Video
Read full review
2018-04-23
4834 views
Despite being nestled in a building in one of the densest areas of the world, Shelter was something of a refreshing dining experience as one simply would not have expected an open-air garden restaurant behind shiny fashion boutiques. Prices are slightly above mid-range and the team was staffed by frankly incompetent servers on our visit, but Shelter should be on your list of to-visit restaurants in Hong Kong anyway, if only just for coffee or after-work drinks. Just make sure to visit on a day w
It might be of interest to note that Shelter’s executive chef is a she, and with a fairly notable resume. The kitchen works with organic produce and focuses on northern Italian and Tuscan fare, the website says. I always remembered Tuscan food as being very down-to-earth, while my memories of northern Italian food are fond, broad as it may be to categorize widely different foods under the same term. All the happy faces with corner licking tongues from Level 4 invited reviewers and then the surge of negative reviews from genuine diners aside, I was eager to finally have a look (and taste) for myself.
The menu looks intriguing and serious, neither frankly very special nor boring but somewhere in between. You have some very typical Italian dishes here and there, with an occasional twist for an uncommon palette of flavors. Say Filetto di Manzo, beef tenderloin “with beer foam and organic tempura vegetables”, or Coda di Rospo, sous vide monkfish tail combined with spicy salami.
The two of us were here only briefly for a quick Saturday lunch, so the sample size is small, but we picked up some clues about why the place was so empty when we visited (only one table was occupied apart from ours): in general the food served probably didn’t live up to the expectations the ample PR has set Shelter up to, plus many locals might not be so keen to pay for the “organic” premium, and service was a failure. Food came slowly and waiting staff was neither hospitable nor professional. We would give the restaurant another shot this year to see if our experience was a one-off anomaly. It would be a shame for an under-managed serving team to ruin an otherwise fine kitchen.
Food Rundown
72 views
0 likes
0 comments
This came out very creamy and savory, and the south Asian-inspired citrusy kick from lemongrass made it more interesting, although the dish would have been excellent anyway without it.
84 views
0 likes
0 comments
Asked for medium rare and this came in medium well. And it took the kitchen about 30 minutes to make this. The veggies were soaked in olive oil —that was totally unnecessary. Somewhat of a disappointing dish, but it wasn’t terrible.
76 views
0 likes
0 comments
Given that Shelter had its own organic farm, I really had high hopes for its salads. Turned out that this was the only option available. It was just fine, but I would easily be able to find better tasting and better designed salads in Hong Kong.
83 views
0 likes
0 comments
Bread and coffee was only just okay. Expected a little more.
Post
