3/F LHT Tower 31 Queen's Road Central, Central
Tel: 2796 6500
Open: noon-3pm, 6pm-11pm
Cuisine: Italian
Price: about HK$625 without drinks or the service charge.
Ambience: the 2,500-sq ft terrace is dark and seductive, and inside the vibe is family-oriented and buzzy.
Pros: having waited a month for a table, we were disappointed to be seated under the glare of a spotlight. But a couple of waiters relocated us with minimal fuss. Service was well co-ordinated and friendly.
Cons: we should have been advised that the bottle of red wine we ordered needed to breathe for an hour or so before it was drunk. The kitchen refused to serve us a dish on the tasting menu that took our fancy. The pasta offerings could have been more generous. The chickpeas in the calamari in zimino (HK$188) were undercooked, although the squid was perfectly tender.
Recommended dishes: the peperonata (HK$48) consisted of bell peppers anointed with vinegar to give them an astringent sweet and sour flavour. Interesting as a contrast was the sizeable grilled radicchio with scamorza (HK$118). The bitterness of the vegetable was tempered by smoked mozzarella. For primi we ordered black spaghetti with 'nduja (HK$188) and penne alla Norma (HK$178), which used whipped ricotta. The spaghetti was better because of the 'nduja, a soft, Calabrian pork sausage, which had a satisfying richness and red pepper kick. Pork shoulder with Averna (a bitter Sicilian liquor) and cucumber (HK$208) was full of flavour. The succulent orata (gilt-head bream) with sambuca and fennel (HK$398) was grilled perfectly.