Il Ristorante serves up refined Italian cuisine (for a price)

Incredibly luxe hotel restaurant that doesn't quite hit the mark

First things first, the new Bulgari hotel, which sits handsomely on the bank of the Liangmahe, is sick. It’s slick, shiny and smooth; the inky black lobby flows into the restaurant’s dark brown leather seats, marble tables and gold furnishings, which spill out onto a gorgeous riverside garden. The whole place is abuzz with heels clicking and cards swiping. It’s sickeningly luxe, or just sickening, or just sick, depending on your price point.

The restaurant in question is Il Ristorante, an Italian fine dining establishment designed by the Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito. We start by hydrating with some still water, to the tune of 98RMB for 750ml, which is presumably filtered through Bulgari diamonds. Quenched and shaking, we ponder the dining options. There are two set menus, mystifyingly priced at either 298RMB or 1,100RMB per person, or à la carte, which we opt for.

A platter of Italian antipasti (488RMB) to start means a hearty wheel of rustic, freshly baked bread alongside whisperingly thin breadsticks and shards of oregano-flecked crackers, served with excellent olive oil for dipping. There is also an olive tapenade- topped ricotta, juicy marinated tomatoes, a brick of melon with parma ham and a few other small bites, but it’s the carbs that really steal the show here. Five hundred kuai of carbs.

The veal ragu lasagna (298RMB) is next, served in the traditional Italian way of pasta being a delicate starter, and therefore small. What there is of the lasagna is very good – warming and rich without being too heavy, with a perfect balance of cheese and meat and sauce. The whole dish is a little over-salted, but being such a brief affair your arteries will hardly notice.

So far, the meal has been very expensive and fairly good. However, with the next dish, the price-taste matrix, which would ideally be relatively closely aligned, is blown apart. For 588RMB, you can enjoy one fillet of sea bass, topped with a light tomato mayonnaise, wilted lettuce and apparently some capers although we missed any if they were there. The fish comes in a modest but not unreasonable portion, and the greens have been cooked to retain their flavour and bite without becoming watery. What is unreasonable is that the fish is tough and almost dry, which would be a complaint of any upmarket restaurant, but is especially jarring when you’ve just forked out the price of 15 pints for the disappointing forkfuls.

For a menu this pricey (apart from the sides, the cheapest item is a 228RMB 'mushroom infusion'), the food would have to be pretty mind-blowing not to leave you feeling shortchanged. Il Ristorante’s service and setting are quite frankly second-to-none, but unfortunately we’d be reluctant to pay even a lot less for the food. With an atmosphere this glam, though, maybe that’s not the point.

Lunch for two: around 2,000RMB (including 15 percent service charge). Without wine!

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