Bar Italia, Jalan Berangan

16Jun2009 Filed under: Food Type: Italian, Location: Golden Triangle Author: Lyrical Lemongrass

Bar Italia is an alcoholic’s dream. Imagine waking up at 7.00 in the morning and heading out to Bar Italia for not only some eggs and toast, but your daily tipple too.

For the non-alcoholics, or for the morning after, there is a selection of coffee from the fine Faema coffee machine.

Bar Italia is Paolo Guiati’s latest venture – a restaurant, gelateria and bar thrown into three floors encapsulating spiral stairways, clean geometrical lines and down-to-earth, modern furnishings.

Dining tables occupy the first two floors while the open-air rooftop is undoubtedly the popular choice among drinkers and revellers.

We were there for breakfast last Sunday. He wanted his usual “big breakfast” while I wanted something less filling. His breakfast was attractively multi-dimensional in appearance. There was muesli with fresh fruits, berries and honey and fried eggs done exactly like how he wanted it, a little runny and a little firm. Smoked salmon on the side with bread and salad. All very lovely for RM32.

My breakfast.

Toasted bread bresaola and fontina with rucola (RM26). Two slices of toasted wholemeal bread sandwiching several slices of bresaola with a handful of rocket thrown in and ummm….did the menu say fontina? The cheese was barely there. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. The combination was dry, the rocket looked like it was wilting and where was the damn cheese?

I’m a forgiving person, though. I’ll go back to try the rest of the menu.

Sean‘s blog shows some pretty rustic looking dishes that I’d like to try, and I’d love to have a drink at the rooftop. This is the place to hang out with friends and to enjoy a wine or two while watching the sun set.

Bar Italia

29, Jalan Berangan

50200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-21444499

Open daily, 7.00am till late, except Mondays 5.00pm till late.

Located parallel to Changkat Bukit Bintang, behind the main restaurant thoroughfare.

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36 Responses to “Bar Italia, Jalan Berangan”

Sugar Bean
June 16th, 2009 at 8:59 pm

It was quite an expensive breakfast. If the food is not up to the standard, I would definitely be really disappointed. The food looks good, but don’t think I would pay this much for this place.
Nigel
June 16th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

WHERE’s the CUTE ONE? besides eagle 😉
A Lil Fat Monkey
June 16th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

And here I thought there’s no hope of a local place serving great breakfast after spending a week down under.

Now, that’ something to look forward to
Manggy
June 16th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Oh, darn. Sorry about the sandwich, but I gotta say the eggs and the muesli look divine! 🙂
Rachel Yang
June 17th, 2009 at 1:57 am

I tried this and was utterly disappointed… Paolo has lost touch for sure. The food was bad and expensive. And the furnishing is cheap and nasty. What a shocker!
Uncle Lee
June 17th, 2009 at 6:29 am

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
Love your beautiful pictures….
Anyway, I eat to live, not live to eat….
You have a nice day and keep a song in your heart. Best regards, Lee.
cumidanciki
June 17th, 2009 at 7:31 am

place looks fantastic. too bad they couldn’t get a simple sandwich rite.. Love the shot of the table and the roof top furniture!
lotsofcravings
June 17th, 2009 at 8:58 am

yeah! another brekkie/brunch place to go on saturdays..
Sophia
June 17th, 2009 at 9:04 am

Breakfast looks freaking amazing. Especially the muesli. Sorry about the anorexic sandwich, though. But the prices are…pricey! even for RM!
boo_licious
June 17th, 2009 at 9:20 am

I’m still wondering if I shld let them stew a bit, as I heard they have teething problems in the kitchen.
Lyrical Lemongrass
June 17th, 2009 at 10:19 am

Sugar Bean: It’s pretty pricey.

Nigel: Who? You are? LOL.

A Lil Fat Monkey: Just stay away from that sandwich.

Manggy: Yeah, a pity that it was my breakfast that was nasty. 😛

Rachel Yang: Boo mentioned some teething problems. Maybe we can give them another chance later?

Uncle Lee: Well said. And thank you. 🙂

cumidanciki: We should go there for drinks! Ferget abt the food for the moment.

lotsofcravings: Hehe…yes…especially if you’re up early…can or not? 😛

Sophia: Anorexic sandwich…hehe! Yes, it’s pretty expensive!

boo: Yeah, that may be a good idea. I’ll go back in a few months and see how.
Brian
June 17th, 2009 at 10:37 am

Love the gelato from this place.

Having it on the roof at night with the breeze blowing is just amazing. 😀
thule aka leo
June 17th, 2009 at 11:26 am

woo la la la… awol, what you had was pricey judging from the picture and your missing fontina 🙂 but bald eagle’s brekkie was OK… as a matter of fact, I’m drooling to eat what he had.

Still I’ll give this place a try if I happen to be in the vicinity. Is parking an issue here??
Trish
June 17th, 2009 at 11:51 am

Never mind the food…the photos are fantastic! Love the rough wood angles and the bar stools…Pretty terrific
Toygirl
June 17th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Lets have a drinks party at the roof top!! next club meeting??
Life for Beginners
June 17th, 2009 at 2:22 pm

I love those shots of the crooks and crannies and all those lights and shadows playing off each other… like.. like… the name of another local Italian restaurant? Hehe, you know the one I mean. 😉

P.S. Great shot of B.E. and his glorious baldness…
Lyrical Lemongrass
June 17th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

Brian: Thanks for the tip! I must check it out. 🙂

thule aka leo: There’s lots of open air parking in the vicinity if you’re willing to pay. Then, there’s all the “free” parking outside people’s houses. LOL. Just don’t do anything illegal. 😛

Trish: Thank you! Yes, like you, I love the rough wood appearance too.

Toygirl: Hahaha…definitely! We shall convene soon. 😉

Life for Beginners: Loads of Italian restaurants with nice angles leh. Chiaroscurro perhaps? That’s where we makan’d together before, rite? And yes, I think his bald head is a pretty sweet sight. 😉
Selba
June 17th, 2009 at 2:44 pm

The eggyolks look so wonderful! Not like our pale eggyolks 🙂

Beautiful snaps 🙂
550ml jar of faith
June 17th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Am loving the interior shots here! Who needs cheese when we can drink up the milky (hazy) sunshine on the rooftop with our morning bevvy??
paranoidandroid
June 17th, 2009 at 5:28 pm

Wow… another place that opens early for my favourite meal of the day. You sure are an early bird!

But the rooftop is definitely sexy. I wonder if they will allow me to have breakfast up there and catch the sunrise instead?

Thanks for the info.
Lyrical Lemongrass
June 17th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

Selba: Now you’re making me crave for eggs for dinner!

550ml jar of faith: Welcome to the Tan Club!

paranoidandroid: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! hehe. Yup, it’ll be nice to have breakfast on the rooftop. Watch out for the birds.
ladyironchef
June 17th, 2009 at 9:33 pm

I love, love breakfast! hahah i’m a sucker for eggs and brunch items, been eating too much of it lately
thenomadGourmand
June 17th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

Tte muesli looks good..sad thing abt the sandwich tho.. O Brien’s actually seems much better!!
HairyBerry
June 19th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

actually, drinking at the am hours of saturday/sunday might not be a bad idea afterall. one can spend the whole afternoon (and perhaps evening) in bed, drunk. and wake up to a relaxed monday morning, all geared up for work. sounds good to me.

lurve that pic with the spiralling stairs and glass windows. much like the whirling of a beautiful glass of whiskey. 😀
foodbin
June 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

what! a heavy breakfast for HIM.
My Taste Heaven
June 19th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

the interior design looks fantastic, the view from the window looks awesome too. But then, i think that you pay for that through the food, was the food pricey??!
Jun
June 21st, 2009 at 8:38 pm

do they have champagne brunches back home? 😀
deirdre
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm

I’ve just been to Bar Italia for ice-cream and though I’m always delighted with the ice-cream I was shocked by the owner’s appalling behaviour towards his staff. At one point, when looking at the cake counter , he swung round and swore loudly in Italian at one of his waiters and then shoved him. I thought they were just joking together but when I saw that the owner was still talking aggressively in the waiter’s ear and slamming cups and saucers around, I couldn’t believe that he was doing all this with customers seated at the bar! And that wasn’t the end of it. I had seen this guy speak rudely to his staff before but I put it down to the fact that they had just opened and it’s probably a bit stressful for all concerned. With only 2 tables occupied in the restaurant there is no way his barbarism could be attributed to stress. He was just as abrubt with the other waiters as well – hissing under his breath to ‘respect the customers’, but what about ‘respect your staff’? I was disgusted to see this. It’s the kind of attitude that embarrasses both employers and westerners by association.

Mr Guiati’s accent tells us he’s Italian. We know he’s the boss. We don’t need to know he’s a child and a bully to boot.
ah wee
July 5th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

Well, maybe it’s his exacting standards that made him successful. If I were running a place and your staff is not doing the right things, it could get to you. Now that he has a few establishments to juggle, and also ad hoc events outside..he must be pretty stressed. Look at Marco Piere White and Gordon Ramsey..it’s hells kitchen if you want good stuff…
Rachel Yang
July 5th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Ah wee – what utter shit. And by the way he doesn’t have more than one place to juggle. He is only involved in Bar Italia. I wish people would get their facts straight. Duh.
azlin
July 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

I went with 4 other friends for dinner when Bar Italia was 2 weeks old. I was totally dissapointed with the food and owner’s attitude. Food was not tasty, infact it was better when they were running Nero Teka and Nero Vivo. The price is way out of the food league. We had Hogaarden draft, White wine, red wine, champagne, Grappa and coffee. One of us is a Sommelier so we ordered good wines and this is generally what we do. We like to try new places. We were very upset with their arrogance. We have been waiting for Paulo to open his new place but was just let down with the food and attitude. Infact we find the other new place like Tattoo far better. Chiarascurro even though not new is far better in terms of food and service.
Rachel Yang
July 10th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

I went to Tatto and thought it was lousy!
KL Yeap
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Food is average but expensive. I suppose someone has to pay for the decor. Cute waitress though!
yin
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:50 am

I was there last nite and loved everything from the starters to my rabbit stew to my prosecco to the gelato. Paulo was really nice to us too 🙂

Thanks for sharing, I’d definitely want to take mum there for breakkie!
Ken
November 13th, 2009 at 12:44 am

Been there…. food was lousy.. service was worse!
The waiters don’t really know the menu! and forgot some of our orders!! food were slow to arrive despite an almost empty restaurant !!
Worse of all, they even serve us flat stale hoegaarden draft beers, and when we complain, the waiter tried to justify that it is straight from the draft! Duh!! it just shows that the barrel of beer is old and they shouldn’t be selling it!!!
Our party of 4 unanimously agreed that the food and drinks were BAD! definitely not worth all the hassle with the ordering and waiting!!
Ren-Ren
January 8th, 2010 at 3:55 pm

Have you guys ever been to Delucca, at Jalan Mesui (Off Jalan Nagasari? It’s great! I went there last weekend, the live band, the food and ambience is amazing. I’ll be going there this weekend again. 😀 You definitely should try.