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.
La nostra cecina (vegetariano) co nformaggio di mucca di Monica di Valgiano e cavolo nero croccante
Chick-peas flowr pie with local cheese (caw) and leaf cabbage
Tortino di carciofi VEGETARIANO
Artichokes pie VEGETARIAN
Le nostre polpette “di lesso” e salsa verde
Meat ball with green sauce
Salumi artigianali con il nostro pane alle olive
€ 11,00
Mixed local cured meats with special bread
Prosciutto di “Gino e Severino”
di Matraia con crostini di fegatelli
€ 12,00
Local ham with chicken liver canapes
Focaccia calda e lardo
Flat salt bread with lard
Sfogliatina di porri VEGETARIANO
Leek pie
Il nostro manzo marinato
€ 12,00
Marinated beef
Antipasto misto del Mecenate
€ 14,00
Mix of local cured meat, cheese, vegetable pie
Polpo alla ligure
€ 15,00
Octupus with potatoes
Tordelli casalinghi lucchesi
Homemade Tordelli
Tacconi casalinghi al sugo di coniglio
Home made Tacconi with rabbbit sauces
Zuppa di cipolle (vegetariano)
Onions soup (vegetarian)
Crepes di farina di ceci con ricotta della pastora e formaggio erborinato di capra (VEGETARIANO)
Chickpea flour crepes with ricotta cheese and local coats cheese VEGETARIAN
Fusilloni del pastificio artigianale Fabbri al ragu’ bianco di quinto quarto
Fusilloni (pasta fabbri) with local meet sauce
I veri Testaroli di Pontremoli (Presidio Slow Food) olio nuovo e pecorino VEGETARIANI
Testaroli (typical from Pontremoli ,Slow Food presidium) with new oil and pecorini cheese VEGETARIAN
Riso (carnaroli biologico) agli asparagi selvatici (vegetariano)
Wild asparagus rice (vegetarian)
Spaghetti gamberetti ed asparagi selvatici
Spaghetti with Shrimps and wild asparagus
Le nostre pappardelle al cinghiale
Home made pappardelle with wild boar sauce
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Frittata (uove della tenuta di forci) di asparagi selvatici
wild asparagus 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
Stinco di scottona (mucca giovane) con purea
Knuckle of veal with potatoes mashed
Filetto di maiale in crosta con cipolline caramellate
Pork fillet baked in bread crust with caramelized onions
(per due persone)
(for 2 people)
La Trippa
Tripe
Carciofi ritti (ripieni di carne di manzo)
Calamaro ripieno con verdure
Squidsfish stuffed with vegetables
mashed potatoes
Tutti i dolci sono di nostra produzione / All dessert are made by us
Torta di limone
Lemon pie |
La nostra torta di pere
Pear pie
Panna cotta con salsa di pere
Panna cotta with pear sauce
Salame di cioccolata
chocolate log
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
Cialda con ricotta della pastora e miele biologico di erica
Waffel with ewe’s cheese (ricotta) and local organic honey
Torta di arancia e cioccolata
Orange and chocolat cake
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