The Italian Job
Mia Cucina’s small sign can be easily overlooked in the chaos of banners and other restaurant signs on the busy Versova road. The restaurant is along the main road and shares its wall with WTF bar. This common wall has pretty white flowers painted all over it. The courtyard’s al fresco seating is cosy and soothing to the eye, flowers and potted plants line the inner wall of the courtyard; and the entire setting reminds you of a dining scene out of an American movie on Italian Mafia.
The ambience inside is similar to that of a small café, with music playing in the background, photo frames of vegetables hanging on the walls, bottles of wine and olive oil sitting on the shelves. Though the restaurant was crowded on a on a weekday rainy evening, we are unsure of how well the outdoor seating will be appreciated in Mumbai’s summers.
Mia Cucina (my kitchen in Italian) serves standard Italian fare: salad, soup of the day, pasta and risotto, pizza, carne (meat) pesce (fish) and desserts. The menu is a mix of vegetarian, meat and fish preparations, hence has a sizeable variety to offer in terms of appetizers or main courses.
Our Italian journey began with the antipasti, bruschetta polo con olivata (Rs 175). We found that the portion of the chicken with pesto and olives bruschetta small (the bruschetta pieces were the size of milk toasts) and though balsamic vinegar dominated our palate, overall the appetiser was tasty. For main course, we ordered an overpriced, thin-crust (not papad thin, though) large Chorizo pizza (Rs 425) which was neither scrumptious nor spicy! Fatter slices of chorizo sausages were expected. The chorizos were paper- thin (similar prosciutto) slices of sausage and that deprived the pizza of much flavor.
Then there was filleto di manzo, fungi e patate (Rs 375), a medium grilled beef steak in mushroom sauce with potatoes. The steak was cooked just right and the meat was deliciously tender; the sauce was rich, thick and spicy, complementing the meat perfectly. Flawless!
What caught our attention was the char grilled Rawas with black olive sauce, pasta and veggies. Having eaten Rawas in many Konkani, Punjabi and Goan preparations, the combination of black olives with the grilled fish seemed an unusual combination to our palate. However we were too full for it by then.
Desserts were a letdown though, the apple tart's base was undercooked, and the apple topping tasted marmalade-like and was sour. However when we returned the tart, the service manager apologized in person, assured us that this was the first case and did not charge for it. There were gaps in the tiramisu (Rs.125) filled shot glass and the quantity was small in comparison to its price. The attentive and courteous staff kept getting us the most filled glass; however it was the same story.
All said, Mia Cucina is a fine place to catch up for dinner, they have a range of wines, Indian and Italian, to choose from and the food is at par with other Italian restaurants. If you wish to indulge in Italian food, other than pastas and pizzas, then Mia Cucina’s variety will impress you.
Meal for two: Rs. 1300
Star rating: ***
