Smack in the middle of Lan Kwai Fong, Va Bene suits its surroundings in that it is an animated, atmospheric dining room where customers can have a good time. Darkly lit with wooden floors, ceilings painted as a sunny sky with few passing clouds and a wall dedicated to holding the Italian restaurant’s impressive wine selection, Va Bene is great for night out with friends, or if seated in one of the quieter and even dimmer corners of the restaurant, a romantic date.

While Va Bene’s menu is by no means imaginative, we do like the fact that nearly all the Italian classics can be found here, from beef carpaccio and ribolitta as starters to spaghetti vongole and Milanese veal cutlets as main courses. We start with a simple classic: burrata cheese with tomatoes and rocket. The cheese itself is fresh, though not as oozing with cream as we would have wished, and although we appreciate that the restaurant may want the cheese to shine, a dash of salt would have completed the dish. Perhaps the under-seasoning was due to the lack of anchovy fragrance, which was listed on the menu as being part of the dish but nowhere to be found. We also enjoyed one of the daily specials, a lobster bisque with scallops. While the soup itself is deeply flavourful, what was slightly less appetising was the thin sheen of oil on top, presumably from the sautéed scallops. For mains, we try two pasta dishes: the signature homemade basil straccetti with red gurnard and fresh tomatoes; and a heartier pasta pockets with meat ragout with bacon and black truffle. The basil straccetti is thin and are rather large sheets of pasta, which were delicious but the size of the pasta meant that perhaps an oilier and more flavourful fish than the gurnard could have been used. As it is, the fish was somewhat lost amidst the dish. The pasta pockets are more successful: we especially enjoyed the slight crispiness of the pasta edges, as well as the crunchy strips of bacon and truffle layered on top. For desserts, we finish with another classic, the tiramisu which was deeply moist and we liked how the lady fingers leaked coffee as we bit into the light cake. Chocolate fans will enjoy the dark chocolate and hazelnut mousse, though they may want to ask for the pineapple carpaccio on the side.

As can be expected, the wine list at Va Bene focuses primarily on Italian wines, with offerings from well-known regions such as Tuscany and Veneto, to more unusual wineries in Sardinia and Sicily. The wine list also suits a wide range of budgets, with perfectly good wines available for HK$300-HK$400, and going all the way up to a 2005 bottle from Marchesi Antinori for HK$5,200. Wines from France are also available. The staff are knowledgeable about their wine selection, and can offer a perfectly good pairing for your meal.

The service at Va Bene is efficient, though don’t expect an over-abundance of smiles. Typical of Hong Kong, but less so of Italy, you can finish a three-course meal in an hour and a half.

A three-course meal for two with wine will come to under HK$1,200. Considering its prime location and the competently executed dishes, this is very good value for money.