It’s weirdly satisfying when a restaurant’s appearance so perfectly reflects the nature of its cuisine. The white-washed walls and red-and-green furniture; the recreated Renaissance art; the piped-in Italian chart hits – they don’t just scream ‘Italy!’ at you, they do it while gesticulating wildly, a string of rosary beads clutched in one hand.

But look again: those walls and that furniture are clustered around doors leading to a bright hutong courtyard that dominates the interior space. The Sistine Chapel recreations are painted by local decorators in cheap and cheerful style, not by Michelangelo.

It’s an Italian experience, recreated as best as possible on local money, with local resources. On one wall sits a recreation of Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’. Jesus has been replaced by Budai, the laughing Buddha of contentment, his arms open as if to say, ‘Hey, whadda ya want? It’s China. Shaddap you face!’

So with our faces shut up and our menus open, we sat down to order. The starters, accompanied by decent Italian wines, were a mixed affair. The unequivocal highlight was the zucchina ripiena al tonno, which our Italian taster – born and raised in Rome – rated highly. The zucchini, first boiled then fried, had the perfect texture – not too soft, not too firm – and the tuna, topped with mozzarella then lightly grilled for a crispy finish, was succulent and flavourful.

Alas, the beef carpaccio was less captivating; it’s a dish that relies on quality ingredients, and the sad, flavourless slivers here did not impress. Neither did the caprese; basically slices of tomato and mozzarella with an olive oil dressing, Carpe Diem’s version suffers from only giving tiny squares of the cheese, rather than hearty discs, and from not using the superior buffalo mozzarella.

We assumed, then, that the trick to eating at Carpe Diem was to go for the dishes that rely on technical effort, not ingredients. But we were confounded by the ravioli torino which arrived tough and undercooked. There’s something to be said for al dente pasta, but this was far too tough, and the filling – which was otherwise fine – was way too dry. We wondered whether it had been sat on the side waiting for the other dishes.

If so it was a futile wait, as the laganelle garda that accompanied it was bland and confused, though the homemade pasta was pleasant.

Address: 18, Xiluoxiang, Xicheng District 西城区西楼巷18号

Source: timeoutbeijing.com