The only Inn with a hole in the sock ... and that does not hide it!
An acoustic, no-frills, express, local product-based cuisine (with local producers)
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
and 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!
Budino di peperoni rossi alla crema di formaggio (vegetariano)
Red peppers pudding with cheese cream VEGETARIAN
Tortino di carciofi
Artichokes pie VEGETARIAN
Le vere polpette lucchesi (di lesso) con la salsa verde
Local meat balls 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
Cecina, alla coda di cipolline e formaggio morbido si pecora di monica di Valgiano (Vegetariano)
Chickpeas flour pie with onions teils and local cheese ( eves) VEGETARIAN
Il nostro manzo marinato
€ 12,00
Marinated beef
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 14,00
Mix of local cured meat, cheese, vegetable pie
Filetti di pesce (potassolo, sugarello, triglie) fritti
€ 15,00
Fried local fish fillets
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Tacconi casalinghi con ragu’ di coniglio
Home made Tacconi with rabbit souce
Zuppa di cipolle (vegetariano)
Onions soup (vegetarian)
Cannelloni ricotta e spinaci al ragù
Cannelloni with ricotta cheese and spinach with ragu’
Ravioli di Papavero con burro artigianale di Pierpaolo Piagneri e formaggio parmigiano 36 mesi (vegetariano)
Home made poppy ravioli with local butter and Parmigiano cheeese VEGETARIAN
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli (Presidio Slow Food) pecorino ed olio nuovo di Matraia (vegetariano)
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli ,Slow Food presidium) with new oil from Matraia and pecorino cheese VEGETARIAN
Riso (cannaroli biologico) al piccione
Riso (cannaroli biologico) with pigeon souce
Vitoni di grano duro al sugo di calamari
Vitoni “pasta” with squidsfish souce
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Frittata di asparagi selvatici
Wild asparagus omelettes
Coniglio nostrale arrosto (Azienda agricola Il Castello) marinato alle erbe aromatiche, con il fagiolo malato di Lucca
Roast local rabbit with local beans
Agnello arrosto con patate
Roast lamb with potatoes
Carciofi ritti (ripieni di carne di manzo tritata)
Artichokes stuffed with meat
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
la trippa
Tripe
Polpo in casseruola
Octopus braised
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Cheese cake con formaggio di Monica di Valgiano con salsa di frutta caramellata
Cheese cake with local cheese and caramelized fruit |
Pere al vino con crema chantilly
Pear in red wine with chantilly cream
Panna cotta con elicriso, miele di spiaggia e polline
Panna cotta with helichrysum, beach honey and pollen
Torta di riso e cioccolata
Rice and chocolate cake
Gelato a scelta fra: Crema, Cioccolata, Fragola,
Pistacchio bronte (della GELATERIA VENETA – IN LUCCA)
Ice cream, Chocolate, Cream, Strawberry, Pistachio
Latte alla portoghese
Portuguese-style milk
Cialda con ricotta della pastora e miele di erica
Waffeln with ewe’s cheese (ricotta), local honey
Torta di arancia e cioccolata
Orange and chocolat cake
We like everything about wine. The aromas, the colours and flavors, the bottles and their labels. The soil, the vines and the vineyards, so different from each other. And then we like to drink it, with something to eat, with friends and end up laughing and singing. Or just drink it alone, suggesting meditation. We like to drink it by candlelight for two and end the night with the candle unlit. And then we like the people who produce wine. Our wine list is made up of men and women, of their work and souls.
Discover our list, consisting of about 300 labels, with wines that can only be tasted in our trattoria and discover the winemakers who have thrilled us, with their very small, local productions. Discover the great internationals and wines “for amateurs”, such as those of Georgia or Portugal .