Lupessa — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

We went last night not knowing that this was a relaunch of this restaurant with a new chef and menu. I prefer to allow restaurants to work out the kinks that naturally occur.

We then ordered a few appetizers to share the arancini (truffle crema and roasted mushrooms), two of my favorite flavors and the Burrata Heirloom Tomatoes, Crispy Shallots, Basil, Olive Oil, Pesto, Balsamic Reduction). I admit I went back to the menu to get the details on all the ingredients to add to this review to make sure I did it justice.

Three arancini arrived, settled in the crema sauce on a large round plate with a small amount of micro greens on the top. They were a perfect golden brown, and I anticipated them being dry once split open, as historically it always seemed that great color equally dry, or barely fried meant moist. This chef nailed both in one go. Upon cutting into the arancini the liquid filling just started to ooze out, but not so much that you were left with a fierce of “fried rice”. It was lovely, with the parmesan and truffle flavor evident but not overwhelming.

The burrata arrived on a smaller plate, and was no less beautiful when it arrived. It was a large portion that sat on a bed of the pesto sauce, with some nicely roasted tomatoes. We enjoyed that throughly, and while we waited of the mains, questioned whether we just had the best of the evening. As my date pointed out, often it goes down hill from the appetizers. I chose Chicken Alfredo ( Pappardelle, Grilled Chicken, Parmesan Crema, Parsley) and Chicken Piccata (Airline Chicken Breast, Lemon Caper Sauce, Broccolini and Fresh Fettucini) We didn’t know what airline chicken meant and Googled that it was just a form of a chicken breast with a little drumette attached.

I honestly wanted to order the Pork Chop (12oz bone in)with Crispy Pee Wee (Potatoes, Confit Garlic, Parmesan, Fresh Herbs) and Roasted Mushrooms (Brown Butter, Thyme Pine Nuts, Parsley), but everything is a la carte and I wasn’t willing to invest that much in a main that I didn’t have very high hopes for.

Both meals arrived, and instinctively my reaction was, hmmm, small portions, again I was proven wrong. Plating is very deceiving and we both ended up taking some some, maybe because we really wanted to leave room for dessert to see if they could pull off the trifecta.

Both mains did not disappoint, though the fettuccine looked like the parpadelle on my late, it didn’t matter. Historically Alfredo is often heavy and either lacks taste or overrun with cheese, and I actually wondered why I ordered it after I did it, just because of that. Well, it was an extremely pleasant surprise to taste some of the best Alfredo I have ever had. It was nicely balanced without being heavy. It was sauced perfectly, so much so I heated my leftovers up for breakfast and enjoyed it a second time.

I did bend and order the mushroom side, which I knew didn’t really go with pasta but I adore mushrooms.

Rounded out the meal with a pudding/custard dessert. I can’t recall what it was called, but it was butterscotchy, salted carmely, topped with a layer of fresh whipped cream. There were only three dessert options, that Tiramisu, and a cannoli.

They hit the trifecta, that was an amazing dessert. We can’t wait to go back, and anticipate sampling more of the menu as well as seeing the menu expand as we were told it would as they get more settled.

And before anyone thinks this review is a “plant” it isn’t. I happen to own my own little grab and go place and appreciate really extraordinary food and service, and when it actually occurs I like to take the time and effort to highlight places and chefs that put the work it.

Well done Lupressa, I suspect I will be back...

Took my wife for Valentines Day. I was able to easily make the reservation online, and that went very slick. Definitely make reservations. I didn't realize this place was in the gateway, so it was also pretty nice to have a large parking area downtown to park my car safely. When we arrived, the atmosphere was nice, and it was pretty cool that you could see the kitchen from the entry area and from where we were seated near the bar. Fun painting on the walls and decorations, the flowing trees AND an itslian plumber and his girlfriend (if you know where to find them. Hint - go wash your hands 😉) We were seated very timely, and the staff was polite. We were greeted by our server, and he made us familiar with the menu and offered some great suggestions. Please note this is an "á la carte" restaurant. We ended up ordering a couple of drinks (Jazz something and an O Sole Mio), both of which were good. We had the Semolina (not Salmonella people) Garlic Bread and an order of Wikd Mushroom Arancini. These came out pretty quickly and were tasty. I've been some places where their Arancini were larger so I was a little let down at the price vs portion (this seemed to be a theme for the night), but we did enjoy them both. We ordered the Bucatini alla Carbonara, Chicken "Parm", and Wild Caught Swordfish. Now again, we could see the kitchen. It took a very, very long time to get our food. Like really long. I'm ok of a kitchen is busy but I could see it. They either perform cool under pressure and can cook while moving slow or...well....it was slow. When we got our food it was OK temp wise but it was not hot. For a deep fried Parm, it was not hot. My swordfish was not hot. Our carbonara, the sauce had started to hardened and the noodles were all sticking together. It was very disappointing, but since I didn't have a thermometer to verify if it was to cold for serving standards (I went on a date, not to work for the health department haha).

The flavors were good tho. The chicken Parm is thigh meat, and I'd never thought about using that before but it worked SO well. Very juicy (just not hot like it was freshly made). The Swordfish was not over cooked and the parsnip puree and olive eggplant caponada was actually really good. I honestly wouldn't have tried it because I have an irrational fear of eggplant but now just looking back at the menu it was eggplant. (Again, not super hot just warm. The carbonara was a huge let down. Set sauce with a small portion. Not even really warm. It was extremely salty. Almost to a point where I wanted to send it back (but I'm to much of a coward to send food back, so we finished it like a big boy and girl). We did not have room for desert. We spent about 2.5 hours there and my ticket was about $175 and I tipped 20%. (Not bragging, just perspective). They were kind enough to give me $2 of parking validation but since I was there 2.5 hours I had to cough up a couple bucks for parking. Still a great deal downtown.

All and all the temp of our main courses was a huge let down. They were acceptable for food standards I guess but the carbonara was Def sitting under a heat lamp for the rest of our food and I suspect all our main entrees sat under a heat lamp for some time.

I was going to give it 3 stars but my wife said I was being a baby about the parking validation, and she is right.

Just make sure you bring lots of money and make sure your food temp is to your liking. This was probably an off experience, but it was...

I recently had the unfortunate experience of dining at Italian Graffiti in Salt Lake, and I must say, it was an absolute disaster. I can't remember the last time I was so thoroughly disappointed with a restaurant. From start to finish, this place managed to ruin what should have been a special birthday celebration.

I must've called Italian Graffiti ten times before they returned the call to book our table of twelve. The birthday girl's wish was to go here and it is regularly impossible to get a reservation. Upon making the reservation, they told me that it was an 18 percent automatic gratuity. I understand this is normal -- however, one makes the assumption that with this agreement service will actually be provided. There's a certain audacity to automatically charge for service -- knowing that you will not and cannot provide it. Gratuity should be earned, not forced upon patrons. It's a blatant cash grab, and it left a sour taste in our mouths from the very beginning. Every time we needed something from a knife to a new cocktail one of us would have to go to the front desk, that we were immediately adjacent to, to ask them to send someone to help us.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The staff's attitude throughout the evening was nothing short of appalling. It was as if they had completely forgotten that we were there to celebrate a birthday. They failed to acknowledge the occasion, let alone bring out the birthday cake we had pre-arranged. We had to practically beg for any form of service. Moreover, they forgot to come back to cut the cake - for which they were also charging a cake cutting fee.

And speaking of the dining area, they had the audacity to label it as a "private dining area." What a joke! It was nothing more than a snowy wind tunnel between the entrance and the patio. We were subjected to freezing temperatures and biting winds throughout our meal, which made the entire experience even more unbearable. It was also literally in the front where people were waiting to be seated. We couldn't hear each other unless we were yelling and it felt that we were simply part of the restaurant greeting committee due to being literally in the waiting area.

In summary, Italian Graffiti in Salt Lake provided the worst birthday experience of our lives. Their blatant disregard for customer service, the imposition of an 18 percent gratuity, and the laughable "private dining area" all combined to create an unforgettable night for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy. Save your time, money, and special occasions for a place that actually values its customers and knows how to provide a decent...