Birthday Dinner--Like Lupa, but not Lupa

[ReneeParadis]

I'm looking for a place to get dinner on my birthday with a smallish group--4-6, tops. I am hoping to find a place that's like Lupa in terms of fantastic food for about that price range, preferably downtown, but isn't Lupa, for the sake of variety, if nothing else. It doesn't have to be Italian, but I do prefer European or American rather than Asian. (And I know Lupa isn't universally beloved, but I love it, perhaps because I've uniformly good experiences.) thanks for any recs.

[rrems]

For the same food quality and price, with similar atmosphere, try Crispo. Scarpetta is wonderful but is considerably more expensive (some will argue about this, but believe me, when we eat at Lupa or Crispo we spend between $120 and $140 for 2, and at Scarpetta between $180 and $200, for 2 courses and a bottle of wine, tax and tip included). I don't like Otto, the menu is nothing like Lupa's, mostly limited to pizza (which we found bland) and salads and such. A non-Italian possibility is Snack Taverna, for excellent Greek food with a similar atmosphere and prices.

[kobetobiko]

Try Dell' Anima. Small and cozy, convival, and nice pasta!

[Stuffed Monkey]

or L'Artusi from the same people as Dell' Anima and same chef, but not quite as small a place.

[kobetobiko]

I found the food at L'Artusi not as good as Dell' Anima. Plus the large space totally kills the charm that makes Dell' Anima special. I prefer Dell'Anima a lot more.

[steve h.]

scarpetta may work for you. wonderful italian food, excellent wine list and an atrractive bar. like lupa, it's best if you eat "family" style.

[stephaniec25]

I also love Lupa, so I agree on that! If you want something very similar to Lupa, try Otto if you haven't already. Same ownership, basically Lupa for pizza.