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Delightful indulgence
An exciting wine list makes you forget all the misgivings you might have towards the food sartoria, Vasant Vihar
My love for Pinot Noir, the red wine varietal, owes its origins to the 2004 film Sideways starring Paul Giamatti, who goes with a soon-to-be-married friend on a wine-drinking and golf-playing weekend road trip with a bit of philandering tossed in. Giamatti plays an unpublished writer and wine aficionado who disses Merlot and sings the praises of Pinot Noir. I took to Pinot Noir after watching that fine film and each time I encounter a nice bottle of that red varietal, I feel good.
Good enough to forgive anything, really. So, when we landed up at Sartoria, the new-ish Italian restaurant in the Basant Lok Market, for dinner and I saw their extensive wine list, my spirits rose even before I selected New Zealand’s Mebus Pinot Noir 2007 (Rs 4500). The wine, as it happened, was excellent.
Sartoria is a small, cosy establishment with three levels — a patisserie of sorts at the ground level and seated dining on the other two. We chose the topmost floor where a solo singer, armed with a keyboard, dished out mainly Beatles and Coldplay tunes (with which a couple of my companions sang along). Sartoria has a tasteful muted décor and a romantic atmosphere ideal for a quiet dinner for two. I mentally noted that for future reference.
The menu at Sartoria was extensive. We ordered two antipasti dishes — the Parma Ham with Melon (Rs 500) and the Carpaccio Cipriani (Rs 300). The first was a delight — the ham was fresh and the melons were juicy, but the carpaccio was a disappointment. Tenderloin needs to be cut in fine slivers, not served in a thick, chewy mess. We had a Pepperoni Pizza (Rs 500) too, which was quite good although they couldn’t give us a whole-wheat base.
For the mains, we had a Ciopino of Seafood (Rs 500), which is a stew of prawns, fish and squid and was pronounced by those who ate it to be perfect. I had a Steak Pepe Verde (Rs 400) that came with a potato in a jacket and some veggies. The steak, ordered medium, came overdone and dry. But I forgave the chef, courtesy the Pinot Noir.
One of our party had a Spezzatino of Lamb (Rs 400), again a stew of lamb cubes, which, going by the way it was lapped up, must’ve been good. I must mention here that Sartoria serves an awesome pesto sauce with its freshly baked breads-the pesto, with its flavours of pine nuts, basil and olive oil is not to be missed. I nearly made a meal of it with the bread. There are desserts aplenty on the menu but most of us declined.
A Gelati Misti (vanilla ice-cream with chocolate sauce; Rs 200) came and was shared. But there was a twist in the tail. We ordered double espresso shots. The coffee, when it came, was a big disappointment. Mine actually smelt of something unmentionable. We sent it back. But, like I said, I was generous with my forgiveness. Yes, the Pinot Noir does that to me. Always.
