No matter the cuisine, light-filled spaces make dishes delightful. Fiori is one such stunning space in Lonavala’s flourishing F&B scene. Named after the Italian word for flowers, Fiori is the hill station’s first glasshouse restaurant.
“Most people come to Lonavala for the weather - quaint monsoons and cosy winters. So we thought why not build a glasshouse restaurant that pays homage to the weather here and pair it with really good food,” says Suraj Gupta, one half of the sibling duo that has brought Fiori to life.
While Suraj is the business mind behind the venture, his sister Sanskriti Gupta, an architecture graduate from Sheffield University UK is the design soul. And Fiori does flaunt some serious design creds.
A vertical garden leads to a linear dining room decked out with tall lampshades and old world chequered flooring. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls flood the space with tons of natural light while the polycarbonate sliding roof makes for the perfect canvas for the dance of the raindrops.
An open kitchen at the far end is the epicentre of frantic activity in an otherwise elegant dining room. Most décor items at Fiori are locally sourced including the beautiful lamps that were originally vases from Lonavala’s very own ceramists. The piece de resistance are the Victorian pots amped up with fresh roses showcased like artworks around the dining room.
Though Fiori is nestled right in the heart of Lonavala, it somehow manages to deliver a slice of comfort. Maybe it’s the rustic wood-topped community table, or the gently swaying potted ferns or the views of the century-old trees in the lush courtyard.
The menu by chef Gracian de Souza is similarly light and comforting – soups, pasta, tacos, pizzas, mac and cheese… all capped off by the prettiest possible way to end a continental meal: a luscious tiramisu.
Nab a table by the glass wall and dive into the feta and watermelon salad presented like a three tiered cake. Salty, indulgent and drizzled with a dash of balsamic, it sets the tone for a flavour packed meal at Fiori.
The Beetroot and Goat Cheese Salad bathed in a honey mustard dressing and topped off with toasted almond flakes is another compelling starter. Gracian makes very little obvious effort to dress the food up. It just looks good, the way that delicious things tend to.
While the bruschetta could do with more punch, the tacos are pleasant. But the real standouts of the menu are the Neapolitan pizzas. Generously sauced and wonderfully charred they come loaded with an assorted mushrooms and goat cheese.
Liquid pleasures include the tequila-based cocktail Bee Sting with jalapeños and honey and a whisky drink spiked with house made caramel popcorn. There’s also a range of botanically infused G&Ts, coolers (try the lemongrass cooler carved from fresh lemongrass plucked from the terrace garden) smoothies and a delectable Vietnamese iced coffee.
The restaurant staff is talented and ferry plates with aplomb. The best part is that they make you feel more than welcome and don’t rush you. It’s a blessing because you can easily lose sense of time at Fiori.
Meal for two: 2,000 onwards. Open 6pm-11pm. At Regenta SG’s Greenotel Old Mumbai - Pune Hwy, Gawliwada, Rao Colony, Lonavala.