La Lupa is a wonderful authentic Italian Restaurant which is situated on Poole Quay towards the old lifting bridge.  The owners and staff have been welcoming locals and visitors alike for nearly 50 years and once you dine there, you’ll understand why.

The restaurant has several dining rooms which can be used in busier periods so don’t be fooled into thinking that the restaurant is small when you first arrive.  We were warmly greeted by 2 lovely servers and given menus at the table along with an explanation on the specials that were on offer.

I noticed straight away that there was no dedicated children’s menu but when I queried this I was told that children can have any pizza, pasta or risotto dish as a half portion.  This was great to hear and so nice for the children to have such a big choice.

The varied menu offers everything you’d expect to see in an Italian and much more.  Starter choices included Bruschetta Pomodoro (cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, oregano on baked bread), Insalata Caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil), Antipasto All’ Italiana (appetiser with a selection of parma ham and a mix of salami, sundried tomatoes and cheese), Carpaccio di Salmone (smoked salmon, rocket salad and parmesan shavings) and Impepata di Cozze (warm white soup of mussels, with a black pepper, lemon, garlic and parsley sauce).  My husband thoroughly enjoyed the Calamari Fritti which is fried squid rings in a crispy light batter and served with a creamy dip.

There was so much choice for main courses with traditional and unique Pizzas, multiple Pasta choices with vegetarian options, meat and fish, plus other dishes which included Risotto, Fillet of Salmon, Swordfish, Sea Bass, King Prawns, Chicken Breast, Pork Chop and Fillet of Beef.  All meat and fish dishes comes with a choice of house fries, roast potatoes or mixed salad.

My daughter really loves a simple tomato pasta so she really wanted the Spaghetti dish but asked if she could have Tagliatelle pasta with the sauce and our waiter assured her this would not be a problem.  My son asked if he could have a Marinara Pizza with olives which is his favourite and this too was granted.

My husband will always order a Fillet Steak with peppercorn sauce if it’s on the menu and this he said was the best he’d ever had, cooked perfectly to his liking and served with chips and an additional salad.  I ordered the Lasagna which was also delicious, you could taste that it was freshly homemade in every bite and I didn’t want it to end.

The dessert menu did not disappoint and whilst we were tempted to order the Calzone Nutella (baked in the oven and filled with nutella and mascarpone cheese) I knew it would be too filling on an already full stomach so my son and I shared a Tiramisu and my daughter and her dad shared a trio of gelato and sorbet.  My son is very much like me and loves his pudding so we had to carefully halve the divine Tiramisu and not eat too slow or risk facing a fight for the remainder haha.

Every dish on the menu is homemade and you can really taste it, we all had really happy tummies and could not have asked for a nicer dining experience.

La Lupa is very family friendly with outstanding food and service.  It has now become my favourite Italian Restaurant and I have no doubt we'll be back again soon.

For more information and to view their menu, please visit La Lupa.

‘Discover Food in Poole’ is a dedicated month-long campaign celebrating the town’s vibrant and diverse dining scene.  Visitors and locals alike can look forward to exclusive dining deals, exciting competitions, and the opportunity to explore an array of gastronomic experiences across Poole.

During April, Poole BID are giving you the chance to win some amazing prizes which include an afternoon tea for two to your door from Premier Bites, a meal for two at The Guildhall Tavern, and a bread making class and meal thanks to WhitePepper Chef Academy.  To enter, please head over to the Poole BID on Facebook or Poole BID on Instagram.

For more inforation on 'Discover Food in Poole', please visit the Poole BID website.

Dorsetmums was invited to La Lupa for the purpose of a review however all words are my own.