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.
Shiso leaf also perked up the deep, intense duck ragu coating al dente strands of tagliatelle (HK$148) — a dish that was listed on the specials' board.
I liked the sweet and sour sardines (HK$128) more than my guest did. The sardines had been deboned and the cavity filled with slow-cooked onions that were soft and sweet, then the fish was lightly breaded and fried. An acidic element was provided by a vinegar jelly, while red pepper purée provided a bit of a kick. Sadly, we were too full for dessert.
The service was very good: they changed our plates often and, when the waitress realised that my guest disliked the cucumber-flavoured water being served, she refilled his glass with plain water.
