A toned-down Italian restaurant that’s still classy.
Another mid-range Italian restaurant breaks into 163 Retail Park, competing directly with Rebel Pasta. Osteria Emilia is more authentically Italian but without the authentically high prices and hidden charges. Their dishes of Italian favourites are full of pork, just like in Italy, at an upscale but not unreasonable cost.
Ambience & Amenities
Osteria Emilia is a beautiful, modern space. As you enter, the first section has a vaulted ceiling look and has booths along one side. The giant wine shelf acts as a divider from the second section, where there are more rounded booths and tables for two.
There is no toilet at Osteria Emilia. Guests will have to use the 163 Retail Park facilities, which are close by. Exit the restaurant and turn left. The washroom is down the corridor with the elevators.
Menu
Osteria Emilia’s menu focuses mostly on pizza and pasta. The other types of food, such as mains and risotto, only have a couple of options. There are a lot of dishes that include pork, so this restaurant is non-halal.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Osteria Emilia’s wine menu looks more extensive than its food menu. However, only bottle prices are listed, and there doesn’t seem to be any house wine or wine by the glass. Plain, filtered water is free. A server will pour some glasses as soon as you sit down.
Food
Before our orders arrived, we received a complimentary bread basket. For a two-person table, there were two flatbread wedges, a seed roll, and three rectangles of toasted focaccia. A ramekin of olive oil mixed with balsamic came with the basket.
Osteria Emilia does small, personal-sized pizzas like Crust does. I felt a little disappointed when I saw how small the Pizza Pesto Genovese Con Vedura (RM37) was. It was about 8 inches across with a thick, hefty crust. Unlike Crust’s pizzas, it was absolutely loaded with ingredients. I would’ve been able to pick it up and not have it flop if it weren’t for the weight of all the stuff on the pizza. It was bursting with lots of pesto flavour and hidden mozzarella. Despite my complaints about its size, I would be full if I ate this entire pizza with how dense the dough is.
The Squid Ink Spaghetti (RM34) was a bit underwhelming. It was squid ink noodles, not squid ink sauce like I was expecting. I need to stop falling for the gimmick and ordering squid ink pasta. I didn’t taste any of the distinctive squid ink brininess in the spaghetti. The rich bisque sauce had a lot of prawn chunks and cherry tomatoes, though, so I never had a boring noodle-only bite.
Saturday Worthy?
Italian food is always pricey, but Osteria Emilia isn’t any more expensive than a meal at Crust or Rebel Pasta. I was sure that we would be paying for the bread basket and water that the waiter automatically served us. Italian restaurants always like to sneakily charge you for water and bread that you never ordered in the first place. These things were free at Osteria Emilia, and I was pleasantly surprised when the bill came. The pizza was good, and the prices don’t break the bank too much, so we will likely eat here again.
Price for 2 Pax: RM82.35
Pesto Genovese Con Vedura Pizza: RM37.00
Squid Ink Spaghetti: RM34.00
10% Service: RM7.10
6% SST: RM4.26
Rounding: (RM0.01)
Osteria Emilia
Address: Lot GF-19 (Ground Floor, next to Lisette’s), 163 Retail Park, 8, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm
Alcohol Served: Yes
