bacchus1's Profile

Ambience:  the key dining area is very no frills and basic and a bit dark.  There is a dining area in the wine shop which is more interesting as it is more open but seems to have only large tables.  Oh also the air conditioning was too cold so food became cold VERY quickly.Service: adequate but not attentive.  For example, we had the chicken which of course had bones but we were not given any extra plate to put the bones.  Also some wet wipes or finger bowls would have been appreciated.  Small gestures like these should be expected from fine dining restaurants.Food:  What is it with small portions in fine dining?  The starters were just too small!  We had the Parmesan souffle and tomato tart with burrata for starters.  Both tasted fine but just a bit underwhelming.  For HKD280-290 each (USD36), I thought they were way overpriced and should be more like HKD120.We also had the famous chicken which tasted ok but definitely would not be "one of the best 3 roast chickens in HK" (the others being those at Louise and Belon). In fact the breast meat was a bit dry.  Also, I had expected more flavours (from different herbs) but it tasted surprisingly "one-dimensional".  It was quite similar to roast chicken at some Chinese restaurants.  The rice that came with the chicken tasted ok but was a bit mushy.The tarte tatin was also disappointing.  It was a small lump of poached apple on pastry and was too sweet.The complimentary mint tea after dessert was a nice gesture.…Read More

總體來說食物和服務都很好，但有點失望。 我們吃了 5 道菜的晚餐。第一道菜既漂亮又好吃。 海膽第二道菜，味道像日本魚生，需要一些芥末。 連續吃了兩盤冷貝實際上使我有點胃不舒服。第三道菜的西班牙紅蝦是當晚的佼佼者—大紅蝦多汁可口。 主菜牛肉和羊肉都很好，但沒什麼特別的（為什麼分量這麼小！）。我認為甜點有點令人失望。 Grand Marnier soufflé 很好，但有點太硬了。 巧克力蛋糕看起來不錯，但巧克力味道不夠。怎麼沒有petit four 呢？總的來說，每人大約 HKD2,800，我認為它應該有更多的“哇”因素。服務非常好...細心又不打擾。…Read More

Place:  simple and cozy with modern looking decorationsService:  very attentive staff.  Great service!Food:  Simple menu but all the dishes we tasted were fantastic!  We tried the set dinner for two which comes with appetisers, small bites, a main dish,a side dish, rice or noodle, and dessert!  Appetisers such as prawn toasts and pan fried stuffed pancake were flavourful.  For main dish, we tried the signature fish fillet in pickled vegetable soup.  It came in a huge bowl with a whole seabass!  The fish was tender and tasty; even the deep-fried bones were amazing!Even though we were quite full from the set dinner, we could not resist to try the poached Angus beef in Sichuanese chilli sauce.  It definitely did not disappoint as the meat was juicy and tender and the spices were just right.  The meal finished with complimentary desserts which were glutinous rice balls with durian and coconut.  It was a great sweet ending to the spicy and tasty dinner.…Read More

Place:  very dark, hip, and modernFood:  small portions and most dishes were not memorable.  One warning:  do not order the smoked mackerel in the starter menu!  We did and got one tiny, thin strip of smoked mackerel (2.5 in by 0.5 in) with some carrot puree (for $180!). Service:  very patchy...two ladies who might have been the managers (had different outfits) were very friendly and helpful, whereas our main waitress was unresponsive and unhelpful.  One example was when we asked for ketchup, our waitress said immediately: "No, we don't have any ketchup." But when we asked one of the manager-looking ladies, she came back with the ketchup very quickly.I would go to The Dispensary for drinks and skip Statement.…Read More

I had eaten at Isola quite a few times before and thought that their food was quite nice and service efficient.  I hadn't been there since they moved to their new space in IFC so decided to give it a try.  The new place looked more or less the same as before except it seemed to be a smaller place and there was no outdoor area.  We sat down and my impression soon after was that the service seemed a bit poor....we waited for 10 mins and no staff acknowledged our presence!  We had to flag down a waitress to request menus and order drinks.  We ordered the octopus salad and a crab tagliolini for appetizers and they came about 15 mins after we had placed the order.  Both dishes were very tasty - the octopus was very tender and the crab pasta was delicious.  However, after our appetizers, we waited and waited for our main dishes and before we knew an hour had passed by and the main courses still had not arrived.  Of course we had asked the staff a few times since we were on a time constraint.  Finally we had to tell the waiter to cancel our main dishes because we had to leave in 10 mins.  The waiter said "please wait" then came back and presented our mains which by then we had exactly 5 mins to finish.  We had the rib eye and the pigeon which to be fair were both very flavorful.  We only wished that we had more time to enjoy the food.We asked for the bill right away and the waiter just handed the bill to us without a word...no "sorry about the main courses" or even a "thank you".  Isola must have changed its staff because I remember that they used to be very professional, well-mannered, and efficient.  That evening all the staff seemed absent-minded, mechanical, and uninterested.  It was a shame because the chef (whom we met) was actually very friendly and enthusiastic and the food was very good.…Read More

The place:  modern and nicely decorated but the tables are a bit small.The staff:  friendly and attentive enoughThe food:  Overall just average as some dishes were decent and some were disappointing.  For appetisers, we tried the Commissary wedge salad which had three small wedges of romaine lettuce, some bacon bits, one small cherry tomato cut in half, and some ranch dressing.  Tasted ok but the portion was a bit small.  We also had the brisket tamale which was shredded beef brisket stuffed inside a "rice dumpling"-like dough.  The taste was surprisingly bland and the food was just lukewarm.  Food was served really quickly and our main courses were served to us even before we had finished our appetisers.  For main course, we tried the fishtacos which had three soft tacos with fried fish fillet and coleslaw on top.  They were actually quite tasty.  We also had the pork ribs.  They were quite disappointing as the ribs were very dry and way too charred and the sauce was a bit too sweet.  The corn that came with the dish was fantastic but I would not recommend this dish.Disappoint experience overall and I don't think I will go back.…Read More