Del Italia

Rest: Del Italia
Loc : Opp Juhu Beach
Meal : dinner
Del Italia is a Juhu based Italian eatery, very well located right opposite Juhu Beach. Apparently it used to be a place called 11 Echoes or something but has lately metamorphosed into Del Italia.

The space itself is designed to mimic the feel of a Mediterranean house, it works on some level but parts of it are tacky, overall it ends up looking like a poor mans Olive (but it works)

There is an air conditioned inside portion and a level up but we sat in the outside portion as it was relatively cool.

The menu is expansive, i am not very impressed with the menu layout as it can be confusing. However they have plenty to choose from for everyone. there are some interesting dishes and soups, so the menu is def one of the better ones i have seen of late.

I was going to get soup but i forgot, went straight for the appetizer which was the bruschetta (good) peppers with fresh mozzarella (absolutely fantastic) the latter was so good i had another helping WITH my entree.

The entrees were good but not as good as the appetizers. The Margherita was light, the sun dried tomato risotto was good, the artichoke and goat cheese was above average. The spinach and goat cheese ravioli was okay, the taste wasnt intense enough. Plenty of imagination went into these dishes & they have the potential of being even better.

The service was good, the dishes are made on order so it can be slow but they are fairly friendly (maybe coz i walked in with 3 women??)

Overall, the food is great, i will be back here very soon. Only complaint is the European size portions, which i wish they warned you about.

Sorry no pictures of the food, i was just too busy eating...

Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Damage for 4 without drinks 3000

Samrat

Rest : Samrat
Loc : churchgate
Meal : lunch

Samrat is a very old hand in North Indian & Guj thali in Bombay. My parents used to go there as newly weds, i went there as a kid and i have been there as a newly wed as well. The place has of course changed many times over and gotten bigger and bigger. They have branched into western fast food (Relish) coffee shop and bakery.

They still continue to do a brilliant thali.

They serve the usual suspects, a dal, a sweet kadi, a sweet, 4 veggies. I was not very happy with the farsan (snack) and i wish they had a few more snacks as well. The food overall was good but not great. The service was quick, efficient, friendly and attentive. in short they were brilliant. i wish other restaurants thali or otherwise could match up. top notch.

they also serve a brilliant chaas (butter milk) which is my fav drink in the whole wide world.

Food : 7/10
Service: 9/10
Damage : for 2 nearly 400.

Samrat
Prem Court
Jamshedji Tata Road
Churchgate, Mumbai
Phone 22820942, 22820022, 22825809

Mia Cucina

Rest: Mia Cucina
Location : Bandra, West
Meal : Dinner

Mia Cucina is a Italian restaurant next to quite a few other ones. Like most other smaller Bandra restaurants its in a fairly smallish space (though there are smaller ones out there) the ambiance is fairly informal but comfortable.

The menu as the name suggests is Italian, do check out the cool printing job on the menu, very nicely done. Though i wish it was slightly more expansive in terms of options. There is plenty of dishes there but just not enough creativity, they could have done so much more.


the black currant with carbonation was cool. tangy, sweetish.

The Toscano was the soup i chose, they didnt have much to choose from and the soup was fairly drab, over salted and plain boring.

The Spinach & goat cheese risotto was splendid, the combination was perfect, the dish seemed the most interesting on the menu and i daresay it probably is the the best.

The home made pasta in tomato sauce, mushrooms & garlic was just average, the taste was not too great and the pasta was slightly under cooked.

Overall the place is okay, the menu is wanting but the food has some potential. Might be worth one more try.

Food : 6/10
Service : 8/10

Damage for 2 without drinks 1000.

Mia Cucina
Shop No 16/17
Gasper Enclave
Bandra (W), Mumbai
Phone 66710158, 66710159, 67104000