LUPA, Highbury: Hype, Heat & Really Good Pasta

Lupa is 100 feet from my front door. To call it “my local” feels generous, it’s practically an extension of my kitchen.

This 26-cover corner spot in Highbury (formerly everything from jazz club to Japanese café) might finally be the concept that sticks. Now in its first year, and yes, co-owned by actor (and can I say hunk without sounding like my 76 year old mother??) Theo James — it’s pulling serious crowds. (And he is a hunk, I’ve seen him through the window on occasion!).

The space is tiny, candlelit and unfussy. Distressed wood that isn’t trying to be distressed, it’s genuinely old. Bottles of wine lining the walls. A kitchen hatch where chefs work feverishly in the heat. It feels almost French in atmosphere, but the menu is unapologetically Italian.

And it’s designed properly: starter, pasta, main — all to share.

The focaccia? Sublime. Served warm in bite-sized hunks (like it’s owner…ok I’ll stop now!). Give me buckets.

I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to tomato salad, if it’s on the menu, I’m ordering. Lupa’s take was more a tomato ceviche - excellent produce, capers, lemon zest, olive oil, breadcrumb gremolata, confidently (almost aggressively) salty. It wouldn’t make my top 10.

The carbonara is bold and pepper-heavy, rich without being cloying, with proper chunks of crisp guanciale, not bacon bits masquerading as the real thing.

But the standout was the duck, rabbit and guinea fowl ragu with fusilli. Slow-cooked, deeply flavoured, clearly made with time and care. What we Irish call “hearty” but with added style.

Lamb cutlets were perfectly seasoned — salty again, but intentionally so — and easily devoured lollipop-style. The roast potatoes? Forgettable, and frankly unnecessary after two pastas.

What looks like a charmingly affordable neighbourhood spot can escalate quickly. With a bottle of wine (not cheap, though well recommended), tiramisu and the rest, our bill came to £173. A little punchy for a midweek supper.

So, do I love it?

Yes. And no.

The food is great bordering on excellent. The staff are warm. The setting – especially on a winter evening, candlelight flickering as double-deckers glide past the windows – is genuinely special. It feels like London in the way only proper neighbourhood restaurants do.

But am I rushing back for the third time? Not quite.

Lupa is very good. It might even be great. I’m just not entirely sure it’s essential. Maybe that’s for you to decide.

PS Look out for it’s hunky owner being featured on Topjaw’s Instagram site, I saw him being interviewed on the one sunny day we had this year so far!