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Lauren Crothers

Shop 1015, IFC Mall, Central

Tel: 3188 0111

Open: 9am-11pm (Sunday, 11.30am-11pm)

Cuisine: Italian.

Ambience: The entrance to the restaurant is like a cafe - and this continues into the restaurant itself. The result is reminiscent of a noisy  canteen, not the quiet romantic setting you might expect of an Italian restaurant in this price range.

Price: $490 per person with two glasses of wine ($58 each).

Pros: The staff are  attentive. The bread is amazing - thick and warm, it goes down  well with the oil and balsamic vinegar.

Cons: The noise  bothered us, even though we were sitting around a corner at the back. Had we been sitting in the midst  of the other diners, we probably wouldn't have been able to  hear ourselves think. We  couldn't hear any background music,  which would have made it feel more like a restaurant. The air-conditioning was on so high that we were cold during the meal. The menu was  unadventurous and lacked any  zest. Our starters were brought out at different times, as were our desserts, which meant that one of us either had to start without the other, or sit and wait until the other person was served.

Recommended dishes: Deep-fried risotto balls ($68) were a   good starter, although a little dry. Blue mussels in a light tomato sauce ($118) were well prepared, and the sauce complemented the seafood. Homemade chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream ($68) was the  highlight of the meal. Although many restaurants do their own version of this dessert (when you cut into it, a lovely river of hot, melted chocolate comes oozing out), this  one was exquisite. Almond meringue with strawberries ($48) had a good texture, but it was a shame the accompanying sauce resembled jam.

What else? Spaghetti with mixed seafood in lobster tomato sauce ($158) was  bland and unfulfilling, mostly because  of the flavourless sauce. And what we were served looked nothing like the photo at left. Grilled rack of New Zealand lamb with fine herbs and red wine sauce ($198) looked  small on the plate.  Although the lamb was good quality, the vegetables were mediocre. The dish came with what the waiter described as semolina and cornstarch, which might as well have been a sponge for its appearance and taste. Overall, the quality of the meal didn't seem worth the price. There's a set lunch menu  with two options priced at $128 and $148 plus 10 per cent.



Via Quadronno