This placed opened to a lot of characteristic Hong Kong-hype, as par business-as-usual when we get a European import. I read the articles, looked at the photos, salivated over the menu. I did my research. don't @ me.
The deal is that they don't do reservations, as they told my boyfriend over the phone. Ay-okay. We're so used to waiting in lines here that it wasn't a big deal, but we were a bit baffled to see that when we arrived right at 7:00, their opening time, the restaurant was already filled to the brim and we were informed, upon our bemused faces, that "oh, sometimes people come here for drinks before." Okay.
The pizza is good. It is even better-than-average. However, as is the case with sky high expectations ("Best Pizza in the world!" being a pretty emphatically great review) they inevitably fall short. There is a LOT of cheese on the signature margarita pizza. I always feel that Neopolitan pies are should have a crisp crust with a chewy crumb - it's cooked FAST and the dough is so thin in the middle that the center should almost be soupy (some people don't like this). But with Kytaly, the entire pizza was so weighed down by cheese - I must say we did get an awesome cheese pull - that the crust and cheese melded as one - my Italian boyfriend declared it rather gummy, and I had to agree. More tomato, less cheese, I say! Then maybe that thin crust would have had its moment to shine.
Inevitably, the overall value has to come into question - I'm sure the original Kytaly outpost in Geneve is every bit as spectacular as the articles make it seem. But as we stared over the twinkling lights, well-heeled patrons, and soft techno of Kytaly Hong Kong, something's been lost in translation, and stared down at this $280 HKD pizza (over $30USD!!!), something was decidedly lost in translation. read more