Journey into the heart of Italy at La Tagliatella, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own      

           

Tucked away at the corner of Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, La Tagliatella is hard to miss. The moment you step inside the restaurant, you are mesmerized by the beautifully done up decor in hues of red and gold, wooden paneled walls, old world style mirrors, hanging lamps, interesting artifacts adorning the walls, shelf displays, all reminiscent of an old Italian Villa. The warm and cozy atmosphere makes one totally forget that right outside the restaurant doors is one of the busiest malls in the city. Built spaciously over two floors, the ground floor has a casual patio like seating with just a knee high partition, giving one a feel of being seated in an open roadside cafe on the streets of Europe. Here one can enjoy a leisurely meal while looking at the people walking around. But, if you are looking for something quieter then the top floor is for you which has a spacious seating area with glass partitions separating the restaurant from the rest of the mall. 

Although La Tagliatella has more than 130 restaurants across Europe and Asia we were told that this restaurant was the first one to be opened here in India with a second one just being  opened very recently in Bangalore. La Tagliatella draws its inspiration from Italy's rustic culinary traditions offering an extensive menu, where customers can select from more than 400 combinations of pasta and sauces, pizzas made in traditional wood fired ovens, risottos, lasagnas, salads and hand crafted desserts, all created with the key ingredients imported directly from the northern region of Italy. What is amazing is that the pastas and pizzas are made fresh in-house without preservatives using fresh wheat durum wheat semolina making it more appealing to the health conscious.

                

An  invitation to our Bloggers table to dine at La Tagliatella was accepted with much delight with all of us looking forward to a great dining experience in a beautiful ambiance. In fact during the past few visits to the mall I had literally witnessed the restaurants structure come up from scratch and being a great fan of Italian cuisine was eagerly awaiting its opening. In addition, it was also our friend Parul's birthday that day giving all of us another cause for a celebration.

On reaching, we were taken to the seating on the first floor and were led to a table which was right next to a huge glass window which had the most amazing view of the corridor joining the two malls. I somehow preferred this to being seated on the ground floor as it felt less intrusive and one could enjoy their meal without the inquisitive glances of passer bys. 

Our dinner started with Panne della Tagliatella, which was essentially a bread basket with an assortment of foccacia bread strips with olives, onions and tomatoes. Fresh from the oven and drizzled with olive oil infused with garlic, bay leaves and chillies they were a treat for our taste buds. I could have happily polished a couple more with ease.

After gorging on the delicious fare me and Himanshu decided to take a look around the restaurant as the others were yet to arrive. What was interesting was that on the ground floor, at the very center of the restaurant was an open pizza kitchen where the guests could watch the chef expertly roll out pizzas from scratch using fresh dough. What came as a surprise to me was that it  took literally 2 minutes for the pizza to bake. That was the fastest I had ever seen. Crisp and fresh out of the oven with a thin light crust and the cheese merrily bubbling on top, the pizza looked and smelled tantalizingly delicious. I just couldn't wait to taste our own.

By the time we finished our grand tour of the restaurant Sid, Parul and Ruchira also arrived. I think the noise level in the restaurant immediately went up a few decibels. There were excited exchange of greetings and hugs and wishes for the birthday girl. Once comfortably settled we started with the Antipasti. The Mozzarelletta was pure indulgence. Warm melted mozzarella cheese with sweet tomatoes and nuts had everybody digging fervently into it and within minutes managed to polish the whole plate off. Next, we were suggested to try out the Provoletta, which was Provolone cheese melted over grilled vegetables. Gooey and downright delicious, this too met the same fate as its predecessor.

           

Next to come on the table was what I had been waiting for expectantly - the wood fired pizzas and believe me they were definitely worth the wait. Both the Pizza Melanzana with tomatoes, caramelised aubergines mozzarella, parmggiano reggiano, honey and balsamic aceto and the Pizza Proscuitto with tomato, mozzarella and turkey ham had delightfully thin crusts and had a subtle taste and thankfully were not overloaded with cheese which for me truly marrs the whole taste. Given a choice, out of the two, Pizza Melanzana  with its sweet and savory flavors won hands down and that coming from a die hard non-vegetarian like me, you can imagine how good it must have been.The unusual combination of flavors and textures created by the different elements was something totally new and unexpected for me.This pizza is definitely something I will be returning for. 

Our next course was the Pasta ripiena casalinga which if translated literally means stuffed pasta. We had a Insalata di pate e prosciutto d'anatra (mixed salad leaves with foie gras, duck ham, goat cheese and tomato),Tortellone Caprese with Pesto Rosso Panna (tomato and basil tortellini with a creamy sauce with pine nuts and cheese) and Pappardelle Pepe nero with Pescatora (which was a seafood pasta with chopped onions and cream). Though the salad looked quite fresh and visually appealing, not being too fond of foie gras, I decided to give it a miss. Both the Tortellone Caprese and the Pappardelle were cooked perfectly and full of flavor. The Pescatora Pasta had a strong flavor of seafood which can be quite overwhelming for someone who is not a great fan of seafood. But for me, the combination of the creamy sauce and the seafood flavor worked well. All this was washed down by Red Wine from Fratelli which was a perfect accompaniment with our meal.

                 

Finally there were the desserts. By this time having grossly overindulged, we all were quite thankful to see that the desserts portions were mercifully small. The lemon sorbet, Tiramisu, Cheesecake and the Cioccofonde were served in cute glasses. The lemon sorbet was mind blowing with its sweet and tangy lemony flavor playing a merry dance on your tongue.  Cool and refreshing it makes the perfect dessert to have on a hot summer evening.The Cheesecake was light though a little bland. The Tiramisu was good - light, creamy and full of flavour. But what really blew me away was the Layered Mousse with dark and white chocolate sauce. Rich and chocolately every bite was sensational. 

By far, I can truly say that this is the best Italian food I have tasted so far. If you too are keen to taste authentic Italian food, visit La Tagliatella and be ready to undertake a great journey into the very heart of Italy on your next visit to the Ambience Mall. 

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I surely had a great time and am sure to return!!

Thanks La Tagliatella for having us over.