On a hot, busy, traffic-frenzied afternoon, Amalfi on Millers Road in Kilpauk, is a little pocket of solace. Textured white brick walls and imitation bougainvilleas suspended from the ceiling make for laid-back, relaxing interiors as you browse the vegetarian Italian menu. Interestingly enough, this month-old 30-seater restaurant used to be a driving school owned by the grandfather of Vrindha Ramesh. “So it was important for me to make him proud,” says Vrindha, who has taken over the space with her brother-in-law Vikrant Subramanian. With a full house on the weekends, courtesy their fresh hand-rolled pastas, sourdough pizzas and some Jain-adapted dishes (no onion, no garlic) to meet the needs of residents around the area, we’d say that she is well on her way.
Gnocchi three times
Over slurps of a hearty Tuscany Roasted Tomato Soup, Vrindha tells us that the culinary team is now working on a separate Jain menu, with about 30 dishes, to cater to the demand, which should be rolled out by next month. For the moment though, we’re curious to dive into their homemade pesto, pumpkin experiments like the Fried Pumpkin and Almond Ravioli and crunchy pops of Pumpkin Gnocchi Fritti; and an elaborate dessert section that includes ice cream flavours that range from classics like Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut to a more novel Lavender and Honey. This is apart from cheesecake choices that include the trending Biscoff and a zesty Lemon variant as well. But we digress, back to our savoury plates...
Tagliatelle me more
For pasta choices, expect tagliatelle, pappardelle and linguini. Yup, no penne or spaghetti. And given that these are made fresh everyday, the list is fairly limited. That said, we are won over by the well thought out sauces on offer that apart from staples like Arabiatta, include options like a Tomato Sechi Butter (sundried tomatoes, butter and parsely), Pesto cream (fresh basil, parmesan and garlic) and Herb Wine Butter (parmesan cheese, white wine and garlic). The bruschetta platter has not-often-found toppings as well, like the Artichoke and Lemon, but this appetiser was a touch dry for our liking. Finally for pizza, we recommend ordering The Pizza Sampler, which let’s you explore four different toppings. We enjoy the classic Margherita with buffalo cheese and roma tomato sauce and if you’re in the mood for a little sweet and sour, opt for the Pizza Pugliese with balsamic onions, provolone cheese and capers. We save the ‘Fried Pizza Bombs’ which look perfect for someone who loves pizza, but possibly can’t finish one, for our next visit.
Meal for two at INR 1,200.