Italy in your shopping bag

If you are looking for some good food post the shopping binge, head to Amici Cafe at select citywalk

Let'S face it. I have never
really been fond of restaurants that are inside malls. While it might be a great business format, and families and young professionals and teenage lovers might love them, I do not believe it is possible to do justice to the food sitting in an overcrowded mall -- where more than retail therapy, the idea is more often or not, to kill time.u00a0


The place is designed like a European bistro

Besides, the motley crowd does not really throw up fine connoisseurs of good food. However, while I do not think it is possible to recreate fine-dining ambience inside a mall, where you have the world peeping at you and the food you eat, I am all for fast food joints, cafes and quick-fix meals.

It's the european feel
So when I walked into Amici's new outlet in Select Citywalk Mall, I wasn't too impressed at first.u00a0u00a0 But after a while, the place kind of grows on you. Amici already has a fine-dining set up in Khan Market and this one has been designed like a bistro, only problem -- it's not open air but is inside a mall. But true to the spirit of a bistro, it doesn't offer much privacy, so this ain't the place for a fancy romantic dinner if that's what you have in mind. However, if you are with a group of friends, this 50-cover cafe is the perfect place to relax those muscles after a shopping binge.

Soothing those muscles
I was tired after office and decided to soothe myself withu00a0 a Broken brownie shake while my friend settled for, what he kept raving about as delicious, au00a0 Banana chocolate shake. However, I was really tempted when I saw the Mulligatawny soup on their menu. Growing up in Calcutta where Anglo-Indian fare is extremely popular and easily available, I had really missed this curry flavoured soup -- which literally translates to 'pepper water'-- after shifting base to Delhi. The soup has ingredients like tamarind concentrate, lemon juice, coconut milk, red lentils among others. I was happy to see Amici make a good job of this ever-popular dish. But happy though I was, it was time to move on to my next favourite -- Chicken and cheese bruschetta, done with a crispy base with just the right amount of cheese.

For meat eaters please!
However, while this place is decent for meat eaters like me, vegetarians would be a tad disappointed even though there are quite a few items on the menu for leaf-eaters as well. So while I was happily munching on my salad and bruschetta, my friend was too happy with his veg pizza.u00a0The portions are huge here, so even though we had ordered Lasagna made with lamb and chicken ragu and Pan seared fish with lemon butter caper (delicious), we couldn't do much justice to them. The desserts here seemed delectable and so we tried the Chocolate eclair. Don't miss this, we say.

At: Amici Cafe, A-48, First floor, Select Citywalk Mall, Saket
Timings: 11 am to 11 pm
Ring: 41041468
Meal for two: Rs 1,000