French Riviera Ambience and Mediterranean Cuisine at Nizza, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara

[Review]

We recently headed over to Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara to try the menu at Nizza – the hotel’s new specialty French – Mediterranean restaurant. Nizza is a refined contemporary yet casual French Riviera-inspired restaurant, with modern interior architectural – with light colours playing off in its interiors and a striking blue-and-white flooring. The chic pool deck ambience outside meanwhile is reminiscent of the coastline of Cote d’Azur with modern glass parasol pool bar, comfy beach cabanas, and low modular seating.

The restaurant has a show kitchen where you can watch the chefs whip up a variety of specialty items a la minute. This 135-seat restaurant features a variety of seating arrangements, and is suitable for intimate dinner for two, to communal tables for groups of four or more, depending on the occasion of course. The tables are interspersed adequately apart so you won’t hear what the other table is saying while the ambience has an emphasis on unique finishing ranging from highly-detailed art deco and ceiling mural to exotic lightings and a wine cellar with a good selection of wines.

On the menu are a whole range of dishes including Duck Liver Pate, Marinated White Anchovies, Nizza’s Garden Salad, Summer Niçoise Salad, Cheese Board, Garlic & Herb Crusted Spring Lamb and White Sturgeon Caviar. Among the recommended dishes are Turkey “Salchichon”, Truffle & Mushroom Croquettes, Garlic Prawns, Bouillabaisse Cote De Opal, Charcuterie Board, Salted Baked Whole Snapper, White Sturgeon Caviar as well as the Provencal and Lamb Sausage Pissaladiere. Hand-crafted cocktails and fine wines are also available to complement the cuisine.

The restaurant has it’s own wine “cellar” where you can pick your wines

If you’re having a bottle of bubbly you might want to try sabering the top off if you dare!

There’s a very stylishly designed bar outside in the al fresco section which also has a big screen which I’m told screens some sports matches such as football and F1

We started off the meal with some cocktails and wine from the bar

House-baked focaccia with pesto dip to start the meal.

I’m a bread person and I just love good breads! This one has got to be in my top five (5) best breads! In fact, you could just give me this one and a nice cup of coffee for breakfast any day! It was great however I had to control and stop myself from eating too much otherwise there’s no way I could eat what’s coming next.

Garlic Prawns – RM38

Olive Oil, Chilli Flakes, Bario Salt & Toasted Baguette

This dish (gambas al ajillo) is a staple Spanish tapas dish that’s pretty common in Spanish restaurants. It was perfectly executed at Nizza though with prawns that were very fresh and juicy, and went nicely atop the toasted slices of baguette. A must order tapas if you like prawns!

Strawberry Salad – RM43

White Anchovies, Pistachio, Crème Fraiche, Balsamic

A strawberry salad? Well surprisingly it went pretty well with the greens as well as the savoury white anchovies and pistachios! The creme fraiche and balsamic vinegar kept this one creamy yet light and refreshing! An unusual but nonetheless a very delicious salad (this coming from someone who really dislikes salad too)!

Forestière – RM42

Smoked Turkey, Mushroom, Boiled Egg & Gruyere

Hard boiled egg on a pizza? Well if it goes well why not? In this instance it did go well but I really liked the fact that Gruyere cheese was used to top the pizza and not the normal Mozzarella. This was quite a hearty pizza and the smoked turkey provided a nice amount of savouriness to it!

Seafood Tagliatelle – RM61

Tiger Prawns, Grilled Octopus, Manila Clams & Chili Flakes

No Mediterranean meal is complete without some seafood and we opted to go with the Seafood Tagliatelle which was pretty well loaded with seafood like tiger prawns, grilled octopus, and clams! Now this pasta dish was cooked in Italian style, meaning to say that it’s NOT flooded in sauce (like in a lot of restaurant in Malaysia which pretty much ends up masking the taste of the ingredients which is sometimes done on purpose especially when the ingredients aren’t exactly too fresh). However, this pasta still has lots of flavour despite the sauce used sparingly, as it allows the true flavours of the seafood to shine through! We enjoyed this one with a glass of house white wine.

120-day Aged Black Angus Rib Eye (300gm) – RM156

with Herb Roasted Baby Potatoes, Ratatouille and Béarnaise sauce.

A tender and juicy rib eye which was beautifully cooked and came with a nice char on the outside! Please PLEASE don’t order this one cooked above medium rare or else the cow would have died for nothing! The herb roasted baby potatoes and Ratatouille ensured that this was a filling dish indeed while I actually enjoyed the béarnaise sauce with them more than the steak as I always think that a good steak should be good enough to be eaten on its own… or with a glass of red wine! And as such, we enjoyed this dish with a glass of house red wine!

Apple Tart Tatin – RM30

Caramelized Apple. Almond Frangipane, Vanilla Gelato, Raisin Compote

A very pretty dessert and is my pick for the Instagrammable dish of the night!

After dinner, why not head outside and continue over some drinks? There are some cosy sofas as well as both low and high tables, or opt to sit at the bar and watch the bartenders in action.

The sofa table which is surrounded by a body of water is a nice place to chill against the backdrop of the Hong Leong office tower.

I really enjoyed the relaxed and romantic atmosphere at Nizza. It is definitely a good option if you’re looking to bring your date out for a nice dinner in Damansara Heights. The restaurant can also be used for private functions especially when you take into account the large al fresco/ bar area outside.

Nizza is open every Wednesday to Monday (ie. it’s closed on Tuesdays) from 4:30pm to 12:00 midnight. Every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, there will be DJs spinning at Nizza (at the outdoor bar area).

For more info, head over to https://www.sofitel-kualalumpur-damansara.com/

Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara is located at:

No. 6 – Jalan Damanlela,

Bukit Damansara,

50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 2720 6688

Email: HA123-FB3@SOFITEL.COM