A new Italian restaurant has joined Banff’s impressive dining scene. Part of the Banff Hospitality Collective, Lupo Italian Ristorante brings the flavours and atmosphere of northern Italy to the Rocky Mountains.
Located in a second floor space overlooking Wolf Street (appropriate, given that “lupo” means wolf in Italian), Lupo offers an upscale take on northern Italian comfort food, including homemade pastas, pizzas and other rich and hearty dishes. Headed by chef Justin Leboe (of Model Milk and Pigeonhole fame in Calgary), Lupo honours Italian tradition and flavours, modernizing them using Canadian ingredients sourced by the culinary team.
The menu features pastas like classic tagliatelle bolognese or ravioli with peas and mint, pizzas cooked in an imported Italian pizza oven and large format, family-style mains like chicken parmigiana or dry-aged ribeye from Benchmark Farms. Lupo’s drink menu offers a large list of red and white Italian wines, as well as a cocktail list made with Park Distillery spirits.
The restaurant’s Italian theme extends to the dining room ambiance, as well — everything from the mountain views to the design of the room, which is modelled to emulate an open-air Italian trattoria, evokes a quintessential Italian experience.
Lupo is open Wednesday to Monday for dinner service starting at 5 p.m.
201, 208 Wolf St., Banff, 403-985-9180, lupobanff.com
