Sleek Boutique Brings Italian Flair To Shanghai

By Derek Gale, Senior Associate Editor -- Hotels, 5/22/2008 8:00:00 AM

JIA Shanghai has debuted Issimo, a 96-seat rustic Italian restaurant, lounge and bar encompassing the second floor of the boutique hotel. Serving authentic home-style Italian cuisine, the restaurant was conceptualized by Chef Salvatore Cuomo, a well-known personality in Shanghai and Japan—where he has a chain of 50 restaurants and pizzerias.

The culinary team at Issimo is led by Cuomo’s Shanghai-based business partner and executive corporate chef, Enzo Carbone, who hails from a family of trattoria owners in Naples, and executive chef William di Nardo, whose background includes stints at notable restaurants throughout Italy and the United States.

The restaurant itself was created with mostly natural materials: bricks, wood, leather and copper, and the space’s design, resembling a modern chalet, includes eclectic accents and bursts of color throughout.

Standout features include a diamond-cut mirrored staircase leading from the street-level entrance to the lounge, a mother-of-pearl bar by French artist Etienne de Souza in the lounge, a wood-burning pizza oven clad with hand-beaten copper and inlaid with bricks imported from Naples, a show kitchen with accompanying counter and three private dining rooms.

On top of all that, Issimo’s bar and dining areas each feature European-style open-air balconies.

As for the family-style menu, it includes a range of authentic Neapolitan chilled and grilled appetizers, a selection of pizzas and pastas—including gnocchi and risotto, plus grilled seafood and choice meats from around the world. Desserts include Italian ice creams and sorbets along with specialties like panna cotta and tiramisu.

In addition to dinner, Issimo offers executive lunches with choice of 3- or 4-course menus.

Finally, the restaurant’s wine list includes wines carefully sourced from boutique wineries, and the cocktail menu was created exclusively for Issimo by Shanghai-based mixologist Guillaume Jubien.