Diner’s Diary | Octavium in Central, from Otto e Mezzo chef, opens for lunch with experimental Italian dishes
Previously only available for dinner, three-Michelin-star chef Umberto Bombana’s latest project now offers both an à la carte and pasta set menu for lunch. While service was a bit slow, taste buds were certainly rewarded
Octavium is Italian chef Umberto Bombana’s latest project. The discreet restaurant, which opened quietly in July, didn’t even release its phone number – you had to be in the know to be able to snag a reservation in the 32-seater restaurant with a private dining room.
But come March 1, customers can have a taste of what all the buzz is about, as the restaurant in an office tower in Central will be open for lunch, offering both an à la carte and pasta set menu.
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Bombana is not only offering another venue in Central for power lunches, but also now has a place for him and his kitchen to experiment with new dishes, or with ingredients that may not be considered refined enough for his three-Michelin-star restaurant 8½ Otto e Mezzo.
“At Otto e Mezzo the customers there expect really top quality ingredients like blue lobster and truffles – lots of truffles,” he says. “At Octavium I can put things like barley on the menu. We can experiment here and maybe put it on the menu at Otto e Mezzo, or maybe just keep it here.”
