The new Italian eatery at Beijing's Kempinski hotel marries casual comfort with a fine-dining ambiance that its predecessors never quite mustered, Mike Peters finds.

The long-awaited opening of Via Roma comes after Beijing's Kempinski hotel took a wrecking ball to its previous Italian eatery. The Villa La Gondola had become a bit of a decaying grande dame on the periphery of the hotel, struggling to sustain the five-star consistency of its surroundings, the relaxed atmosphere of its uber-German sister restaurant, the Paulaner Brauhaus, and deliver a fine-dining experience. A turnover of chefs and unpredictable service sealed its doom.

After recruiting the effervescent Francesco Sanna as the hotel's Italian chef, management wisely gutted the place for a makeover. Sanna, a Sardinia native, did the same with the menu, and the current service staff is as polished as any at the parent hotel. The combination makes the airy black-and-white-tiled new eatery a bright spot in every way.

In a city where folks can be skittish about seafood, Sanna hustles to source quality sea creatures and makes them stars on his menu.

There are five different breeds of lobsters scuttling in the live tanks on the night of our first visit, and the chef requires that his suppliers check the tanks twice daily to make sure the crustaceans are not just alive but lively. He sells more Boston lobsters than any other, thanks to that species' good press, but he promises more gustatory pleasure from rock lobsters or the surly-looking but apparently delicious French Blue.

We got things started with a fine salad of arugula, white champignons, pecorino and lemon dressing, followed by a hearty risotto redolent with Italian sausage, porcini mushrooms, Parmigiano and red wine. It's rich and cheesy but a little much for one person who might hope to follow that with an entree - but perfect to share.

We followed that with pleasing mains that included veal ravioli (cooked very al dente) with butter and sage, and the chef's recommendation: pan-fried sea bass and king crab with zucchini flowers, a beautifully presented dish with delicate flavors that made the chef's seafood passion convincing.

There is also a nice pasta selection, including a lightly garlicked scampi with angel-hair pasta, a studly pair of aromatic king prawns, coriander cream and red caviar. Meatier mains include prime steak cuts, a Mediterranean-style chicken served in a clay pot and braised veal ossobuco with a saffron risotto.

Pizza is a surprise star on the menu, with impeccably thin crust that allows the premium toppings such as Parma ham to shine. We went for the house special, with mozzarella, pancetta, mushrooms, onions, olives, Gorgonzola cheese and garlic on a light swooshing of tomato sauce.

The short list of desserts includes the obligatory but far from ordinary tiramisu, which Sanna renders into a creamy cloud of bliss.

The final treat worth noting is the well-chosen wine list, which can range to pricy vintages that you'd expect in a Kempinski-class hotel. What's noteworthy, however, is that there are 100 wines on offer by the glass, an extraordinary offering in a city where diners who don't want a whole bottle are stuck with the house plonk or a handful of choices.

At Via Roma, we were offered about a dozen choices from a trolley cart, and if a cheerfully offered taste doesn't produce a winner, there are plenty more available. No prices on display, so ask to avoid sticker shock when the bill is presented. But we found plenty to choose from in the hundred-and-something-yuan range - as well as divine drops we'll save for a special occasion, like winning the lottery.)

All in all, Via Roma is an approachable Italian gem in a fine dining setting that's been well worth the wait.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn

IF YOU GO

Via Roma

Inside the Kempinski Beijing

50 Liangmaqiao Lu (Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing.

010-6465-3388 Ext 4215.

Average cost per person: 600 yuan ($97) (plus alcohol and 15 percent service charge)

Recommended: Pan-Fried Sea Bass and King Crab with Zucchini Flowers, Sausage and Porcini Risotto, Braised Veal Ossobuco, Via Roma Pizza, Tiramisu.

(China Daily 07/13/2014 page7)