Certain extremists in the dining community believe that a successful meal begins and ends on the plate. They’re prone – between sighs of exasperation – to say things like, “Interior design? Please, I just want something fresh, authentic and unceremonious!”

For those culinary ascetics, Osteria Marzia – the latest concept from Black Sheep Restaurants – is sure to trigger sensory overload.

Situated on the ground floor of the revitalised Fleming Hotel, the restaurant pays homage to the maritime cultures of the Italian peninsula. Support columns are tiled in a dozen multihued blues while orbs reminiscent of a gondola’s prow arc above the banquette seating.

The staff, outfitted in Breton-striped tops and stark white trousers, appear to have emerged from the fever dreams of Wes Anderson: less Sicilian fisherman, more Steve Zissou. It’s handsome, whimsical and utterly ambiguous, giving little hint of the cuisine to follow.

Thankfully, any identity crisis suffered by the dining room doesn’t extend to the kitchen, where Chef Luca Marinelli prepares rustic and refreshing dishes that pay homage to three regions in southern Italy: Campania, Puglia and Sicily. Marinelli, himself from the northwestern region of Lombardy, is clearly passionate about the country’s coastal traditions, but not enslaved to them.

His first course, a hamachi crudo (raw seafood), reflects this mentality. The popular Japanese jack fish is accompanied by delicately sliced cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and basil. Marinelli prepares his fish in the style of carpaccio, with its buttery texture offset by the tomatoes and basil. Purists may scoff at this use of old country cooking in service to Japanese fish, but the next dish – a second crudo of red prawns – proves a comforting and familiar sight.

The crustaceans, freshly stripped of their carapaces, are imported from Puglia, accompanied only by a touch of Sorrento lemon. The translucent flesh, alternating between briny and sweet, is rich in adenylate – a common source of umami. These prawns are bound to please Hong Kong’s seafood lovers, especially since the staff at Osteria Marzia encourage patrons to devour the heads and savour the bisque-like flavours found within.

Though light and bright flavours dominate, Marinelli has taken special care to ensure some heavy hitters feature on the menu. The pasta chitarra – so called for the guitar-esque tool used to cut the egg pasta into square-shaped strands – is made daily in-house. It’s tossed with red sauce (reminiscent of fra diavolo) and generous mouthfuls of American lobster.

Both seafood and condiment fuse in a harmony of flavour, with the lobster’s buttery and fleshy qualities never overpowering the dish. However, this has merely been a preview to the main event – selections dalla griglia (from the grill).  

Osteria Marzia finds its muse in grilled proteins. The restaurant’s appearance falters in its attempt to approximate a Sicilian getaway, yet that imagery leaps from the plate when the swordfish palermo arrives. The region’s proximity to the Adriatic Sea has lent her many culinary influences, not least of which is the Sicilian affinity for swordfish. Every morsel is rich and flaky – saved from undue unctuousness by a liberal dosage of capers.

Any meal at Osteria Marzia is an event. From the suspiciously photogenic staff to the seemingly endless supply of complimentary limoncello, it is the kind of restaurant that lives and dies by its larger-than-life personality.

For those who are overly serious about food (and food alone), the atmosphere might prove a little too boisterous. That would be a shame, though, because if you can get past the theatre of it all, the core of Osteria Marzia is universal: fresh, rustic, elegantly simple seafood.

Text: Randalph Lai
Photos: Gigi Ip, Osteria Marzia

OSTERIA MARZIA
A: G/F The Fleming, 41 Fleming Road, Wan Chai
T: (852) 3607 2253
W: osteriamarzia.com.hk