Lupa Ristorante

Excellent, classy and original Italian restaurant. And I mean original by native Italian standards. As expected from a restaurant based in the US, there are minor compromises made to adapt a bit to the American taste, but 95% of the menu you would find in a typical restaurant in Toscana or Lazio. The service is excellent and discreet. The location has parking and the ambience is simple yet refined.
There is a large choice of antipasti and primi piatti (large portions) mostly of home made pasta, cooked absolutely al dente. Good wine list. It is not cheap, but you can taste the quality and that makes the price absolutely fair.
I will definitely go back to try more dishes.

The best Italian restaurant in the area. The bread is made in house and has great flavor. All the pastas are killer. Chef Adolfo is a master in the kitchen.

Hosted a group of 20 for dinner and everything was amazing, from uniquely crafted drinks to their house-made pasta, and of course dessert. Flawless execution with a large party and absolutely stunning experience!

What an amazing Chef! Amazing food! Alway an amazing experience. The Best!! Love the Host and the Bartender, he is fabulous and the staff, super attentive. European and World class. I love it!

We've eaten here a couple of times on a Tuesday night, and can definitely say this restaurant deserves all the 5 star reviews.

This is elegant and upscale dining in a casual and intimate space. Large black and white photographs on the wall and white linen table cloths. There is an extensive wine list and service is excellent (thank you Kimberly).

The food is amazing. Fresh and delicious, and expertly prepared with good size portions. All the pasta and sauces are homemade. The complimentary bread and tomato sauce are terrific. For an appetizer the thick spaghetti with tomato sauce was very tasty. For entrees the branzino, chilean sea bass, scallops, and sesame tuna were all wonderful. The lemon cake for dessert was great, as was the affogato with gelato.

The menu is extensive, with plenty of pasta, veal, and chicken dishes if you don't want fish.

This is a very nice place to have a leisurely dinner with friends, or a romantic night out. The restaurant is not inexpensive, but definitely worth the price for the food, service, and atmosphere.

This is now one of our favorite go to restaurants--but only during the week. We've been told this gets quite noisy on the weekends, as many smaller restaurants do.

The best Italian food I ever had! Wagyu meatballs for appetiser and tiramisu for desert are my recommendations! Puttanesca as main didn’t let me down either!

Came here on a weekday for dinner, food was really delicious, atmosphere was great too. We had calamari, hanger steak, papperdelle, tiramisu, all very tasty. Can’t wait to try different dishes next time.

Our server Robert welcomed us with a warm smile, very informative introduced the menu to us.

Will definitely come back again a lot lol

To call this restaurant amazing would be an understatement. From the front door to the exit, the level of service and food is beyond anything that I've had in NYC area.
Everything tastes like it is home made by an Italian grandmother for her grandkids. Even the ice cream is made in house and is very flavorful without a mountain of sugar.
The host and the wait staff are top notch. They ensure that you are taken care of without being overbearing.
Whenever we go, we always do family style as there are way too many dishes we want to eat.

I rarely if ever post a restaurant review. We came here by a recommendation on a town Facebook page. This was probably the best meal we have had in a
restaurant in years. Focaccia bread made on site - warm and delicious. The fig gorgonzola prosciutto appetizer was fabulous. We were brought a complimentary artichoke appetizer that melted in your mouth. The entrees were exceptional. The home made squid ink pasta with lobster in a light cream sauce was delicious as well as the salmon. Even the side of broccoli rabe was so well prepared. There is a full bar and the drinks do not disappoint.The service was excellent. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. The chef and
owner greeted us at our table. We cannot say enough about how wonderful this restaurant is. We were so full we passed on dessert. We will be back!! Deliziosa!

Came here for dinner to celebrate my friend’s birthday earlier in the week and we had the best time! Our server Matt was wonderful and every single dish we had was amazing from the bread that was brought to the table down to the last spoonful of dessert! Highly recommend Lupa for any special occasion or even just a random night out.

It’s not every day that you experience something truly remarkable. Coming from Manhattan we are used to high quality standards and exceptional service, this restaurant goes beyond anything we had since the beginning of the pandemic. You can feel the dedication, perfectionism and true love for the craft that goes beyond high standards to show true passion for food. I hope they keep it up.

Finally had a chance to check out Lupa, and I'm so glad I did! This is a fantastic restaurant in downtown Berkeley Heights. This isn't the typical "red sauce" kind of place I grew up with, but the food and drinks were fantastic all around. I ended up having the 'nduja with burrata, the cacio e pepe romaine hearts (Caesar salad), and the Lasagna Bolognese, while my wife had the beet salad and gnocchi. For dessert we had a creme brulee and Basque cheesecake. While there's a bit of a wait for the food, it came out very fresh and delicious!

I'm already looking forward to my next visit to try out something else from the menu!

Last night, my friend and I enjoyed one of the finest dining experiences either of us have ever had. While ordering one of everything was certainly an option on the table, our knowledgeable server, Matt, guided us through our tough decisions. That cocktail you see with the black lava salted rim is called Big Smoke and it’s big time delicious! My friend enjoyed the Eastside and the Purple Sparrow (a must try!). While our appetizers happily disappeared into our tummies before we could snap any photos, I have to mention that you must try the shrimp scampi!! The sauce will change your life. The pasta we shared is homemade spaghetti cacio pepe and the idea that spaghetti of this caliber can be prepared outside of Italy is quite possibly the coolest thing about NJ. Before you jump to dessert, you must try the pork chop & horseradish salmon for your mains!! THE BEST. We ended our evening with a couple more must try’s…. The lemon tart & the almond cake! Oh my yum. The warmest thank you to Chef Adolfo Marisi, Matt, Luca, Luis, and the whole Lupa staff for this incredible dining experience! Counting down the days until we go back!

I brought my parents here to celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary and we were blown away. The most amazing octopus you will likely ever have. Antonio! Wow…he made us all feel special and heightened our experience in every moment. The Chef was gracious and humble and came out to greet us three times. Simply superb I wish I could give higher ratings!

Adolfo and his staff are truly amazing. Everything from the start when you walk in to the food and the service. His food brought me back to when I Studied abroad in Italy it was that good! Adolfo also makes you feel like family too which is hard to find. Already planning my next visit soon!

We had a delicious meal and a great time at Lupa! The filet mignon and short rib pasta were amazing. The service was extremely friendly and prompt. All staff wore masks. It was our first time there but we will be back again (and again, I'm sure)

If you go anywhere else for any kind of authentic Italian food.... I'm not sure what you are thinking. This is the BEST joint I've EVER been to and my wife is from Italy so you tell me. The owner is VERY friendly. The staff is ATTENTIVE. You will not be disappointed. Go here and nowhere else

Waygu beef burger and a glass of wine topped off my day.. updates 9-18 visit for a very filling lunch! The flavors and tastes remind me of old Newark in the Italian moms houses.

The freshest food you'll ever eat by far! This restaurant was recommended to me and wow did it exceed the hype! Since it was my first time visiting I ordered three appetizers, two entrees, drinks and of course dessert to share with my colleague. Everything. Was. Wonderful. The bread, dessert, literally everything is made in-house and sourced fresh daily. You can tell as the taste was indescribably good. I'm very picky, especially with seafood but my first visit for sure won't be my last. I would recommend the shrimp scampi, stewed calamari (and I actually didn't like octopus prior), artichoke hearts, and salmon but of course I'm willing to bet my liver everything on the menu is just as good (and I need my liver!) Also the bread, it was wonderfully crispy with the perfect amount of olive oil. I shamefully demolished it all. The servings are great, not too much but enough that you'll be satisfied. It would be a crime if you also didn't get the gelato. The crunchy, granola looking toppings on the bottom of the gelato were heavenly.

You do need a reservation though, keep that in mind! They have a bar area for walk-ins, but if you want a table you need to call ahead. The ambiance and inside decor were both great. Definitely a hidden gem. If the staff and chef weren't so nice, I would gatekeep but everyone definitely deserves to experience what I did haha! I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

I had an amazing experience at Lupa. Everyone was so kind and welcoming. The food was amazing and I recommend the Squid Ink Spaghetti. The other image is the Wagyu Filet which I was lucky to try— beautiful and perfect. I appreciated and enjoyed my experience and look forward to the next time.