Osteria del Bastian Contrario

Beautifully decorated the ambience is just charming. Then you get to the menu which is pages and pages of options and if you branch out just a little bit, you can get some incredibly unique flavors. We’ve been in Italy for a week and a half and we have had nothing that tasted anything like what we ordered Today. We had deer cooked in a blueberry sauce, served with polenta and taglia in a duck Ragu and Torelli with wild boar. Also, we had polenta with truffle and a pastrami and mustard for hors d’oeuvres. Just excellent all the way around and so refreshing to have something that is so different. Be warned there is no English menu which to me is a good sign for authentic food, but it took us about 20 minutes on Google translate to figure out what to order. Just talked to an Italian woman who says she eats here each time she comes to Lucca because it’s like walking into her grandmothers house. The food is like home made ands so amazing!! That’s from a real Italian😆🥰

Osteria del Bastian Contrario is a traditional restaurant offering local Tuscan cuisine. The prices are reasonable, the service attentive, and while the portions are somewhat modest, the overall quality is good. The atmosphere inside is warm and welcoming; we chose to sit indoors due to the rain, though the restaurant also has outdoor seating on Piazza dei Malcontenti. The restaurant’s unusual name, Bastian Contrario, refers to someone who habitually takes a contrary view—an expression from Italian culture that adds a touch of character to the place.

Very touristic place - too many items on the menu. Mediocre quality of food - Mezzo Salumi e Mezzo Formaggio was okay, but not great - supermarket quality. Tordelli zucchini e funghi was not good - sticky, and funghi were completely in the way - did not eat them - not a good dish. Lokal wine okay, not great, but expensive - best part was the Soufflé Cioccolato - really delicious! Service was also fine.

Stepping into this osteria feels like visiting the living room of an eccentric collector - lively, and brimming with quirky objects that defy all aesthetic logic. The décor seems eager to tell a thousand stories, perhaps too many. The staff adds a theatrical touch to the ambiance: two waitresses without uniforms - a bohemian twist, perhaps? - and a third comfortably seated in the back, busy with accounting, presumably to make sense of the rather steep menu prices. As for the food, the menu boasts an abundance of Tuscan specialties, so extensive it feels like a culinary encyclopedia. If nothing else, it’s impossible not to find something to whet your appetite. Portions are generous - a plus for anyone who likes to leave a restaurant feeling full - and while the quality isn’t flawless, it’s still enjoyable except for the subpar dessert. The service could be described as rustic, which is a polite way of saying casual and a bit improvised.

Came across this lovely restaurant on a rainy evening. We were pleasantly surprised. The menu was in Italian so we needed assistance from a very helpful waitress. Food was very tasty what I imagine Nona's cook for their families, and we hope to return again. Great atmosphere with amazing decor.

On a Sunday afternoon we stumbled upon this osteria. The fact that there was outside seating, and that it was full of local families (presumably fresh from church) drew us in. They advertise typical Tuscan-style dishes, and they did not disappoint. Since there were four of us, we were able to try a variety of plates - an appetizer, soup, salad, pizza, and main dish. All were enjoyable, and reasonably priced.

Recently visited Lucca during Lucca comics and Games. We travelled across. Italy for 2 weeks and this is by far the best food we had during the trip. We ate here on our first night in Lucca and on our last because it was so good.

Very disappointed! The Tordelli was tasteless, not fresh and the sauce was very bad, even the pomodoro one. Not the quality we are used to have in Italy. Go on your way.