Spiga in Hong Kong serves contemporary Italian cuisine at its best

Spiga is Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini’s first restaurant venture outside Italy. The menu is contemporary Italian cuisine at its best. The décor is gorgeous, thanks to the work of local designer Joyce Wang - the brains behind the 1950s-inspired interior. She uses copper and brass installations to create a stunning effect which is softened by the warm colours of the seating and walls.

We started off with the signature dish of Sicilian red prawn, which comes with a side of chickpea soup with prawn reduction (HK$258). The prawn’s top half is deep-fried while the bottom is left tender and soft, which gives it
a wonderful texture. This was by far our favourite dish.

As a special treat we sampled two signature dishes from the chef’s tasting menu (HK$788 per head): soft potato mousse topped with capers, salmon roe and lemon; and button-shaped pasta filled with lime emulsion, topped with roasted octopus and served with fish sauce. Both dishes burst with flavour, however, the button pasta is a little heavy due to the lime emulsion.

Our main of whole roasted turbot (1kg) done pescatora style with prawns, squid and mussels (HK$688) was beautiful and tasty. The turbot was soft and tender, and the big portion means it’s easy to share.

We ended with three desserts - tiramisu
(HK$98), chocolate foam with hazelnut ice cream (HK$98) and soft crème brulee with cherries, meringues and iced blueberries (HK$98).

The standout dessert was the crème brulee, the restaurant’s signature dish. The thick layer of hard caramel on top was beautifully complemented by the soft, creamy body and the crunchy berry bits on the bottom.