Mumbai, India
Never knew that there would be so much excitement in store for a Saturday night. The table was booked at Romano’s an Italian restaurant at the newly opened Marriott; a stone throw from the international airport they call it the J W Sahar. I arrived at Romano’s and was very pleased to find myself in a space devoid of clutter, the place lingered of fresh roast from the open kitchen, the 25 feet high ceiling gave it the much-needed perception of space and the two flights of stairs leading up to a lounge with a bar added to the relaxed ambiance.
We settled at the lounge upstairs and started the evening with some cocktails, Passion fruit Mojito; Oak-aged Negroni with cherry wood smoke, the Countess an off dry concoction of Ciroc, Limoncello, Campari and grapefruit juice and a J W style spiced Old Fashioned with homemade garam masala syrup. Most of them used carved ice balls than regular cube ice, not a common phenomenon in the city; the former melts slower thus not diluting the drink, so plus one to the bar here! Lastly just like J W Juhu their cocktails come at a jaw dropping price of Rs 490 ++. Trio of mushrooms on Pane Carasau a Sardinian flat-bread complemented the drinks well.
Romano’s offers home-style food from across Italy with focus on the south and their menu just like their beverage list is concise, Deepak Shettigar the Manager explained that they would be revising their menu every two months. We without any hesitation started with Burrata, a Soft mozzarella shell filled with cream cheese served with diced heirloom tomatoes, basil and served alongside was a crusty white bread with olives. Sommelier Sachin Shetty helped us with the wines and selected a Vermentino, a Sardinian grape known to make aromatic wines. For mains came the classic Spinach ravioli paired with a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Mushroom Risotto with Pinot Grigio and the Vegetable lasagna with Barbera D’Alba a perfumed, easy drinking wine. The lasagna here is the best lasagna I have ever had, not overtly cheesy but bursting with flavours. The Orecchiette with Broccoli was tossed well, however was too al-dente for a typical Indian palate, not that I have one. Lastly Chef Prasad sent in some very healthy buckwheat pasta with cabbage, however after the rich lasagna and the others I saved my comments for another day.
For Dolce or Italian desserts we had the classic Tiramisu and it was 5 – star, the cannoli was refreshing and zesty, the pumpkin pie was tasty however the crust and the filling were stodgy and the Zabaione a fruit custard should have been given a miss. It wasn’t over yet, we ended our meal with a dram of Limoncello and it brought an end to our Sabato in style!
Meal for 2 : Rs 4500 for food , we hear their Sunday brunch runs a full-house too!
Last words, the place given the layout and the ambience has full potential to turn into a night-out space post 11, So can we turn up the music please!!
Indian Gourmand 
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