Ci Gusta! at Madhapur is well known for their gelatos and Italian food. The spot has recently launched a month-long burger festival highlighting various cuisines and proteins. We walked into the packed place, as patrons gathered around the gelato section, taking their picks while the crackling pizza oven was ablaze a few feet away.
We perused through the diverse limited-edition Burger menu with protein options like crab, chicken, pulled lamb, prawn and bacon, while the vegetarian menu had mock meat and tofu based burgers. We had heard several good reviews about the Breakfast Burger at Ci Gusta! and decided to dig into it first. Made with a fried egg white patty, chicken ham, and a ghee hollandaise sauce sandwiched between supreme croissants, we understood the hype it earned instantly as we took a bite.
The creamy hollandaise sauce dripped down our fingers as we bit into the crunchy croissants to find savoury ham and pillow-soft eggs on a bed of arugula inside. "Typically, an elaborate English breakfast has elements like eggs, a side of bread and cold cuts. We decided to fuse all these familiar elements into one compact package, making our Breakfast Burger," said Chef Naresh Avachetty, Head Chef at Ci Gusta!
We sampled the Japanese Mock Meat Burger next, made with a crisp fried homemade seitan, wasabi mayo and gari salad served with a light citrus ponzu sauce. We were impressed by the crunchy homemade seitan - a surprisingly close substitute to meat. Pickled bits of ginger topped on the seitan reminded us of familiar flavours served with Sushi.
The Basil Pesto Chicken Burger arrived later, topped with caramelised cherry tomatoes. With a refreshing flavour profile, we thought Pesto lovers would enjoy this variant the most. The super-soft burger buns at the outlet deserve a special mention. The Ci Gusta! Special Frappé made with a creamy vanilla gelato was quite a lovely beverage pairing for the burgers.
"With an overall festive atmosphere during the month of Ramzan, we decided to launch The Big Burger Festival to offer something different from the ordinary to our patrons. While we're currently serving Burgers with exotic ingredients, we'd love to add the most loved burgers from the festival into our regular menu," said Chef Naresh, an award-winning expert in European cuisine with over seventeen years of experience.
We checked out the everyday menu to find the Fried Chicken Burger, a bestseller at the outlet. Served with a side of pickles, the burger had a sweet-spicy kick to it, and was a hit with crispy chicken lovers.
No visit to Ci Gusta! is ever complete without a serving of gelato. We took our pick from the options, and chose a scoop of decadent dark chocolate gelato, that made for a great treat post the filling meal.
Everyday until 10 May.
₹1,700 for two, at Madhapur.