Cammino provides a little slice of Italian life right in the heart of Causeway Bay. Located on the first floor of the Excelsior Hotel, the restaurant is small, with the styling very much aiming to recreate the feel of a quaint, neighbourhood taverna. It succeeds on most fronts, with the only annoyance caused by the peculiar requirement to request a toilet key to access the restaurant’s in-house toilet, complete with loud, banging doors.

The a la carte menu at Cammino is complemented by a tasting and a larger degustazione menu, alongside a seasonal one featuring specialities from all over Italy. We begin with the linguine and thinly sliced Parma ham with truffle sauce, and while the pasta is expertly cooked and the truffles are a rich, earthy addition, the Parma ham is dry, tough and makes the dish far too salty. Barring the ham, the dish is a pleasant starter nonetheless. The lobster bisque with crab meat and fresh thyme is a little bitter with a strong hint of cognac and the crab meat is too fragile to withstand such a rich dish, falling apart too easily. The signature buffalo mozzarella with vine ripe tomatoes and basil pesto is unfortunately the weakest point of the meal, with the mozzarella lacking both creaminess and featuring a rather unpleasant, rubbery texture. Our linguine with Sicilian red king prawns is a marked highlight in the meal and is highly recommended, the chef clearly knows how to cook pasta well and the prawns are perfect, with a subtle crunch and rich flavour from the prawn head. The staff recommendation of pan-fried cod fish with Parma ham, sage and potato gnocchi with green asparagus is dry and overcooked, a shame as the rest of the ingredients on the plate work well together. We end the meal with a vanilla panna cotta with raspberry sauce and a chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream; the panna cotta being our favourite, a classic, well-executed dish.

The wine list at Cammino favours wines from Italy but there are a few bottles from France and the new world. Four reds and four whites make up the wine-by-the-glass menu, with the Batasiolo Gavi di Gavi DOCG Piedmont 2010 and Donnafugata Anthilia Sicilia IGT 2010 being standout wines.

The service at Cammino is excellent, with one or two servers particularly receptive to customer needs: our untouched bellini was noticed and we were quickly offered another, much-improved one.

Dinner for two can range from between HK$800 to HK$1,200, without wine - with tasting menus starting at HK$500 and up. This is surprisingly good value considering its four-star hotel surroundings and stellar service.