Italian restaurants in Asia
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Pidaso
If you want elegance with your dining experience, you'll find it at this trendy open-kitchen spot. Assuming you can actually find the restaurant, that is. It's 800m north of the Sima Thani Hotel.
reviewed
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Annie’s
Immediately south of the Agricultural Exhibition Center, and next door to the CD Jazz Café, this two-floor, home-style Italian place does the little things right – good service and a welcoming atmosphere (it’s very child friendly) – while sticking to a tried-and-tested menu of Italian standards. No surprises, but the food is well prepared and it’s popular. There are other branches around town, including Ritan Park.
reviewed
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Pasta Brava
This discreet back-street bistro is the place for fabulous homemade pasta. Every table has a white paper sheet over the table cloth and a basket of chalks - doodle away, and if they like your work, it'll get pinned on the wall.
reviewed
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Delta Restaurant
A stylish and atmospheric place, Delta Restaurant is renowned for its pizzas, which are the most authentic in town, though the pasta is pretty decent too. Wash it all down with a drop of Aussie red.
reviewed
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Bella Italia
A cheaper version of Mediterraneo, this rooftop restaurant overlooks Gole Market and sits beside a couple of huge trees which every day from around 6pm stage remarkable parrot-squawking contests.
reviewed
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Grissini
Fluffy, chewy and addictive, the foot-long grissini here are – appropriately – the best in town. But leave room for the Milanese specialities and pair them with a bottle from the 1000-strong cellar. This stylish restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows commanding views of the harbour (and construction in progress). The Sunday champagne brunch ($545) is our favourite buffet in town.
reviewed
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D
Canal Café
When summer evenings in the capital hang heavy with humidity, this is one of the rare spots in the city centre with breathing room, allowing you to enjoy a cold glass of white wine and a light meal by the water. The specialities are wood-fired thin-crust pizza, and Italian pasta such as scallop dishes and prawns in a light cream sauce, though the real reason you’re here is to savour a cocktail while soaking up the European atmosphere.
reviewed
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Da Domenico
Easily the best Italian restaurant in Hong Kong, this place serves excellent southern Italian cooking in an airy dining room. Ingredients including seafood are flown in weekly from Italy. No surprise the mozzarella deserves praise; the linguini with red shrimps and the grilled calamari (both $480) should be enshrined. The Roman chef-owner is a temperamental fellow, but who cares when he cooks this well? Dinner reservations essential.
reviewed
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Va Bene
Xīntiāndì's northern end is packed with top-end eateries; this one puts the emphasis on basil and olive oil. The interior has an opera-set feel with lots of terracottas, yellows and browns, and there's nice conservatory seating. The set lunch is more manageable than the à la carte menu, where most mains are in the around Y150 to around Y300 range (but the tasty pizzas are Y138). Reserve in the evening.
reviewed
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Veranda
One of the most popular places in town, this Italian place excels at meat dishes, including a nice lamb roll with blackcurrant sauce on a bed of greens. The house speciality is the Veranda, a tender, flavourful grilled beef tenderloin that goes well with one of the Italian wines on offer. The atmosphere is very comfortable; rather than chairs you sit on couches, and there are fine views of the Choijin Lama Temple Museum.
reviewed
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Bistro
This scrumptious Italian eatery serves up large portions of pasta, pizza and grilled meats along with bottles of Uzbek or Georgian wines. The Roquefort salad is to die for. It's in a candle-lit, courtyard setting, with live music. Next door are three sister restaurants - Omar Khayyam (Lebanese), Shintaco (Japanese) and La Casa (Mexican). The latter morphs into the Ché nightclub in the evening .
reviewed
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Giusto
Sophisticated simplicity decorates the interior and the menu of this contemporary Italian restaurant. The Italian triumvirate of olive oil, lemon and garlic coaxes freshly grilled fish into an orchestra of flavours, not a mosh pit. The 'name-that-flavour' eater will find contentment without entering a food coma. Come for the set lunch specials (around ฿520/฿B590, 2/3 courses).
reviewed
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Cine Città
The Michelin inspectors who recommended this sleek place probably enjoyed twirling their taglioni between real-life supermodels and blown-up stills of Fellini movies almost as much as they did the stellar Italian fare. The bigoli with duck ragout and porcini is absolutely divine; the friendly sommelier can help you pick a bottle from the famous wine list.
reviewed
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Da Marco
This homey spot is one of the best and most popular Italian restaurants in town and remains a steal after a decade in business (which, it should be noted, is an eternity in Shànghǎi). Daily specials such as pear-and-gorgonzola pizza and fettuccine porcini are chalked up on the blackboard. There’s another branch at the Grand Gateway mall. Reserve.
reviewed
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Taverna
Here are some reasons this cosy, Roman-inspired spot has been here forever: spaghetti all’amatriciana (with bacon and tomato sauce) or vongole (clams, olive oil and garlic), and pizza mista (with anchovy, tuna and prosciutto). Some people eat here every night, inspired by the authentic cuisine, the charm of the owner and reasonable prices.
reviewed
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Don Alfonso 1890
Classically decorated with red crystal chandeliers, and with a posh ambience, this opulent restaurant opened by another colourful Michelin-starred chef, Alfonso Iaccarino, ensures the most authentic cucina Italiana in the high-end culinary world. The dégustation menu is MOP$1390, but you don’t need to break the bank for its two-course lunch at MOP$280.
reviewed
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Scoozi
At this chic pizzeria you can witness your pie being skilfully tossed and topped before it’s blistered in a wood-burning oven from Italy. Go minimalist and order the salty Napoletana, a pizza topped with little more than mozzarella, anchovies and olives.
reviewed
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Roadhouse Cafe
The big attraction here is the pizzas from the wood-fired oven. The pizzas are pretty darn good, and the decor, especially the courtyard out back, is warm and intimate. The salads, soups (tomato coconut soup), desserts (sizzling brownie with ice cream) and espresso coffees are all top-notch, though some say the service has slipped recently. Credit cards are accepted.
reviewed
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Blue Papaya
One of the places many folks take the time to write about, this is among Lìjiāng's top casual-chic places. The Italian-centric food - heavy on pasta and fish - is excellent with many, many creative flourishes. The restaurant is also home to a 'cultural exchange academy', offering courses on cooking, massage, taichiand more.
reviewed
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Bella Napoli
For reliable, reasonably priced Italian dishes, this is a popular choice. On two floors, it's intimate enough to feel like a family-run place. While the menu offers no real surprises, the ingredients are all imported from the old country. The two-course set lunch, including a salad and pasta dish, is one of the best deals in this part of town.
reviewed
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Eataly
In this neighbourhood – in this city – that worships all things Italian, airy, rambling Eataly is one-stop shopping: trattoria, bakery, espresso bar, salumeria, cheese shop, wine shop and outdoor cafe. Even the shopping carts are so cute that you’ll want to pinch their little shopping-cart cheeks.
reviewed
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La Piola
What a charming Italian eatery this is. The highlight here is the fixed menu; the only choice you make is what to drink. Three courses, including antipasto, three pasta mains and dessert, will effortlessly appear while the crowd is serenaded with Italian karaoke. You’ll leave unimaginably full and drunk with flavours.
reviewed
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Xayoh Restaurant
The typically international menu has a heavy Italian influence; pizzas (US$2.50) and pastas (US$1.20) mix with burgers (US$1.80) and a pretty good caramel flan (US$0.80). The riverside patio is quite romantic by night and also has several sun loungers. The same menu is available at Xayoh Café, located on Th Luang Prabang.
reviewed
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Cappuccino
This Italian restaurant may not look that stylish but looks can be deceiving, as the menu features some delicious dishes at absurdly affordable prices. Pastas, risottos, pizzas, plus US$4 mains such as veal escalope with mushroom sauce. Oh and did we mention the Mexican and Vietnamese food, plus the tempting tiramisu?
reviewed
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Danieli's
Ensconced in the St Regis hotel, this gorgeous and classy restaurant is Běijīng's finest Italian dining choice, boasting a generous menu and wine list. Glide up the sumptuous marble staircase, past the crackled glass doors to a splendid alcove interior and sit down to a meal served upon marvellously decorated plates.
reviewed