Mario & Luigi at Bangsar: Restaurant review

This review is brought to you in part by Mario & Luigi.

If you drive by too quickly, it’s easy to miss Mario & Luigi, a diminutive upmarket restaurant located on Lorong Kurau in Bangsar. Part of the BIG Group, the eatery is sandwiched in between Barat and Bakar, two other small restaurants. But though it’s hidden behind a screen of climbing vines and even located in a rather well-hidden enclave in Bangsar, Mario & Luigi is a place worth seeking out.

Though the combination name evokes the popular plumber characters from Nintendo’s video game series, it actually refers here to the ground-level restaurant, Mario, and the first-floor bar, Luigi. We popped in recently on a bright and sunny afternoon to enjoy a quick lunch and grabbed one of the last two available tables. The restaurant is small and intimate and fills up quickly, so reservations are recommended, and are a must for busy times.

A full à la carte menu is available for lunch or dinner, and in addition, a set menu (RM29-38) is offered for lunch, which includes a salad or soup and iced lemon tea along with your entrée. We opted for a few items from the regular menu, but were dazzled before the first dish appeared by a basket of warm sliced baguette served with fine French butter on the side. Oil and balsamic vinegar is also available, and the marvellously crusty bread suggested a terrific meal was in store for us.

Appetizer

Our appetizer was a tasty cold pasta dish, a creative capellini (angel hair) creation with truffle paste, konbu, and sea urchin meat (RM78). A lovely start and beautifully executed, too. We also sampled a burrata appetizer with heirloom tomatoes and aged balsamic complementing the fresh cheese (RM29). Other tempting choices included Hokkaido scallop carpaccio, calamari fritters, and chotoro tartare (RM29-39).

Main course

A full page of pasta primi dishes features on the à la carte menu (most from RM48-79), but we skipped over that as it was lunch and landed on the secondi dishes – the mains. Impossible to resist was the black cod (RM110), stunningly presented with complements of zucchini purée, chorizo, lily bulb, and a delightful citrus pesto. Fresh seafood appears in several dishes here, as does chicken and beef, a well-recommended option being the hanger steak served with a truffle celeriac remoulade and kale (RM85).

Desserts

For a sweet finish, we selected the refreshing cucumber and mint leaf gazpacho, accented with fresh blackberries, and served with lime curd and coconut sherbet (RM28). We felt the lime curd was somewhat unnecessary and added very little to what was otherwise a delicious and creative dolci offering.

Mario & Luigi is a lovely little venue and a hidden gem in Bangsar. Parking in the small neighbourhood enclave can be a challenge at times, but car jockeys are on standby if you’d like their services. As an uncommon and very welcome perk, Mario & Luigi does not charge corkage on standard bottles of wine, so bring along your favourite tipple to pair with a lovely and enjoyable Italian meal. Prices noted include 6% GST, and are subject to 10% service charge.

Location & Details

Address: 15, Lorong Kurau, Taman Weng Lock, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: Lunch 12 – 3pm; Dinner 7 – 11pm. Closed on Mondays.
Tel: +603 2282 3571

For more information on Mario & Luigi, visit the Big Group website: thebiggroup.co/mario-luigi