Old Wine in a new bottle? – California Pizza Kitchen at Bandra Kurla Complex

My son loves Pizza. He can probably eat it for all three meals in the day. I suspect he thinks coin Pizza is a currency! So California Pizza Kitchen was a must do and I went there along with my 11 year old Pizza-maestro for the review of their newly launched Rs. 245 onwards Pizza.

First off let me warn you these were conceived as Veg Pizza and chicken can be added if required. We had all the Pizzas half and half to get the flavours of both. I started off with  a very refreshing Kiwi Mojito. I think CPK serves one of the best! The first Pizza to arrive was Florentine; mushroom pesto spread on a thin crust with mozzarella cheese, spinach, garlic & cherry tomato. Both the versions were delicious with the cherry tomato lending freshness to the pizza. Then came the Roma Basilico; homemade pizza sauce, fresh basil, red onions and sliced Roma tomatoes. I personally do not like the taste of raw tomatoes with my Pizza and found the flavours did not go well.

Next in queue was Roasted Mushroom & Pepper; traditional crust topped with spicy Baja sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, roasted mushroom & bell peppers. Though I feel that heat takes away from the flavours, this sauce had an interesting tone to its flavours in spite of the heat. I am told patrons often take the sauce in containers after they have had their meals. I loved the combination of sweet roasted peppers with mushroom and the sauce. I found the chicken version better than the veg one. Next to come to the table was Garden Veg; garden greens, spinach, green peppers, Anaheim chilies & mozzarella cheese on a crust with green chilli sauce. This one was for the green chilli aficionado. It had just a single toned flavour and did not go well with my idea of a pizza being sweet, tangy and spicy (sometimes).The chicken one was however a tad better than the veg one. The last one was Italian Delight; homemade pizza sauce, fresh basil, red onions, Roma tomatoes and roasted corn. This was Roma basilica with an added ingredient – roasted corn. The roasted corn definitely added a new dimension but end of it – it’s the same pizza! We tried two desserts; Rocky Road and Roasted Hazelnut. Rocky road was gooey chocolate with chocolate chips; chocolate addict’s delight. The Roasted Hazelnut was a more wholesome ice-cream with its creamy warm marshmallow flavours

I do feel that new launches should be doing something different than what you already are.  There should also be an Oomph! factor and these new pizzas somewhere disappoint in that department in spite of the innovations. While CPK has always maintained its quality of ingredients, what would set it apart is pushing the envelope without sacrificing the flavours on the altar. I hope for the sake of foodies like us, we get a more adventurous but interesting menu from CPK next time.

Ratings out of 5

Food: 3 | Ambiance: 4 | Service: 3.5 | Overall:3

Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs.2000 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|

Timing: 12 noon to 11.15 pm | Wheelchair access : Yes

Address: 3 North Avenue, Maker Maxity, Kalanagar, BandraKurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai

Telephone :022 30151929 / 65588888

Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.