Atelier Vivanda (Closed)

So many thoughts crossing my mind by learning this restaurant is closed. The food quality was good without being exceptional, the service was kind with sober and enthusiastic waiters. The house wine was good to pair with the sirloin I had. continue reading

今年第一年同男朋友過情人節，唔想咁Hea但又唔想使好多錢，最後上網搵到呢間餐廳， 498套餐，我哋見咁抵食就一於情人節試吓佢Book咗八點半，但係嚟到都等左半個鐘先入得位，最後九點先開餐 😭前菜有蘑菇湯同帶子，仲有無限任添麵包，對於唔係好大食嘅我，其實已經爆左三成Main course我哋揀咗牛扒同pork rib 兩款都好食，份量適中，另外仲有兩款薯仔配菜，又係無限任添但我哋已經食唔晒我哋見到隔離枱有沙律生菜，多口又問一問waiter 有無，原來又係免費任添但我哋已經食唔落最後個甜品好得意，Apple chocolate mousse，講唔出係咩味道，但係幾好食最後連買支水同加一，埋單＄1200，咁多嘢食，又係情人節，非常超值 continue reading

Summary: A brunch defined by its incredible AYCE potato sides, along with pretty good steak (don’t take my word for it though). Good value overall and a comfortable space for a long, boozy brunchThree days later, I’m still not sure if Atelier Vivanda’s weekend brunch was good. It was certainly a memorable one, and I think worth trying (especially if you have any interest in potatoes whatsoever), but it was a case of the sides/appetizer carrying the main, and another example of why you should never order chicken at a steak restaurant.AV, the sister restaurant to Akrame (the Michelin-starred fine dining joint), focuses on meat, and judging by the brunch offerings, basically just beef. I usually don’t review brunches because they’re not always great indications of the normal meals, but since steak and the insane potato sides are offered during all meals; why not. One shout-out for the service; the restaurant was less than half-full but still, this was the first free-flow brunch where I didn’t have to ask for a top-up of drinks even once. No one had an empty glass for more than 10 seconds, remarkable.Brunch is split into four rounds, 1)A sharing platter for the tablea.Pastries including croissants (butter and chocolate), danishes and other buttery delights I didn’t really try. Friends said everything was goodb.Grapefruit/green apple salad – refreshing and much-neededc.Pork Rillettes - delicious with their homemade breadd.Shaved 24 month Comte - aged Comte killer as usual. The shaving really works; magnifies the flavour of the cheese, and keeps it lighte.Bowl of scrambled eggs – I assume this was half eggs and half butter because these were pretty tasty. Fluffy and a bit runny, a warm accompaniment to all the bread2)A main course – this is my main complaint with the meal – for the HKD 298 standard price you only get to choose between:a.Fish of the day (Seabream that day)b.Roast Chicken Thighc.Burger For an extra 100 hkd you can choose between 2 cuts of steak (Flank and Persille (a less fatty part)). I know this might be yelling at the moon considering AV's logo is a cow, but if you don’t eat beef, these choices are pretty crummy… where is the pork / duck / lamb? Anyway, I got the chicken in the end, and it was fine. It was cooked well but without any sauce or garnish - dramatically undramatic. Steak was similarly simple, but decent steak should be left alone of course (I heard the steaks were both good). No one ordered the burger or fish.3)AYCE sides including:a.Gratin Dauphinois (potato slices in light cream sauce baked with cheese)b.Sauteed Potatoes (skin-on and perfect)c.Mashed Potatoes (never have liked mash but they were good)d. Salad with Vinaigrette (Mustard-based?)e. Pommes Galette (calling them French hash browns doesn’t do them justice)f.Pommes Dauphines (deep-fried fluffy potato balls)If you don’t like potatoes, you will after this. In a shocking twist, the best part of this meal was the incredible potato sides, which are all-you-can-eat and you’ll be glad they are. I’d never tried (e) and (f) and they were awesome – I loved the Pomme Galette (e) in particular: essentially hash browns I guess, but the shredded potatoes are cooked just enough so that each strand retains crispness and distinctiveness, which along with the onions, keep it from being just a standard mashed hash brown - wonderful texture. The potato gratin (a) is the showstopper as expected; it arrives bubbling in a hot plate, with burnt cheese on top and lusciously creamy potato slices inside. Everything is as good as it sounds.4. Dessert Sorry, i just have a picture of the creme brulee (which was good) but you get a choice of 3-4 (they didn't offer the 4th that day), and they were all fine i think. I was so full of potato, i didn't pay much attention to what they offered/what we ordered.Overall, I’m sure the steak people loved the whole brunch, and apart from my dullllll chicken main, I've decided I did too (the HKD150 Cava free flow helps). The starter plate was fun and those potatoes are simply unforgettable. If you eat beef and you like carbs, the brunch at Atelier Vivanda is definitely worth a shot.  continue reading

Was recommended by a colleague to try some fine dining during lunch, hence we went. We sat down at about 1:10pm, there were only 3 tables including us. The environment looks fantastic with an open kitchen in vintage style. When we asked for a second round of bread, the waitress seemed hesitating and only brought u one bag of bread to share between the 6 of us. 😅 It seemed that she was in a rush to get off work, we later saw her leaving the restaurant. 😅 As far as I know, most western restaurants serve unlimited bread. The set menu came with a cauliflower soup, mains with a choice of Iberia Pork/ mini beef burger, Madeline as dessert and tea/coffeeverall the food tasted great and had appealing layouts; the portion size, however, could be a bit bigger and that the food could be served a little quicker. continue reading

How I'd like to like this restaurant, but yesterday it became painfully apparent there is something really wrong here.I have been here a few times in the past years and I always enjoyed it. To me, it's clear Benallal (or whoever is responsible) has lost all interest in this venture at some point, probably not too long ago. From an interesting concept, lovingly created in Ship Street, AV has slid down to nothing more than a place for mediocre pub grub at Akrame prices - accompanied by extremely loose and unprofessional service and very loud, very bad music.Perhaps they can turn the ship around, bringing in a solid captain - but I think they've beached this one and nature will run its course - and likely that's best. We were three adults and we had a main each (2 small steaks and a pork chop), 3 varieties of potatoes ($48 for 5 small lukewarm pommes dauphine!), a bottle of wine and the complimentary bowl of plain salad - HK$1850. continue reading