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 OMAGGIO A SAURO BRUNICARDI (vegetariano)
Red peppers pudding with local caw cheese cream (Vegetarian)
Caprese con il pomodoro Canestrino lucchese (presidio Slow Food) e mozzaROSINA (mozzarella di Monica di Valgiano fatta con il latte di un unica mucca: ROSINA)
Caprese with local Mozzarella (from Valgiano) and Canestrino Lucchese tomatoes (Slow Food presidium)
Baccalà mantecato su crostone di polenta di formenton ottofile
Brandade of salt cod on polenta (corn-meal porridge) canapes
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
Tortino di Verdure di stagione (vegetariano)
Vegetables pie (vegetarian)
Manzo marinato nel bigongio
€ 11,00
Marinated beef
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 14,00
Mix of local cured meat, cheese, vegetable pie
Acciughe dei pescatori fritte
€ 14,00
Fried anchovies
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Tacconi con pomodoro fresco (Canestrino Lucchese presidio Slow Food) pecorino stagionato e pepolino (vegetariano)
Home made Tacconi with fresch tomatoes “canestrino lucchese tomatoes Slow Food presidium” , pecorino cheese and tyme VEGETARIAN
Pappa al pomodoro con il pomodoro canestrino lucchese (vegetariano)(presidio Slow Food)
Tomatoes bread soup (with “canestrino lucchese tomatoes” Slow Food presidium VEGETARIAN
I nostri gnocchi di patate con formaggio di Monica di Valgiano (tipo Taleggio) (vegetariano)
Home made gnocchi with local cheese VEGETARIAN
Le nostre crepes di farina di grando verna all’ortica (vegetariano)
Home made nettle crepes VEGETARIAN
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli (Presidio Slow Food) al pesto alla Genovese (vegetariano)
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli ,Slow Food presidium) with pesto (vegetarian)
Risotto (cannaroli biologico) al piccione
Risotto cannaroli biologico) with pigeon
Spaghetti al sugarello
Spaghetti with local fish “sugarello”
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Filetto di maiale in crosta con cipolle rosse caramellate
Pork fillet Baked in pastry with caramelized onions
Coniglio nostrale arrosto dell’Azienda agricola Il Castello marinato alle erbe aromatiche, con il fagiolo cannellino di Lucca
Roast local rabbit with local white beans
il nostro manzo in gelatina con insalatina di campo
Beef jellied with salad
Pollo nostrale (azienda agricola il Castello) in umido con le stringhe lucchesi
Local chichen stewed with local long green beans
Frittata di cipolle e… code di cipolle
Onion omelette (vegetarian)
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
la trippa
Tripe
Baccalà alla livornese
€.16,00
Salt cod “alla livornese” (fried in tomatoes sauce)
Seppie con piselli
Cuttlefish with peas
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Pesche al vino
| Peach in red wine |
Pesca con ricotta della pastora e miele di girasole
Peach with ewecheese (ricotta) and local honey
Panna cotta con salsa
di fragole
Panna cotta with strawberryes sauce
Cheese cake con formaggio di Monica di Valgiano e salsa di ciliegie del morianese
Cheese cake with Monica di Valgiano cheese and local cherry sauce
Gelato alla crema (della GELATERIA VENETA – IN LUCCA) e fragole biologiche
Vanilla ice cream with organic strawberry
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
Pesche ripiene
peach stuffed
Lo zuccotto di nostra produzione
Lo zuccotto (sponge cake with liqueur, cream and chocolade – semifreddo)
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 .