenate will turn 25 in 2021.
A quarter of a century like a quart of wine, an adventure that started in the countryside, in Gattaiola near Lucca, in October 1996 and landed in the city, in the so called Ditches area, in May 2012.
25 years of cooking and tasting, of ‘tordelli’(the local tortelli) and good wine, of uphill roads and downhill rolls, of love for the terroire and conviviality. A story made of people and souls, of poetry and songs, shepherds and market stalls, of friends who produce wine and farmers, of fishermen who cast their nets in a responsible way and then bring us their fish. A story we like to tell
The Mecenate will turn 25 in 2021.
A quarter of a century like a quart of wine, an adventure that started in the countryside, in Gattaiola near Lucca, in October 1996 and landed in the city, in the so called Ditches area, in May 2012.
25 years of cooking and tasting, of ‘tordelli’(the local tortelli) and good wine, of uphill roads and downhill rolls, of love for the terroire and conviviality. A story made of people and souls, of poetry and songs, shepherds and market stalls, of friends who produce wine and farmers, of fishermen who cast their nets in a responsible way and then bring us their fish. A story we like to tell
the Cook
Sole: “Call me cook…not chef” For 25 years she has been passionately directing the kitchen of the Mecenate, proposing an acoustic cuisine, made of natural and local sounds, simple, direct, a cuisine that makes hearts and palates vibrate. A cuisine where the many small producers of the area participate in creating the culinary experience, in a virtuous network of carefully selected and exellent food.
The dishes that come out of Sole’s kitchen are the perfect synthesis between her personality, the territory, the style and the story of Mecenate. A faithful transcription of the gastronomy of the territory, which does not however disregard the human factor, made of personal life, the experiences of a lifetime, the music listened to, friendship, the wines drunk and the unforgettable evenings passed at the Mecenate.
and the Innkeeper
Stefano, the Innkeeper. Like his grandfather Guido, who had a trattoria in Corso Garibaldi, and who, as a regular clientele, had the “happy little women” of the brothels of the nearby Via della Dogana and their customers.
Like his father Pietrino, who for a while, as a young man, worked as a cook in the trattoria … but when his wife, Etta, discovered the story of the “happy little women” he then had to change and began to work as a biscuit salesman. Perhaps Stefano’s job as a “innkeeper” is in his blood, or in his DNA and for this reason, every day, he starts again with joy … to be an innkeeper!
Stefano, the Innkeeper. Like his grandfather Guido, who had a trattoria in Corso Garibaldi, and who, as a regular clientele, had the “happy little women” of the brothels of the nearby Via della Dogana and their customers.
Like his father Pietrino, who for a while, as a young man, worked as a cook in the trattoria … but when his wife, Etta, discovered the story of the “happy little women” he then had to change and began to work as a biscuit salesman. Perhaps Stefano’s job as a “innkeeper” is in his blood, or in his DNA and for this reason, every day, he starts again with joy … to be an innkeeper!
The Mecenate's menù
Here is our Menu, made up of traditional and local dishes, our breads and pastas, to be enjoyed at the tables inside and in summer on the summer veranda on the beautiful St. Francis Square.
A Menu that varies with the seasons.
What never changes is our passion and acoustic cooking style.
La scarpaccia Versiliese (tortino di farina di ceci con cipollotti, zucchini e fiori di zucca) VEGETARIANO
“LA SCARPACCIA” courgettes and onions cake with chick-peas flour VEGETARIAN
LA NOSTRA CAPRESE (con con mozzarella di MONICA DI VALGIANO – una sola mucca – Camilla e il POMODORO CANESTRINO LUCCHESE presidio slow food) VEGETARIANO
LA CAPRESE with local mozzarella (Monica from Valgiano only uno caw Camilla- and local tomatoes (pomodoro canestrino lucchese -presidio slow fodd) VEGETARIAN
Le nostre polpette “di lesso” e salsa verde
Meat ball with green sauce
Salumi artigianali con il nostro pane alle olive
€ 11,00
Mixed local cured meats with special bread
Prosciutto di “Gino e Severino”
di Matraia con crostini di fegatelli
€ 12,00
Local ham with chicken liver canapes
Focaccia calda e lardo
Flat salt bread with lard
Melanzane alla parmigiana con formaggio di mucca di Pierpaolo Piagneri – Filattiera VEGETARIANO
Aubergine casserole with local caw cheese VEGETARIAN
Il nostro manzo marinato
€ 12,00
Marinated beef
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 14,00
Mix of local cured meat, cheese, vegetable pie
Acciughe in salamoia della Liguria, burro artigianale di Pierpaol Piagneri in Lunigiana e il nostro pane di castagne
€ 16,00
Salt anchovies from liguria with local butter and our chestnuts bread
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Home made Tordelli
Tacconi casalinghi Pomodoro fresco (Canestrino Lucchese – presidio Slow Food) pepolino e pecorino (vegetariano)
Home made Tacconi with fresch tomatoes (Canestrino Lucchese) pecorino cheese and tyme (vegetarian)
La pappa al pomodoro (con il pomodoro Canestrino Lucchese Presidio Slow Food) (vegetariano)
Tomatoes bread soup (with Pomodoro Canestrino Lucchese – presidio Slow Food) (vegetarian)
Crepes ricotta ed ortica (VEGETARIANO)
Nettle and ricotta cheese crepes VEGETARIAN
I nostri gnocchi di patate con lo Zola (formaggio di mucca di Monica di Valgiano – una mucca sola Camilla VEGETARIANO
Home made potatoes Gnocchi with Local Caw cheese (monica from Valgiano only one Caw CAMILLA VEGETARIAN
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli (Presidio Slow Food) al pesto VEGETARIANI
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli, Slow Food presidium) with pesto VEGETARIAN
Riso (carnaroli biologico) al piccione
Organic rice with pigeon sauce
Spaghetti con le triglie
Spaghetti with red mullets
Le nostre lasagne al forno (tentativo di ridare dignità ad un grande piatto finito nei peggiori microonde del mondo)
€ 15,00
Home made lasagne
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Frittata (uova bio della Tenuta di Forci) di cipolle
Onions omelettes with salad
Coniglio nostrale arrosto (Azienda agricola Il Castello) marinato alle erbe aromatiche, con il fagiolo cannellino di Lucca
Roast local rabbit with local beans
Piccione arrosto in letto di insalata
Roast pigeon with salad
Spezzatino di carni miste (Manzo Maiale) con polenta di formentone ottofile
Pork and beef stew with mais polenta
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
La Trippa
Tripe
Polpo in galera con purea
Octupus stuffed with potatoes purea
Local long green beans with tomato sauce
Local long green beans with tomato sauce
Mix vegetables stuffed
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Buccellato (dolce tipico lucchese) con crema e fragole
BUCCELLATO (local cake in vinsanto) with custard cream and strawberries |
Pesche di Colle di Compito ripiene
Local peches stuffed
Salame di cioccolata
Chocolate log
Gelato a scelta fra: Crema, Cioccolata, Fragola,
Pistacchio bronte (della GELATERIA VENETA – IN LUCCA)
Ice cream, Chocolate, Cream, Strawberry, Pistachio
Gelato alla crema con fragole biologiche del Pucci (della GELATERIA VENETA – IN LUCCA)
Ice cream, organic local Strawberries
Pesche del Morianese al vino rosso
Local Peaches and red wine
Latte alla portoghese
Portuguese-style milk
Pesche di Colle di Compito con ricotta della pastora e miele biologico di erica
Local peches with ewe’s cheese (ricotta) and local organic honey
Torta di arancia e cioccolata
Orange and chocolat cake
Panna cotta con salsa di fragole
Panna cotta with strawberry sauce
Of wine we like everything. The smell, the colors, the flavors, the bottles and labels. The land, the vines and the vineyards, so different from each other. And then we like to drink it, accompanied by something to eat, in company with friends and end up laughing and singing. Or even drink it alone, which makes you think. Or drinking it by candlelight in two and ending the night in two with the candle out. And then we like the people who make it. Our Charter is made up of the men and women, the faces and hearts of wine.
Discover our Charter, consisting of about 300 labels, with wines that can only be tasted by us and the winemakers who have excited us, with very small territory realities, the great internationals and wines “for amateurs,” such as those from Georgia or Portugal.
Book an Acoustic Cooking Experience
Reserve your table at Ristorante Mecenate
Please note that your reservation is considered confirmed when you receive a reply e-mail from us or a phone call