There is no dearth of Italian restaurants in the city, but very few manage to revamp their menu, bring something fresh and exciting to the table and yet promise a fare that tugs at your heartstrings. The contents of the new menu are nothing too far from familiar. You are most likely to find them across all major Italian fine-dining restaurants, no bizzare fusion dishes or outlandish presentations. What sets the menu apart is the use of seasonal produce and the perfect symphony of flavours, colours and textures. Vegetarians are going to be equally pleased with the menu as the meat-eaters. Here are some of the dishes that impressed.
The Maguro Tuna Tartar with Smoked Avocado is delicately put together with layers of avocado, passion fruit gel and tuna. Mushy and mellow, this appetiser is balanced with the crunch of pomme gaufrette/waffle fries. Chicken liver pate' with black truffle served with a selection of home-made jams, and brioche spells comfort. The cone shaped ravioli stuffed with a tender filling of barolo braised duck leg is saucy preparation you would not want to miss. Two other eclectic preparations that get our thumbs-up are Le Cirque's eggplant parmigiana and Le Cirque's signature lobster bisque. While the former was a deftly done layered preparation with the goodness of eggplant, parmesan cannolo, fried basil, tomato sauce emulsion, the latter was a sweet and chilli medley of lobster raviolini, saffron gel, basil pearls, sweet paprika oil. The risotto fans should definitely try out their red beetroot and burrata risotto made with crunchy beet, roasted walnut, 24k gold dust and quail and wild mushroom risotto with black truffle. They dehydrate shitake and various other kinds of mushrooms for this special preparation, which gives this risotto a lot of body. The delectable sponge of mushrooms and the generous use of truffle is noteworthy.
Where: The Leela Palace New Delhi, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110023, India
Cost For Two: INR 4000