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 “ricetta rubata” a SAURO BRUNICARDI nel 1998 (Vegetariano)
Red Peppers pussing with Cheese Cream (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
Tortino di carciofi (vegetariano)
Spring vegetable pie (vegetarian)
Manzo marinato del bigongio
con la nostra salsa all”Aglio orsino
€ 11,00
Dried beef with “aglio orsino souse”
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 13,00
Mixed
Polpetti e patate con pesto di aglio orsino
€ 13,00
meatballs and potatoes with “aglio orsino pesto”
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Tacconi al sugo di coniglio
Tacconi (homemade pasta) with rabbit souce
La garmugia lucchese (zuppa primaverile lucchese del ‘700 con asparagi, piselli, baccelli,carciofi, cipollotti e carne di manzo tritata)
Onions Soup
Ravioli di borraggine burro artigianale e borraggine
(vegetariano)
Home made ravioli with borrago (vegetarian)
Maltagliati alle tre farine (senatore cappelli-grano saraceno-grano verna)
al profumo dell”orto (sedano-carote-cipolle) e formaggio pecorino stagionato (vegetariano)
Maltagliati made by three flours with vegetables and pecorino cheese (vegetarian)
Risotto biologico
ai profumi di primavera
Risotto with sprig vegetables artichokes, asparagus, grean peas
Risotto gamberetti ed asparagi selvatici
Risotto with shrimp and wild asparagus
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Spezzatino di carni miste con piselli freschi “cotto nel coccio”
Mixed meat with fresh peas
Coniglio nostrale arrosto marinato alle erbe aromatiche (azienda agricola il Castello) con il fagiolo cannellino lucchese
Roast local rabbit with local beans
Stinco di scottona (vitella – carne azienda agricola il Castello allevato
al pascolo) con salsa “criolla”
e pisellini freschi
Shank of veal with peas
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Cheesecake con le ciliegie di Moriano
Cherries Cheescake
Cannolo con ricotta della pastora
e miele di acacia
Cannoli with ricotta cheese and honey
Panna cotta con salsa
di fragole bio di Calafata
Panna cotta with strawberry souce
Gelato Crema, Cioccolata, Fragola,
Pistacchio bronte
Ice cream, Chocolate, Cream, Strawberry, Pistachio
Latte alla portoghese
Portuguese style milk
Orange and chocolate cake
Gelato alla crema
con fragole biologiche di Calafata
Ice cream with strawberry
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 .