Lupa Osteria Westville — Restaurant in KwaZulu-Natal

Edit- extremely disappointed since Lupa is our most highly recommended restaurant to family and friends or anyone. We come here for everything special to us, birthdays anniversaries, valentines day... We ordered 2 dishes, the chicken Francese and the Lupa with Gnocchi. Both dishes were completely and utterly disappointing. The gnocchi was half old and crunchy (oily tasting) half fresh. Old portions were definitely mixed with the new. The chicken Francese, unfortunately my favourite dish from the lupa Menu as I've ordered it repeatedly, was drenched in oil. The chicken wasn't cooked properly(in its normal way) as it had tasted like skin vs the way it normally tasted.

I had loaded on garlic and parmesan to the chicken in hopes to make it taste better, until I realized all of my chips were soaked in oil and I would be better off returning it. We had returned the dishes and the manager comes out to say that he agreed with the bad tasting Gnocchi and that my dish was drenched in oil. He said he would remake the Gnocchi dish, and he would "remove the oil" from mine and return it to me. He also claims he didn't get the smell in the chicken, (eh maybe that had something to do with the ton of garlic I'd loaded on before you tasted it) garlic does tend to kill the bad smells of chicken. What about the chips already soaked in oil. Also wasn't Gnocchi supposed to be freshly handmade at the restaurant. We were told they were "trying out a new supplier".

Seating was also difficult

It was a Tuesday night and lots of the tables weren't reserved, I told the staff I couldn't sit on the hard back chairs as I had a back issue. I was given a cramped table where I couldn't eat freely against a wall. We'd asked for better seating on the free and non reserved table next to us, and we were refused and told to be seated using the hard back chairs again. That should've been a red flag that we weren't going to be treated in a dignified manner. I will never pay for a dish that has been ruined, even more so when a manager dismisses your entire complaint because of his arrogance. You don't get to tell me I'm receiving an old plate of food I've complained about and that I'm paying the full price for it. Does your manager think I woke up bored and decided to pick a fight? I'd come there to order my favourite food, don't dismiss a customer complaint. The quality of this place is crashing terribly.

Left for an Italian restaurant that cared about its customers, and gave me the seating I preferred with back support in the form of a cushion at least. Always amazing quality food! We never leave...

Dear Lupa Team,

I’ve always enjoyed dining at your restaurant and have never been disappointed — until my visit yesterday.

I ordered the Zingara, requesting a substitution of bacon for chicken, no cream or sauce, and asked for it to be served with garlic and chilli in olive oil — more on the dry side, as I dislike creamy or saucy pastas. Unfortunately, the dish was served in a tomato base, which I specifically did not request and do not enjoy.

Although I politely informed the waiter that this wasn’t what I ordered, no action was taken to correct the issue. Out of courtesy and not to disrupt the outing with my friends, I went ahead and ate the meal. My total bill came to R297, and despite the disappointment, I still tipped the waiter R50, and my friends added a 10% tip on their share.

I truly believe in supporting great restaurants, and I’m sharing this feedback in the hope that future guests who have specific dietary preferences or requests are heard and taken seriously. It makes a big difference when a restaurant acknowledges a mistake and does something to remedy it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to better experiences in the future.

Warm...

Absolutely horrendous service from an elderly gentleman with glasses. We called in to the restaurant to explain that a langostine pasta that we ordered for take away was smelling extremely fishy and were told to come into the restaurant and we would be assisted with our concern.

Once we arrived we were greeted by a manager who refused to take any responsibility and was more interested in telling us "what we should have done". The customer is always right principle obviously does not apply to this place. An apology was not offered once and instead he decided to insult us by saying that he had never seen us there before and that "You people" shouldnt blame the restaurant because we must check the food before taking it away (lol). According to him it is not the restaurants responsibly to ensure good quality food once it leaves the restaurant.

We left the rotten smelling food at the restaurant and walked away. Disgusting management. Stay away...