Buon appetito!

What: Two One Two
Where: 12 A, Hornby Vellard Estate, near Nehru Centre, next to the BMW showroom, Worli
Call: 022 24901994
What’s on the menu: Italian, Continental
Smoking: Yes
Alcohol: Yes

Two One Two is one such place that demands your undivided attention to the food, even when you’re writing a review and expected to observe the setting et al. Let’s just put it this way — the crisp dark wood décor, the top class cutlery, even the fashionably dressed staff boil down to a blur in your mind when the steaming food arrives on your table. It overwhelms everything else. But then, so does the first page of the menu — their elaboration on naming Two One Two is intense. Thankfully, you forget trying to comprehend their profound logic once you set eyes on the sheer art on your plate.



The menu is selective, unpretentious, and hence safe. Even while seated at a distance, gingerly browsing the high-heeled, neck-tied crowd, you will find your eyes roving towards the cocktail bar. Their range of wines is impressive. We order a 212 Special Bellini (Rs 325), and the dainty glass of sparkling wine with peach schnapps is only a perfect start to a perfect dinner. Our Spaghetti Aglio e Prawn (Rs 640) is more than just a pretty dish. Generous amounts of olive oil infused with succulent prawns, this parsley and chilly embellished pasta is the stuff of the genius.



The Quattro Stagioni wood-fire pizza (Rs 545) comes with cooked ham, artichoke, olives, mushroom, tomato and mozzarella — all toppings neatly separated on a wooden base. Great idea to present one pizza with myriad flavours. But the highlight of the dinner was yet to make an appearance.



If you were to judge food by its sex appeal, the Chocolate Fondant (Rs 335) has oodles. A dash of chocolate sauce joining the cake and the vanilla on either corners of the ceramic plate is a spectacle. A light poke and the cake oozes out the gooey chocolate from within.



If you follow the TV show MasterChef Australia regularly, you’d know why plating up right is so important. It’s also easy to tell then why Two One Two is the right place to silence hard-to-please girlfriends and cribbing NRI cousins.

What we like
The immaculate flavours
The presentation
The service

What we don’t like
Lack of more tables to fit more people

Rating- ****

First Published: Dec 17, 2010 13:39 IST