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.
Tortino di carciofi VEGETARIANO
Artichokes cake
CROSTONE CON IL LAMPREDOTTO E LA SALSA VERDE
White tripe canapes with green sauce
Le vere polpette di lesso con salsa verde
Meat ball with green sauce
Salumi artigianali con il nostro pane alle olive
€ 12,00
Mixed local cured meats with special bread
Prosciutto di “Pizzuga”
di Colle di Compito con crostini di fegatelli
€ 13,00
Local ham with chicken liver canapes
Focaccia calda e lardo
Flat salt bread with lard
Neccettini di farina di castagne con formaggio (di mucca e di pecora) VEGETARIANO
chestsnuts flour crepes with local caw and ewe’s cheese VEGETARIAN
Il nostro manzo marinato
€ 13,00
Marinated beef
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 15,00
Mix of local cured meat, cheese, vegetable pie
Polpo alla ligure
€ 16,00
Octupus with potatoes
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Home made Tordelli
Tacconi casalinghi ai carciofi (vegetariano)
Home made Tacconi with fresch artichokes (vegetarian)
I nostri tortellini in brodo di carne
homa made tortellini soup
Penne rigate di gragnano al sugo bianco di quinto quarto di mucca
“penne rigate” with white beef ragù
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli (Presidio Slow Food) pecorino ed olio nuovo VEGETARIANI
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli, Slow Food presidium) with pocorino cheese and local new oil VEGETARIAN
Riso (carnaroli biologico) al piccione
Organic rice with pigeon sauce
Spaghetti con i calamari
Spaghetti with squids fish
Ravioli con il fagiolo malato della lucchesia (varietà rarissima) con olio biologico delle Camelie e salsa di fagioli
€ 15,00
loca lbeen (malato) raviolo with organic oil and beans sauce
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Frittata (uova bio della Tenuta di Forci) di carciofi
Artichokes 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
Stracotto di manzo al rosso delle colline lucchesecon purea
18.00
Beaf stew in red wine with mashed
Rosticciana in umido con rapini
Pork ribs with local turnips
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
La Trippa
Tripe
| Mashed potatoes |
Rapini saltati
Turnips
Roast mix vegetables
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Castagnaccio con ricotta
|
Piatto forte lucchese
Local Trifle (sponge cake soaked in liqueur with layers of custard)
Torta di riso e cioccolata
Chocolate and rise cake
Gelato a scelta fra: Crema, Cioccolata, Fragola,
Pistacchio bronte (della GELATERIA VENETA – IN LUCCA)
Ice cream, Chocolate, Cream, Strawberry, Pistachio
Cheese cake con formaggio di Monica di Valgiano e frutta caramellata
cheese cake with loca lcaw cheese and caramelized fruit
Latte alla portoghese
Portuguese-style milk
Cialda con ricotta della pastora e miele biologico di tiglio
Waffel with ewe’s cheese (ricotta) and local organic honey
Torta di arancia e cioccolata
Orange and chocolat cake
Panna cotta con salsa pere
Panna cotta with pear 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

