Italy On My Mind!

Review: Polpo cafe

Lately I have had a lot of Italian things on my mind, My brother gifted me the brilliant Mario Puzo's ode to the Italian Mafiosi - The God Father, my last post was of an Italian Pizza Place and coincidentally I get to visit another Italian ristorante to the city Polpo Cafe. The cafe belongs to the Datwani family of Shatranj Napoli fame. Actually Polpo is to another addition to the Shatranj Napoli premise.

When you enter the, you are greeted by a beautiful alfresco ambiance.  Surrounded by vertically stacked plants and Christmas curios hanging from the wired roof.

The insides of Polpo reminds you of a Mediterranean eatery with dome shaped ceilings, cute little  paintings hanging on the walls, a well stocked bar and an open kitchen,  aromas from which  build your appetite!

The Polpo is Italian for Octopus. God knows why they name it that because CM didn’t see no tentacled creature on the menu. We were given 2 menus - the Cafe menu and the Shatranj menu.  Assessing both I chose for the later.

Limoncello v/s Sangria Rosso

In the drinks I choose the Sangria Rosso – Red Wine Sangria with Apple Sliver good but when I tried the a fellow food bloggers Limoncello – beautiful warm with ginger juliennes I regretted my earlier choice. This is one of the finest drinks I have had

Chicken Cappuccino

Next came the Chicken Cappuccino, a frothy broth served in a coffee mug. Take a sip, light and subtle flavours fill your mouth and you are ready curl up in a blanket. Comforting and beautiful.

Fonduta di Funghi

In the appetizers, we began with Fonduta di Funghi - mushroom caps filled with cheese and tomato concase, delicate and tasty. The Pollo Della Chef which was described as chicken marinated in Mustard but turned out to be chicken breast supremes barbecued, a sort of like a rendition of the sate, with no hint of mustard whatsoever. However this did not deter its deliciousness of the dish.

Pollo Della Chef

Salmon Pinwheels 

The Salmon Pinwheels - a sort of salmon roulade was yum with a delicious smoky flavour to it. 

 The Asparagi al Prosciutto was ephemeral –stems of asparagus wrapped with thinly sliced salty meat. The asparagus was not bitter a sign that it was cooked really well.

Asparagi al Prosciutto

In the main course, the Penne Alla Romano was immaculate with the balmy taste of mushrooms and cream. The Pizza I felt was very thin, couldn’t catch the name & didn’t like it much either. Next we had the basil pesto risotto which was too creamy for my taste!

Petti di Pollo alla Griglia

We also had the Petti di Pollo alla Griglia - grilled chicken breast, served with mashed potatoes, vegetables & mushroom sauce which I felt was tasteless and could definitely do with some seasoning.

Next came the desserts, of which I really liked Bailey’s Surprise, the bottom of which was filled with a lot of surprise alcohol J and the Blue Berry Style Cheesecake. The Red Velvet didn’t impress me much.

Baileys Surprise, Blueberry Cheese Cake (on top), Red Velvet (bottom)

However do not leave before trying the in-house creation – The Pizooki. A freshly baked, hot out of the oven, rich and delicious cookie topped with three scoops of vanilla ice cream and served in its own deep dish. your choice of chocolate chunk, white chocolate macadamia nut, peanut butter or oatmeal raisin walnut. The experience is yum & amazing!!

The Pizooki

A meal for 2 would cost between Rs.1500 -2000/- per head. excluding alcohol.

Verdict:

Food: Good

Ambience: Beautiful

Service: Good

Quick Tip: Come here for the beautiful al fresco ambience. Definitely try the Salmon, Asparagus & the surreal Pizooki dessert

The Co-ordinates:

Polpo Cafe

Where: Shatranj Napoli, Ground Floor,12 Union Park, off Carter Road, Bandra West., Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 400 052

Tring Tring:  022 26499844

Timings: 11:00 AM to 1:00 AM

Food Type: Italian

Payment Methods: Credit cards accepted