Al Lupo Ristorante
About us
Roberto Peloni
For Roberto Peloni, hospitality has always been part of the family story. The son of longtime Los Angeles restaurateur Angelo Peloni, Roberto grew up in and around his father's Italian restaurant, La Bruschetta in Westwood. From washing dishes and serving tables to working in the kitchen, designing menus, and managing food and wine orders, he learned the restaurant business from the ground up.
His professional journey, however, first took him in a different direction. Drawn to music, Roberto spent two decades working professionally in the music industry, touring with renowned artists and eventually expanding into music production for film, television, and other media. Yet, throughout those years, the restaurant remained a constant presence in his life.
After twenty years in music, Roberto returned to the family business, becoming involved in the daily operations of La Bruschetta, the Italian restaurant his father had established more than four decades earlier. In 2019, he brought his experience and entrepreneurial spirit to Ohio, opening RODI Italian in historic downtown Loveland. After four years, Roberto returned to Los Angeles, where he worked with several restaurants while helping guide the next chapter of La Bruschetta and its enduring legacy.
Cincinnati eventually called him back.
Encouraged by friends and fellow chefs, Roberto was introduced to a dormant location with a remarkable history and an opportunity to create something new. He immediately saw its potential: a place that could once again become a meaningful part of the Cincinnati skyline.
That vision became Al Lupo.
Built around the traditions Roberto learned from his family and shaped by the experiences gathered throughout his unconventional career, Al Lupo is a celebration of Italian cooking through a modern lens. At its heart is the craft of handmade pasta, prepared with intention and served in a space that carries its own history. The building once housed artisans who handcrafted timeless pieces of pottery. Today, Roberto and his team continue that tradition of craftsmanship, creating something by hand that is meant to be experienced, remembered, and shared.
For Roberto, Al Lupo represents more than a restaurant. It is the continuation of a family legacy, a return to his roots, and a new chapter in a story that began more than forty years ago in Los Angeles.
About us
Inside the historic Rookwood Pottery complex, this fine dining Italian restaurant in Cincinnati carries forward a tradition shaped by patience, artistry, and work done by hand. Where artisans once worked with clay, the kitchen now turns to pasta, hand-rolled with the same respect for craft, alongside regional cooking, pizza, seafood, and slowly simmered sauces.
Warm hospitality and sophisticated surroundings give the restaurant a polished yet welcoming character. Community remains at its heart, while each plate reflects the belief that good work takes time. The Rookwood story began long before ours, and its spirit continues here.