16-17/F L'Hart, 487-489 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay Tel: 2363 2898 Open: 11.30am-11.30pm
Cuisine: Italian
Price: about HK$350 without drinks and the service charge.
Ambience: the two floors that make up the restaurant are joined by a staircase near the entrance. The snug downstairs area seats about 16 at small tables, and was fully occupied on a Wednesday night, whereas the more spacious upstairs area was empty except for our table of two.
Pros: service was welcoming, despite the deserted feel of being lone diners on the upper floor. We declined the waiting staff's offer to move us to vacated seats downstairs, just before the appetisers arrived. The to-the-brim pour of house wine and Prosecco by the glass were only HK$48 each.
Cons: the overpriced menu was firmly northern Italian with no surprises. The flavour of the dishes we ordered was underwhelming, although portions were big. My guest's caprese salad (HK$108) was drenched in an oily pesto. The veal shank in his osso buco (HK$198, far right) was tender and moist, but the sauce lacked depth and finish, without even a hint of wine or citrus zest, and the accompanying mashed potato was bland. The scampi risotto (HK$228, above right) was described as including zucchini but this was not the case when the dish arrived. There was only one scampi (in the shell), and the rice itself was lumpy and heavy.
