Located at the new and plush Scotts Square, La Luna Rossa specialises in Japanese-style Italian food. So we're talking pasta with mentaiko or uni, that sort of thing. I found the food generally competent, nothing to shout about. Although to be fair to the restaurant, I didn't order their grilled meats, which seem to be a speciality. About those grilled meats - the restaurant has an open kitchen, and with all that grilling, one experiences the not-so-occasional waft of cooked meat that is not unpleasant, but certainly distracting. There seem to be some private rooms off to the side, which might make for a better dining experience, but then you'd miss the views of Scotts Road and the shopping multitudes. But that's probably a price worth paying.

I've been meaning to visit this restaurant for some time after seeing it being featured in a few magazines.

I love the entrance of the resturant...the brick walls gave it a very quaint feeling.
Inside the resturant, it was bright, polished and comfortable.
The loft windows provided a great view of what's outside but unfortunately it's mostly traffic.
The resturant has a open-concept kitchen where you’ll see the chefs hard at work.
So far, so good and I am really liking the place.

My antipasto was tart of pork rillettes and beets with orange ravigote sauce.
The rillettes didn't look or taste appetizing...they were mushy and bland.

My main course was aglio olio spaghetti with shrimp,
porcini mushroom and sicilian tomato.
The shrimps had a fishy taste and I think it's because they used frozen shrimps.
While it tasted decent, I'm not impressed because it's so easy to make and I had ate tastier versions at food stalls.

Dessert was souffle cheese cake with berries sauce.
The cake was dry with a tiny piece of strawberry next to it.
Icing sugar was carelessly sieved over it making it look messy.

Maybe I am being harsh but I don't think whoever cooked my dishes take pride in his work (but I don't think it's head chef Takada san).
Plating was careless and the food unremarkable.

It's a huge letdown for me as I really like the place and service.

Made reservations for Saturday dinner, to celebrate a birthday. Was pleasantly surprised to discover that we would be seated in a private dining area. Nice.
 
Ordered ala-carte dishes. We had five pasta and two meat items. Complimentary bread (foccacia and walnut) was served meanwhile. For starters, we had duck breast salad and prosciutto with buffalo mozarella.
 
Sharing the mains was fun, and allowed everyone to have a taste of everything.
For pasta, we had Arrabiata (spicy tomato sauce penne with garlic) done al-dente and it was refreshing with some spice. The Sakura-Ebi spaghetti tasted akin to Chinese hae-bee (dried shrimp) dish.
The Tagliatelle with wagyu bolognese and black truffle was fragrant. The bolognese was subtle though. Didn't quite enjoy the ravioli with lobster, in bisque sauce. Found the ravioli skin a tad too hard, and bisque sauce a bit too salty.
The Carbonara was quite a hit as it was the only cream based pasta on our table that night. Pancetta tasted rather like fatty pork, and liked the doneness of the spaghetti.
 
The beef cheeks braised in red wine sauce with acacia honey was nicely tender and flavourful. The iberian pork loin was done medium well. Kind of fatty, but definitely tender. Yums.
Kudos to the maitre d' for taking care of us that night. The birthday memento was a nice touch as well.
For more pictures, you may wish to click here.