The Tiago restaurant team takes its brand of Italian to a new level with Casa Talia, Mike Peters finds.

Fans of the casual, mid-priced restaurant Tiago in Beijing's Indigo mall could be forgiven for flinching a little when they heard the popular eatery was opening a fancier sister outlet. Or maybe I was the only one who worried that success had gone to owner Katie Li's head.

A visit to the new Raffles City spot quickly relieves any such fears. The hip, open-air space is flooded with natural light, and diners can enjoy a casual meal while watching the baristas and kitchen team ply their arts.

Casa Talia is in part a celebration of the small chain's embrace of Corrado Michelazzo, now culinary director for both of the Tiago group's brands.

"He will come to the restaurant every month to make new dishes, do training and a Chef Day with a special menu each time," says Li.

With multiple stints in Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Michelazzo scooped up his own Michelin star in 2003 for his work at the tiny Le Petit restaurant at Hotel Bellevue in Corso, Italy. He has been in China since 2009 and has run the restaurant kitchen 10 Corso Como in Shanghai since 2013.

"My roots are of course in Italy," he says at a tasting during Casa Talia's recent soft opening. "I decided to be a chef when I was 9 years old."

Michelazzo has the look and the sound of a serious food artiste. While his plates are indeed beautiful and occasionally molecular, however, he doesn't stoop to that "let's turn this lobster into sawdust" magic act that can send fine dining over the edge (and still-hungry diners to McDonald's afterward). Tuna carpaccio with smoked caviar, a dainty little starter, is quickly followed to our table by a tomahawk steak - just as elegant but with more determination to fill the belly.

Similarly satisfying was the penne carbonara with summer black truffle at 58 yuan ($8.60), a deceptively simple-looking dish that's a show-stopper. (Come on chef's day and Michelazzo will make a ravioli version with the lightest pasta pockets imaginable.)

The "Italy to China" duck breast is a tasty bow to two cultures, while the mixed codfish with sea urchin sauce and the scallop with salty zabajon and summer truffle are riffs bordering on fantasy.

So is the dessert, an elegant tiramisu that becomes a tableside show when it's put together in a fog of liquid nitrogen. Another sweet on offer is named Pollution, a molecular deconstruction that's so delicious you'll almost think kindly of the next bad PM2.5 day.

Despite the flourishes, Li says Casa Talia is more informal than it is fine dining, and the prices reflect that. You can have a good meal and get out the door for about 175 yuan ($26.18) per head.

Li also points with pride to pairings wine and cocktails "not limited to sangria". However, the white sangria was perfect for a summer day - we started there and stayed with it, a fugue of freshness that underscored a leisurely, pleasant meal.

You'll find Casa Talia at the top of the escalator on the fourth floor next to the Speedo shop - you may want to skip dessert if you're stopping in there afterward.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/26/2016 page19)