Il Ristorante Niko Romito can be found located inside the Bvlgari Hotel in Beijing. This impressive restaurant is lead by Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, who is certainly skilled in his craft. Working remotely from his headquarters in Italy, Romito has personally trained his resident chef, who takes the helm at Il Ristorante Niko. This makes for a wonderful menu full of exquisite dishes that pay homage to the favours of Beijing, but with a contemporary Italian flair.
When we arrived at Il Ristorante Niko Romito, we were greeted warmly by a member of the team and shown to our table, situated in the heart of this 70-seater restaurant. As we browsed the menu, we enjoyed two glasses of the Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé Champagne as an aperitif. Our menu choices were particularly difficult to make, and we were grateful to have such a wonderful glass of Champagne to ease us into the evening.
To begin our culinary experience, we opted for their Antipasto all’Italiana, which for those who do not speak Italian, is a selection of Italian specialities which on this occasion included veal with tuna sauce; Japanese marinated sea bream with sour cream and caviar; scampi; burrata cheese with roe mullet and salad; beets, almonds, potatoes and balsamic vinegar; amberjack, tomatoes and oregano, and finally to complete this vast selection we enjoyed the cod fish and potatoe mousse. This dish was certainly my favourite, being so varied and providing a real taste of Italy. We were blown away and it really set the tone for what was to come.
“This is a restaurant that has successfully managed to merge two different cultures, and it works extraordinarily well.”
For the first course, my partner decided on the Canadian lobster and Spanish red prawns spaghetti. This dish was beautifully presented, which is somewhat difficult for pasta dishes, and the seafood was wonderfully cooked. I opted for the wild mushrooms infusion with chickpeas and chestnuts zuppa. This hearty and earthy dish was bursting with beautiful flavour, and I was everything but disappointed.
For our main courses, my partner went for the crispy suckling pig with orange caramel sauce. I went for the Roasted Australian beef tenderloin served with black pepper and almonds. We also added sides of sautéed spinach with garlic, olive oil and chilli; rosemary asparagus, and roasted baby potatoes. Every single element of each of these dishes was executed to perfection. The pig was so flavoursome and the tenderloin was so incredibly tender and cooked just to my liking.
To accompany our meal, we decided on a bottle of the 2015 Montevetrano, Core Campania Tinto, Campania, Italy. This is a delicious wine, full of dark fruit flavours and a notable minerality, finishing with dry tannins on the palate. It was a great addition to our meal.
Overall we had an incredible experience at Il Ristorante Niko Romito. We would highly recommend it to anyone in Beijing, and will certainly be returning. Everything from the service to the presentation and certainly the cuisine was just immaculate, and we had the most enjoyable evening. This is a restaurant that has successfully managed to merge two different cultures, and it works extraordinarily well.
The Bill: £97 per head
