Being a fan of pizza, we were delighted when Slice’D — The Gourmet Pizzeria invited us over for a meal. The restaurant is the city’s first rooftop pizza space and offers an eclectic menu. The brainchild of Shashank Chintamani, he tells us how everything he learned about pizza was back when he was a student (working at a pizza parlour), and how he used to create his own recipes. “I tried to add unconventional ingredients and vegetables to pizza. One might not expect to find aubergine, egg, or seafood as a topping,” Shashank shared.
Our table gave us a clear view of KBR Park, as we waited for our order. The first one to arrive was the Vegetarian Supreme. The hand tossed dough was topped with grilled eggplant, baby spinach leaves, roasted capsicums, mushroom, sundried tomatoes, and Bocconcini. It was further drizzled with garlic aioli. The aioli and the grilled aubergine elevated a classic in the right way. This is truly a highlight of their menu. We followed this with the Mediterranean Goat pizza, which came topped with mutton slivers cooked in Mediterranean spices, green capsicum, and fresh tomatoes. While this combination of toppings didn’t work for us, it was dollops of feta cheese and mint aioli that saved the day.
What the shrimp!
Next, we sampled their Schezwan Chilli Prawns. The spicy prawns, and shallots, and garnished with green chillies, sent our taste buds into a joyful ecstasy. The clean and subtle flavours of the pizza made this a hit. Our final pick from their pizza section was the Vietnamese Chilli. This one surprised us with two layers of toppings — chicken and shallots served on a sweet chilly and garlic base — coleslaw garnished with a generous layer of garlic aioli. Packed with meat and vegetables, this had us distracted from the previous options we tried.
Korean connect
The menu also offers an array of sides and we picked the Korean Chicken Wings. Marinated in a sticky and spicy hot sauce, these wings are baked and succulent meat falls off the bone. We made a mental note to come back to the rooftop just for these as we reached for seconds.
We ended the tasting with the Blueberry Cheesecake. A classic, the dessert was the sweet finish we needed.
Rs 800 for two. At Banjara Hills.
— bsuchitra@newindianexpress.com