La LupaBerlin

I was in Berlin for a concert and thought: well, since I'm here, might as well see how they handle carbonara in these parts. I found La Lupa, a Roman cuisine restaurant, and walked in.

I started with a supplì. Let's call it decent Roman style, in the good sense — nothing extraordinary, but you can tell they know what they're doing. Except the mozzarella hadn't melted. They probably pulled it straight from the freezer and dumped it into the fryer. It's a small fix: either let it thaw or use the microwave. A shame, but acceptable.

The carbonara, though — that's solid. For Berlin, no less — let's be clear about that. Just seeing the pasta shape made me breathe a sigh of relief: rigatoni. Not spaghetti. Rigatoni. That tells you they care. The ingredients were genuinely Roman: pecorino, guancial, no shortcuts. The pepper was unmistakably present, bold and pronounced, which is a major point in their favor. The only thing: a bit too little egg and a touch too much pecorino in the cream, which made it slightly off-balance and less yellow than it should be. But the flavor was there.

Oh, and the coffee — served in a two-cup moka pot. A small detail, but it tells you everything about how this place is set up.

The waitstaff couldn't have been kinder. The prices are reasonable by German standards — 28€ all-in for someone who had eaten and drunk.

If you're passing through Berlin and want something Roman, La Lupa is a safe bet. Approved.