Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - La Locanda

This restaurant is located in Harbour City, serving classic Italian dishes in a comfortable and quiet environment despite inside the busy shopping centre. The service was good with friendly staff greeting us and showing us to the table, before taking our orders.

For starters we opted for Polpo, Patate e Tartufo, which is Grilled Octopus, Mashed Potatoes, Tomato Confit, Chives and Truffle. The octopus is grilled perfectly, slicing easily with a knife while having a good bite on texture. It is seasoned well with the chives and truffle adding to the flavors of the mashed potatoes. A nice portion size too with three big pieces to allow this dish to be ideal for sharing.

We then had the Spaghetti Chitarra Acciughe, Capperi e Tartufo Nero, which is Homemade Spaghetti with Anchovies, Capers and Black Truffle. The spaghetti has a beautiful chewiness which without telling one can readily identify it being homemade and boiled to the right timing. There is also the nice sauce of the capers and anchovies providing some tartness and savory taste, and the black truffle sparkled on top further enhancing the overall satisfaction. A nice dish to enjoy on its own.

For the main course Ivy ordered the Grigliata di Pesce e Crostacei e Verdura, which is Grilled Fish, Shellfish and Vegetables. The portion is again very big, with quite a number of pieces of fish, including salmon, turbot, sea bass, plus some prawns, scallops and squid, as well as vegetables like zucchini, eggplant and tomato. The seafood are fairly good, though generally a bit salty for me, particularly the fish.

I had the Rombo alla Griglia, Cavolfiore Rape Rosse e Mayonnaise all' Acciuga, which is Grilled Turbot with Cauliflower Cream, Beetroot and Anchovies Mayonnaise. Like the other dish the fish is seasoned a bit too salty, but it was grilled very well with the fish skin crispy while the flesh is tender. The beetroot provides an interesting contrast in flavor and adding an extra dimension. The mayonnaise is blended with anchovies to give a savory taste which paired perfectly with the fish.

On dessert Ivy went for the Frutta, the Chef Selection of Fresh Fruit, which is fresh but not particularly impressive, with the grapes having too thick and tough skin. I had the Gelato e Sorbetto, which I had chosen the Homemade Kiwi Sorbet. It is quite bland though there is not much flavor, but on the other hand it is not sweet so overall it is an ideal dessert for the health-conscious.

With a bottle of water, and two glasses of white wine, the total bill on the night was $1,549 which is quite reasonable considering the quality of food, portion, service, environment and location.

My overall rating is 63/100.