The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo
Add: 2967 Lujiazui Xi Lu, near Fenghe Lu / 陸家嘴西路2967號, 近豐禾路
Tel: 5054 1265
Hours: 11am-2:30pm, 6-10pm
Price: [lunch] 128~188 RMB/person + 15% [dinner] 300~400 RMB/person + 15%
Website: www.ystable.com/Branch_2.html
Visited on: Aug 2010
Pudong’s riverbank is lined with a good number of restaurants and bars, but The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo seems to be one of the very few that offer decent food to match the views. We came here for lunch and found it to be a delightful oasis on a hot summer day. The lunch set menu is a good deal – an appetizer, a pizza/pasta, and dessert for 128 RMB, or opt for meat/seafood instead of the pizza/pasta for 148 RMB, or both the main course and the pizza/pasta for 188 RMB. Drinks extra.
Nice patio area with trickling water.
Salvatore Cuomo started his brand in Japan and is apparently quite a celebrity in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya. The Kitchen is his first attempt in China, and judging from the bustling lunch hour traffic, Salvatore seems to be doing quite well here too. You can also find his concept and style at Issimo, a wildly popular Italian restaurant located on the 2nd floor of JIA boutique hotel.
For appetizers, we ordered the Atlantic salmon carpaccio with rocket leaves and Mediterranean dressing, and the traditional Neapolitan eggplant lasagna. The Salmon carpaccio was fresh and plump, excellent with the accompanying mango-hinted Mediterranean dressing. The eggplant lasagna was nicely done, flavors all there, a bit oily but the arugula helped to cut back the greasiness. (FYI, the two other appetizer choices are: coppa ham served with vegetable pickles, and seasonal salad with olives and artichokes.)
For pizza, we tried quattro funghi, a pie loaded with mozzarella cheese and four kinds of mushrooms, lots of basil and freshly ground pepper. The crust was thin, chewy, and pock-marked on the bottom – very lovely. Our other dish was Rigatoni pasta tossed with Italian pork sausage mushroom ragout, and tomato sauce, which was an undercooked disappointment.
The only dessert option, yogurt semifreddo with raisins, did not suit my palate though my lunch date quite liked it. The complementary illy coffee, on the other hand, was a lovely finish to the meal.
Despite the disappointing pasta dish and dessert, The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo is still a beautiful restaurant with quality food. The portions are also quite generous and we had to pack up half the pizza to go. Will be back.
