Tuscan treats

As soon as we sat down I was attracted by the fragrant pasta the staff were serving at the table next to ours. I whispered to my friend that we definitely had to order some pasta!

Namo Tuscan Grill is designed in a contemporary style and features a spacious dining room with a large bar, nice paintings adorning the walls, and views of busy Pasteur Street. The staff introduced us to its new lunch menu, especially designed to explore and delicately balance the tastes and colours native to the rich Italian land and sea. Head Chef Ivan Barone, an Italian who spent more than ten years in Tuscany, loves introducing the food of his childhood to HCMC. Hearty, wholesome, packed full of flavour and using ingredients from the rich lands surrounding Florence, Val Di Chiana and Siena, Tuscan food is a cuisine unto itself. Ivan has been immersed in Tuscan cuisine since he was young, learning to roll local Tuscan pasta with his grandmothers and discovering the intrinsic flavours of the rolling hills of the Val D’Orcia before going on to open an award-winning restaurant in Tuscany. The flavours and memories of Tuscany inspired the menu at Namo Tuscan Grill.

The new menu’s starters offer a range of fresh and succulent fare from the ocean, including oysters, scallops and lobster. We started our journey to Tuscany with two dishes: baked oysters with cheese and seared Atlantic Bay scallops with fois gras and fresh truffle, which were enchanting in flavour and presentation. Next was truffle and mushroom Lasagna Tuscan Ragout Pici (with thick hand-rolled noodles with pork and beef ragout), which our neighbouring table enjoyed when we arrived. It was truly among the best pasta I have ever eaten!

If you love steak you’re in for a treat at Namo Tuscan Grill, which offers a wide selection of premium steaks, such as Australian Pure Black Angus, US Prime, and renowned Wagyu, sourced from the Japanese towns of Tajima and Sanchoku. We enjoyed Black Angus rib-eye with pepper sauce; grilled to perfection.

We ended our Tuscan adventure by indulging in the signature ‘Namo Chocolate Tree’, an innovative masterpiece any chocolate lover simply must try. The light, creamy chocolate mousse gently melted in my mouth, followed by a bite from the orange-glazed pistachio semifreddo and cool citrus burst.

Prices start from VND200,000 per dish.