ReviewNew Hong Kong hotel restaurants: Theo Mistral in Tsim Sha Tsui – casual Italian

The design feature I remember most about Mistral in the InterContinental Grand Stanford is the hand painted plates that were displayed on shelves. My memory is hazy from those visits long ago, but I also seem to recall black-and-white photos of glamorous looking Italians, and a distinctive tiled floor.

The plates are there at the new incarnation, Theo Mistral by Theo Randall. So are the photos, as well as the tiled floor.

It seems much the same; the only obvious difference (that I see) is the restaurant no longer has tablecloths.

Theo Randall – an alumnus of The River Café, and who now has his own restaurant, Theo Randall at the InterContinental in London – is now in charge of the menu, and the concept seems more casual than it was when the place was known as The Mistral. The menu seems shorter than before: it’s now all laid out on one page, listing antipasti, pasta, pizza, mains and side dishes.

My guest and I chose a rather heavy, cream laden meal of two starters, a pizza, pasta and dessert.

Baked soufflé with romanesco, fontina cheese, spinach, cream and parmesan (HK$158) was just fantastic. It was more like a rich, creamy, cheesy flan, rather than an airy puff that the word soufflé brings to mind. I’d love this dish for lunch, with a green salad to clear the palate.

Our other starter was disappointing. Pan-fried squid with chickpeas, chillies, anchovies, parsley and chopped rocket (HK$228) sounds vivid and light, but it was bland and dull. The pieces of squid were overcooked and chewy, the chickpeas were undercooked and too hard. I made liberal use of the lemon wedge served with the dish, and wished for salt and other seasonings.