Osteria Felice, Happy Place in Italian, is a casual and rustic restaurant that make you feel like home, a place full of scrumptious bites with a mix of authentic Italian taste and modernity.
Having located between Central and Admiralty, the heart of the busiest business district in Hong Kong, the restaurant allows Hongkongers to unwind with great food and drink in Italian style.
With no surprise, warm and fresh bread basket were given prior our meal with some good quality olive old. We only tried the papadom-like crispy bread sheet to save some room for more awesome dishes but we were sure they were all tasty since the Italian know how to work with flour.
Signature Cocktails
Apart from a big list of wine, Osteria Felice features their signature Bellini ($100 per glass, $550 per jug) prepared with homemade purees of fresh fruits of the season and signature bespoke Martini, which you get to choose your favourite potion, doneness, bitters, finishing touch and garnish, make a drink that is entirely match to your liking from top to bottom.
Mozzarella and Burrata
Burrata & Osetra Caviar ($228)
The restaurant sources the best mozzarella and burrata from around Italy. We were told that this type of burrata was shipped to the kitchen 3 times a week to ensure its maximum freshness. The burrata was very creamy and buttery and it was so fresh that it was almost like melting ice cream.
The dish was traditionally garnished with shallots, ginger and chives. We liked how the milky taste from the burrata blends with the savoury caviar and the refreshing garnish. We literally cleaned the plate in no time!
Antipasti
Blue Fin Tuna Tartare ($165)
From this dish, we have learned that blue fin tuna isn’t only from Japan but from Italy as well! The tuna tartare was seasoned with preserved lemon and pink peppercorns, making the taste of the fresh tuna popped out. Snapping the crispy bread and scraping the tuna chunks, it was just a perfect light antipasti to share among friends.
Roasted Bone Marrow ($158)
This is the real deal big bone marrow, best way to enjoy is to spread it on the grilled bread and topped with the fresh arugula leaves and sea salt flakes. The collagen-rich bone marrow melted on the warm toast instantly. We would like to consider this the luxury version of butter on toast, with a much more elegant touch to it. We particularly loved the generous amount of bone marrow for only $158!
The bone marrow jelly would melt in front of your eyes when you smeared it the warm bread! How can it be not sexy?
Before we move onto the ham haven, we have decided to enjoy some Italian rossi to go down with the cold cuts. Osteria Felice has a long wine list pricing at the range of between below 100 to below 200 by glass. We have picked the two wine below which Rizzi, Barbera d’Alba DOC delivered a slightly stronger taste while Chianti was just as great as always.
Left: Rizzi, Barbera d’Alba DOC ($90)
Right: Banfi, Chianti Superiore DOCG ($110)
Proscuitto & Salumi
Tuscan Cold Cuts “Cinta Senese” (Small $195)
The Cinta Senese is a breed of domestic pig from the province of Siena, in Tuscany, central Italy. It is an extremely rare breed even in Italy so we are so lucky to have the opportunity to try it in Hong Kong. We were recommended to savoured the hams in the order of culatello ,cappicola ,guanciale, salami bastardo, lard, based on its fat ratio. The taste intensified from each type of cut yet they all delivered very unique tastes. Come and find out which one is your favourite but remember to have some mustard fruit in between the cuts to clean your palette.
Primi
Linguine with Sicilian Red Prawns ($298)
We still remember our last red prawn was from Spain and we once again were surprised that red prawn could be from Italy as well! With no disappointments, linguine was cooked to the perfect al dente hardness and without too overly sauced. The taste of red prawns was a lot stronger than any other prawns we had ever tried. The cherry tomatoes complemented nicely with the rich seafood aroma. We had absolutely no complaints with this very on point pasta dish.
Despite the scrumptious pasta, you cannot go pass the head of the prawn, forget about the calorie and cholesterol, that’s the best part from a shrimp don’t you think so?
Secondi
Braised Beef Short Rib ($328)
The short rib was sous-vide for 17 hours prior, then another 4 hours before it was served on our table, no actually it was served on a bed of soft polenta, which was freshly prepared in house from corn on the cob instead of the processed powder one.
You would know it is a grandma-friendly dish to order when it gave that ‘pork tender’ texture. Indeed, the short rib was super soft and moist in the centre after being braised in nicely seasoned secret sauce.
Dolci
Housemade Hazelnut Tartuffo ($98)
We called it the giant. There were layers of hazelnut ice cream with runny chocolate fondant and a crisp at the bottom covered in a hard dark chocolate shell with even more crushed hazelnuts and pop rock candy!
Although our appetite had approached the sated stage, we had no excuse to pass this amazing addictive dessert. By the way, it really looked like a giant Ferrero Rocher filled with oozy Nutella sauce!
Tiramisu ($88)
A home style Italian-yes dessert to pamper ourselves. The tiramisu was brought from the fridge to our table in the big dish just like home.
From our last Italy trip, it has been a long time since we had decent slice of tiramisu and we were so glad that Osteria Felice brought us back all the good memories. It was made with the traditional mascarpone, savoiardi and coffee. It just tasted exactly what an authentic tiramisu should be! Can I have some more please?
Mozzarella Gelato
What!? Is that a pizzelle? We haven’t had one for years! What a great treat! The light and crispy pizzelle was the best way to enjoy with the the even creamier than ice cream mozzarella gelato. It was incredibly milky with subtle mozzarella flavour. You should at least try some if you still have room for it, otherwise, a cup of espresso using Italy imported coffee beans could also complete a beautiful dining experience in Osteria Felice.
At first we thought the restaurant was a bit far away but it fact it was just a short walk from either Central or Admiralty station. It was definitely worth a visit for some of its uncommon yet authentic Italian dishes in Hong Kong. Not to mention the very reasonable priced menu with comparatively quality food.
If you are looking for a place to chill out with your friends. Osteria Felice has also got you covered with their happy hour offering a selection of complimentary gourmet canapes throughout the whole happy hour from 5-8pm.
Address: G/F., Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2516 6166
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Looks good! I will check it out
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Looks good! I will check it out
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