Peccato – cosy Italian cuisine in SOHO

UPDATE: Peccato is now closed.

In Hong Kong, it can seem like restaurants come and go quicker than the latest-set of special issue banknotes, a batch of Gaga tickets or even 300 In N’ Out burgers at the most bizarre pop-up shop in HK’s history. So for one to have stuck around for a few years – even more so in the ever-changing SOHO area – must mean something, right?

It was this thinking that led us to try Peccato, a cosy Italian restaurant under the Café Deco Group that has been nestled in the heart of Elgin Street for a few years now. Its homely rustic interior has often enticed us, yet none of Team Sassy had actually eaten there… until now!

Peccato means ‘sin’ in Italian – so Café Deco’s PR girl Apple set about ensuring it lived up to its claim by presenting an absolute feast of indulgent Italian dishes!

The pick of the appetizers was a plate of burrata mozzarella served with assorted tomatoes and prosciutto – and my simple note from the day of ‘burrata yum’ should tell you all you need to know! Milky gooey mozzarella combined with salty soft prosciutto drizzled with a more-ish delicious dressing; it was gone within minutes!

The bruschetta laden with fresh lardons, tomatoes and basil was practically a meal in itself; the garlic toast was piled high with scrummy toppings that all wove together to create a very yummy, distinctively Italian mix of flavours. However, a starter of stuffed calamari fell a little flat for us – the calamari was overcooked and overpowered by the other ingredients.

For the mains, we most enjoyed Maura’s braised beef ravioli with thyme and Parmesan. I love it when beef is allowed to be beef – deep, rich, meaty and intense rather than submerged by other flavours – and these delicate little parcels absolutely showcased the meltingly tender beef off to its full potential.

My gnocchi with prawns and scallops was pretty good; I liked that they kept the tomato sauce light, as gnocchi tends to get very heavy very quickly! Honestly, I don’t think the dish needed the prawns or scallops as the gnocchi was good enough on its own… and although the scallops were nice, the prawns were under-seasoned and didn’t really bring anything special to the dish.

Hester went for a rack of lamb served with various vegetables on the side, and which looked intimidatingly huge when it was presented on our table! Unfortunately, we thought this looked better than it tasted, with the potatoes in particular being rather undercooked.

Finally, onto the desserts; there’s always room for desserts, right?! I have a serious radar for all things chocolate so had to order the melt-in-the-middle chocolate cake, which was exactly what I expected – warm rich chocolatey goodness, offset by cool creamy vanilla ice-cream.

When you’re in an Italian restaurant, you’re almost duty-bound to try the tiramisu right? This was a nice homely-looking slice that was soft, fluffy and creamy – I liked that the coffee taste wasn’t too overpowering, although Hester commented that she wanted to taste more alcohol in there!

After enjoying our feast, I think the reasons for Peccato’s longevity are obvious – dependable Italian fare served in an inviting and intimate setting. It’s the perfect place to tuck into a bowl of pasta with a nice bottle of red and just sit back, relax and watch the rest of Soho whiz by… and there’s nothing too sinful about that!

Peccato 37 Elgin Street, SOHO, Central
2525 0919 www.cafedecogroup.com/outlet.php?oid=14&name=Peccato