A key figure who helped shape Bengaluru’s fine dining scene, Abhijit Saha is a renowned chef, restaurateur and F&B consultant with over three decades of national and international experience. Rosmarino Neapolitan Pizza & Trattoria is chef Abhijit’s latest restaurant, a return to Italian cuisine reflecting his three decades of passion for it.
This new 40-seater with both indoor and outdoor seating is a trattoria that specialises in the vibrant, authentic flavours of Southern Italian cuisine, particularly focusing on Neapolitan-style pizza. The menu aims to offer a departure from the typical, predictable Italian menus found elsewhere in the city.
The first thing to come out of their wood-fired pizza oven the evening we visited wasn’t their signature sourdough pizzas but hot and pillowy-soft garlic bread topped with caramelised onions and baby-potato slices, accompanied by pesto sauce. We paired these flavour bombs called Cipolla Caramellita with a couple of tantalising beverages — Smoked Lavender Elixir (a tea-based drink concocted with lavender, lime and thyme smoke) and Banished Sangria (grape juice, cranberry juice and fresh cut fruits).
The meal only got more appetising with Aspara gus & Blue Cheese Arancini and Avocado on Crispy Polenta. The former promises a crunchy, gooey, slightly sweet and tangy bite when dipped into the Rosmarino sauce and at the same time, the latter offers a creamy contrast, topping a crispy golden-brown polenta cake.
For the mains, we tasted a variety of four dishes, beginning with comfort food Rigatoni with Lamb Ragu, garnished with pecorino cheese and rosemary, which was so velvety and savoury, we licked the plate clean. Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli with pine nut, sage and crispy kale was served next — a perfect, refreshing pasta for those bored of Bengaluru’s standard spinach and ricotta ravioli.
Their Sorrentina Gnocchi with Asparagus and Chickpeas is another pasta not to miss, as it not only plays with unusual ingredients and succeeds, but also celebrates the shared traditions of Italy’s border areas with the Mediterranean, in this case, chickpeas! We rounded up the mains with Tenderloin Pizzaiola & Truffle Fries — an aromatic beef tenderloin prepared pizzastyle with San Marzano tomato sauce, red wine, garlic and oregano that first delivers the buttery tenderness of the meat and is instantly followed by the robust flavours.
If you are dining at an Italian restaurant, it’s customary to try their Tiramisu, but it’s fun when this classic dessert arrives at the table with a twist! Tira-Mess is, however, served in a glass with a chilled latte! We kept digging into the spongy cake soaked with sweet coffee and cream until there was none left to savour.
Meal for two: ₹1,500 onwards. At Carlton Towers, Indirangar.
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