When a restaurant is named after a small province in Italy, one does assume that only Italian food will be served there. But sifting through the menu at the newly opened Capella makes it clear that it offers dishes from around the world for global nomads.
Yangya Prakash Chandran, the founder and CEO of Crossway Hotels and Resorts, said he, along with Virgil James Fredrick Julian, the executive chef, arrived at the final menu after tasting over 250 dishes over the course of two months. The best of them have made it onto this menu.
We began with the Creamy Chicken Capella soup, followed by a Japanese Prawn and Avocado salad. The classic French-style soup containing mushroom and chicken had a mousse and a Gustavo on top, while the salad was rather colourful with pan-seared prawns, avocado, orange, tomatoes, and boiled egg. This was quite yummy.
Similarly, the Beirut Mezze was a colourful plate containing fatoush, falafel, cheese boregi (Turkish cheese rolls), and a variety of dips, from hummus to baba ghanoush.
Right from the outset, it was clear that the chef had put in a lot of effort into presentation instead of just sticking to the basics. The Kunafa Prawns, for example, were a treat to the eyes, where the crustaceans were draped in sweet vermicelli and shallow-fried.
It takes around 10 minutes to work on each prawn, but only minutes to empty the bowl! The prawns tasted amazing, especially when paired with the sweet chilli sauce that came as an accompaniment.
Our favourite of the dishes we sampled during the meal was the Moroccan Grilled Chicken. Served with a melt-in-the-mouth spanakopita, the dish was flavourful and tasty. The harissa-rubbed chicken breast was moist and tender, and each bite made us want to dig in for more. A must-try.
While we were having the Tres Leches for dessert, sourced from a dessert shop on the hotel premises, which is run, incidentally, by the MD of the property, Hasnain Abbas, Chandran said he wants families to come to dine at his restaurant as he has specifically created family friendly sections in the menu. Also, select beverages are now available at the restaurant.
INR 1,200 for two persons. Lunch and dinner. At The Palomar by Crossway.
