Lupulo
“-Red snapper served raw w/ coconut milk, kaffir-lime broth, fermented serrano, benne seeds (A+).”
“If you're not familiar with Portuguese cuisine stick to the "frango piri piri."”
“Most of the wine and beers are from Portugal, which I know nothing about and look forward to trying more in future returns.”
Lupulo
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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So we were content to enjoy our solidly 3-star brunch fare until I took a second bite of the linguica sausage. The first bite (the end piece) was actually juicy and quite good. But this second bite was chewy and had less of a pork taste. Upon closer inspection – sure enough, it was pink on the inside.
So we flagged down our server and let him know that our sausage was undercooked. He looked at the remaining piece of sausage and then grabbed the plate and took it back to the kitchen. A few minutes later he came back with the same piece and indicated that the issue was fixed… and indeed it appeared to be cooked.
But to be sure we sliced it open- and again, pink on the inside. At that point we just asked for the check. The server, noticing that we hadn't eaten the piece he brought back, proceeded to explain to us that the chef uses pork loin which allows him to purposely undercook this dish. So in reality, the original pink version was cooked exactly as he intended. My brunch partner, a former chef at a Michelin one-star restaurant, just sorta stared at him in bewilderment… and I was seriously not amused…
Besides the fact that there are laws and rules about this sorta thing (did no one feel like telling us they serve raw sausage), why would someone not cook your food the way you ask for it to be cooked even after you complain about it (and trust me- this sausage was disgusting raw)??!??!
So to recap… way overpriced (would've preferred to burn my $100 instead of spending it here), small portions, so-so service, and so-so to disgusting food (depending on what you order). I would avoid this place if I were you…
Came here for brunch recently. Place was nice. I loved the bright, bespoke atmosphere. Service was friendly and food was good. But good enough for $20+/plate? Nah. I see the "Portuguese" influence but it really was just new American food. Great drinks menu though! Would recommend if you're in the area and don't want Korean. There isn't much competition within 2 blocks radius.
I went to Lupulo on a quiet Tuesday night with a friend equally obsessed with all things soaked in black squid ink. We came for the Arroz de Lulas Amêijoas – rice soaked in squid ink and topped with clams and blood sausage. It was delicious! We also enjoyed a couple of tasty specials. We love offals so we went for the coraçóes de pato – duck hearts skewered and grilled with shishito peppers and pineapple. I'm all about that contrast of textures and flavors – gummy, crunchy and juicy plus salty, sweet and spicy. We also ordered the tripe guisada – a tripe dish topped off with a fried egg and bread for sopping up any last bits of tasty sauce. We were completely full by the time we got to dessert but couldn't resist ordering a basket of filos – fluffy Portuguese doughnuts meant to be dipped in caramel and creme sauces. We were too stuffed to eat the very last one but I found myself pining for it the very next morning when I woke up. Really lovely meal and I would love to go back and try all the other amazing looking things on the menu!
KenScale: 8.0/10
It's been a while since I last went to chef George Mendes' casual Portuguese restaurant Lupulo. Portuguese cuisine is perhaps one of the most underrepresented cuisines in NYC, and no one in the city has done more to showcase the country's culinary influence than chef Mendes. From his time at the flagship restaurant Aldea, I've always admired the food from chef Mendes' kitchen that still delivers rustic yet sophisticated touch to the dishes. Lupulo delivers more of day-to-day gastropub-style food compared to Aldea, but my recent re-visit shows that the restaurant still more or less delivers when it comes to a satisfactory meal.
There is something quite effortless about the way the kitchen delivers food at Lupulo. You don't see any fancy ingredients or techniques, but the consistent level of execution is what really stands out here. Portuguese mackerel spread on sourdough toasts was certainly a pleasant start to the meal without being overly salty despite having mackerel in it, although the charred cucumber and Maine razor clam salad was a little bit underwhelming by having a little too much citrusy flavor to it. Things have gotten a lot better in larger dishes. The chicken "piri-piri" that I had immensely enjoyed on my last visit was still as juicy and tender as I had remembered. Grilled octopus with chickpea and celery salad, romesco and cilantro was another winner, with perfectly grilled octopus that worked so harmoniously with chickpea for hearty touch that was quite memorable. The show-stopper of the night belonged to the large pot of salt cold casserole with potato, onion, black olive and egg. I was initially concerned that the kitchen might put too much salt into the dish that could be overwhelming to my taste bud; to my surprise, the moderation of seasoning really made this dish shine and my dining companions and I just couldn't stop digging the awesome combination of sale cod along with the other ingredients. For dessert, the simple assortment of gelatos and sorbets turned out to be the smart choice. One of my dining companions raved about banana gelato, and strawberry passion fruit sorbet was delightfully refreshing to cleanse my palate after all the rustic savory dishes.
The restaurant, unlike my previous visit, started taking reservations which still seem manageable as long as you avoid peak hours. I'm glad that Lupulo still delivers when it comes to showcasing well-executed food faithful to the flavor and texture of Portugal. I haven't been to Aldea in years so my re-visit should come shortly.
A friend and I got dinner here last night, and I'm fairly unimpressed with the meal. We got the piri-piri chicken and roasted brussels sprouts to share. I also had a cocktail. Nothing really blew me away; I felt like the chicken in particular was underseasoned and somewhat bland. Given a choice between this and, say, Nando's, I'd probably choose the latter because it's (1) more flavorful, (2) more customizable based on your personal preferences, and (3) much cheaper. I don't get the point of paying a reasonably steep price for chicken that doesn't even taste that great.
The roasted brussels sprouts were also somewhat underwhelming. They were a bit soggy, and lacked the "oomph" I like to see with roasted veggies. I wouldn't say they tasted bad; there was just disappointingly large room for improvement.
Finally, the cocktail — I can't remember what I ordered off the top of my head, but I distinctly recall being underwhelmed by the mixology behind it.
All in all, probably not a place I'll revisit.
Was walking past with all the exotic names appealing to us we couldn't say no.
Ordered a winter sangria which was delicious and then a mimosa with freshly squeezed oj. Delicious.
The brunch options were limited but we took a punt and had the farro quinoa and lentil salad with Portuguese sausage. It was fresh with lemon and vinegar with the sausage was great but not worth a $18 portion.
My friend ate the salt cod flakes – which originally sounded like flakes of scales but was a delicious chucks of perfectly cooked cod curried with vegetables. My only complaints would be the portion sizes.
I also had oysters which were $4 each a little over priced for their size and portion.
I wanted to like this place more. The ambiance made me have higher expectations. It was really inviting on appearances. I visited Portugal a few years ago and was longing for something to take me back to that trip. Starting with the vinho verde I ordered, the wine wasn't that great. Vinho verde has a light effervescent quality to it and mine was pretty much completely still…it didn't take me back to the wines I had when I was in Portugal, womp womp. And considering this was a Portuguese establishment, one would think the vinho verde would be awesome…not so much. The food was just ok. I had the bachalau a bras…it was tasty but just nothing I would come back to have again. It didn't embody the unrivaled freshness of the Portugal seafood I had when I was there…and yes, while I know I'm not in Portugal, I think they just could have done a better job of paying homage to an amazing country full of great cuisine. If the thing I remember most on my main dish was the grilled bread that was on the side, that's probably not saying much about the experience…
I liked the food a lot and would definitely come back to try more. The atmosphere is great, first of all. I came for lunch and sat at the bar. We shared the bacalhau croquettes and was pleasantly surprised – crispy and well seasoned, but a very skimpy serving size – you get 2 bite size croquettes per plate. Wish I'd had one more. For lunch, I had the chicken piri-piri, which is a half chicken cooked over wood fire and served with its own mini bottle of piri-piri sauce (loved that – spiiiiicy). This was very satisfying; moist, well seasoned chicken with charred skin, and the sauce brought it all together. Served with butter lettuce and shoestring fries.
The only real problem here was the service, they were painfully slow at taking our order and getting everything to us. I would try them again though, perhaps for dinner this time.