Cova Ristorante & Caffe  

We had spent hours in Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. After the nice walk, we wanted to have a cozy and easy place to have a drink and chit chat. Among all outlets in Pacific Place, we chose this one. I tried one time in TST branch for the afternoon tea many years ago, not a good impression, I must admit. Well, that's why i decided to have it 2nd chance for my final critic~

There's the afternoon tea buffet, on saturdays, sundays & public holidays, from 3-5:30pm, charge at HKD228, OMG...not many choices for snacks, mainly the homemade pastries, which were never my favourite dishes~

We were lucky to be just waited for less than ten minutes to be seated. Anyhow, we ordered 4 drinks:

Expresso
Cappinccino
Americano
Fresh fruit juice squash

The hot coffee were served in the nice coffee cup with milano shop pic (I guess) and gold embossed plate, well presented and nice aroma. However, when asked about the taste for the coffee, the 3 Italian connoisseurs all commented as SO-SO, not really worthy for the price.

My strawberry squash was fine, at least the garnish strawberry was red inside (compared to those look so red outside, but bite them and the inside are all white) and taste nice, even it's a bit pricey i think.

So now i can make my own conclusion: this is just not my place, even it is nominated to be one of the best Italian caffes in town~

After trying the Quintuple cake by Arome bakery, decided to try the richer version by Cova.
It was rich and strong.
However it was slightly too hard and not as soft as Awfully chocolates version.

Although having a restaurant right in the middle of the mall is a bit weird, I guess having grew up in HK I've gotten used to it.

Their dinner menu is antipasto + primo $320 or antipasto + secondo for around $360. For antipasti you could either select from the buffet or order from the menu. The buffet had a decent selection of antipasti. I had 2 rounds and was satisfied.

The bread basket was not bad. Sun dried tomato one was OK, I liked the rye and walnut one. Grissini was not bad either.

For main I had seafood spaghetti with seafood in cherry tomato sauce. Portion was just right and the sauce was well done. Would liked to have a bit more seafood. The mussels were fresh. Scallops were slightly overcooked and the squid was on the tough side. But overall not bad.

My favorite part was the decaf coffee!! It was soo fragrant and so smooth. Smelt and tasted great. Perfect end to a meal!

Service here is not bad although one female staff looked way tired and another older male staff just acted as if he was in a super hurry.. but all in all it was fine.

Didn't try any of their desserts since I'm not a big italian dessert fan at all

My mom, boyfriend and I picked Cova for afternoon tea because it was close to us (Pacific Place, Admiralty) and that the buffet went until 5:30pm. Although not as refined in presentation and quality as the other surrounding hotels, at $128HKD per person (as opposed to $228) it is quite a good deal.

The buffet has small little sandwiches, little cookies and pastries, along with some hot hors d'oeuvres and cakes.
Buffet pictures of food are always strange looking. Unless I place it on my plate correctly, I can always get something that looks like it's half eaten!






We got there around 5:00pm and it looked as if they were almost finished, but the waitress assured me that they would refill things up until 5:30pm. There was one hot dish that my mom asked twice and was waiting for it to refill. After asking the host a few times, they just brought some warm quiches directly to our table.



He also brought us a plate of desserts directly to our table. We felt so bad we couldn't finish the giant massive one, it was a nice touch.

Since the grand opening of COVA @ Admiralty has been opened for a few months
we havent come for a meal yet, thanks COVA offering buy one get one free for the VIP

Actually there are quite a detailed description at below, therefore, I wont say much about the food, since it is awesome and great already.
Service is not bad at all, good environment, good food.

However, my Risotto is a little bit full for us, maybe we had two rounds of appetitzers already...hahahaha, it is really creamy, but we couldnt finish it at all

Anyway, i dun think i will come for a normal dinner which costs 300HKD per person.

It is a nice place to celebrate some festivals for couples or lovers!

My sister was kind enough to confer upon me a coupon that acted as a buy one get one free to a set meal at Cova Pacific Place . I was under the impression that this Cova was recently (within the last year) renovated and was sporting a new look and perhaps a new chef, and was looking forward to trying out their new fare.

Brought the missus for dinner on Sunday - reservations were made with no problem and everything started well. The renovations created an airy, spacious feel that I actually liked more than the old decor. Our set meals consisted of an appetizer, main course of differing prices and a dessert along with tea or coffee if desired. Cova's niche is that instead of an appetizer, you can gorge yourself on the buffet table. I was not terribly hungry that day, so I passed, but I think my dear girlfriend did not realize this until it was too late and missed out on the many slices of parma ham that laid enticingly on the table .

I was perplexed by the fact that the coupon was only good for the cheapest set meal ($288). The meals differ by the main course, with the more indulging courses costing either $338 or $588. I was fully ready to order these meals if the coupon compensated up to the same amount, but I was told that was not the case. I was rather miffed so I stuck to the cheaper course just to spite them.

For appetizers I ordered the prawn bisque while the missus ordered a rock prawn salad. This was the start of the inconsistency that plagued the meal. My prawn bisque was good - it had a great flavour and density. It was not overly creamy or pungent, which is sometimes the case with seafood bisques. The rock prawn salad on the other hand, was annoyingly mediocre. The presentation (a bowl laid on dried ice) created high expectations, which came crashing down after seeing the size of the prawns (itsy bitsy teeny weeny), the freshness of the vegetables, and the dressing of the salad. To say the least, the dish did not impress. Perhaps people best stick with the buffet

For the main course, we got the grilled turbot with julienne vegetables, and the linguine with giant scallops and pancetta. Except they were out of giant scallops so we had to settle for regular scallops. Despite the change in ingredients, the price stayed the same (what?). However, the linguine turned out to be a surprise. It was cooked perfectly al dente, and the bacon added a crunchiness to the texture as well as a zing to the taste. The scallops, though minute played its part beautifully.

For the turbot, it was a return to the theme of inconsistency. It looked beautiful, the skin looked perfectly crispy, and the sauce around it looked delicious. Then came the actual eating part. First of all, the dish was tepid, which is a death sentence to a dish before you even begin. The fish was overcooked (read mushy), and lacked any real taste. Perhaps they felt the fish was too delicate and did not want to upset the palate, but they ended up leaving the palate asleep. The vegetables were mediocre, but without any decent sauce to accompany them, rendered them even plainer. To put it plainly, this dish was bad.

For dessert, we ordered the Pistachio Gelato and the Peanut Feuillentine. The gelato was elegantly presented on dry ice, so I did not have high expectations, but it turned out rather tasty. It was strong in pistachio flavour, and perhaps just a tinge too sweet, but overall enjoyable. The Peanut Feuillentine cake was also great. I expected it to be very light, but it was rich in chocolate with a zing of nuts. I'm not too much of a sweet tooth, but the missus enjoyed both immensely. We skipped tea and coffee.

Overall, I probably would not return to Cova to try out their other meals. While $288 for a fancy Italian meal with a buffet seems to have great value. The inconsistency of their dishes here really scares me. At the very least, I will not be returning until they learn to keep their dishes properly heated. The service in general was solid, except that some were generally inexperienced, which showed in their responses to our requests. Recommended for people who want to gorge on a buffet and still have an entree afterward.

Mango Tart from colleague for my birthday!!!
So surprise to have two cakes within the same day, within one hour!!!

Mango is not too sweet, but it is very good!
So many mango on the top!!!
I love the cakes at COVA so much besides chocolate!

After lunch with my friend, we were strolling back along Pacific Place to our respective offices.

Suddenly, my friend caught glimpses of 2 people dressed up as clowns - one male and one female, standing in the middle of the 1st floor of Pacific Place.

We immediately approached them and saw them giving away small packets of cookies - 2 each, one chocolate flavor and the other butter flavor to several people. We went for them and they showed us several posters asking us where these places were or what they were. We answered them one by one and after that, they gave us a packet of cookies. I had the vanilla/butter one and my friend had the chocolate flavor.

It was such a funny experience and the two ppl were so nice and friendly! The cookies were definitely from cova as there was a nice ribbon with the name "Cova" embarked on it. Anyway, it was a good and funny experience!

The cookies were obviously delicious and well-made! I had the vanilla one and it had a strong butter flavor! Very good! My friend's chocolate one was delicious as well, more like choco-butter flavor!

They are running a special promotion for Sunday Seafood Brunch Buffet : 1 Free for Party of 6 -- At HK258 each (before discount), not a bad deal !
Antipasti
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As the theme is seafood, there is abundant supply of prawns, mussels, salmon. Also, there is a good variety of ham (and other cold-cuts) and salads.
Recommended : Lobster Salad, Salmon Pate
Hot Plate
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Besides more fish and more mussels (cooked in a white wine sauce), there are also lamp chop and tuna lasagna. At the wagon, you can find more roast beef and honey ham
Recommended : Lasagna
Main Course
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There is an ordered main course and there are 2 choices : Half Lobster or Lobster Linguini. Both are tasty
Dessert
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Cova cakes, what else ? No surprise.
To be honest, I like the dessert at Gvsto more
Coffee / Tea
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Included and a meal is not complete without a cup of coffeee

The 1 drawback is air-con. Probably due to renovation at PP, it’s not cool enough. But friendliness from the staff compensate for it. A nice choice for friends / family gathering

This is a very pleasant and cozy place indeed. Although it is situated in a bustling shopping mall, the restaurant itself is enveloped by an ambience of tranquility, and one can still obtain a degree of privacy when dining there.

The menu isn't at all large, and there's perhaps a certain lack of imagination in the design and presentation of its dishes. Yet, the food, made from the freshest of ingredients, is invariably good. The salad buffet is quite unmissable, too. The desserts are a bit too rich and sweet for my taste, though. The price is reasonable for an establishment of this kind.

As can be expected, the service is faultless, even though their waiters can perhaps wear their smiles a bit more often.

On my first lunch visit on Sat. to this cafe restaurant; sitting under the nature light from the atrium skylight; I found the atmosphere relaxing and family friendly, there were young couples with kids, and behind us, sat an older couple whom the restaurant provided a Chinese menu. Very considerate!

We had their set lunches, which came with self-serve buffet style appetizers, and hot entrees. The smoked salmons, prosciutto, roasted vegetables, stuffed muchrooms, mussels …were all OK and within expectation. The pasta with meat sauce was heavy on the meat, pasta could be a bit firm and al dente; the shrimps were slightly overcooked but were tasty.

For a 100+ year old Italian restaurant chain, I guess it can't go wrong, but just lack the excitements.

hi...long time haven't your news la..\r<br>\n\r<br>\nhow are you so far.~

I am not an employee of Cova, but I don't belieive that Dickie's comment is fair to Cova.
<br>He should express whether their services and food quality, which I personnaly find satisfactory, justify the prices. If you do not want to spend the money, there are so many other options in Pacific Place.