Luretta DOP is so serious about quality and authenticity that they’ve included the official EU certification in their name! This tucked-away Italian restaurant at 1 Utama specialises in cuisine from Romagna, a region in northern Italy renowned for its notable food, earning it the nickname “food valley.” Owner Chef Emil, whose grinning face is plastered all over both Luretta DOP locations, is a KL resident and bringing a taste of this unrivalled cuisine since 2015.
Ambience & Amenities
The interior dining room is a rather narrow L-shaped space ideal for intimate dinners. The patio is much brighter and better for casual drinks with friends. The view isn’t much, just of the 1 Utama parking lot.
There are no in-house toilets. Leave the restaurant from the mall entrance and turn right. Walk through the central corridor past the Furla. You’ll see the sign overhead pointing to the washrooms down a hall on the right.
Menu at Luretta DOP
The Luretta DOP menu is proper Italian, so there is pork all over the menu. There’s a good assortment of pasta, but the kitchen keeps the pizza menu focused with just four specialities. “Al Taglio” means a personal-sized, square-cut pizza.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
The wine list is an extensive booklet of Luretta brand wines. Each page of the many whites, reds and sparkling varieties contains more information than you’d ever like to know. Typical of Italian restaurants, there’s only fancy water on the menu. However, you can ask for filtered tap water, but it costs RM1 per glass with unlimited refills.
Food at Luretta DOP
The classic Arancini (RM30) is different in several ways. I asked if the arancini had marinara sauce on them, to which the waiter said yes. However, it came with swipes of mayonnaise aioli. The tomato chunks provided the familiar acidic tang.
Instead of a single chunk of cheese in the middle, it was consistently mixed throughout the risotto. It also included peas, which sounds weird, but apparently, this is Sicilian-style arancini. I was pleased with the size and amount of arancini for the price. The taste was pretty good, but I prefer my arancini with tomato sauce.
The Porcella (RM58) pizza is an impressive size and definitely enough to share. It looked to be 14 inches (35cm) with eight slices. The base is a bit thin and needs a supporting hand to keep the slice from flopping, but the crust is satisfyingly thick and chewy. The kitchen didn’t skimp on the porchetta, but we’re highly skeptical that there were any artichokes on this pizza. We didn’t see a single leaf. If they were buried under the porchetta, the flavour was so subtle that it might as well not been there. The beige blobs on every slice are the homemade tonnata sauce, a creamy, fishy condiment with canned tuna, anchovies and mayo as the main ingredients. The effect is a very subtle tuna flavour that takes a backseat to the pork and tomato sauce.
The Gnocchi Carbonara (RM45) is much more orange than other carbonaras I’ve had. It had a richer egg yolk taste, which explains the colour. The gnocchi was a tad soft. Not mushy, but not as al dente as either of us would’ve liked. There was lots of pancetta – we could have a piece of pork with every bite until the plate was clean.
Saturday Worthy?
We’ve eaten at Luretta DOP’s Lot 10 location, but we forgot everything about it, so it must not have been particularly great. Our visit to the 1 Utama location was much more positive, and we enjoyed everything that we ordered. Even not taking into account the vastly different vibe of the two locations (you’re eating in an Isetan basement at Lot 10), the food quality and value seemed better here. We will be back, for sure.
Price for 2 Pax: RM156.60
Arancini: RM30.00
Porcella Pizza: RM58.00
Gnocchi Carbonara: RM45.00
House Water x 2: RM2.00
10% Service: RM13.50
6% SST: RM8.10
Luretta DOP Ristorante Pizzeria
Address: Lot G308A (next to Michael Kors), New Wing, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10:30pm Daily
Alcohol Served: Yes
