Wynn Macau’s Ristorante Il Teatro offers tasty Italian dishes and fine views over resort’s performance lake

Dining at Wynn Macau’s Michelin-recommended Ristorante Il Teatro is more of a multi-sensory experience than a pleasure to the palate. The restaurant’s service is attentive and a recent refurbishment has made its space light and contemporary with an underwater theme. The restaurant’s ceiling-to-floor windows also overlook the hotel’s fine performance lake.

Led by chef Nicholas Olivas, formerly of the Michelin-starred La Gazza Ladra in Sicily and the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant St Hubertus, Ristorante Il Teatro serves Sicilian and southern-Italian-influenced dishes.

We started with the refreshing Caprese salad. Its soft, creamy Apulia burrata cheese was matched with fruity heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil, aged balsamic and Riviera Terre Bormane extra virgin olive oil. The capesante is a tantalising signature dish. Fresh and perfectly cooked with pan-seared Hokkaido scallops, the dish was delightfully balanced with sautéed porcini mushrooms, sprinkles of Parmesan cheese, brown butter and sherry vinaigrette. Piovra alla griglia (grilled Sicilian octopus) was another highlight.

The octopus was extraordinarily tender and soft, having been boiled and roasted and then charmingly charred under a grill. With the sundried tomatoes, crispy polenta, arugula and salsa verde, its tentacles were deliciously full of flavour. We picked the pesto gnocchi from the menu’s pasta dishes. The fluffy home-made ricotta gnocchi was in a pesto sauce made of basil, stracciatella di bufala and Parmigiano Reggiano, and was light yet satisfying. We finished with the restaurant’s tiramisu, whose smooth mascarpone, expresso jelly and crunchy biscotti thins created a fine contrast and an indulgent taste.