Friday, June 27, 2008

Penne - Restobar - Lounge

14 Silver Beach Estate, AB Nair Road, Juhu, Mumbai- 49, Phone: 26255713, 26255706

Nearest Landmarks: Right opposite, Spinach the supermarket. Close to the ISKON Temple and Hotel Ramee Guestline.

Cuisine: Italian

Open from: Open for Lunch and Dinner

Serve Alcohol: Yes

Parking: Valet available

Ambience;
Penne has two markedly defined areas, the Al Fresco area outside and the fine dining area inside and both have a warm and inviting feel to them.
The canopied al fresco area is landscaped with greenery and thus shielded from the hustle and bustle of the road outside. It would be ideal for a meal combined with a leisurely tête-à-tête or just a languid afternoon/evening spent sipping the beverage of choice over pizza or munching on nibbles.
The uncluttered and cozy elegance of the fine dining area welcomes you with its matt gold walls (I absolutely loved them!) and is softly lit with black chandeliers. The tables were well spaced, keeping privacy in mind. Minor Quibble; I wish the span of the individual tables were slightly more spacious, as the serving dishes were quite large and thus ended up crowding the table uncomfortably.

Staff;
Quick, courteous, unobtrusive and very well informed.

What we ate;
Starters;
Fusilli Con Pollo Arenza (Rs 395) a spicy chicken starter, with bits of bell peppers, flavored with herbs. It was good
Funghetti fritti Al Spin (Rs 235 for 6 pieces) a starter that was made of a mushroom each, packed with a gooey mix of cheese and spinach and dipped in bread crumbs and deep fried to golden perfection. Recommended by the waiter, this one left us salivating for more!

Pizza Trastevere (Rs 395) an oh-so-thin crust pizza, crispy crunchy on the rim and sodden with our chosen toppings in the middle. It came to the table piping hot, straight from the oven.

Pollo Siciliana (Rs 275) was penne and chicken in cream sauce. Delightful!
Rosotto Ortolana con aspa (Rs 295) the most divine risotto I have had in a while. The consistency was creamy and melt in the mouth.
Garlic Bread (Rs 80) Crisp, airy bread slivers saturated just right in butter and subtly flavored with garlic.

Dessert was;
Triple Chocolate Biscotti (Rs 225) 2 scoops of ice cream and bits of chocolate cake covered in 3 different types of chocolate sauces and sprinkled with roasted almond slivers and topped of with bits of biscotti. Though it sounded very tempting on paper, it was a disappointment otherwise. Their version of biscotti turned out to be plain old chocolate wafer biscuits and the sauce was just ordinary melted chocolate.

What we drank;
Since all of were teetotalers, we sipped on;

Virgin Kiwi Margarita (Rs 150) a tangy sweet and sour drink with the delicious after taste of kiwi.
Virgin Black current Margarita (Rs 150) was good too, but I thought it was a tad too sweet, for me.
Iced Tea (Rs 150) was average.

All the ingredients used seemed absolutely fresh, with a special mention to the pizza dough which was freshly kneaded and all the sauces that were flavorful and light. Penne is priced on the slightly higher side, but it’s worth every penny.

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