Eye candy

Villa 39’s menu is a visual treat too,as it is an admirably authentic Italian menu that even includes burrata,a divine cheese made with mozzarella and cream; sadly,this is available only on weekends. We hope that Fabiani doesn’t succumb to the pressure to serve pizzas during dinner service and will stand out for being the only credible stand-alone Italian restaurant in the city that doesn’t serve pizza. The salmon carpaccio,a telling start to the meal,was served with a mustard dressing that was unacceptably sweet. Crab cakes,though delicate and not greasy,needed a stronger hint of crab,while the accompanying piquant sauce was more sour than spicy. Pan seared prawns with garlic,white wine and chilli butter would have been excellent,save for the excessive use of pepper,a recurring problem through our meal. The only flawless starter we tried was the mushroom timballo,a simple baked dish with the right amount of parmesan.

Our pasta and mains were similarly nice but flawed. The Spaghetti Bolognese was juicy and the peppercorns were added just right,although there should have been fewer chunks of tomato. The cream of pesto fusilli was disappointing as it had only a miniscule hint of basil and none of pine nuts or parmesan. Fabiani had warned us that the food wasn’t going to be al dente,but that couldn’t excuse the risotto being too dry and the grains too soft. The lamb chops were flavourless and dry; the duck breast was better,especially due to the very good balsamic and blueberry sauce,but it had chewy edges. Our john dory was a bit flaky and dry,indicating it wasn’t fresh; again,too many peppercorns were sprinkled. The only other flawless dish we tried was the mama rosa penne — the sauce was a perfect blend of sweet with tangy,with the right hint of basil at the end.

Dessert was better,with the tiramisu (very good but could do with a bit more mascarpone) and panna cotta (should have been less airy) being the pick of the lot. The fondant,though recommended,had a chewy outer cake with warm chocolate sauce that was too sweet and runny.

Villa 39 has a lot of potential and we hope the niggling flaws will be dealt with. Ultimately,though,we wanted to like the food more than we actually did.

Villa 39,Amarchand Mansion,60 Madam Cama Road (near Regal Circle),Colaba. Average Meal for two: Rs 3,300 excl alcohol.

Tel: 6657 3939