Verdict: A pleasant vegetarian menu by the hands of an Italian, worth being tried by the hard-core non-vegetarians as well.
Rating: 4/5
Price: INR 1500 for 2
Address: Dario’s, Hotel Sunderban, Opp. Osho Int’l, Lane 1A, Koregaon Park
Being the non-vegetarian I am, I’ve always wondered what mouth watering options vegetarians have apart from the regular mix veg, daal and paneer. And to be frank, I’d be considered stupid if I ordered a vegetarian dish that’d be slightly blasphemous.
But, I think I found the answer to that query - Dario’s. Started by the person who’s also the man behind Little Italy, this quaint place is setup at the bend of Hotel Sundurban, opposite Osho in Lane 1, Koregaon Park.
The Siciliano and Dario Pizza combination.
A converted shed, the restaurant is spacious and quiet, with a kitchen that not only dishes out impeccable vegetarian Italian, but tempting desserts and in-house baked breads as well.
Start with a couple of drinks and check the art that adorns the walls while enjoying the breeze outside. The mocktails start at INR 120, cocktails ranging from INR 280-320 and of course, a lovely selection of wines. Fancy a Montalcino 2003? Got 14.5k?
With a definite liking for mushrooms, Funghi Dario’s which are roasted mushrooms with lemon, garlic and parsley made the obvious choice for warming up to the main course. Followed by the Caprigna Salad (melted goats cheese, croutons, pomegranate and a French dressing) and a glass of Virgin Mary’s, to which do add a couple of drops of Tabasco sauce, we tried the Dario’s Pizza (smoked eggplant, corn, potatoes, oregano and capers) and the Siciliano (sun dried tomato, bell peppers, garlic and mozzarella).
Ravioli Kamarina.
Compared to the Siciliano, the Dario’s Pizza’s taste was rather subdued. Supposedly we asked for the wrong combination of pizzas. While the Siciliano was spicy, Dario’s Pizza with the smoked egg plant gave a new edge to pizza but at the same time wasn’t enjoyable after a few bites.
When at an Italian restaurant, you tend to order a pasts or risotto and rarely make it to their second main course which, though generally consists of fish or meat, at Dario’s is a line-up of variations of pan-fried vegetables, mushroom, cheese, pancakes topped with asparagus, etc.
For the main-course, we had Gnocchi ai Formaggi (Italian cheese, white wine and thyme), which kind of felt like a mouthful of kneaded flour once cold and Ravioli Kamarina (stuffed with spinach, cheese, tomatoes, chickpeas and smashed peas). The combination of chickpeas and smashed peas did bring quite a flavor along with the cream sauce.
The sheer mountain of chocolat-i-ness.
It would be mistake not to order their chocolate mousse. A mountain of sheer chocolat-i-ness, on a base of cake, one would be pleasantly surprised that it’s quite inexpensive compared to the rest of the menu. Girls, your guy would definitely die for this dessert.
Waiting to take out time and try the breakfast menu there. Waffles and crepes can always make me go weak in the knees even in the morning. And, they’ve got porridge too!
[image courtesy: Nikhil Kumar Verma]
