Was I the only one that felt a little sad inside when Hartamas Square was demolished to make way for whatever it is that’s going to be built in it’s stead? Maybe, but hey, at least one of my favorite stalls managed to procure an actual lot in the Desa Sri Hartamas shops area and turned into an actual restaurant
Pizza Brava is an Italian restaurant owned by a group of friends that specializes in pasta and wood-fire pizza. They have other stuff on their menu, like a selection of starters, meat and seafood entrees and desserts, but the focus is definitely on the quintessential Italian pastas and wood fire oven pizzas; An entire side of their double-sided, A3 sized menu is dedicated to pizza and pasta.
As one could guess from the tagline beneath the restaurant name, the restaurant is proud in having a wood fire oven, a relative rarity for local pizzerias. Their pizzas cook in next to no time using this oven.
The restaurant is brightly lit and very minimalist in décor and design. Jars of anchovies and tomato sauce, cans of olive and olive oil as well as Pellegrino bottles adorn the racks and shelves. At the front of the restaurant is their pizza area, and at the back is their open pasta kitchen. The restaurant seats about 30-40 people maximum, attended by staff dressed in black. I went with a friend to sample their offerings.
We settled on simple tomato Bruschetta (RM8.90) to start with. The Bruschetta were surprisingly large slices of toasted bread, about half a dozen to plate. The chopped tomato topping was zesty with lemon, garlic and parsley, although it could do with a bit more salt and pepper.
"All I can say is magnifico!"
They have about 10-15 different kinds of pizzas, which made choosing rather hard because all of them seemed delicious. We settled on Pizza Romeo (RM17 for regular), which came with turkey ham, pineapple, mushrooms, tomato sauce and cheese. Like I said earlier, the pizzas are ready really quick here; ours came within 10 minutes of ordering, and boy, was it delicious, especially eaten so fresh out of the oven. The crust was thin, thin, thin, and the bottom had the hallmark char of a wood fire oven. It wasn’t too ‘doughy’, and it held up the toppings really well; the sweet pineapple and sour-ish tomato sauce was the perfect contrast to the mozzarella cheese and the richness of the turkey ham, and the (fresh!) mushrooms were velvety with an unmistakable earthy flavor. Needless to say, the pizza was finished just in time for our pastas to arrive.
First up, we had an order of Conchiglie Rigate (RM15.90), seashell pasta with cream sauce and beef bacon strips. The sauce clung well to the pasta, and was smooth and delicate, punctuated here and there with the chewy beef bacon. Next, an order of Spaghetti Aglio Oglio with Beef Bacon (RM15.90) arrived. The pasta was sautéed with garlic, chili, some zucchini slices and loads of yummy chopped beef bacon bits. It carried a gentle heat from the chili and the garlic, whilst the beef bacon bits provided a very meaty feel to it as well. Both pastas were delicious! The best thing was also that the pasta was perfectly cooked al dente (undercooked, or worse, overcooked pasta, is a huge NO for me). Just like the pizza, these two plates were devoured in no time at all.
Pizza Brava is definitely one of the better Italian restaurants in KL. Their prices aren’t too bad, and the food is delicious. The only bad thing I can say about the restaurant is that parking is a nightmare, but that’s more of a problem with the area. As for the restaurant itself, what more can I say but ‘magnifico’!
More Photos To Drool On
Cute little place
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Foodster's Verdict
Pizza Brava
Taste
Service
Ambiance
Address:
No 18 Jalan 35/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 6201 6608
Open:
11am - 12am
Pros:
Great pasta and wood fire pizzas, good pricing
Cons:
Parking is a nightmare and double-parkers are potentially rage inducing.
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