Update review 2022: Decided to give this place another chance, was surprised to be greeted by a young energetic waitress this time, she made the waiting and ordering pleasant, although I can tell they’re still struggling, but comparatively it was much better than previous visit. The starter was rocket salad with salami, that was horrendous because the sea salt was way too much and the entire dish tasted extremely salty. Otherwise the pasta and the dessert was really good. Overall acceptable, if I were to come again I will only order the pasta and the dessert! Would have given a 5 star if it weren’t for the terribly salty salad. Old review in 2021: Don’t bother, I haven’t even step foot into the restaurant and already felt the arrogant attitude that everyone have been describing here. I arrived at 8pm, instead of explaining the restaurant was full, the lady asked whether i would like to consider the outdoor table by the waiting area (where it was dark, dusty and full of mosquitoes), I kindly refused, she replied “ in that case you have to wait 10minute then”, she slammed the door and disappeared for more than 15min. It was so simple, if she was courteous she could have showed me the menu or something. While waiting I was bitten by mosquitoes all over my legs, subsequently I left and will never bother considering this type of premises ever. You have been warned

Not your usual Italian restaurant. First of all, it was very difficult to find a parking in Penang especially in Georgetown area - sorry I had to vent my frustration - and it was worse during lunch hours. My tummy was growling after visiting Komtar but my mind had already made up to eat at Jaloux. If you love pasta, do make you way to this popular place in the city centre. I was actually glad that I came. All the food that we had - Pappardelle Ragu & Fettuccine Marinara - proved to be revelation. The chef certainly knows his pasta well and made each and every dish in details and in serious manners. Both pastas were cooked al-dente, packed with flavours but not too overpowering on aspects. Our happy ending was their Panna Cotta which contained tea, vanilla and caramel... Almost went for double happy ending which was their Creme Brulee but the tummy couldn't fit in anything anymore. If you didn't pay attention, you might miss this old fashioned shop house that houses such a delightful restaurant that was adorned with wooden furnitures plus simple interiors. Menu was written on the blackboard and the dishes change constantly. Slightly pricey, service can be a tad slow but this is two-men show place so be patient.

This is a small hole in the wall kind of restaurant. Like you might just miss this place when passing by. The restaurant is small and bare, minimalist very much like its menu which featured - 1 appetizer, 4 mains, and 3 desserts. The portions are on the small side and frankly, pricey, and they have a 1 main per person policy. And even though they offer (what we heard) plain pasta to kids, i honestly dont think this is a family/child-friendly place. Parking is hard to find as Penang often has this issue and since this is located at the older shop lots, probably taking a Grab or parking far may be advised. Food-wise, it was only ok. It wasn't amazing. Yes, the pasta is handmade and cooked al-dente. And ingredients taste quite fresh. But overall taste was ok...so-so for all mains (carbonara, marinara, seafood spagettini, and paella) Desserts was actually quite alright. The waitress was not genuine. Faked a smile. But obviously made an annoyed face as she turned. Humble is not in their dictionary. It's not a place I will want to return to. I have been to cheaper eateries which gets really busy and is very popular, but even the aunties have nicer attitudes! I would rather spend my money elsewhere tbh.

Gorgeous interior, clear passion for ingredients and pasta is homemade. Taste was good but not great, and prices are steep. No table water, only expensive still water

The pasta tasted below average. Very bland & seafood is not fresh. In my humble opinion, not worth the price at all. Portion is small too. Menu not much variety. Waitress service is alright & she was quite helpful. Environment also so-so, probably alright for normal occasion.

Had a lovely & pleasant experience. Waitress was pleasant and guided us clearly on the menu for food and drinks. Food was served pretty fast as the place was empty. Cost was of course on the pricey side but the ambiance was good. Food and drinks were good too.

“I recently dined at a restaurant that left me with mixed feelings. The ambience was disappointing, as the rustic and old feel did not create the inviting atmosphere I was hoping for. The place could benefit from a makeover or some modern touches to elevate the overall dining experience. The service was also lacking, with only one waitress attempting to handle the entire service for nearly twenty people. It was overwhelming for her, and it impacted the level of attentiveness we received. Moreover, the menu we had consisted of hand-made fresh pasta, which was decent but not as remarkable as we had anticipated. The flavors were okay, but they didn’t reach the level of excellence we were hoping for. While the food quality was relatively good, it unfortunately fell short of our expectations for a restaurant focusing on hand-made fresh pasta. The flavors lacked that extra something that would have made them truly outstanding. On the plus side, the restaurant has the potential to offer a more enjoyable dining experience, but it needs to address several aspects. Improving the ambience with a fresh and inviting setting and increasing the number of servers to provide better service would greatly enhance the overall experience. In conclusion, while the restaurant serves hand-made fresh pasta, it didn’t entirely live up to our expectations. The ambience left much to be desired, and the dining experience, including the food and service, could use improvement. Until they make some changes, it might not be our first choice for dining out.”

Discover this place from instagram and I immediately hop on to my car and zoom there. The moment I stepped into the restaurant, I instantly felt that I was somewhere else, Sienna perhaps? Nothing is out of place, the lighting, the chairs, the fans, even the background music, reminiscent of my travelogue to a small Italian village. The menu is limited but sufficient. Pasta is a must, Handmade and cooked to perfection. Antipasti is also good. I only regret that I don’t have two stomachs. The wines pair well with the food. Well done to this restaurant. Highly recommended to anyone who crave for good pasta and a quiet night with that special someone. My research showed that Chef Hong is a trained graphic designer. Chef Yen is a pastry chef. They embarked on a culinary journey together since 2009. They insisted on cooking with the best local ingredients to churn out rustic, hearty Italian-inspired dishes.

The food was superb and extraordinary as it's specially handcrafted upon order. Waiting time is long from queuing and waiting for the food. BUT perhaps the restaurant can hire another waiter to assist on the service as there's only one waitress serving the whole crowd. Can sense her stress from serving the whole crowd as she is uneasy towards the customer. Bad seating arrangement and impolite answers towards our question on the food and drinks. Or the waitress is just simply bad in service.

Food is good, but a bit pricy. Super simple pasta focused menu. Not your average pasta like elsewhere, worth a try if you're into pasta.

Came with an expectation to be served quite poorly because of the recent outcry on how bad their service can be, how rude their lady boss is and how they’d chase you out for not ordering 1 main per pax lalilalila However, it was quite the opposite. She was quite sweet. Apologised for the need to wait for 20 mins prior to be waited for a table, updated us every other 10 mins for the table availability. Served us politely and all. Food were amazing. Tomato pasta (I’m sorry I forgot the name) was the star surprisingly. Where did the rudeness go? Quite disappointed that I didn’t get any of it 🌝

We tried all 3 pastas available for the day. Could taste that they were using fresh and top produce. Be it the mushrooms / tomato. However, I'm not a fan of tomato based pastas and they did not have a cream based pasta this time around, so my review might on them might be slightly biased wrt the taste. The pasta itself were most likely made from scratch. Could taste the eggyness out of it. However, in all 3 dishes, despite the use of top notch ingredients, the taste just doesn't leave a deep impression. I would lean for it to be more of a creative pasta, than good pasta. Drinks wise we ordered the bianco vino. Which was a pure disappointment to me. Where there are only 3 pastas on the menu, the least the restaurant could do is to at least suggest a good pairing of wine, which was non existent here. The dessert was spectacular. We tried the Panna cotta and were all impressed. The pasta and wine were a big downer but we decided to try the dessert and we hit the jackpot with it. It is a must try. Service wise was efficient, friendly, but can be further improved if she knew more deeply about wine pairings and also elaborate more on the ingredients and flavor. I do think the restaurant is a little cocky by forcing each guest to order at least one pasta each, regardless of age (how bout kids and infants?). But their restaurant their rules. This would be a place for people who are adventurous and want to try something different and unique, but not for people who seek consistency.

One star off because of the food portion was quite small and the price is on a really high side for a pasta. Yes it’s handmade pasta and fresh ingredients but the price would hinder me of revisiting second time. Tastiness wise quite yummy and the texture of pasta is to my liking. They also have a minimum order of mains for each pax. There were some bad review on the service previously but my experience was okay, normal, no rude waiters or anything. They change their menus from time to time too. Went to visit just right on time when the shops open so no waiting, the shops was small with limited seats.

The short version of this review is Jaloux is a fantastic restaurant that I'd recommend to anyone. The drinks are refreshing with a good selection. The pasta you could tell was crafted with love and care, made with the best ingredients. And although it may not be the best pasta I've ever had it's definitely up there as one of the most memorable dining experiences. Everything was quick to come out and service also very good. Our server took time to walk us through the menu and drink selection and provide her recommendations based on our taste. And even though it's not local cuisine, this was by far the best food experience in Penang for us. The long version of this review is I have absolutely no idea why and how Jaloux is rated as poorly as it is. Some of the other reviews make no sense in their rating. Almost every single review I read praised the food; but you seriously rated a restaurant down because it was a bit hard to spot from the outside? It's literally exactly where Google Maps says it is. The menu on the wall was too small for you to read? Better give it 1/5 stars then instead of talking to the server like a person. Some reviews mentioned that portion sizes were small. Here's a news flash - so is every other restaurant we've been to in Malaysia. Any place that had larger portions was just extra rice/noodle. Proportionally, the portion sizes here are generous; a main with dessert and drink per person was the right amount. Another callout were the prices. Are they more expensive than your average Penang restaurant? Sure. Look, I'm not going to tell you what to spend your money on and how much. But if you get pasta of this calibre anywhere else outside of Malaysia, ~60rm is the bare minimum that you'd be paying. But again, I don't know you, I don't know how much you earn. If this is not affordable for you then fair enough; this may not be the restaurant for you. Another point that came up was regarding the limit of one pasta per person. Sure, a little abnormal sounding at first. But it's not that uncommon for a restaurant to limit its speciality dish. In this case pasta. The pasta is handmade on a daily basis. A time consuming process that the small restaurant can produce only a limited amount per day. When you also consider that the ingredients used are high quality (eg guanciale), hopefully this makes a bit more sense why they would limit pastas. It's to benefit you the customer. So that if you choose to dine here there will be enough portions for yourself and they don't have to turn you away. But by far the most common complaint was regarding the service. Again, I can't speak for anyone else's experience but my own. My experience was delightful. We came very late into dinner service (within an hour of closing) and the hostess still welcomed us in, didn't rush us to order and took the time to walk us through everything on the menu. When we left it was pouring rain and she offered to lend us her umbrella for the night. That's literally the definition of going above and beyond. I could go on, but if you've made it this far I think you get the point. People have been needlessly harsh on Jaloux. If they legitimately didn't think the food or service were up to scratch, that's fine. But almost all reviews I read were filled with unfair criticisms. If you've been on a long holiday in Malaysia and have indulged in all the local cuisine you can, this was a great break and great food and service to match - 9/10.

Remember to Check their ig - jaloux.penang for rules & regulations and operating hours because they are not open daily. Limited seats in the restaurant, we waited roughly 30 minutes to get a table. They are freshly made Spaghetti. Can give a try.

Tagliolini Arrabiatta with seafood & Tagliatale Formaggi from Jaloux Penang is good stuff! Good portion for 1 and you won’t feel too stuff after the meal. Can taste all the fresh seafood in the pasta and the sos not too heavy. Panna Cotta is refreshing ;not too sweet for happy ending. Thumbs up!

I would give 2½ stars if possible for the food, and the server was hard working on a busy Friday night. The small menu is on a chalkboard which is fine. Food flavours very good, portions not generous and presentation quite poor. No wine menu so frustratingly hard to order, a guessing game. What wine do you have? A: what's your budget. What types of wine do you have? A: what do you like. Malbec? No. Shiraz? No. Australian? No, we have natural wine (?). OK how much? A: 430 ringggt a bottle. But it's only 40 per glass? It arrived in small 100ml measure but tasted like tinto budget Spanish table wine. Sorry we were. Maybe allow BYO? The rm25 Sake tasted good. Some deserts we ordered were not available 45 mins later so we took a substitution which tasted fine. Overall a slow frustrating experience, maybe they were short staffed that Friday night? I'm thinking more 2 stars now.

The foods here are above average, everything done nicely. Service wise I think its ok didn’t ask for much. Price are consider very high in Penang even its higher than in KL. Can try it once if visit to Penang

They survive for the selling point of having fresh made pasta. Ambience is so so.... But the service is one of the worst as everyone shared. The waitress was obnoxiously rude with heck care attitude and can be insulting. Claims that they always change the menu but can't be bothered to explain the menu or share what is to be ordered... With that attitude, i can't be bothered to order more food. It was a bad service experience. As the saying goes- people don't rmbr what you did or say but how you made them feel... this place made me feel- suckyyyyyy

This is the fourth time here , the spaghettis here very quality , love the taste . Squid ink pasta , they use the real squid ink to cook , delicious 👍. But the price increase , first time when I come , main cost Rm28 , now Rm58 . ☺️

Heard some stories regarding this place however my visit was quite pleasant. Waitress was friendly and accommodating. Pasta was up to expectations but was not expecting their Panna cotta to be this good. Would return just for that dessert. Price is definitely on the higher side for most people but I feel it’s a worthy experience

They served very delicious & authentic pasta. The 🌿 used is different from what u get from other Italian eateries. The service is very slow as it's run by a couple with no other staff. But the food served is full of passion. The price is on the higher side. I came twice

Easily the best pasta in Penang. Fresh ingredients expertly prepared with attention to detail and pride in the products. This amazing place is a must try in Penang!!!

Jaloux has always been my favorite Italian restaurant in Penang … they have the best pasta hands down and the ingredients they use are of the highest quality … all their pasta is hand-made 🍝 if you know what’s good then you know … if you don’t 🤷🏻‍♂️

Probably the Best pasta restaurant in Penang! The pasta are specially handmade. Nicely cooked with perfect timing and texture! Highly recommend.

Lovely place for food but perhaps for special occasions. Paella was amazing! Would recommend to come here once for a try. Slightly overhyped by social media and prices are not suitable for budgeted people.

This shop refresh my understanding of pasta. We ordered carbonara and aglio olio, and they taste so different! it's delicious! it's a bit expensive but WORTH IT!

George Town isn’t just about hawker food and Nyonya cuisine. There’s this rather eccentric and quirky bistro that likes to experiment, rebel, think out of the box and seems to close more days in a week than it opens! The new young lass responsible for taking orders and serving is a delight!

Always very happy to be back. Awesome food and nice atmosphere. Good for couples and small groups that appreciate privacy and fuss free dining. Minimal service style so they don't pander to nonsense requests. Not child friendly so bring them elsewhere.

With the movement control, only can sit 2 to a table and no kids. Food and drinks selection is limited, mostly pasta and what's on the board. My seafood pasta was light with taste of fresh seafood well seasoned. So what they have, it's done right. Great place for couples.

I've lost my risotto photo, ops. One word, AWESOME. thats the first time to be here after for so long ding dong to see whether wanna come for a meal or what, but I always forgot. This restaurant served a nice and fresh Italian cuisine which will blow your mind, I love their pasta which the chef made it from the scratch.

There's only a handful of dishes on the menu. Makes sense to only put out the few you can do well rather than a multitude that is just average. Limited seats, place looks like it's manned by a team of 3. Ambience feels like 1980s home with vintage ceiling fans and cream coloured walls. Wagyu tenderloin is good for me, less so the spaghetti. Overall good but pricey.

Reservation needed before visit. We ordered king prawn and cheese pork spaghetti. Food is good, you can feel the sincerity and passion of the chef. Pricing is on high side. Around 70 per person, just the main but no appetiser or dessert. Owner attitude is bad as usual. Overall is good experience.

A small pasta place with excellent pasta. We got the fettucine gambero and papardelle duck ragu forr mains. Both were excellent and the pasta was perfectly Al dente. Desert was a panna cotta (mango, vanilla, banana, passionfruit caramel). It seems that the place is run by 2 persons so there is a little bit of a wait - don’t go if you’re expecting to have food served immediately. Have to manage expectations 😅 Overall a pleasant experience and will definitely go back again!

One of the best pasta I have ever had in town! Although choices are limited, but the quality and taste of this handmade pasta was brilliant! Keep up the good work! Would definitely visit again!

A true hidden gem ! Al dente homemade pasta is truly delicious! Pappardelle ragu is so tasty and comparable to what I had in NYC. Roasted iberico cannot be missed !

Amazing pasta and panna cotta, service was just nice and not too much as usual.❤️ Will be back there very soon! 🥳

The to go place for good handmade pasta. Amatriciana cooked to perfection. Love the depth of flavour nicely blended with pork sausage and mascapone. Every meal deserves a decadent finale. The Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta and Tiramisu Frangelico was the perfect match.