Opus Bistro Italian Restaurant @ Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar

One of my best meals recently was had at Opus Bistro, an Italian restaurant at the Bangkung Row, Bangsar. This simple yet slick ‘neighborhood restaurant’ is certainly more than what it appears to be and everything was perfect from appetizier to soup and entrees. Just one visit was enough for me to place it at the top of my favorite Western restaurants to go.

But of course good food does not come cheap, which is why you will also appreciate Opus’ reasonably priced menu as another great reason to visit. Most appetizers are below RM30, except for the premiums like foie gras (RM60). If you are looking forward to try many different appetizers and don’t mind sharing then Opus’ Special Seafood Antipasti Platter is the best choice. Priced at RM45 for a platter, it comes with the best of Opus’ seafood including grilled scallops and tiger prawns, clams in white wine sauce and calamari ripieni (squid stuffed with risotto rice in tomato sauce).

Honestly, this impressed me so much. Besides the beautiful presentation, the array of flavors on the platter is amazingly wonderful and it sends your taste buds into euphoria, making one feel excited about the dishes to follow. And as expected, all the seafood is as fresh as will get and I especially loved the squid and clams.

For soup, you simply won’t go wrong with their Famous Shellfish Surprise @ RM26. It is essentially a light tomato broth with a mix of fresh shellfish like tiger prawn, clam and mussel. The soup has the perfect consistency and a slightly sourish and appetizing flavor which complements the sweet flavor of the seafood nicely. With each sip you can can really taste the best of both worlds. But before you cringe at the small portion just let me clarify that is only half of the actual portion, as the waitress had helped to split the soup into two individual servings for us.

Since we are not big fans of pasta, we went straight for the mains and had the Roasted Cod @ RM58, which is also the all time favorite of Opus’ customers. Well, I can’t see why this wouldn’t be popular especially among the ladies – the cod is void of any fishy taste and has a velvety smooth texture after being perfectly cooked. You have a choice of lemon capers or white wine sauce but the former will be my recommended one, as I feel its subtle flavor can bring out the natural sweetness of the cod fish better.

Despite not being a steakhouse, steaks are surprisingly affordable and good here with the marbling no.7 Wagyu Striploin being the most expensive at RM150. Then Black Angus follows at the range of RM50-70 depending on the cut. I had the Black Angus Rib Eye (250gm) @ RM70 and it is one of the best steaks I ever had for this kind of pricing. Compared to other steak restaurants with similar pricing like Las Vacas or Jake’s, Opus wins hands-down for me without a shadow of a doubt.

For desserts, the Chef’s Special Tiramisu @ RM16 is a pure indulgence and you simply cannot go home without trying this. The flavor is on the lighter side and does not pack a strong punch like the rest. But that doesn’t matter at all because essentially it is the fluffiness and creaminess that you will enjoy the most.
After this we still had room for another dessert and we actually wanted to order the Chocolate Desire (baked chocolate cake with scoop of ice cream) Too bad we were told that there would be a 15 minutes prep time required for this so we dropped the idea. So now that you know, do order the desserts earlier and not wait till the end of the meal if possible.

So if you are looking for a nice cozy place to celebrate any special occasions may it be the coming Christmas or New Year, or even for the coming Valentine’s Day without having to burn a hole in your pocket, yet can impress your partner, Opus Bistro should be on your list of restaurants to consider. I know it will definitely be on mine.

Opus Bistro (WWW)
67 Jalan Bangkung, Bukit Bandaraya
59100, Bangsar,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS Coordinates: N3 08.291 E101 40.151
Tel: 03 2092 4288

Operating hours:
Monday – Sunday (12pm-3pm, 5pm-10.30pm)