Eight years old and still going strong, Luce Osteria Contemporanea is a lovely choice for pizzas, pastas and other Italian pleasures, from a unique volcanic pizza inspired by Mount Vesuvius to a porcine rendition of Roman saltimbocca.
Explore Luce's evocative setting in Raja Chulan's Old Malaya, a century-old heritage building in the shadow of KL Tower. The two-storey space spans rustic corners that resemble a weathered enoteca to a glass-walled upper level with sunbeams streaming in from the skylight.
For pizza pursuers, Luce's menu is a must - with scores of classic and contemporary pizzas that surface with different shapes and distinctive toppings, we could spend nearly two months savouring a new pizza here everyday!
Luce's pizzas might be Malaysia's most encyclopaedic, showcasing a vast variety of Italian cured meat and cheeses, from speck to smoked scamorza, with vegetables ranging from red radicchio to artichokes, arugula and marinated kale.
Fun fact: Luce's pizzas have attained international acclaim, ranked among the Asia-Pacific's 50 top pizzerias by the most coveted Italian-based industry awards in 2022.
The kitchen embraces the essentials of Italian cuisine, enhanced with contemporary sophistication - carnivores can sink their teeth into chicken cacciatore cooked with white wine and wild boar braised in red wine, while carb cravings are fulfilled by everything from risotto to rigatoni, lasagna to linguine, gnocchi to cannelloni.
Open everyday, 12pm to 1am, Luce is the city centre's convenient, commanding choice for a taste of la dolce vita.
Step into Luce and be transported instantly into a timeless restaurant with a classic charm, with warm wood tones that convey a comfortable, lived-in sense of Italian homeliness.
We could make an entire meal of Luce's starters, encompassing bruschetta to burrata, baby spinach salad to black mussel soup.
To perk up the palate, Prosciutto e Melone (RM58) showcases smooth, sumptuous slices of Parma ham. Its deeply earthy savouriness - aged twice as long as conventional prosciutto - is balanced by the ripe, juicy sweetness of rock melon, drizzled with aged balsamic for delicately complex acidity and aromatics. A can't-fail combo, powered by prime produce.
Pasta is a cornerstone of Luce's repertoire, traversing time-honoured staples like spaghetti carbonara and vongole to intriguing rarities like Tortellaccia di’ Baccala e Gamberi (RM58) - house-crafted ravioli, stuffed with a creamy blend of cod fish and fresh burrata cheese, scattered with wild tiger prawns, cherry tomatoes and arugula. Spectacular for sharing, with clean, rich flavours of both land and sea, brimming with indulgent textures.
Also addictive, Luce's Risotto al Nero di Seppia con Bottarga (RM64) features gorgeous, glorious grains - squid ink risotto with a firm, nutty bite and moist, full-bodied chew, garlanded with grilled squid and a beautiful duet of briny roe: shaved Sardinian bottarga and salmon ikura pearls. The ocean's umami-laden bounty, brilliantly summed up in a single plate.
We seldom see saltimbocca in KL's restaurants, so it's a treat to have it here.
Luce's is luscious - the Saltimbocca Alla Romana (RM70) swaps the traditional veal cutlets for fleshy pork fillets, a protein powerhouse, succulently blanketed with Parma ham, fontina cheese and sage. Served with mashed potatoes and fragrant rosemary gravy, it's tender, tasty and triumphant; saltimbocca literally means 'jump into your mouth,' an apt description for this!
It's been eight decades since Mount Vesuvius last erupted in the Gulf of Naples, but its molten influence emerges vibrantly in Luce's Vesuvio (RM66), a volcano-shaped creation with a steaming-hot lava centre of thick, tangy tomato sauce. The fun continues: Cut through the 'crater' to discover a pizza geologist's delight of spicy, spreadable 'nduja pork sausage, honey ham and black olives concealed within the puffy blistered crust.
Luce's Calzone (RM48) is another highlight, fabulously folded and plumply packed with honey ham, artichokes, button mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Tear it open with your fingers or fork to chow down on a chomp-worthy treat, delicious for dipping in tomato sauce.
We were nearly too full for dessert, but Luce boasts a comprehensive selection of panna cotta, semifreddo, tortino and more. We couldn't resist the Mascarpone and Mixed Berries, decadently textured (RM26), delectable with Luce's own-strained limoncello, exuberantly zesty, bold with the brightness of fresh lemons (RM22).
You can also sip on dessert as a drink - Luce's Tiramisu (RM44) is a thrill for dessert devotees and cocktail connoisseurs alike, distilling the essence of Italy's most renowned sweet temptation in a sensuous adult attraction of dark rum with coffee liqueur, vanilla liqueur, cocoa powder and cream.
The signature Luce cocktail (RM44) is a stimulating aperitif of Aperol, its bittersweet nuances blended buoyantly with tequila, cointreau, orange juice, sweet-and-sour and egg white.
If it's too early for cocktails and wine, worry not - order the Refresher (RM24), the cooling antidote for KL's current heatwave, punchy with peach and ginger, cinnamon and soda water.
LUCE Osteria Contemporanea
10, Lorong Raja Chulan, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 12pm-1am. Tel: 019-202-6908