Yet another entrant in an incredibly busy restaurant causeway at Pali Naka, Mia Cucina has its work cut out for it. Bandra has some very good Italian eateries and this makes their task that much tougher.
Italians take their kitchens very seriously, so the naming definitely intrigued us. The decor again worked well to separate it. The main eating area is like an authentic italian restaurant gone contemporary. The wine bottles on the shelf, the arches over each passageway, naked brick walls and the frescos adorning the outside eating area all suggest an old italian eatery. The minimalist tables and seating add the contemporary flavour.
The menu is made to look like a notebook with little caricatures signifying vegetables, meat etc.
The very first dish on the menu was a major highlight. We have had pizzella in Rome, and have never seen it anywhere else. Well done to the team at Mia Cucina for bringing this dish to Bombay – it will definitely do well here. Pizzella is basically small pieces of pizza dough, fried and topped with small amounts of tomato based pizza sauce. You will want to order more than one plate.
There is also the Bruschetta Caponata which uses eggplants on this favourite dish. A 3rd antipasta we would recommend is the Suppli di Riso which are balls of Rissotto & Mozzarella. Very innovative stuff indeed!
The pizzas looked excellent and authentically thin crusted, as they arrived at the next table. We went for two other rarities in Bombay. The Cannelloni Imbottiti is an excellent version of the baked dish with spinach and ricotta cheese inside pasta sheets. They have baked it perfectly to retain the moisture within the pasta rolls while keeping the surface browned and crisp. We also had the Parmagiana di Melanzane (Eggplant Parmegiana) – photo shown below – and found it to be well made with authentic preparation techniques, using bread crumbs as the top layer of the bake. The flavour was good, the tomato flavours came through well and the eggplant held together well. Good job!
We had no room for much else, but if we did, we would have recommended the Cannoli (a fried roll with whipped cream inside). Ssssinful!
The uniqueness of this eatery is the menu itself. Full of authentic, unique dishes that remain rare to Bombay, and priced very economically, this restaurant is bound to be successful. A brief conversation with the restaurant manager showed the pride they showed in fresh ingredients and in sourcing. He even claimed that the tomatoes were imported. Interesting!
The big hole though was also highly ironic. The perfect Italian meal would have led to a 5-bone rating, if only they had a decent wine to go with the meal. Sadly, though many empty wine bottles adorn one wall as decorations, there is no wine served here. This is one shortcoming they would do well to fix. Do this, and the menu’s uniqueness will truly come to life.
My recco – Definitely try the Pizzella to start with, and then wander through dishes which are new and rare to this city. A must-try eatery!
Check out the Hound Report Card for the final analysis:
February 5, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Bandra is known to throw up delectable surprises quite frequently and the latest of them definitely is this cosily oblivious “Mia Cucina”.
Heard about it from the veggiehound himself and tried it out at the first opportunity. The décor is pretty contemporary and yet laid back with a dim lighting setting , ideal for setting a lovely appetite and also carry on conversations which comprise of “sweet nothings” .
The Menu is pretty unique and all the dishes were Greek, pardon, Italian to me. They took great care to explain each of them and also highlighted the price in words.
The pizella was a delightful surprise. It is a must try and something most of us have never tasted. The tangy tomato on a deep fried pizza base made us repeat our order.
The main course (non-veg) was pretty delectable too and the sphagetti with juicy pieces of bacon really stood out among the rest. Oh! How I missed a glass of sparkling bubbly with it. But fret not, heard, they’re soon going to get the license.
The tiramisu there is amazing too. However the best, as they say is for the last. The bill made it all seem so affordable.
A definite value for money with excellent food to boot. Don’t miss it.