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!
Tortino di Porri (vegetariano)
Leek pie (Vegetarian)
Salumi artigianali con il nostro pane alle olive
€ 10,00
Mixed local cured meats with special bread
Prosciutto di “Gino e Severino”
di Matraia con crostini di fegatelli
€ 11,00
Local ham with chicken liver canapes
Focaccia calda e lardo
Flat salt bread with lard
Budino di peperoni rossi alla crema di formaggio “Stella dell’Arpa (bufala)” di Pierpaolo Piagneri (vegetariano) Piatto rubato al grande SAURO BRUNICARDI
Red peppers pudding with local buffalo’s cheese cream(vegetarian)
Il nostro manzo marinato del bigongio
€ 11,00
Beef with “aglio orsino souce”
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 13,00
Mixed
Polpo alla ligure…(oppure polpo e patate biologiche del mercato di Terra Madre)ed olio nuovo
€ 13,00
Octopus and potatoes
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Pappardelle al cinghiale
Pappardelle (homemade pasta) with wild boar souce
La vera farinata lucchese con olio nuovo (vegetariano)
Leaf, cabbage and red beans polenta (vegetarian)
Crepes di farina di ceci ricotta della pastora e formaggio Castelmagno
(vegetariano)
Home made chick peas flour crepes with ricotta cheese and castelmagno cheese (vegetarian)
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli olio nuovo e pecorino stagionato (vegetariano)
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli) with pecorino cheese and new oil (vegetarian)
Risotto al piccione
Risotto with pigeon
Penne ai calamari calamari
Penne with squidfish and prawns, wild fennel
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Cinghiale in umido con polenta di formentone ottofile
wild board stewed with local polenta
Coniglio nostrale arrosto dell’Azienda agricola Il Castello marinato alle erbe aromatiche, con il fagiolo “rosso” di Lucca
Roast local rabbit with local beans
Rosticciana e salsicce di maiale grigio toscano co’ rapini
Pork ribs and sausage with green turnips
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Torta di farina di castagne nuova (Castagnaccio) con ricotta
| Chestnut flour cake with ricotta cheese |
Cialda con ricotta della pastora e miele biologico di spiaggia
waffel with ewecheese (ricotta) and local “beach honey”
Panna cotta con salsa
di pere
Panna cotta with pear souce
Gelato a scelta fra: Crema, Cioccolata, Fragola,
Pistacchio bronte
Ice cream, Chocolate, Cream, Strawberry, Pistachio
Latte alla portoghese
Portuguese-style milk
Sponge cake with alchermes liquor, cream and chocolate
Torta di arancio e cioccolata
Orange e 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 .