NOW EXPERIENCING:La Lupa
Drinks Directory|Bar|Brisbane|Good for groups

La Lupa

Shop 3, 321 Montague Road, West End, QLD 4101
Phone
07 3532 3875
Website
lupapizzabar.com.au
Instagram
@laluparestaurant

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 04 Jun 2022

By
Fiona Donnelly

Top-notch pizza? Tick. Noteworthy Italian wines? Tick. Charming, knowledgeable staff? Tick. Yes, at La Lupa you can enjoy a flavoursome wedge of Italy in Brisbane’s West End.

Why you goYou can tell when a drinks list has had love poured into it, and La Lupa’s is a fine example. It’s a lively collection of noteworthy, naturally made Euro wines and liqueurs – those who like their vino made without too much messing around will be spoilt for choice. And what’s more, drinks here can be enjoyed with some of Brisbane’s tastiest Italian snacks, not least the top-notch Roman-style pizza. This West End destination has seen a few changes over the years. When La Lupa first fired up in 2017 people thought of it mainly as an excellent pizza place. Five years on, the kitchen under expat Italian chef and co-owner Valentina Vigni still delivers those famous long-ferment Roman-style pies, plate-loads of smart seasonal antipasti and standout mains such as Florentine-style T-bone steak. But these days there’s even more for drinkers. Choose a glass of something lovely from the old-school chalkboard behind the bar, pair it with a plate of fennel salami, say, and you may just begin to feel like you’ve left the high-rises of West End behind and landed in a buzzy wine bar-ristorante on a sunny piazza in Tuscany.
Why you stay

There’s always a bit of a hum and hubbub at La Lupa, a spot that means different things to different people. To the apartment-dwellers living nearby, it’s a lock for a regular midweek pizza or bowl of pasta and a special vino, as well as somewhere to come back to for date night. For those who criss-cross suburbs to get here, it’s a place to discover out-of-the ordinary Italian (plus some Slovenian, Turkish and Georgian) wine, as well as snacks like Roman-style artichokes, sweet and sour sardines, pillowy focaccia and more. Staff are chatty, warm and knowledgeable, and often armed with charming Italian accents. 

The fit-out is pleasingly simple. Inside, the decor is unfussy, with polished concrete flooring lending a mod-industrial feel. Around half the tables are in the streetside undercover alfresco area, separated from passers-by with a glass screen. Look up and you can check out an unusual light fitting overhead featuring black pipes and gauges – a nod to the original occupants of the site, The South Brisbane Gas and Light Company aka the West End Gasworks was demolished to make way for this block.

What drink to orderNegroni lovers are in luck – La Lupa’s rendition is killer. Dubbed the Vintage Negroni, it comes in a fancy cut-glass goblet – spicy, sweet and so damn juicy. Its special weapon? It’s boosted with a bitter Umbrian wine that’s been jazzed up with secret herbs and spices. It’s called Barolo Chinato and it adds so many extra layers to an already fab cocktail. Prefer to order a glass of wine? Take a pin and stick it anywhere on the list with tasty results guaranteed. More than two dozen options are on pour by the glass – such as the bright, lightly orange Salarola from northern Italy, or a chilled red from Slovenia by a vineyard called Organic Anarchy (hard to resist a winery with a name like that). These are all handpicked wines, often from family vineyards, and their quality is rock solid. There’s Peroni, too, if you fancy your lager with a Roman accent like your pizza.
What to pair it withLa Lupa means she-wolf in Italian and the must-try house specialty is the lupacchiotti, or wolf cubs – slices of bronzed and puffy long-ferment pizza loaded up with goodness. Toppings vary but usually include a vegetarian option such as salty olive tapenade layered with silky eggplant slices and creamy burrata cheese along with the meatier likes of big-flavoured prosciutto ham, gorgonzola cheese and pear – perfect snacking with a glass or two. Mopping up sauces with bread is encouraged here. Look out for “scarpetta” on the menu, sourdough slices specially designed for wiping up every skerrick of that crazy-good tomato and seafood sauce, say, that stars in La Lupa’s spaghetti bowl with scampi and cherry tomatoes. Or go all out and nab a fresh-from-the-oven focaccia. There’s no judgement and all the dough here is made with virtuous organic stone-milled flour.
Regular’s tipIf you can’t find the wine you fancy on the list, quiz the staff about the ever-changing contents of the secret fridge. This is where sample bottles and premium wares are held.
Don’t leave without

Picking up a bottle of Tuscan liquid gold – aka extra virgin olive oil. Whatever is on sale here is always special. Sometimes it’s even harvested from the olive grove of Valentina’s family in Tuscany. Better make that two bottles.

The food and wines are available to take away (you can order online). You just might need to nab a portion of the tiramisù.

Authour image
Fiona DonnellyFood writer Fiona Donnelly turned her love of bars and restaurants into a career – and she’s still pinching herself.
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Drinks DirectoryCasual catch-upBrisbaneRestaurantBarTop notch wine listFamily affairOutdoor areaGood for groupsAfter work drinksTakeawaysKiller cocktailsDate nightMeal and a bev
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