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
Parmigiana di melanzane fatta con il formaggio “Stella dell’Arpa (bufala)” di Pierpaolo Piagneri (vegetariano)
Aubergine and tomato with local buffalo’s cheese (vegetarian)
Manzo marinato del bigongio
con la nostra salsa all’aglio orsino
€ 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)
€ 13,00
Octopus and potatoes with “aglio orsino pesto”
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Tacconi al sugo di coniglio
Tacconi (homemade pasta) with rabbit suoce
Zuppa di cipolle (con il formaggio fresco di vacca di Pierpaolo Piagneri) (vegetariano)
Onions soup (with local cow cheese) (vegetarian)
Ravioli di zucca, con il burro giallo di Pierpaolo Piagneri e parmigiano stagionato 40 mesi
(vegetariano)
Home made pumpking ravioli with local butter and Parmigian cheese (vegetarian)
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli al pesto alla genovese (vegetariano)
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli) with pesto (vegetarian)
Risotto ai sapori di settembre (porri, cavolo verza, carote, sedano, fagiolini,zucchini)
Risotto with september vegetables
Penne gamberetti e calamari
Penne with squidfish and prawns, wild fennel
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Piccione arrosto in letto di insalata
Roast pigeon with salad
Coniglio nostrale arrosto dell’Azienda agricola Il Castello marinato alle erbe aromatiche, con il fagiolo “malato” di Lucca
Roast local rabbit with local beans
Filetto di maiale in crosta con meline selvatiche di Nicobio
Pork fillet on crust with local apple
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Cheesecake con marmellata di uva fragola
Cheescake with grapes jam
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 fichi e noci
Figs and nuts 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 .