Sashimi dishes are reinvented with new twists and add-ons. The Pablo featured hamachi slices that are cured with coffee, served alongside pickled shallots, watercress puree and wasabi cream. We couldn’t understand the point of having the coffee in the cure, nor could we locate the flavour either. The wasabi and watercress combination, however, was refreshing enough for the succulent hamachi.

Specialty sushi rolls used to be all the rage since the rise of the California Roll. Silencio ups its ante with the specialty part, introducing the fanciest premium ingredients such as red prawn, wagyu, smoked salmon, crab, and tuna. The Tay Tay, inspired by the Singaporean chilli crab, was a soft-shell crab roll with egg yolk gel and a chilli mayonnaise dip served on the side. The soft-shell crab was crisp but the roll couldn’t hold shape as they broke on contact with chopsticks.

The corn tempura was a winner. The picture-perfect fritters were delicately topped with a dab of sour cream and caviar, an unnecessary feat to begin with. Sweet corn kernels with the light batter, deep-fried until golden-brown was an example of simplicity that is best as is.

Not all cooked items held the same standards. The Sando, featuring A4 wagyu katsu tenderloin, was juicy but its juices leaked into sandwich bread which made the interior soggy. The crust, however, was nice and crisp. Carbonara udon was also an unusual combination, where udon noodles were tossed in an eggy cheese sauce with tough strips of wagyu ham. The dessert selection was modest with homemade ice cream and sorbets. Our mango cha cha takes on the tropical flavours where the warm coconut pancake was topped with creamy coconut sorbet, mango and a beautiful black sesame foam. The combination may have been a conventional one but it essentially was the less adventurous combinations that was the least flagged for our meal.

Silencio’s beverage list is predominantly sake-based, with a good selection of reds and whites, particularly for the by-the-glass options. Most members of the service team can make sound recommendations to wines by the glass, as they share basic knowledge on sakes and offer suggestions based on the guests’ preferences on dry or round notes. The establishment, however, offered no tasters and guests could only rely on their knowledge on the wines to judge and decide on their orders.

The restaurant has a major staffing issue as the three-person service team takes care of all the guests from taking orders, serving food, and refilling teas and water. At the restaurant’s full capacity service can be a bit slow and guests can expect extended period of waiting for food to come. While Silencio takes pride in having live jazz music nightly beginning at 7:00pm, conversations tend to mix up with the music and made the restaurant even noisier.  

Silencio has the hardware ready for guests who can spend to enjoy a good dining experience, but the establishment is in need of better consistency in its food and beverage offerings to keep a steady flow of returning guests.

A meal for two plus drinks and service amounts to HK$1,600

Rating: 3.5/5 

How we rate
Each of our reviewers score restaurants based on four main criteria: setting, food, service, and drinks, taking into account more than 35 different points of reference including manners of staff, usefulness of the wine list, and whether or not the restaurant makes an effort to be environmentally aware. 5/5 indicates an exceptional experience; 4-4.5/5 is excellent; 3-3.5/5 is good to very good; and 2.5/5 or lower is average to below average. Before visiting a restaurant, the reviewers will book using a pseudonym and do not make themselves known to restaurant staff, in order to experience the venue as a regular guest—if this is not possible, or if we are recognised, we will indicate this in the review.