Naples? Pie in the sky, for now

The second Italian restaurant to open in south Mumbai this week, Di Napoli serves antipasti, soups, salads, pizzas, pasta and dessert (including a budino cremose or Italian crème caramel served with poached pears). Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi write.

The second Italian restaurant to open in south Mumbai this week, Di Napoli serves antipasti, soups, salads, pizzas, pasta and dessert (including a budino cremose or Italian crème caramel served with poached pears).

HT Image

We loved the springy fettucine al funghi; the sweet, nutty and beautifully constructed three-melon salad; a deeply satisfying cupful of tomato soup; and fragrant, chunky caponata (seafood salad). Our pizza Margherita al prosciutto had some beautifully scented, good quality ham, but it was dry, thanks to an ungenerous tomato base. The crust, though delicious, was nowhere near the crisp three mm expected in Neapolitan crusts and had wide, unsauced and chewy edges.

Our server accidentally brought us a portion of potato croquettes instead of the crispy gnocchi salad. However, after eventually tasting the salad, we're glad they brought us the wrong dish.

Di Napoli will soon start serving wine once the licence comes through. Hopefully by then the chefs, brought in from Naples, will have finished training their Indian counterparts.

- Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi