Plate to Palate | Glittering Mid-Levels bar serves up friendly, happy vibe of Venice

In Venice, a bacaro is a convivial neighbourhood bar where people gather to gossip, drink and eat small bites of food.

Sepa Bacaro Veneziano, on Caine Road, is a little more posh (and the seats are a lot more comfortable) than the ones we visited in Venice, but its friendly, happy vibe is just right.

And the food is good.

The main dining area is dominated by a spacious, glittering bar that has large carnival mask chandeliers. The menu — which doubles as a placemat — lists about 20 savoury dishes and a few desserts.

Basotto egg with bagna cauda sauce, tiny zucchini cubes and potato foam (HK$88) was a delicious starter: rich (but not too rich), pungent (but not too pungent), warm and comforting. More substantial was the mortadella, ricotta cheese and black truffle bomba (HK$138) — a sandwich stuffed with top-quality meat and cheese.

We also liked our two pasta dishes. Ravioli were plump dumplings with a hearty stuffing of braised veal cheek (HK$158) with a rich, sticky glaze and the unexpected taste of shiso leaf.