First impressions of Spiga, Central – high-quality Italian fine dining with plenty of promise
Menu by multiple-Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini looks promising but needs some tweaking at successor to Mario Batali’s Lupa
Mario Batali’s Lupa quietly disappeared from LHT Tower in Central and has been replaced by a swanky Italian fine-dining restaurant called Spiga. Designed by dynamo Joyce Wang, the restaurant has her trademark industrial look, with leather touches and lots of interesting lighting fixtures that liven up the sophisticated decor.
We visited the restaurant in its first few days of operation, and while service is warm and staff try hard to please, the food by chef Enrico Bartolini, who has four Michelin stars under his belt for three restaurants in Italy, looks promising but needs some tweaking.
We were given an amuse bouche of cauliflower with Gorgonzola cheese and small dots of beetroot puree along with a small focaccia square and some country bread.
A starter of a trio of Sicilian red prawns (HK$258) was interesting – the head and tail were deep-fried, while the meat was raw, which was an interesting play on textures. The accompanying tamarind sauce didn’t do much to enhance the delicate flavour of the prawns.