Limoncello (Sisowath quay)

After hearing how good the pizza is at this relatively new(4mths) Italian venue..I thought it was worth a try with some fiends in town for lunch. Please note I do not eat pizza, but I love Italian Food.

I arrived late & the restaurant looked closed in darkness, except 1 lamp near the table my friends were sitting. We ordered Prosecco at $14 bottle..good start good value. We ordered 3 pasta dishes, Tagliatelle Bolognese...bland, no tomato acid/sweet balance, no substance & very little meat sauce.Penne Salmone promised Kalamata olives Salmon, lemon zest...canned black olives usually reserved for cheap pizza are not Kalamata! the salmon was so finely chopped it had lost it's flavour & again a bland dish. The Gorgonzola pasta arrived 'purple', definitely lacking the cream sauce promised. Salad Mista was a bowl of salad leaves & some tomato...you make your own dressing with available Virgin Olive Oil & Balsamic.

Phnom Penh has a few good Italian restaurants(notably Pop Cafe is my favourite, for several years!) Italian  Food is about Fresh ingredients, slowly cooked sauces, simple Food combinations & al dente Pasta(very undercooked Pasta was offered). I hope this restaurant can improve, atmosphere pleasant & staff that try hard.

Phnom Penh seems to have a disproportionate number of Italian restaurants for the number of Italian food lovers in town, so the question has to be is another really needed?  Shortly after the opening of Dolce Italia, comes Limoncello - a new addition on Sisowath Quay.  Price wise, this is going head to head with Pop cafe, Aria D'Italia, Luna D'Autumno, Le Duo, Dolce Italia, La Volpaia, Pasta e Vino to name just a few.  Stiff competition indeed!

Many people have talked very highly of Limoncello, so we went with high expectations.  However, I really didn't feel that it lived up to the hype and to me does not add anything that is not already well covered by the existing places in town.

Athmosphere is pleasant.  The dining room is small and cosy, the staff friendly and helpful.  The menu is without surprises.  Standard appetizers, pizzas and pastas.

We ordered;

-Salad caprese (mozarella, basil and tomato).  Perfectly fine, with above average mozarella

-Antipasto: parma hams, salami and other cold cuts with some chunks of parmesan.  All good quality ingredients, so you can't go wrong here!

Bruscetta: Very good!

Main courses were however, a bit more disappointing;

-Pizza: Salami and gorgonzola.  Decent authentic style pizza, but the base was a little too chewy for my taste.  Not as good as the pizza at Dolce Italia!

-Chicken in cream sauce: poor.  Bland and dull dish - lacked any inpiration...

-Pasta with porcini mushrooms and Italian sausage: quite nice with the mushrooms, but a pasta slightly too al-dente (may be a personal preference)

Desert - well they only have tiramisu, so we skipped on this!

Final conclusion - honestly, I wanted to like it but struggled to find anything inspiring or interesting.  I would still recommend Aria D'Italia for good pasta, Dolce Italia for good pizza and Luna D'Autumno for a good athmosphere...

If you really love authentic Italian food, then this is your place! 

Try their fresh, crispy salad with delicious mozzarella and olives. Huge pizzas with the perfect crust and the perfect flavors will bring a big smile to your face.

The coffees are great too and not overprices.

Friendly service and a true Italian chef make this place a success in our book! Delivery to start in June.

Enjoy a nice Limoncello after dinner!