Joia

Every time I face the same problem having a dinner in Elements. Not that they have lack of choices, but that prepare to what you can have just one MTR station away at IFC, Elements is overpriced in a way that doesn’t match the quality.
Joia is one of the prime examples. I was trying to find a nice, cozy choice on the podium, and Joia seemed to be a decent choice. As soon as I sat down I realized I had been here, and the only reason I remember was the subpar service. The first staff was not welcoming, and very unwilling to speak more than three words each time. The another staff was way better, but I had a mixed feeling about the service as we were served by them alternatively.
Ok, I was not here for the service anyway, as long as the food was good and I had a good time. I ordered foie gras as starter, which came with a shaved ice on top. Very innovative idea, but didn’t execute well. For the main dishes, I ordered a steak and my friend ordered lobster farfalle. The steak was chewy, and quite honestly lack of taste. The portion of the lobster farfalle was way too small, even for an Asian girl. I mean, I know how «high-​end» French or Italian restaurants serve smaller portions in exchange of more courses of meal. The idea didn’t apply here, as it carried a full main main price tag, but a pretentiously small dish was served.
For two glasses of wine, two starters, two main courses, and a glass of water, it costed roughly a grand and half HKD. I had had better choices before.

We went there on a busy Friday night. Lots of waiter/​waitresses there but with zero service. Food came at 9:00pm (we made order at 7:30). Pizza tasted good but their signature lobster spaghetti was very bad for what they charged and the medium steak we ordered came out 100% cooked… Also people smoke on the tables outside so you get all the second hand smoke if you sit inside the restaurant. Not happy at all and will never go back again.

Joia (or «joy» in Italian according to their website) is a contemporary Northern Italian restaurant, aimed firmly at the business casual diner.
Located in Civic Square, an open area on top of Elements Mall; the whole area has a nice «holiday» atmosphere if the weather is good, and this is certainly felt through Joia. Unfortunately, the last time I went there, the weather wasn’t so good, so it felt a bit like a wet Monday afternoon (which it was).
I had the set lunch which is a buffet starter or soup, choice of about 8 mains and buffet dessert. At just under $ 700 for two, including bottle of sparkling water, it was not exactly a bargain. However, you can fill your boots at the buffet so neither I nor Mrs L left hungry.
The buffet was cold cuts, cheeses, various types of greens and salads, and antipasti. Dessert was tiramisu, coffee cake, some other small cakes, and a variety of chopped fruits. The food was rather good, perhaps justifying the heavy price tag.

It’s in the same group as Isola, and the set lunch offering is basically the same across many of their restaurants. There were lots of business lunches going on, no surprise there as it was a Monday lunchtime. The service was fine, especially the buffet service which was me, and I’m really good at getting myself food — haha!