Via Pre Italian Restaurant

Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Via Pre is an Italian Restaurant in George Town, Penang. It was former located along Weld Quay, in George Town, Penang, where it occupied the former Behr Building at No. 5, Weld Quay, but it moved to Penang Street in July 2016. Click thumbnail below for write-up on its present location.


Via Pre offers you a taste of authentic Italian cuisine. It is opened by Maurizio Ranauro, an Italian who comes from Biella, a city in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The restaurant offers locals a glimpse into Italian cuisine, particularly that of northern Italy. When I visited Maurizio - who goes by Maury - I asked him how did he come up with the name "Via Pre". Apparently it comes from Via di Prè, the name of an alleyway in Genoa, near the marina.

Via Pre is open from 11:00 am in the morning, so early diners can opt for the breakfast menu, which is priced at RM18. There is a selection of six to choose from, all priced at RM18. These are available till 12:00 noon, and until 3:00 pm on weekends.

360° Street View of Via Pre Italian Restaurant

The starters, or antipasti, offer a numbered selection. These are priced at RM15 if you are having them as starters, or RM25 if you choose them for your main dish, or entrée.

There is a wide selection of items for your main dish. You can choose to try cured meats with various cheese and antipastos, or perhaps various Italian bread items (brushetta and panini). The salad menu offers three different salad items for your pleasure.

Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


No Italian restaurant is complete without a wide selection of pasta and pizza. Within the pasta menu, there's various dishes with spaghetti, linguini, risotto and more. The pizza at Via Pre are baked in a stone oven at 360°.

On top of these, diners may also choose from a wide selection of main courses including roasted or grilled fish, chicken, pork chop, lamb and other items. The price of a main course ranges from RM39 to RM98.

Interior of Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Various Italian-style breads at Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Imported Italian cheese at Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Various cold cuts at Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)


Via Pre offers set dinners for 6 diners (RM368++), 8 diners (RM448++) and 10 diners (RM548++) The set dinners comprise assorted Italian cold cuts, cheese and antipastos, vegetarian soup of the day, mix salad, pasta sautéed with sausages and mushroom, grilled/roasted meats accompanied with vegetables, spicy pasta with prawns and mozzarella, and a dessert platter.

A Dinner at Via Pre Italian Restaurant

My wife and I have just done a 3-hour dinner at Via Pre Italian Restaurant, at Weld Quay, Penang. Most of us are familiar with pizza and spaghetti, but when it comes to ordering your meal at an authentic Italian restaurant, as though you are eating in Italy itself, the task can be quite daunting. I have eaten in Italy, but I have never done the ordering, so for me, it is also a learning experience.

To give us a smooth journey into Italian cuisine, the owner il signor Maurizio Ranauro specially prepared for us our own menu -- you can see it on the table next to my wife. It includes a starter platter, followed by two pasta items, followed by two entrees, and then finishing with a dessert. We were also served with a very nice wine called moscato d'asti (me at least, my wife doesn't take alcohol).

I will show you soon the various items which we enjoy. That way, even as we learn about Italian cuisine, if you are unfamiliar like us, you may learn a bit about it too.

Tim & Chooi Yoke at Via Pre Italian Restaurant (12 May 2015)


Starter
For the starter, we were served Iberico Bellotta Ham from Spain and Prosciutto Di Montalcino from Italy. These are eaten with Buffalo Mozzarella and Toma Biellese Cheese with a dip of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Starter, Via Pre Italian Restaurant (12 May 2015)


The main dishes

There are four different main dishes that came after the starter. The first of these if the Fresh Ravioli Pasta stuffed with minced pork in cherry tomato sauce, with asparagus, black olives and smoked bacon.

Ravioli stuffed with pork in cherry tomato sauce, Via Pre Italian Restaurant (12 May 2015)


Next, we were served fresh Tagliatelle pasta with Jumbo prawn and Zucchini in Aglio and Olio style.

Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta with Jumbo Prawn (12 May 2015)


The fourth item we were served was grilled imported sausage accompanied with roasted potatoes and mix salad.

Grilled imported sausage accompanied with roasted potatoes and mix salad (12 May 2010)


The final item that we tried at Via Pre is Calabrese Pizza with spicy salami, mushroom, capsicum, mozzarella and tomatoes. This is a pizza done the original, Italian way, not the American-style pizza that you get at American pizza parlours. Although not as laden with stuff, the thin-crust pizza is so delicious.

Calabrese Pizza with spicy salami, mushroom, capsicum, mozzarella and tomatoes (12 May 2010)

Contact

Via Pre Italian Restaurant
5 Weld Quay
10300 George Town, Penang
Phone: +60-4-261 9800, 04 262 0560
Email: info@via-pre.com
Website: www.via-pre.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/viapre
Business hours: 11:00 am to 11:00 pm daily

Timothy Tye with Maurizio Ranauro at Via Pre Italian Restaurant (30 April 2015)

Getting there

If you are coming from the Weld Quay Bus Terminal, Via Pre Italian Restaurant is on your left, immediately after DSOP (the yellow building). See the Google Street View on this page.

Location of Via Pre Italian Restaurant on map

List of Italian Restaurants in Penang

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