Bottega KL — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

It was such an UNPLEASANT experience at Bottega KL. Before my visit, I went through their menu online and was impressed with what they carry in store. I even jotted down the 4 dishes I wanted to order and a bunch of cheeses & sauces that I wanted buy from the store.

So we arrived at the restaurant and were seated right away, I got up not long after and went straight to their grocery store and was ready for a little happy shopping moment there. There were two staffs at the counter, one guy was cutting salami while the lady cashier was working with the POS machine. I politely asked them if I could have a taste test of the Gouda cheese and they both frowned and appeared to be unsure of what I was saying, I repeated myself and they said ‘Gu’da cheese? I thought I was pronouncing it wrongly and that’s why they couldn’t get me, I was laughing away and said ya that’s the one. The guy continued working on the salami while speaking to the lady cashier in another foreign language (clearly not Italian), the lady asked me to wait for awhile and I did. The guy later handed me a small piece of the Gouda cheese and it didn’t taste like what I expected so I asked them if they have something more nutty and the lady straight up asked me to wait in a firm tone while the guy didn’t bother to respond. At this point, I still felt alright and while waiting to be attended by them, I just quietly wandered around the store, reading ingredient labels of the sauce bottles on the shelves. One thing that made me absolutely uncomfortable was once I was away from their zone they immediately started chatting loudly in a foreign language, and I thought okay clearly no one was interested in engaging a conversation with me whatsoever. It was much later that I approached the guy again (the lady was gone atp) and told him politely that ‘hey maybe I’ll come back later’ and he just ignored me, didn’t bother to raise his head and look at me or respond to me. That’s what really triggered me.

I ended up only ordered two dishes and one dessert. Foods were decent but I was too haunted by the disrespectful attitude and the unprofessional services that even little thing could trigger me by that point (i.e. a couple behind us was leaving and there were 3 male staffs went and cleaned up the small table, they could allocate 3 staffs to clean one small table but couldn’t allocate more decent staffs at the counter? I couldn’t stop the thoughts.)

We finished our foods and left the place within less than an hour, feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome. As much as I love Italian cuisine, I will probably not go back there ever again unless they get their staffs properly trained for actually serving the customers (especially those at the counter). Service tax wasted.

Visited on 26 July 2024, late noon, there was roughly 4-5 groups of customers (including us)...

Really mixed feelings about this place. Booked a table online for my partners birthday dinner and requested for a nicer table, and for most people; “nicer table” means like indoors in a quiet spot right I would assume? When we came in they asked me to pick a table outdoors, from which I’d assume they were full indoors as the indoors area seemed small looking from outside. Outdoors was really hot and musty as it had rained all day and I had flies flying all over my head all night despite using repellent straight up on my hair…

The starters were really delicious. Burrata and Parma ham was so fresh and the tomatoes and rocket salad were so fresh and delicious. The prawn starter was also really good, the toast given was a little tough but soaked in the broth with the garlic was superb. We were so impressed with the first 2 dishes and were excited to try our main we were sharing as we aren’t big eaters.

We waited about 40-45 mins from the end of our starter to when our main was served. Other tables who arrived long after us already gotten their mains (after their starters) and we asked to check on our pasta about 30 mins in.

When the pasta came, we hurrily dug in and were really disappointed. We ordered carbonara and the pasta was sooooo hard. I personally love really al dente pasta, I really do. But this was simply undercooked. My jaw hurts eating it. The pasta sauce was eh, ok. The only saving grace for this dish possibly is the guancale, which also was really little in the dish. We didn’t end up finishing half the pasta, despite it already being a small portion.

We asked for the bill after the pasta as we wanted to just leave as the atmosphere was not very pleasant, and they served us a tiramisu, which I appreciated it. Unsure if it’s because I stated in the reservation it’s a birthday or if it’s a form of service recovery after we told the staff our disappointment in the pasta, and while I understand it’s a free dessert, I was shocked to not taste any alcohol in the tiramisu. My partner told me there wasn’t any alcohol as she read in reviews but I would expect an alcohol serving restaurant to have alcohol in their tiramisu? Correct me if I’m wrong. Also it doesn’t say on the menu there’s no alcohol. I am only saying this as if let’s say we were having a nice seat indoors and if the carbonara was satisfactory, I probably would have ordered the tiramisu myself anyway, and would be disappointed too if there’s no alcohol in it.

Overall, I’d recommend the place for their starters, but I can’t say the same for the carbonara and tiramisu. After dessert, the waiter also took a long time to pass me the bill. It was also abit hard to get their attention.

Please request indoor seats, the outdoor seats are really not a nice place to eat Italian food with wine in my opinion.

House pour rose was...

Look, I'm biased.

Since I discovered Bottega some 3 to 4 years ago, I've been a fan. About once every few months, my wife and I would have their amazing charcuterie and jaw-dropping pork ribs delivered to our home. I love the food so much, so expect me to just drool over this review extensively.

Because I had such a great experience in KL, I insisted on visiting their JB branch last Christmas, near my family home. And we were all given the royal treatment, with the food being so spot on, everyone left happy.

So when I say I'm biased, I have good reason: I'd ditch a fancy fine dining experience replete with silverware everywhere for the truly homebody feel I get whenever I step into Bottega in KL. And it's not just the charm of a bygone era you feel when you dine in what is essentially an old post-colonial dwelling converted into a restaurant; it's walls and shelves strewn with reminders of an older, better time.

But more than that, it's the people who work at Bottega. I don't know how to describe it; I've never had a bad experience with them. Everyone of the wait staff I've encountered whenever I eat there has been friendly, accommodating, unobtrusive, always - and I mean always - willing to go an extra mile. I'm sure the owners have something to do with it, but more than simple injunctions to treat guests well, the owners have somehow managed to hire the right people who have a fantastic attitude.

So after that long-winded paen to one of my all time favourite restaurants in the country, we come to the food. Dass (sp?) was our wait staff this evening and he was just everything I described above - accommodating to a fault and showering us with little bits and pieces that just made the food and the experience better in every way. He didn't know it was my birthday - he couldn't have - but I had such an unexpectedly pleasant experience, he deserves special mention.

And I won't say much about the food - if you aren't convinced, I can't help you - but dear God, they have on their menu now a pork shank the size of a medieval club; fall off the bone meat, dressed in a delicate reduction of porky flavours, with a small platoon of roasted potatoes and asparagus. The meat was succulent, and bursting with flavour. If you've been a long-time customer, try it. Dass said it would serve two, but trust me, it serves more like three.

I've run out of superlatives for this review, but dear God, you shouldn't be hesitating about...