The Primus Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao’s flagship Italian restaurant – Al Cappello Trattoria – recently welcomed new Chef Patrizio D’oro to the team and launched a revamped Italian classics menu, pulling on D’oro’s experience growing up in southern Italy and working in northern Italy.
Image courtesy of Al Cappello Trattoria
The common thread that runs throughout is traditional flavors with reimagined, modern presentation – ones that play with the senses to create entirely new experiences.
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“We are a trattoria after all,” says D’oro, “but a contemporary one that allows diners to revisit the Italian comfort dishes they are already familiar with but in a way they’ve never seen before.”
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The 62-seat restaurant is stylishly decorated, with a front bar to greet guests with a pre-meal aperitivo, followed by a floor-to-ceiling wine display, private rooms and the main dining room, marked by dark wooden tables, wingback chairs, and intimate lighting.
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Retro Italian digestif posters advertising Campari, Vermouth Rosso, and Aperol line the upper wall, flanking the rim of the open kitchen where diners can enjoy the show of the chefs at work on one side and views of the hotel lobby happenings on the other.
There is an elegant charm to the space without being fussy, a trait that extends to the cuisine and wine list.
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Every meal at Al Cappello Trattoria begins with a warm basket of fresh baked bread – a selection of multiple kinds of grissini as well as 2-3 varieties of homemade focaccia, all paired with sundried tomato pesto, garlic confit and black olive pâté.
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Whimsically plated starters begin with the likes of the Caprese 2.0 (RMB98) – a bite that embodies the flavors of this beloved tomato, basil, and mozzarella starter, yet with an unprecedented mouthfeel.
The mozzarella is whipped into a mousse and rolled inside a sheathing of tomato jelly, a crispy parmesan tuille resting against the tube.
Dots of basil gel and rehydrated dried tomato sauce add to the playful presentation while simultaneously rounding out the dish’s signature profile.
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Sitting at the cross-section of a carpaccio and vitello tonnato, the yellowfin Tuna Carpaccio (RMB128) is studded with alternating dollops of sauce – veal aioli and anchovy purée – finished with a black olive crumble and micro basil.
The cured tuna is lush, melting into the tongue like butter, its natural sweetness juxtaposed against the gamier veal.
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Sicily takes form on the plate with the Linguine Alla Siciliana (RMB138), ropey strands of fresh pasta, slick with a homemade pistachio pesto, plated atop an unctuous stracciatella cheese cream.
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Plump slices of scallop carpaccio crown the noodles, a tuft of tomato foam cutting through the dish’s richness, inviting diners in for another forkful of indulgence.
Surf N' Turf (RMB428), Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Fresh globules of imported burrata, melted mozzarella cheese, Parma ham, arugula and tomato sauce decorate a 24-hour fermented dough crust that falls in the middle ground between stretchy Napoli crust and thin, crispy Roman crust as the San Daniele Pizza (RMB188).
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Other pizza options span classics like Margherita (RMB108), Diavola (RMB138) and Capricciosa (RMB168) to Roman pinsas (crispy, fragrant dough made with rice flour, Italian wheat flour and soy flour) in flavor combinations like Norvegese (RMB128), with stracciatella cheese and smoked salmon; Parma-Capri (RMB148), with buffalo mozzarella and Parma ham; and 4 Formaggi Tartufata (RMB148), with gorgonzola, parmesan, mozzarella, and taleggio cheese plus truffle.
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Can’t decide what to order? Chef Patrizio has put together a Five Course Tasting Menu (RMB788) that begins with a Millefoglie di Baccala’ Mantecato – a take on the famous Venetian cicchetti (or Italian 'tapas') presented like a layered mille-feuille dessert.
Creamy codfish is piped onto layers of puffed pastry, adorned with Beluga 7-year caviar, beads of mint 'caviar' – pearled jellies that pop, releasing a cooling herbaceousness – and lemon zest.
A trick for the senses, the unexpected textural contrast elevates this beloved Venice bar snack.
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Follow that up with Eggplant Souffle, a twist on Eggplant parmesan in the form of a warm fluffy puff, dribbled with cold burrata cream.
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The tasting menu’s mains showcase is a Porcini Risotto with Foie Gras Pâté and a Braised Slow-Cooked Beef Cheek with Sangiovese wine sauce, mushrooms, potato purée and roasted seasonal vegetables.
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The meal concludes with the Sister’s Cake – a cookie crumble base layered with chocolate stratum – 72% dark, milk, and white – a final stripe of strawberry jam and seasonal berries lending a tart brightness.
The venue also offers a pocket-friendly lunch special with two courses (appetizer, pasta or main) for RMB168 and three courses (appetizer, pasta and main) for RMB188, with an option to add on a dessert for an extra RMB20.
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Primus Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao, No.100, 1588 Zhuguang Lu, by Yinggang Dong Lu, 诸光路1588弄100号, 近盈港东路.
Read more Shanghai Restaurant Reviews.
[Cover image by Sophie Steiner/That's]
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