[Shanghai] 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Add: Associate Mission Building,  6-7/F, 169 Yuanmingyuan Lu, near Beijing Dong Lu  / 圆明园路169号6－7楼, 近北京东路
Tel: 6087 2890
Hours: [restaurant] 6pm~12am [bar] 4pm~late
Website: www.ottoemezzobombana.com
Price: 600 RMB+/person
Visited on: Mar 2012

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

That evening at 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, I ate way too much, and I drank way too much. But can you blame me? The Shanghai establishment of Umberto Bombana’s Michelin three star restaurant just upped the ante for fine dining in this city. Situated in the newly renovated Rock Bund development, the restaurant boasts views of Lujiazui and The Bund, but really, I couldn’t care less about the view – it’s the food that draws me.

To see my review of the original 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo in Hong Kong, click here.

Our evening commenced at the bar. If you are overwhelmed by the lengthy menu like I was, let mixologist Dario Gentile whip up one of his original cocktail recipes for you. As I was in the mood for something sour, the Camomile Whisky Sour (80 RMB) was perfect.

Camomile Whisky Sour (80 RMB).

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[Hong Kong] 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Categories hong kong
[Hong Kong] 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Add: Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House, Central, Hong Kong / 中環德輔道中5-17號歷山大廈2樓202號舖
Tel: (852) 2537 8859
Hours: 12-2:30pm, 6:30-10:30pm
Website: www.ottoemezzobombana.com
Price: [lunch] 330 HKD/set (a la carte also available), [dinner] 800 HKD+
Visited: Dec 2011

I won’t be able to describe my dinner at 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA in much detail. It was one of those charming experiences filled with constant oohs and ahhs that in retrospect, everything is a blur – the copious amount of wine consumed that evening certainly contributed to the buzz. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

We were lucky to get one of the C-shaped booths in the corners, which provided a great vantage point from which to survey the entire dining room: a comfortable interior in a warm palette of bronze and cream, made festive by Christmas decorations here and there. The faceted mirror ceiling is a nice touch.

Corkage fee at Otto e Mezzo is charged not by the bottle, but by the number of people at the table (100 HKD per person), and in total we only paid 400 HKD of corkage fee for all three bottles we brought that evening (instead of 500 HKD/bottle charged by other high-end restaurants). It all started with a bottle of bubbly Egly Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru (thank you J & C :)

The amuse bouche may look like a chocolate truffle, but it’s actually a cube of chocolate foie gras.


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