Our meeting near Wan Chai ran a bit long so the thought to grab lunch in central or anywhere further away vanished. A few years ago, my usual go-to spot for lunch in Wan Chai would have been Roganic, but that ship sailed when they moved to Causeway Bay a couple of years ago. I figured it was time to find a new favorite.
One thing led to another, and I ended up at Grissini — a place I hadn’t visited for years. The food has always been decent but the service never really matched the billing, especially considering it’s a hotel restaurant.
After getting settled down for a while, my server finally came up and asked about my water preference. I told her, “Iced water, please.” Instead of moving on, she kept repeating the same question: “Still or sparkling?” Like a broken record. I repeated a couple of times that I just wanted “normal” water. In hindsight, I probably should have said that tap water was perfectly fine.
Eventually, I gave in and went with still. My water arrived eventually… with no ice (just great!).
Back for the food for a moment here.
As usual, I started with the restaurant’s signature grissini, the iconic long breadstick.
Vitello tonnato — The thin slices of lightly roasted milk fed veal were pretty tasty. The cloud of tuna sauce was a little excessive and over the top but not wanting to waste it, I decided to use the extra as a dipping sauce for my bread.
Linguina gamberi, alici, nduja — I dropped a few more bucks for the popular artisan linguine served with anchovy butter, nduja and Sicilian red prawn crudo.
.JPG)
The fresh linguine itself wasn’t bad but the combination of nduja and anchovy butter was too fiery and savory for the dish. There was no real room for the sweetness of the red prawn or the eggy linguine to come through and shine.
.JPG)
Tiramisu All' Amaretto — A trip to Grissini is never complete without trying their signature
Tiramisu all’amaretto. Their version strikes a nice balance of espresso, ladyfingers, mascarpone, and amaretto liqueur, and it stays beautifully pillowy. It’s probably my third favorite tiramisu in town right now, just behind Carna by Dario Cicchetti and Tosca di Angelo.
(Here's a list of my favorite tiramisu in town.)
All three dishes this afternoon were pretty decent but at this price point, the outcome was fully expected.
Service, however, did not match expectations at all. After taking my water and food order, my server never came back to check on me again. It was Rugby Sevens week, and there were a couple of corporate dining groups sitting next to me, so she was clearly just focused on them. I was left topping up my own water for the entire afternoon. Bus staff saw me topping my own water too but yet none of them seemed to think it was worth stepping in (They were just there to clean the tables?).
Needless to say, this effectively marked my last-ever dining experience at Grissini.
Food Rating: 6.7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 2/F Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2584-7722
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat)
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think