La Risata Bar Pizzeria Ristorante (Damansara) — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

What's your favourite Italian restaurant? Honestly for me, Italian restaurant is not authentic Italian without pork (this sentiment is also echoed by most of my makan Kaki). That's why my favourite remains Verona, Sapore & Neroteca - just to name a few!

However if there's one Italian that doesn't serve pork, yet I still go back from time to time.. it'd be La Risata. Something about this restaurant that makes me keep coming back - and it's their consistency and value pricing of their food.

◾Zuppe Di Pesce (seafood soup) - available in half or full serving, I always go for the former as it's big enough to serve 2-3 person. It is actually a herb-spiced tomato broth served in a rather big bowl, filled generously with seafoods such as mussels, fish chunks, clams, prawns and squids. Did I mention that they spiced up the broth using bird eye chilly? It's a touch of genius I'd say, given that I love eating my chilly. ◾Funghi alla Griglia or their grilled fresh champignon mushrooms with garlic. Gotta love the earthy taste of this dish. ◾Pizza Margherita - featuring tomato, mozzarella, oregano and basil, nothing beats classic Italian style pizza done right. ◾Agnello alla Griglia RM59 - grilled Australian lamb loin with fennel and black pepper crust, served with mashed chickpea & vegetable capitans finished with a red wine reduction. One of my favourite dishes in this restaurant - just the loin and the sauce, I don't know how to appreciate chickpea mash. Lol ◾ spaghetti alle Vongole - the awesome pasta was cooked with clams in garlic, chilly and white wine sauce. ◾ Spaghetti Alla Risata - a house specialty, imagine a hearty mixed seafood in hearty spicy tomato sauce... Baked in aluminium foil. Taste-wise similar to the seafood soup but with addition of spaghetti. ◾ House Wines by the glass are available or if you're in the mood, go for the bottle.

Instead of a fine dining eatery, it is in fact a rustic and casual Italian restaurant patronised mostly by locals. Coming here without any reservation on weekends is almost impossible so be smart and call ahead ya. To me, it's a money well spent especially when I get to eat quality...

Came here with my family for dinner. Waited at the entrance to be seated but nobody approached us. Waiters were no where to be seen until we approached the staff at the bar/counter area. Staff was unpleasant and seemed like we were inconveniencing them with our presence. Even after being seated and given the menu, nobody came to take our order. After a full five minutes of waiting, we went to the bar again and someone called for a waiter. We noticed another family next to us having a difficult time getting the waiter's attention. The waiter was not friendly and didn't bother explaining the dishes on the menu. He was just waiting to take the order and disappear into the kitchen again When the food finally arrived, it was a bigger disappoinment. The soup was bland and the dishes didn't taste good. Being someone who frequents Italian food, I can tell you, this was below the average standard. Nobody in my family enjoyed their food and I even tasted their dishes to be sure. The cooks either have no idea how Italian food is supposed to taste or are not bothered. I'm surprised why they even bothered charging Service Tax when there was hardly any service. Seems like they are aware that they are cheating their customers but don't seem to mind. My honest advise is spend another 3 minutes driving to 'DV'. It's another Italian restaurant in the middle of Bukit Damansara with excellent service, amazing, authentic Italian food and parking shouldn't be a problem. The price is around the same and you will leave satisfied. Your family deserves the best and your...

Food was hit and miss. I wish I had read reviews before coming. My papardelle pasta with lamb ragu was a huge disappointment. The pasta was too thick. The sauce was bland and watery like a stew. I asked for cheese but it didn't help. The only good thing is that my sister said she had a worse ragu pasta at another Italian place so this was a step up. Lucky me. The fettuccine with scallops and mushrooms in cream sauce was 5/10. Consistency of the sauce was good but underseasoned. The scallops lacked flavour.

The antipasti misti made up for the disappointment. The pizza toppings were generous. The chicken hawaiian pizza was flavourful but the pepperoni was nothing special in comparison. The alla risata pasta is probably great for the seafood flavour but I try to stay away from things cooked in foil.

I appreciated the bread basket with the olive tapenade but some of the bread was stale.

Service was nothing to shout about. My family warned me that it would be slow and unresponsive so I guess my expectations were met. The air-conditioning didn't seem to work and the noise level was too high for my partner to participate in the conversation from the end of the table.

I have such mixed feelings about this place because I used to love it in the late '90s. It has always been a little pricey, which is why I stopped coming when I had my own proper kitchen. I guess when we want good Italian food, we'll have to stick with cooking...