La Tagliatella, Vasant Kunj

How the restaurant scene in Delhi (NCR) has evolved over the last decade is truly a great story. No city would have perhaps seen such a rapid change. A decade ago, eating Chinese meant a trip to Berco's, and eating Italian meant ordering pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut. Now, however, the options are just mind-numbing, and they range from the road-side vans to swanky places in South Delhi. 

This particular time we wanted to explore one of the premium Italian joints out there, and landed at La Tagliatella. It took us a while to figure out a close approximation of its pronunciation, but a much shorter time to become big fans. La Tagliatella is an Italian chain which originated from Spain, and has about 150 restaurants world-over. Overall Rating: 4.5/5

 Why we might go again: This place exemplifies how great quality of ingredients can transform the cooking to a next level. They claim to import around 90% of their raw material from all over the world including Italy itself! Our festivity started with green olives which are placed on the table while you browse their extensive menu. They have plethora of options for pasta, pizza, and appetizers, and though it can get a bit overwhelming, our waiter did a good job to help us understand. We went a bit over-board with ordering for just the two of us, but everything was a master-piece.

The bread basket had ‘not the usual’ selection of olive, onion, and tomato bread-sticks. They went amazingly well with the chili olive oil on the table. The ravioli and pizza that came next were even better. The ravioli had a very well balanced flavor of basil and tomato, and the quantity was enormous. The pizza was probably the best we have ever had. It was paper-thin, without too much sauce, and had un-matched flavors of cheese and toppings. And if this was not enough to keep us drooling, the desert blew us away (again) with a layered mousse served with white and dark chocolate sauces.

Why we might not go again: The only flaw we saw with the place was that it had very rich food with generous use of their ‘really special extra virgin’ olive oil and cheeses. Not that you will feel the grease while eating, but for the super health conscious this might not fit the bill. Also, their prices are a bit steep (though the flavors and quantity totally make them worthy).

Final word: Go here with a big group and you will have a great meal with superb food and very nice options for wine lovers. The place has a two floor seating in the Ambience mall (Vasant Kunj) which becomes quiet by dinner time. The pastas and pizzas cost around Rs. 600-700, and the bread basket is for around Rs 200. The deserts cost around Rs 300-400

Bread basket

Fungo with Vera Casalinga Sauce

Sei stagioni without prawns