Hugos by Modestos, Oliq Damansara Hotel

Hugos by Modestos is one of the newcomers in town which serves delicious local and international cuisine. It is conveniently located in Oliq Damansara Hotel which is right next to Empire Damansara. 

From the name of the restaurant itself, you can probably figure out that this restaurant is one of the brainchild of the infamous Modestos chain of restaurant. If you are not aware, Modestos has been serving delicious food (particularly Italian food) to Klang Valley folks since 1995. Let’s cut the history lesson short and you can read about its glory history here. 

The Hugos By Modestos serves as the main restaurant at Oliq Damansara Hotel which offers the best of both worlds to its customers. This stylish and chic place consist of main restaurant with a medium-sized bar inside it, a full-service bar by the poolside; complete with live band as well as a poolside dining area – suitable for a quick meal or even a coffee chill out session. 

The main restaurant at Hugos by Modestos offers a variety of food from its infamous Italian offerings, Western fare as well as local favourite dishes. I love the interior setting of the restaurant where there’s a few grand chandeliers welcoming you by your doorstep. It makes the interior setting feels upscale and creates quite a romantic dining atmosphere. There are quite some interesting pieces of painting on the walls as well as an eye-catching piece of artwork near the door entrance. 

There's also a long table at one corner which is suitable for family or even friends gathering. The interior set up makes you feel at home!

Besides that, the medium sized full-service bar located inside this main restaurant has quite an interesting look and feel. It features a stunning giant transparent wine glass with a grand chandelier that you will snap some selfies with. Well, be sure to place your much-needed alcoholic drinks with the bartender on duty!

Moving on to its menu, you can find a long list of dishes which are divided into a few categories such as the Western & Local Starters, Soups, Pizza, Pasta, Western & Local Mains and not to forget the sweet endings on the last page of its menu. Thanks to the dedicated team of Hugos by Modestos, my dining partners and I managed to sample quite a number of their dishes that night. 

Before I move on to their food, do remember to try their Signature Mojito. You can order it from their bar at the pool or inside the restaurant. The drink is refreshing with balanced of flavours – it goes down smoothly down the throat. Bravo!

Now, the real culinary journey begins. From their Western Starters list, we sampled two types of its available starters. The first one is the classic Nicoise Salad (RM32) which consists of French beans, black olives, ripened tomatoes, red onions and my favourite hard-boiled egg. Love the combination of texture and freshness of ingredients in this one. I bet my favourite part is the egg with red onions and ripened tomatoes – my kind of appetizer to kick start my meal.

The second Western Starters which we had is the Calamari Fritti (RM30) which is deep fried squid coated with in-house batter recipe. I love deep fried squid and you gotta dip their fried squid into the mayonnaise based dipping sauce provided. Don’t missed it out!

Next, it’s their Local Starters presentation time. We also tried two types of items from this list. First and foremost, it’s one of the top local favourite dish; the Malaysian Satay (RM15 for ½ dozen and RM30 for 1 dozen) which comes with a choice of either chicken or beef. This Malaysian Satay is served with its accompanying condiments such as cucumber, ketupat (glutinous rice cake), onions as well as the signature peanut sauce. I would say that they did a great job in making this dish – especially the peanut sauce, it gives an oomph in my mouth.

The next Local Starter is suitable for vegetarian as well as someone who wanted a light starter to kick start their meal. It’s the Vegetarian Spring Roll (RM18) and is served with an authentic Thai chilli sauce. It’s good to start off with some greens in your meal – saving stomach space for the upcoming food.

Now, we move on to the Soup list. There’s a total of 5 types of soup choices available on the menu (including their Special Soup of the Day choice). That evening, we tried the Crema Di Funghi (RM18) which is Cream of Mushroom soup. I love the mushroom soup quite a lot. It’s freshly made by blending the different types of mushroom and then cooking it in a creamy vegetarian soup base. Yum! Double serving of soup please! And if you’re looking for something spicy, I would recommend you to try their Tom Yum Kung (RM23)!

You’re now done with the Appetizers category  - hope you’re not too full at this point because great things are worth the wait. In its Pasta category, it offers 10 types of pasta as well as a risotto dish. You might be overwhelmed by the dishes’ name but you can always refer to its short and sweet explanation of the cooking methods and its accompanying ingredients below the dish’s name. We had this signature Linguine Alla Modestos (RM52 for a single serving & RM90 for 2 pax). It’s linguine served in a special tomato based seafood sauce. It comes with a generous amount of seafood such as crabs, prawns, squids, mussel and clams. Sauce is good and goes well with the pasta. It’s because to order a portion for 2 for sharing because I’m sure you’ll crave for more upon finishing the 1 person’s serving size :)

Up next is the Pizza, one of the essential elements in an Italian cuisine. As we were already halfway through our stomach space, the chef prepared 2 types of flavours in one pizza – so that we can try more! We had this Hawaiana (RM36 for full serving) and Al Salmone (RM36 for full serving). The Hawaiana is the classic Hawaiian Pizza which comes with chunks of pineapple, premium turkey ham, onions and tomatoes and generous amount of cheese. On the other hand, the Al Salmone comes with smoked salmon, capers, tomatoes and cheese on the pizza. I love the Hawaiana one more because there’s a a balanced of citrus and savory flavours on the pizza – it’s just personal preference. The Al Salmone is great too – comes with generous amount of smoked salmon. Besides these 2 types of pizza, there’s quite a long list of options available on the menu, be sure to try them all. 

We also try the Classic Fish & Chips (RM34) from its Western Fare category. Unlike the usual fish & chips which uses dory fish; the Fish & Chips at Hugos by Modestos uses red snapper fillet which do not have the smelly fishy smell. This delicious red snapper fillet is being coated with a crunchy battered and served with fries, tartar sauce and lemon wedge. Do squeeze the lemon wedge on the fish as well as the tartar sauce so that the acidity in the lemon can ignite the flavours between the both. 

If you’re craving for some Local Favourite dishes, fret not; they serve delicious Local favourites such as Fried Mee Mamak, Char Kuey Teow, Curry Laksa, Prawn Mee as well as Hokkien Mee. No worries if you’re not into some western fare when your dining partner tag you along to satisfy his or her craving for it, you can always choose to have your very own local favourites :)

If you’re only dropping by to have a drink or two with your friends, there’s also some choices of side orders available for you to munch on while sipping your beer. That evening, we had this Potato Wedges (RM12) and Mashed Potatoes (RM12). From these two of carbs choices, I love the Mashed Potatoes very much. Creamy and smooth spread of mashed potatoes is something you cannot refuse even you’re bloated to the max. Heavenly! Better than any other mashed potatoes served outside. 

We’re coming to the end of the meal and finished it off with some special sweet endings. We had the Tortino Al Cioccolato (RM22) and Panna Cotta (RM20). The Tortino Al Cioccolato is Chocolate Brownies served with Vanilla Ice-Cream and Panna Cotta means Italian Milk Pudding. The brownies is rich and I would love it if it’s served warm – just a personal preference. And if you love the milk pudding, you will love the Panna Cotta here because it’s really smooth and has the Vanilla milk flavours. I would recommend you to try their Signature Tiramisu Modestos (RM22) if you still have stomach space or you can only choose one dessert from their list.

There’s a lot of delicious food on their menu and you gotta come a few times to try them all! And there’s a special event every Friday night called Salsa Friday. You can show your Salsa move in its stunning restaurant with grand chandelier shinning above you. And DJ Sam (from 10pm to 2am) will also be there to play you some afro-latin song to accompanying your moves. Come and dance your heart out at Hugos By Modestos every Friday night. 

For more info on their latest offerings and promotions, follow their Facebook page at Hugos By Modestos today.  

Hugos By Modestos
1st Floor,
Qliq Damansara Hotel,
2 Jalan PJU 8/8A,
Damansara Perdana