April 2008
Alexis is an uber-cool kind of place. Wood-fire oven, a contemporary menu of Asian and Western food, extensive wine list, beautiful cakes and pastries fresh each day, frequent popular live jazz performances showcasing local and international artists, they’ve got the lot.
Thanks to the authentic oven, their pizzas are light, crispy and perfect for sharing, while their Asian dishes — the chicken biryani was particularly good until they withdrew it from the menu recently — are packed with spices and flavours. All meals are presented in a clean, attractive manner, so that even old favourites are given a new look.
However, there are two things that stop Alexis Bistro, in either of their Bangsar outlets or in Great Eastern Mall on Jalan Ampang, getting an unequivocal thumbs up. Firstly, the soft drinks. You pay RM9 for a canned drink, served up in a small glass, full of ice, and then there is no sign of what is left in that can.
If that is the oldest trick in the book, then the second oldest must be the reduction of portion sizes to maximize overheads. Everyone has to make a profit but there can be no doubt that the amount of food that is on your plate in Alexis is significantly less than it was a year or so ago. This is especially true of the Great Eastern Mall outlet. My friend asked whether they had recently been bought out by accountants.
This scrimping does have one up-side though: you have an excuse to have one of their excellent cakes. The carrot cake and chocolate and nut meringue (basically a mocha-style pavlova) are the top picks from a very high quality selection.
Those two bugbears aside, Alexis is a lively, cool and stylish bistro, serving modern takes on popular dishes. The chefs take real pride in their creations as it is unheard of for the food to be anything other than delicious and the aforementioned wine list really does set them apart.
So, if you haven’t already, do go to Alexis. Use one of their wild jazz nights as your excuse. But if you don’t fancy any wine, stick to water. Matt Bellotti
Alexis Bistro and Bar has other outlets at Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Shopping Centre and The Gardens.