Central's Authentic ITALIAN PASTA BAR
Your neighbourhood pasta bar, serving only freshly hand rolled pasta made daily.
Building on the success of the critically acclaimed and highly popular Pici Wan Chai branch, the newly opened Pici Central is billed as your friendly neighbourhood pasta bar. Situated in the heart of Hong Kong, just down from the Karin Weber Gallery on Aberdeen Street, it serves up a host of beautifully presented, wholesome dishes created using only the best quality ingredients and freshly hand rolled pasta. The result is a flavoursome, down to earth Italian dining experience backed up by a collection of Italian wines offered by the glass, carafe or bottle.
The restaurant might take quite a few of its food and beverage cues from the successful Wan Chai eatery, but the design is altogether different with a more elegant and romantic retro-feel. Shuttered from the street by a screen the natural hues and dark wood of the restaurant contrast with the light windows, bright bar tiling and colour-washed walls.
There’s a variety of seating offering both communal and intimate options including, as you enter, an unusual through-the-window, inside-out, pop-up style arrangement, high seats at the food bar and very comfortable diner-style leather benches and chairs set against dark wood tables, short wall panels and mock decorative alcoves.
Executive Chef Andrea Viglione keeps the seasonal menu simple by offering a mix of typical Italian starters and a selection of specialist in-house handmade pastas. Gluten-free pasta can be made to order, just ask the friendly and attentive staff.
There’s an à la carte choice and fixed-price and well-balanced lunch and weekend brunch set menus, which rotate every week - although if Wan Chai is a guide the perennial favourites like the burrata cheese, homemade meatballs, tagliatelle and tiramisu are always available.
From the lunch set choose a starter, main and dessert, while at weekends and public holidays the sharing style of the brunch is often the preferred option. The brunch includes a glass of Prosecco per person and requires full table participation.
The à la carte offers an impressive range of classic sharing pastas, starters and desserts. The starters include the aforementioned meatballs and the burrata cheese, a creamy cheese atop a bed of rocket, cherry tomato and basil as well as vitello tonnato, the classic Italian dish of thin slices of cold roast veal lathered in tuna mayonnaise and garnished with Sicilian capers. The pasta selection naturally features ravioli, lasagne and tagliatelle and is complemented by dishes like orecchiete with Italian sausage, spicy n’duja and tomato and a selection of vegetarian dishes such as cacao e pepe – pasta of the day served tossed in pecorino cheese and black pepper. If you are unsure what to order or quite like the sound of everything then why not opt for the tasting menu.
Naturally the wine list is focused on Italian varieties curated to pair perfectly with the food. There’s a handful of Italian inspired cocktails too and after-dinner digestives like limoncello and nardini grappa to finish the meal alongside a small selection of beers and non-alcoholic drinks.