Popular Hong Kong restaurant Dan Ryan’s replacement Operetta closes after less than two years
When Dan Ryan’s shut down after 27 years in Pacific Place, a new stylish Italian outlet, Operetta opened up in its place, offering classic Mediterranean dishes at ‘reasonable’ prices. Now the fat lady has sung and Operetta is no more
The restaurant that replaced Dan Ryan’s in Pacific Place quietly closed at the end of May. On May 28, Operetta announced on its Facebook page after less than two years of business it was its last day of operations, but that Lai Sun Dining was “cooking up a new concept”.
Operetta floundered from the start in August 2016, claiming to offer Mediterranean dishes like pizza, pasta, charcoal-grilled meats and pastries at “reasonable” prices – a relative concept when its set lunches ranged in price from HK$238 to HK$378 for two, three or four courses.
The food itself wasn’t particularly outstanding either and served in bite-sized portions, which made the experience of dining there disappointing. Diners felt they were paying for the stylish ambience rather than the food.
Many loyal patrons were dismayed when Dan Ryan’s closed because it was a solid place to get a quick meal before catching a movie in the cinema next door or have drinks with friends on a Friday night. Not to mention it was very family friendly too.
So it’s not surprising Operetta didn’t have many patrons to start with, and didn’t last long – in fact, it’s amazing it lasted until now.
We’ll see what Lai Sun Dining replaces the Italian restaurant with. In the meantime perhaps Swire is thinking twice about wanting more sophisticated (ie expensive) offerings while driving previously regular customers away from the Admiralty mall?
