Opened since 1953, Gaddi’s at The Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui has one of the grandest dining rooms in Hong Kong. With its tapered candles on every table, majestic chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, ornate gold mirrors and plush carpeting, entering Gaddi’s feels like you’re entering a more refined era all together. With its live band and seats that allow couples to sit side by side, it is easy to see why this romantic restaurant remains a popular proposal spot. It is worth nothing that ladies should bring along a shawl of some sort, as the temperature of the restaurant is quite cool, probably to accommodate all the men in jackets, which is still required at dinner time in Gaddi’s.

Gaddi’s is all about decadence and luxurious delicacies such as foie gras, lobster and truffles show up on the menu a lot. However, for all its heavy-sounding ingredients, Gaddi’s chefs also cook with a light touch, ensuring that diners will leave the restaurant satisfied but not comatose. A good example is the vegetarian appetiser of wild mushroom ravioli. The flavours of the mushrooms and parmesan sprinkled on top are robust enough to satisfy any carnivore, yet thanks to the delightfully thin pasta and thyme cream foam, it is also a light dish. The same can be said for the fantastic lobster bisque: the texture is thinner than most other versions around town but don’t be fooled, its multilayered flavours give the dish a surprising amount of depth. For our mains, we try the signature Bresse pigeon that has been slow-cooked and stuffed with goose liver. The pigeon meat is an impressive shade of ruby and is wrapped around a generous portion of just-cooked foie gras. The roasted leg is less moist, but no less flavourful. Our other main is a trio of pork that includes a suckling pig, poached loin and homemade sausage. The crispy skin on the suckling pig would give any Cantonese restaurant a run for their money, while the sausage is the succulent highlight of the dish. A tad more disappointing is the loin, which is nicely cooked in terms of texture, but definitely bland in comparison. Cheese lovers must get the cheese plate for dessert: Gaddi’s has a good selection of French cheeses which include the blue cheese Fontainebleau, as well as other popular soft cheese such as Reblochon, Livarot and Saint Felicien. Chocolate fans, on the other hand, should opt for the hot chocolate fondant: it comes with vanilla ice cream, but do ask the staff to swap it for the bitter caramel version for a real treat.

Gaddi’s wine list is an impressive tome that focuses mainly on France, with bubbly from Champagne alone taking up three pages. There are a number of surprisingly affordable wines, while naturally there are also wines that run to the hundreds of thousands for those with the budget. Those intimidated by the size of the wine list will be pleased to know that even the Peninsula-brand house wines – a red wine from Saint-Estèphe in Bordeaux and a white Chablis – are better than most wines offered at other restaurants.

Gaddi’s is an indulgent and decadent experience, and as such, one can expect to spend about three hours there for dinner. However, the leisurely pace may be a bit much for those used to a more modern pace: a good hour went by from the time we were seated to when we were served our appetisers. On the plus side, the wait staff are incredibly knowledgeable and good with recommendations, and are surprisingly friendly given the formality of the setting.

A three-course meal for two with wine will come to just under HK$3,000. For a restaurant of this calibre, this is a surprisingly affordable experience.