Our story · since 2017
Our story
A chef who learned pasta from her grandmother, a wine buyer who wanted regulars to have a usual table, and an old rope mill with a dozen brass lamps in its loft.
The mill and the lamps
Named for the lamplight
In the 1880s the Cordage Mill twisted ships' rope along 400 feet of brick on Ropewalk Lane. The long, narrow building was made for walking a rope from one end to the other, which is why our dining room is long and narrow too.
When Teresa Albani and Julian Mensah signed the lease in 2017, the loft upstairs was full of the mill's old fittings. Under the dust were a dozen brass pendant lamps. They were rewired, polished and hung over the tables, and the restaurant took its name from them: lume is Italian for lamplight.
The loft itself became the Loft, our private dining room. There is no Table 13 downstairs; Julian says the lamps were superstitious enough for one building.
- when the Cordage Mill twisted its first rope
- 1880s
- of brick along Ropewalk Lane
- 400 ft
- brass lamps rescued from the loft
- 12
- the year Osteria Lume opened
- 2017
The people
Who's cooking, who's pouring
Monograms rather than photos: everyone here is fictional, like the restaurant.
Teresa Albani
Chef and co-owner
Teresa learned to roll trofie and pici from her grandmother, who cooked in a Ligurian trattoria before she emigrated. She still rolls the day's pasta every morning on the bench in view of the dining room, and she writes the menu around what Hollow Brook Farm brings on Tuesday.
Her order: the tonnarelli cacio e pepe, eaten standing at the pasta bench.
Julian Mensah
General manager, wine buyer and co-owner
Julian ran the floor of a big-city wine bar for ten years and wanted a place where regulars have a usual table. He buys all 60 or so bottles on the list, most of them from small Italian growers, and started Tuesday corkage-free night so neighbors could bring the bottle they'd been saving.
His order: a Barbera with the porchetta, and whatever the regulars are drinking.
Marco Ferreira
Chef de cuisine
Marco runs the wood oven and the chef's counter, where he cooks nine courses for two seatings of eight guests a night and rewrites the tasting every Tuesday. He also leads the catering kitchen, from office lunches to plated dinners for 150.
His order: the tortelli of the week, which he folds at the counter.
Hana Kowalczyk
Events and catering manager
Hana plans every dinner in the Loft and every catering order, from the first email to the last platter. She answers inquiries within one business day and knows exactly how many chairs fit around the long table.
Her order: olive oil cake at the end of a long table.
Rosa Iannelli
Pastry chef
Rosa bakes the focaccia before sunrise and makes every dessert on the menu, from the olive oil cake to the weekend bomboloni. Celebration cakes for large parties and events come from her bench.
Her order: two bomboloni, warm, on a Sunday morning.
How we cook
A pasta bench, a wood oven and good neighbors
The pasta is rolled every morning on a wooden bench in full view of the dining room: tonnarelli, tagliatelle and chitarra from eggs and flour, egg-free mafaldine for the vegan tomato pasta, and a tortelli that changes every week at the chef's counter.
Almost everything else passes through the wood-fired oven: the focaccia at 6 AM, the half chickens, the porchetta and the whole branzino at night. The menu follows what the farms bring on Tuesday and Friday, so a typical week is the best we can promise.
Who we buy from
Hollow Brook Farm
Vegetables, greens and herbs, delivered Tuesday and Friday
Tidewater Shellfish Co.
Clams, squid and octopus from the bay
Mill Pond Creamery
Ricotta, butter and cream
Wickham Street Flowers
Florals for private dinners and events
Tuesday is corkage-free
Tuesday is corkage-free night. Bring up to two bottles you've been saving and we'll open, decant and pour them at no charge. Julian will happily tell you what to order with them.
Regulars
What the regulars say
Sample reviews of a fictional restaurant
“Tuesday corkage-free night is a gift. We brought a bottle we'd been saving, and the staff decanted it without a second thought. The porchetta with apple mostarda is the dish I'll come back for.”
Ben A.Google Reply from the restaurant
Thanks, Ben. Tuesdays are our favorite night for exactly that reason. Julian, general manager
“Sitting where you can watch the pasta being rolled is half the fun. Tagliatelle al ragù was rich and silky.”
Yuki T.Google Reply from the restaurant
Thank you, Yuki. The pasta bench is Teresa's favorite place in the building. Julian, general manager
“Our usual booth, the shellfish allergy noted without having to ask, and a Barbera Julian remembered we loved. Osteria Lume feels like our dining room.”
Leonie H.Guest survey Reply from the restaurant
That's the nicest thing anyone can say about a restaurant, Leonie. See you in the booth soon. Julian, general manager