10 of us were at Frescas Pizzeria, a new joint specializing in Neopotalian cuisine, which is from the Naples region of Italy. We were there for the first edition of Dinner Club, a Chennai Food Guide initiative to introduce fine dining and new concepts to the patrons while the restaurant cooks up something for us. This time, we were there for a four course meal, specially dished out with a few options for each course. I am trying out a structured course meal after a long time and It turned out to be a wonderful evening overall.
Before the courses started, we were served bruschetta, but unlike every other place where i have had them, this was served on thin bread, almost like a pizza. The first course had a few options and I personally went wrong almost every single time. I opted for the beef salad, which was thin cut beef, super succulent and super tasty, albeit in small portions, just right for one person. But those who did not mind the vegetarian soup had the laugh laugh. After one sip, all of them went ooh and aaahh and so on. After begging someone to share it, which one person reluctantly did, I was super impressed. It was a cold soup with a day old bread and it was outstanding. For the second course, again, my cousin and me went for the non veg smoked chicken pasta, which was excellent, but those who chose the three cheese ravioli pretty much had a orgasm. Since portions are just right for one person, both of us begged and borrowed and managed to taste it and left us fuming that we were carnivores. And that was the first time in my life, I regretted being a non vegetarian. We had multiple options for the third course which was the pizza, I personally liked the smoked chicken pizza and the four cheese pizza and being big, no one had a problem sharing it. The pizzas are slightly different, thin crust, but not crisp. They were slightly chewy and apparently that is how it is supposed to be. The nutella tiramisu for dessert was very very nice too, but the caramel tart was ok for me. Oh yeah, we were also served palate cleansers to not let the taste of the previous course affect the next course.
Neopotalian cuisine is very bread based and the first three courses, including soup had bread in it. The pizza was different, the pasta and ravioli were different, but subtle. The meal cost us Rs. 1000 per head for four courses, and though each course might be small, if you have four courses you will be full at the end of it. I am not sure, if that will catch up in Chennai where we are used to ordering two starters and four main courses for a group of six, but this experience was fine dining at its best.
Fresca's opens its doors soon and is located in the basement of the building that houses Cascade on KNK road. (Where Maya used to be). Since it was an invite only dinner, I cannot rate the service. I would love to go back and eat larger portions on a regular day and see how I feel then.
Food 9.5/10
Ambiance 9/10
Price 8/10
- And hey people, if you enjoyed reading this, please share it.
COMMENTS