Michelin 3 Stars · Hong Kong
8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana
8½ 意大利餐厅 — Umberto Bombana’s "king of truffles" dining room, a three-star fixture and Asia’s benchmark Italian, with a tartufo menu that peaks every winter.
Why we list it
Umberto Bombana’s "king of truffles" dining room, a three-star fixture and Asia’s benchmark Italian, with a tartufo menu that peaks every winter.
Booking note: Book two to four weeks ahead; white-truffle season (Oct–Dec) needs a month and carries a per-gram supplement.
What to order
- White truffle tagliolini (seasonal)
- Slow-cooked veal
Italian fine dining, three stars in Central
8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana has held three stars since 2012, the only Italian restaurant outside Italy to do so for most of that run. Umberto Bombana’s cooking is regional Italian at its most refined — Piedmont and Liguria in the foundations, the best imported Italian produce on top, and a kitchen that does not chase novelty.
The room is on the second floor of Alexandra House, warm in tone and formal in service, with a glass wall onto the kitchen and a wine list that runs deep into Barolo and Barbaresco. It is the most European of Hong Kong’s three-star rooms and the one that most resembles a great Milanese restaurant.
Truffles, pasta and the dishes to order
White truffle season, roughly October to December, is the reason many people book: shaved Alba truffle over tagliolini or risotto, priced by weight and worth doing once. Outside the season the kitchen’s handmade pasta — pappardelle with ragù, tortelli with pumpkin — and the slow-cooked veal are the constants.
The tasting menus are the easiest way to see the range, and the à la carte is generous enough that two courses plus a pasta is a full meal. The bread service and the petits fours are not padding; this kitchen treats the edges of the meal as seriously as the centre.
Booking and the truffle premium
Book two to four weeks ahead. During white-truffle season allow a month and expect a supplement that can double the bill — the restaurant will state the per-gram price, so ask before it is shaved rather than after. Outside season, lunch is materially better value with the same kitchen.
Dress is smart; jackets appear at dinner and are not required. It sits directly above the Central MTR interchange, which makes it the easiest three-star room in the city to reach and the simplest to combine with a business day. Allow two hours at lunch.
Beyond the truffle: the rest of the year
Outside truffle season the kitchen is quieter and, for many regulars, better: autumn game, spring vegetables, and a pasta programme that changes more often than the printed menu admits. Ask what is off-menu. This is a kitchen that keeps a few dishes for people who ask, and the answer is usually the most interesting thing on the table.
The bar area takes walk-ins and serves a shorter menu, which is the least expensive way to eat Bombana’s cooking in Hong Kong and the most useful if the evening is not planned. It is also the only way to eat here without booking a month out.
Dishes to know in Hong Kong
- Cantonese Dim Sum (广式点心)
- Char Siu (叉烧)
- Cantonese Roast Goose (烧鹅)
- Claypot Rice (煲仔饭)
More tables in Hong Kong
- Kam’s Roast Goose — Michelin 1 Star
- Tim Ho Wan — Local Institution
- Yat Lok Roast Goose — Local Institution
- Australia Dairy Company — Local Institution
- Lung King Heen — Michelin 3 Stars