This post is brought to you by Vineria.IT

As one of the world’s most beloved and varied cuisines, Italian food can be found in virtually every corner of the globe. But too often it’s just a pale imitation of the real thing: a few pasta dishes with prepared sauces poured over them and passed off as Italian cuisine. Fortunately, residents in Kuala Lumpur don’t have to suffer such indignities when they crave authentic Italian food as there are a number of great restaurants here helmed by actual Italians, serving actual Italian cuisine. One such place is Vineria.IT in Bangsar Shopping Centre, run by Chef Massimilano “Max” Ranauro, who hails from the Piemonte region of Italy and has wowed residents of KL with his former ventures, Neroteco, Nerovivo, and Bar Italia. The ambiance at Vineria, which is on the ground floor at the back of BSC, is inviting and comfortable (especially the expansive outdoor area), but really, it’s the food that steals the show here.

You’ll be forgiven if you have to spend some serious time with the menu, because there is an abundance of appealing options. Salads, antipasti, entrées, sharing platters, main dishes, pastas, and an assortment of thin-crust pizzas from their wood-fired oven make Vineria.IT a potentially dizzying place to go when you’re hungry. All of it sounded so good! We settled on the Gran Antipasto Vineria as our starter – an excellent choice featuring a tasting platter of Italian favourites such as fried meatballs, various cold cuts, cheeses, pickles and spreads, calamari, prawns, and rocket salad. A word here about the meats: though Vineria.IT is pork-free, they do a superb job of using other meats and fats effectively to approximate the flavour and texture of pork surprisingly well. Try it, you’ll be astonished. With a couple of glasses of house Sangiovese from the bar, the antipasto platter was a fantastic way to start.

Read the full review on Eat Drink.