Tinu Menachery: Italian restaurant

Showing posts with label Italian restaurant. Show all posts

Riso is an Italian-Mexican Vegetarian restaurant (Yes, VEGETARIAN) that has recently opened in Oud Metha. As always there’s a Desi element as it’s created by the same guys who own Punjabi By Nature. This place is definitely a food haven for vegetarians, and they also cater to Jain food requirements.

What first caught my eye was the ambiance. It looks quaint from the outside, but as you walk in you feel you are in a different place altogether. Vibrant bright colors, bright lights, give it a very cozy Italian home vibe. The interiors are chic, modern and artistic and is perfect for Photography. The lights are perfect bright and the colorful food make it Instagram worthy.

Post being seated comfortably we started off our colorful vegetarian experience with Mock tails. You can win my heart with a Mojito, I feel t’s a beverage you can never go wrong with and it’s so refreshing.

For Soups we opted for Mushroom cappuccino which by now has become such a rage at Riso, that we definitely had to try it. It was served in a wide brimmed coffee mug and topped with froth. I loved the presentation. It was served on a wooden platter with a mushroom slice. Mushroom soup was good, the presentation piqued my interest and the taste wasn’t a letdown.

I opted for Zuppa Di Broccoli soup – I prefer thicker and creamier consistency with my soup and for me the soup was a bit watery and not as creamy as I would have loved it to be. It was served on a wooden platterwith Broccoli floret.

We moved onto their set menu for Appetizers which included Pale Di Potato – which was marinated crispy potato skin served with garlic mayonnaise sauce. It tasted good and was a good appetizer to start off with.

Next we tried cheese corn balls, the presentation could have been better. The filling wasn’t well cooked and I could taste the raw batter which was a major put off.

We moved on to the Antipasti cart which was amazing – bread topped with cheese, mushroom, tomatoes and bell peppers. My favorite of the lot was definitely cheese & olives, and the salsa. I would definitely go back for these.

For main course we had lasagna and Mexican rice. The Lasgna was good and creamy, but it didn’t really set my taste buds tickling. The Mexican rice was served with fresh veggies and was cooked well, but it wasn't delectable and complete as a main course on its own.

For the finale we had the Chocolate mud cake. I am a chocolate person and hence will be a little harsher on desserts. A gooey chocolate layer was topped with a ball of vanilla ice cream garnished with mint leaf. The chocolate layer was gooey and coupled with the ice cream, it was decent. But not amazing.

The décor is beautiful and is perfect for those for those beautiful Instagram feed. The service was prompt and the staff was ever courteous and smiling with all its patrons.

Contact:

Riso

Location: Lamcy Plaza, Oud Metha, Dubai.

Timings – 12:00 am to 16:0 pm

19:00 pm to 01:00 am

Cost: AED 120 for two

Reserve your table at: 043966044

I was invited to Riso and all views and images are © Urbanmodish, unless stated otherwise.

While enjoying a recent family staycation at the fantastic Danat Jebel Dhanna resort, we had the distinct pleasure of dining at Zaitoun, the hotels award winning Italian restaurant.

Zaitoun is situated on the ground floor of the resort. Zaitoun features plush furnishing and dark wood, as opposed to the resorts distinct ocean theme. It’s a place you would go for a romantic dinner date. Zaitoun spells sophistication and class.

I was confused as to why an Italian restaurant had an Arabic inspired décor, from traditional lamps to cushions. It was only later that I realized that the name Zaitoun is the Arabic word for olive, which is a staple Italian ingredient.

Like the rest of the resort, Zaitoun has floor to ceiling windows that provide a beautiful view of the Arabian Gulf. They also have a beautiful private dining space, featuring a mural of an Italian beach scene complete with a large dining table for 6-8 guests and large mirrors.

As soon as we walked in soaking in the beauty of the restaurant we were ushered to our seats and were handed a set menu. Neither I nor my husband went beyond pasta’s, pizzas and tiramisu in Italian cuisine and hence we both were very excited to try Italian cuisine in one of the finest Italian restaurants.

Disclaimer: We went to Zaitoun post the poolside barbeque, which didn’t leave much space for us to enjoy Zaitoun as much as we would have loved to.

I loved the intertwined bottles of balsamic and olive oil kept at the table, along with fresh flowers embracing a lit red candle making the ambiance even more romantic.

Our meal began with ‘Carpaccio di Manzo’. Red peppercorn aioli with handpicked vegetables and shaved parmesan was served with bread along with thin slices of Black Angus beef. The presentation of the dish and all to follow were impressive.

‘Minestra de verdure’ was the classic Italian minestrone with basil pesto and black olive crostini. The soup was a bit too tangy for my palate, but Mr. loved it a lot.

Our main courses was a choice between ‘Filleto de Manzo’ or ‘Aragosta’. I went for the former and Mr. went for the latter. ‘Filleto de Manzo’ was a beautiful dish with Black Angus beef cooked to medium rare (my preference) with root vegetables, crispy onion rings and black pepper jus. The beef was juicy and succulent and the jus was just perfect. Combined with the root vegetables and jus, the beef just the best main course I could have ordered for. It can be rightfully said that it was one of the best beef steaks I have had in UAE.

‘Aragosta’ was a creamy feast with lobster and prawns gratinated in cheese sauce.

I have time and again mentioned my love for desserts, and Tiramisu has always been on the top list. I saved enough space for the dessert. Zaitoun doesn’t fail to recreate this Italian classic, with generous lashings of cream, biscotti and coffee infused mascarpone. We would have asked for a second serving, but since we were on the verge of exploding, we decided to give it a miss.