It was a rainy Sunday morning as I headed out to town for brunch at Issimo, the Italian restaurant located inside the JIA boutique hotel in the Jing'An district of Shanghai. The entrance was at the corner of the building, with a flight of stairs leading upstairs to the dining room vi a a mirrored staircase of diamond shaped glass. Issimo was stylishly modern, and bright, with a lot of natural lighting and a nice vibe that made me feel very comfortable. I got a table by the window, and ordered a juice while waiting for my friend to show up.
The menu selection for brunch was short, but I spotted a few items that I immediately liked. They had a 4 course set menu with my favorite choices, so that was an easy decision for me to make.
For starters, I had the grilled octopus salad with long beans and grilled peppers. The octupus was a little chewy, but otherwise had a nice smokey flavor and tasted fresh. Then came the squid ink ravioli with manila clams, cherry tomatoes and a poached egg. It was an odd combination of ingredients, but nonetheless tasted quite nice.
For my main, I had the proscuitto wrapped salmon served with a cream sauce that was well done. I was impressed by the first three courses, but the dessert was a bit of a let down, consisting of a chcoolate gelato, a cheese cake and a chocolate mousse. They were all good, but not outstanding, and gave me the impression that there was a lack of effort on the part of the kitchen team.
Overall, a very enjoyable brunch, food was delicious, service was excellent and prompt, and I loved the decor. The lounge and bar in front of the dining room were also good reasons to return for dinner someday to check out the scene.
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