Located in a building named ‘Vatika Atrium’ near towards the civilized end of the Golf Course Road, you will find an undiscovered and not much publicized Italian Food joint called ‘56 – The Italian Adventure’. We couldn’t really figure out the logic behind ‘56′ but rumor has it that the height of the huge hall in which the restaurant is located is exactly 56 feet!

The approach to the restaurant is unlike most other restaurants in office buildings. You will not find any Group 4/SIS security guard frisking you before you enter the complex. The walk towards the door of 56 is lined with small fountains and pebbles. The sound of water over these pebbles is always ever so soothing and it set the perfect mood for a lovely evening. The restaurant setting is a huge hall, a sort of something you see in most office complexes nowadays. Only, this one is actually a high end restaurant. The space is well lit, lined up with trees in the middle, has a very high ceiling which imparts it a lot of character. It has a bar at the far end with numerous wine bottles neatly stacked up against the wall. Quite a welcoming sight!

We were shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant by the restaurant manager, a very nice chap – Rohan Vats. Something that we were quite amused with was the vessel from which they poured water into our glasses – it was actually a fish bowl! Interesting. Seems like someone paid a lot of attention to detail!

The menu consists of 8-10 salads, 10-12 Antipasti, 6-7 pasta dishes and around 10 pizzas with a lot of meat dishes and seafood choices. Vegetarians also have a decent number of dishes to choose from. The menu is the brainchild of Chef Domenico Lupo (straight from Italy!).

The Food: Immediately upon arrival, we were served a bread basket (fresh!!!) and pesto sauce (paste of basil and parsley in olive oil) along with some sundried tomato sauce (sundried tomatoes in olive oil). We ordered some Caeser Salad, Farfalle Al Limone – Con Crema Di Funghi Asparagi (Home made Farfalle, with Porcini Mushrooms, fresh Asparagus and Cream), and a Sicilian Pizza Con Pollo. The Caeser Salad, as simple as it is, it is very easy to screw it up. This one was slightly over-salted and the lettuce a tad bitter – I know some chefs prefer it that way, but I think that most Indians do not have an appetite for bitter salads (me neither!). The Pasta was heaven, and in Pankaj’s words, he had never had a better tasting and looking pasta in his life. I tend to agree with Pankaj because I anyway not being a big fan of Pasta, found myself hogging it in. The Pizza was fun too – I have recently become a big fan of thin crust pizzas and have almost started hating the loaded-with-cheese Dominos we all grew up on. This Pizza had a twist – as I said earlier, it was a Sicilian Pizza. For the uninitiated, Sicilian pizza, also known as Sfincione (or Sfinciuni in Sicilian language) is a variety of pizza that originated in Palermo, Sicily. Unlike the more familiar Neapolitan pizza, the cheese is placed beneath the sauce. In the chef’s own words, “Sicilian pizzas are considered a major delicacy and are extremely popular the world over. It is a unique taste that compares to none. Whomsoever tastes it, is likely to fall in love with it”.

We ordered Chocolate Mousse and Tiramisu for desserts – I would classify the Mousse as average but Tiramisu as just out of the world. For years, I have maintained the Tiramisu at Azzurro Saket to be the best in town – no more, 56 could easily give Azzurro a run for its Tiramisu money.

Service: Well groomed, well spoken, knowledgeable waiting staff – something rare to find since the BPO wave hit India.

Ambience: Different. Beautiful. Soothing. Peaceful. Look below.

The experience will set a couple off by ~Rs 1,200 – but I assure you… it will be a date to remember!

Overall recommendation:

Food:                    4/5
Service:                4/5
Ambience:          4/5