Lupa Ristorante — Restaurant in Berkeley Heights

Absolutely PHENOMENAL!!

I came in last week as a recommendation from a close friend. The chef, who’s responsible for some of my favorite food in NJ at previous locations, has truly taken the food menu to a whole new level & struck gold again with Lupa Ristorante!

I will start with the ambiance! What may appear to be a small location becomes a vast dining room floor space filled with Italian music ringing in the background and laughs from family and friends enjoying their meals in the forefront.

Walking into such an environment I instantly became excited for the experience to come.

Staff was super friendly, caring, & knowledgeable! I showed up early for my reservation and was sat without any issues of my early arrival. Immediately greeted by multiple staff members to get water served and informed of the specials of the day.

To start I got the Truffled Burrata & Garlic and oil marinated “Happy Bread” and from the start with the SWEET AND SAVORY I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed with whatever arrived next! The Truffled burrata was out of this world! The China everything was served on was sourced directly in Italy as well and no 2 plates were the same design. Small aesthetic pieces like this make a food lover like me truly excited for the restaurant. After the delicious breads I worked my way to the Butter Lettuce & Beet Salads! 2 extremely different flavor profiles accompanied by delicious salad toppings that made me question would I have space for more…. But of course I did! Then with the Wagyu Meatballs & BEYOND BELIEF SQUID INK SPAGHETTI I truly thought oh man I may not finish the rest of what was ordered. What I can say I loved most was the home style family dinner environment and how they waited an appropriate amount of time for some space to be freed up before bringing out the main course. The lasagna Bolognese, Faroes Island Salmon, & Hanger Steak. Guys if you haven’t figured out the theme here: no plate of food they served was off or even needed to be modified. The flavor and deliciousness Of every plate had me saying “oh my god” repeatedly! To finish it all off went with the almond cake and lemon tart to taste for desert and could not have been happier to end my experience with that!

Very thankful to Lupa, staff, & the chef for taking the time to educate me on the food, the restaurant itself, & the background and heritage that went into establishing such a product.

Extremely affordable & not a wallet breaker either. So if you’re looking to switch it up for date night or even host a family dinner, I can say with confidence this is the...

A truly great and authentic Italian dining experience. I went there for the first time recently per a friend's recommendation. Had a great experience and, within a week, brought my Italy born and raised mother to experience it herself. I'm rather critical on Italian food, and she even more so. We both liked everything and I didn't have a bad plate either night.

What sets Lupa apart is the clear quality of the food overall, and the pasta in particular. It is immediately noticeable, the moment it hits your taste buds, that everything there is made in house. It is an elevated dining experience, but not a gimmicky one. No unnecessary bells and whistles, but the same level of food one would expect when 'nonna' makes a family meal. The attention to detail and consistency of the dishes can't be understated.

Quite literally everything was of outstanding quality, so I won't go over each dish, but I will highlight the most surprising one for me: the Tiramisu. It is well constructed/balanced, not too heavy on cream, and soaked through with espresso. I've come to know what to expect from that dessert in the US, so I've basically stopped ordering it when going out. I was so impressed with the meal that I took a chance here, and I'm really glad I did. It is by far the most proper and best version I've had at a US restaurant to date.

Outside of the meal itself, the overall service was stellar. The staff was very warm and welcoming. It was particularly nice that a few were able to converse in Italian, which my mother enjoyed as much as them. Takes a lot to impress her and to make her experience worthwhile, and they hit every single note. Can't thank them enough for that. Highly recommend to anyone for a great dining experience out, but especially if you're an Italian searching for a proper...

Intimate and elegant atmosphere at Lupa Italian Restaurant in Berkeley Heights. There are linen white tablecloths on the tables and the restaurant can accommodate small and larger parties.

The wait staff is very friendly, but the parking is limited to street parking, as the lot in back of the restaurants is for tenant parking only. We were lucky to find a parking spot right in front of the restaurant, and our friends also found parking on the street. I imagine weekend parking can be more difficult.

The menu is quite vast, offering many choices for starter plates, appetizers, pizzeria's, salads and small entrees, followed by a large selection of pastas and sauces and meat/seafood. They also have a very nice choice of seasonal cocktails and a nice wine selection.

We reserved a table for this Tuesday evening dinner and upon arrival, requested a table in the bar area since it seemed less noisy there. This is the smaller of the two dining areas. The restaurant is decorated with large black and white canvas-style photographs of the family who owns and runs Lupa.

The ate the house salad and the beet salad - both were delicious. Later we had the pork shop and 3 pasta dishes - all of which were uniquely different and tasty. For dessert we had the popular house specialty almond cake and the tres leches cake. We never felt rushed, our water was always filled and the waiter was always...