Situated in the Bund Center with the prestigious Westin Hotel and a wide range of other restaurants and entertainment, Prego is obviously an upper class establishment. With guests in the hotel like the Crown Prince of Thailand and the Miss Shanghai contestants it is easy to understand why, but with events like this Prego is sure to attract diners who are not staying in the hotel. The concept of Aperitivo is simple and appealing - come in and eat as long as the food lasts and get a glass of prosecco thrown in. Considering the cost of their standard menus, 78rmb is a pretty amazing price for this. Of course you can up your bill by refilling the glass (but that's not the point), for what you get this is extremely good value. The restaurant is pleasantly designed in a typically modern style, entirely inoffensive and calm. A nice touch is the granite tables surrounding the bar area, with couches backing onto the wall, making it perfect for a gathering of friends in a relaxing atmosphere. Stretching along the length of the building, it caters for a more typical restaurant style as well as providing private rooms. The food itself is good (though not spectacular) and an extensive (though not huge) range. With an Italian chef and ingredients sourced from Italy it ought to be authentic food and there were plenty of Italians in the restaurant. The buffet is well designed, situated just outside the restaurant, with a small stretch of tables offering both hot foods and cold; pizza, pasta, salad, quiche, it was all there to be enjoyed. For me though it did not remind me of Italian food first and foremost, but rather of high-end hotel food. Almost overly carefully crafted nibbles, they were tasty with deft touches of seasoning, but not so much that I craved to run back to the buffet table and grab some more in the same way a mama's cooking can entice that way. My difficulty here is that there is absolutely nothing to stop me from recommending Prego's "Aperitivo" to anyone - everything offered is quality and at such a reasonable price there's no reason to quibble. But, for me, nothing seemed to buzz about the place. Don't get me wrong - the food was top notch, but it just didn't set my taste buds alight.