Isola Dream: Colossal Buffet Lunch in Sanlitun
As I sat down to the antipasti buffet lunch, Isola stretched out in all directions like a waking lion. This place is massive, on a scale rarely attempted in Beijing since Maison Boulud’s original neighbors began dropping like high society flies.
At RMB 168 plus ten percent service charge (applied to all meals), the buffet lunch is at the high end of Sanlitun daytime dining. True, but you do get a main course and a free run on a great antipasti selection, as well as a more conservative dessert buffet of tiramisu, chocolate cake and selection of sauces.
The buffet is laden with good produce: prosciutto, spicy, herby salami, jars of olives and tart sun-dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil. The cheese selection is less exciting, though I couldn’t say no to a few slices of blue.
The lunch deal doesn’t quite offer a “greatest hits” of the a la carte mains – margherita pizza rather than the “trifola” black truffle option (RMB 178 a la carte). However, it does offer a solid sample of what you’d have for dinner at Isola. I ordered and enjoyed a thin piece of sirloin, medium-rare, flavored honestly and effectively with rock salt, shavings of Parmesan and a splash of olive oil, with a bitter crunch from a side of lettuce.
On the a la carte menu, the fettucelle with clam, shrimp and sea urchin in a spicy cherry tomato sauce (RMB 168) is excellent. When I visited for dinner I had a perfectly good piece of lamb with rosemary (RMB 288), but the black cod with breadcrumb pistachio crust with lentils in white wine broth (RMB 238) is what I’d go back to try.
Isola is suitably heavy on Italian wines, with glasses RMB 88-98 and bottles from RMB 380. Upstairs, five private rooms can fold into one single-function space. And while this is no time to be eating or drinking outdoors, the terrace will make for a lovely meal next summer.
Isola 意索娜意大利餐厅
Daily 11am-2.30pm (lunch), 6.30-11.30pm (dinner). N3-47, 3/F, Bldg 3, Taikoo Li Sanlitun North, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6416 3499)
朝阳区三里屯路11号三里屯太古里北区3号楼3层N3-47号
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