The Café at Italian Cultural Centre: That’s Amore…

The Café at The Italian Cultural Centre (ICC) is one of Chef Ritu Dalmia’s restaurants, but with a difference. In association with the Italian Embassy, the Café promotes Italian home style cooking in its authentic form. Menu changes regularly with an accent on regional cooking, and I am told that the wood fired pizzas are made like the original ones in Naples, the birth place of the pizza.

Armed with my membership card to the ICC (membership applications available online; annual fee Rs 2000) I am joined by two friends, one pure vegetarian, and one Tuesday vegetarian. We enter the lush green lawns of ICC and look forward to a leisurely repast. As we enter the cramped premises, we are lucky to get the last empty table.

We lose no time in ordering a bottle of Italian chianti wine (Rs 1900 for the bottle), along with vegetarian antipasti misti (Rs 280), which is a selection of starters – grilled bell pepper, zucchini and eggplant, with some salad leaves, a terrine, calzone and caponata.  The wine is first class and so is the antipasto, apart from the dry and insipid eggplant. Soon we are served the first of the house specialities, the

Margherita pizza (Rs 280). It is a simple veg pizza with tomato, fresh mozzarella and sprigs of basil. The pizza is great. It has a not-so-thin chewy crust and the fresh taste of tomato and basil coming together to make a delightful treat, in a true Neapolitan way. This is how all I like my pizzas and I am sure so will you.

It is time for the main course. My vegetarian friends order spaghetti al pomodoro e basilico (spaghetti with fresh tomato, basil and extra virgin olive oil; Rs 235) and lasagne con spinaci e ricotta (pasta sheets layered with spinach, ricotta and mozzarella, baked with béchamel and parmesan; Rs 320) while I go for an old favourite, agnello “osso bucco” (lamb shanks braised with red wine, juniper, onion and bacon, served with roast potatoes; Rs 370).

I taste the spaghetti and it takes my breath away with its sheer simplicity and fresh flavours. This is probably the best pasta dish I have had in a long time. The lasagna is again wonderfully balanced, prompting a big smile on my friend’s face. I am not so lucky unfortunately with my dish. While the osso bucco sauce is beautifully addictive, the lamb is undercooked and hard, so much so that I have to spit it out. This does take away from the hypnotic effect the food so far have been having on me.

I bring the matter to the excellent serving staff and they decide to make up by offering the dessert for free. We choose one tiramisu (Rs 180) with three forks so that we can share. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best tiramisu I have had in Delhi NCR so far. All elements are how they should be. This dish touches the heart, and prompts a subtle fork war between us for our own tiramisu share.

The food, wine and service at the Café is world class, capable of transporting you to the by lanes of Naples. There are a couple of hiccups which may be attributed to chance. The indoor seating can get a trifle cramped during the summer months, but in the more pleasant months the outdoor seating can be romantic and charming. I plan to be a customer for all seasons, because every time I visit this place I come out singing Dean Martin songs.

Disclosure: This review was done after an anonymous visit to the restaurant with the meal paid for by the reviewer.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 3.5 | Service: 4.5 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs. 1500| Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Timings: Monday to Saturday: 9:30am – 10:30pm, Sunday: 9:30am to 4:30pm

Address: 50E, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi| Telephone: 011 24674575