Like many Italian restaurants in Shanghai, Dolce Vita comes perilously close to being clich¨¦. Take its name (I counted three Dolce Vita signs on the outside of the building) and the giant chandelier overlooking the Casablancan stairway. Or the La Dolce Vita film photography all over the walls and the bottles of Italian wine on every surface. But hey, it works, and who am I, a Canadian at that, to say what's overdone and what isn't. And with Graziano Vastola, a veteran restaurateur in Italy and manager of Xintiandi success story Va Bene behind them, I was prepared to give La Dolce Vita the benefit of the doubt.
Before I get into the details of the menu, I should inform you of the restaurant's most important aspect now in case you don't make it past the first half of this review. It's the pizza. Dolce Vita has imported a chef named Franco from Italy for the sole purpose of flipping, dressing, and baking what I like to call "masterpizzas." There's an entirely different chef to take care of the rest of the menu.
We tried the Bufalina with fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. It was so good that we had to order the signature pizza as well, the Dolce Vita with air-dried beef and truffle honey among other interesting ingredients. The dough was baked to thin-crust perfection, all toppings were fresh and it arrived un-sliced, in true Italian style. In case you're still not convinced, here are a few stats: Franco has 25 years of experience in Italy, there are about 15 classic and unique pizzas to choose from, and they are all under 100rmb. Numbers don't lie.
Moving on. When we wanted to order wine, our server brought us, in lieu of a printed list, another La Dolce Vita character -- Wilson the Sommelier. With a straight face he said, "I am the wine list." Hmm, very un-clich¨¦, I thought. We told him our price range and broadly what we liked and he opened up a 2006 Sicilian Syrah (58rmb a glass) that had the ideal balance of sweetness and spice to nicely accent our pizza choices. He even brought us complimentary Limoncellos to end the meal. Dolce Vita may have finally printed its wine lists when you go, but be sure to ask for Wilson (aka the human wine list) anyways. The rack of lamb (148rmb) fell short of my expectations because it was too heavy. The lamb was juicy enough on its own that it didn't need to be completely saturated with the gravy-like sauce on top and the broccoli and zucchini on the side must have been soaked in oil and garlic for hours. I recommend a lighter main, such as the seabass crudaiola-style (128rmb), featuring raw tomatoes that explode with flavor.
Dolce Vita also has a good selection of risottos and pastas. The gnocchi with crab meat that was whisked by our table caught my eye, as did the porcini mushroom risotto. With such an extensive menu, I'll certainly be going back again and again even after I've tried all the pizzas.
Located at the corner of Fumin Lu and Changle Lu, Dolce Vita is surrounded by several other Italian restaurants; it is the unpretentious option with the best pizza in town and as many characters as the movie itself.
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