Walking through the innumerable eateries at Defence Colony market and trying to allay my incessant craving for good Italian food, I came to a halt in front of Rockhide showroom adjacent Mocha’s – the place which housed Little Italy sometime back. Interestingly there was a sign board which read ‘28 Capri Italy’ instead of ‘28, Defence Colony’. It looked like ‘def col’ had something new for those savouring oregano & basil – a new exclusively Italian restaurant. This sent an instant signal to my salivary glands and I decided to explore the place.

Entering through the leather accessories showroom, little did I know that the stairs would teleport me into Italy from defence colony. This indeed was 28, Capri, Italy. The café on the third floor truly replicated the Capri (pronounced ‘Kaapri’ as I was told later on by the gentleman who owns the place) café look, feel and spirit into hustle bustle of Delhi. The decors were simple and everything about the place convened a serene comfort. Through the open kitchen one could see dextrous chefs working their way through the flour. Later on I was told that this is one of the few places in Delhi which makes all their pastas and sauces in house.  There was also some seating space in the balcony giving a bird’s eye view of the plush defence colony anybody visiting the place should definitely check out this area.

Reading through the menu card I realized that this was one of the most elaborate menu card I had seen and these guys served everything that you could think of under Italian cuisine – Pizzas, Risottos Pastas and a lot special dishes which I’m most of us in India would have never had. The most interesting thing about this place was that it serves wheat pastas on request and also all the cheese that they use are low fat and low salt. This is a paradise for all the health freaks who abstain from rich creamy diet and grudgingly pretend to savour a leafy diet. 28 Capri Italy boasts of a never seen before variety of pastas with all the kinds of combinations – spirits, vodka’s and wines. I was adviced by the manager to try out Involtini as starter and Grilled chicken in mustard sauce and Spinach & Mushroom lasagne as the main course. I was eager to try out the wheat flavour so I order a wheat lasagne.

Involtini was the chef’s speciality and trust me it or rather he did not disappoint. Cheese stuffed and herbed chicken pellets with cheese oozing out laced with a delicious butter, garlic and white wine sauce was indeed an ideal appetizer not only in terms of stimulating my enzymes but also triggering my culinary sense to look forward to the main course.

Next on the table was grilled chicken in mustard sauce which had a refreshingly overriding flavour from fresh mustard sauce. Sauté vegetables served with chicken really complimented the mustard very well and the taste of pink pepper corn with hint of jalapeno differentiated the preparation from a run of the mill mustard chicken. As I was having the last helping, it left me wanting for more, perhaps an ideal time for lasagne to arrive. And there it was piping hot Spinach & Mushroom lasagne – wheat layers. The lasagne too was delicious like the ones that we have at Big Chill. But the flavour of wheat added to it divergence from the conventional. Even if you are not a health freak, I would strongly recommend going for wheat pastas simply for their taste and also for the fact that it is a very welcome change after all those conventional pastas that we eat so often.

The low fat cheese really works because after having all this I wanted to try a dessert which I was told is their speciality. After having such delicious food my expectations were high and Brownie Sizzler was there to take me to a new high. This was as much a delight to my eyes as it was to my taste buds. Brownie served with ice cream scope on a hot sizzling plate with melted chocolate all over the place was indeed an ideal end to a perfect evening.

With official opening on 12^th December, I think Defence colony has finally found what it lacked – an authentic and exclusive Italian restaurant with an even authentic name. The only think amiss was some good wine as the liquor license was awaited. But very soon I would be visiting the place again to have a complete Italian experience in terms of ambience, drinks, food and spirit. Any one visiting Capri do let me know about Chocolate Bomb (yet another speciality), as I could not risk an explosion after devouring some much already.

~Mridul (mridulanand2003@gmail.com)

Check out 28 Capri Italy’s page at Foodiebay.com: http://www.foodiebay.com/ncr/restaurant/delhi/capri-italy-defence-colony-2437.html