Inside Macau’s One-MICHELIN-Starred 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Words: Pasuta Phongam Photo: Pasuta Phongam

One-MICHELIN-Starred 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA Tailors Italian Elegance for Macau

At Galaxy Macau, 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA approaches Italian fine dining with the assurance of a well-cut suit: precise in construction, luxurious in material and never overworked.

The third restaurant from three-MICHELIN-starred chef Umberto Bombana has held one MICHELIN star for 11 consecutive years, supported by an extensive wine cellar and service delivered with a measured sense of theatre.

Executive Chef Marino D’Antonio now leads the kitchen. Born in Bergamo, Bombana’s hometown, he first worked with the chef to open Opera BOMBANA in Beijing in 2013. His Macau menus remain recognisably Italian while looking beyond Italy for exceptional produce, bringing Japanese seafood and mushrooms into a framework of handmade pasta, exacting sauces and clearly articulated flavours.

The renovated 5,000 sq ft restaurant moves from a gleaming marble bar into an 80-seat dining room and two private rooms. Tweed and pinstriped upholstery evoke Italian tailoring beneath a mirrored ceiling and suspended tubes of coloured glass.

Brass detailing, gold-framed mirrors and saturated blue and green textiles add warmth, while works by Italian artist Gianluca Miniaci explore themes of love, life and passion.

The composition feels polished without becoming austere. More than 1,300 wine labels extend the experience beyond the room, giving the sommelier team considerable scope across Italian, French and New World bottles.

Served the five-course menu progressed from delicate marine flavours to handmade pasta and Fassone beef, closing with an intense study of cacao.

Served Champagne for the first sip

A chilled tomato consommé arrives like a small edible jewel, its translucent jelly punctuated by ripe tomato, sweet peas, micro herbs and delicate flowers. Flecks of gold leaf add a final glint, while clean acidity and fresh vegetal notes make for a precise, palate-awakening opening.

Marinated langoustine was paired with Hokkaido sea urchin, Imperial Oscietra caviar and Amalfi citrus. The shellfish’s natural sweetness met the sea urchin’s creamy salinity and the fine pop of caviar, while citrus arrived as perfume rather than sharp acidity, lifting the richer marine notes.

Hokkaido scallop continued the maritime opening in a softer register. Its gentle sweetness was placed against an earthy ragout of Japanese mushrooms, with milk foam bringing a light, lactic finish. The contrast was carefully judged: sea and forest, sweetness and savour, held in balance.

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Fine strands of homemade tagliolini returned the menu decisively to Italy. Parmigiano and butter from the Alps formed a glossy, enveloping base for Melanosporum black truffle, whose woodland aroma gave the dish its centre of gravity. Rich yet controlled, the course showed the precision behind Bombana’s pasta tradition.

Fassone beef was accompanied by leek, termite mushroom and natural jus. The leek contributed mellow sweetness, the mushroom added a deeper forest character, and the jus connected both with concentrated savour. The composition kept its focus on the Piedmontese beef, allowing the produce to carry the course without unnecessary embellishment.

Roasted fish pairs crisp, copper-toned skin with pearlescent flesh, set in a silken clam jus brightened by basil and confit tomato.

Whipped tableside, Sgroppino blends lemon sorbet, limoncello and vodka into a silken, semi-frozen cloud, sharpened by freshly grated Amalfi lemon zest. Bright, aromatic and lightly spirited, it resets the palate before dessert.

Dessert examined cacao through contrasting textures and temperatures: Grué Cacao Cannelloni, flourless cake and P125 sorbet. Roasted cacao nib notes brought aromatic bitterness; the cake offered a denser expression of chocolate; and the concentrated dark-chocolate sorbet sharpened the finish with cold intensity and restrained sweetness.

Coffee or tea arrived with the restaurant’s sweets carousel, adding a final moment of tableside theatre.

Together, D’Antonio’s focused cooking, Bombana’s enduring philosophy and the restaurant’s tailored interior deliver an assured expression of contemporary Italian dining in Macau. 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA Macau Contact: +853 8886 2169, bombana@galaxyentertainment.com

Reserve: Book online via Galaxy Macau

Location: 1031, 1/F, Galaxy Macau, Cotai, Macau Social: https://www.instagram.com/ottoemezzobombana_macau/ https://www.instagram.com/galaxymacau/