Passion on a Plate
LUPA’s 11,000 sq. ft space is a glorious mélange of rustic outdoors and glamourous, maximalist decor.
LUPA is an ode to Manu Chandra’s many passions— travel, design, history, architecture and of course, food. You walk in expecting a warm Italian cottage but instead find a modern, maximalist space with oversized lamps, brass accents, leather couches, grand staircases and a flaming orange mural of the inspiration behind the name, the mythical she-wolf Lupa herself. And the crux of LUPA lies in this audacity—what else can you call a restaurant that houses an underground stone clad wine cellar with over 2,000 world class wines in the centre of an Indian metropolis?
LUPA is not just about audacity and ambition. The menu is rooted in timeless European flavours and modern techniques, and the bar offers interesting takes on the classics with innovative house distills. The salami platter with exquisite cold cuts like salami milano, black forest ham, and edel salami piccante, house made tigelle buns,gnocchi frittos, gherkins and a spicy mostarda, is light yet flavourful and sets the tone for the meal. Portobello Mushroom Pithivier and Pressed Half Brick Chicken are mains with hearty comforting flavours. The courses are best paired with house cocktails like Lupa-tini, a take on the classic martini that comes with a smoke bubble, Shrub G&T with gondhoraj lemon and notes of ginger and lavender, and the innovative Melon Cheese and Ham made with vermouth, gin, cheese (yes!) and served with a ham chip!
To close the night, choose The Notorious F.I.G, a layered cocktail of fig preserve infused bourbon, Campari, lime, bitters, thyme, and cinnamon, which is but a metaphor of the many facets of LUPA. The flavours of both, the cocktail and the restaurant, are sure to linger on your palate and heart for long.
Where Ground Floor, Spencer’s Towers, No. 86, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bangalore; +91 8792384999 / +91 8792385999
Cost `4,500 (Meal for two) plus taxes