13 July,2014 07:26 AM IST | | Moeena Halim
Soleil by La Plage, which replaces Sula’s Little Italy and Soma, serves some delicious authentic farm-to-fork French food
Fresh scampi from Gangapur Lake, homemade chevre and free range chicken a quick glance through the menu and we knew eating at Soleil by La Plage was going to be a delight. Soleil, with its eclectic decor, Warli- painted walls and locally-sourced bric-a-brac, now fills the space where Indian restaurant Soma and Little Italy used to be.
Palak paneer makes it on La Plage's menu as Paneer Maison Grille aux epices
While there are a few things you might find in common with La Plage restaurants in Manali or Goa, much of the menu has been designed keeping locally-sourced ingredients in mind, especially Sula's own organic produce.
What's just as interesting about the menu is that it includes âIndian flavours' too. Unsure if the subtle French flavours would suit the Indian palate, they've compromised by including typical Indian dishes but serving them in a French way.
So although palak paneer makes it on the menu as Paneer Maison Grille aux epices (Rs 300), Asperges Panees du Jardin, Sauce Palak, the creamy spinach puree is served as a sauce with discs of grilled paneer. Not the most exciting thing on the menu.
The other starter we sampled was the much-recommended Ravioles de Crevettes, Bisque Legere a la Citronelle (Rs 420), or prawn ravioli. The dash of lemongrass added a wonderful fragrance to the creamy, subtly-flavoured bisque, which didn't steal the limelight from the melt-in-the-mouth ravioli and prawn.
For our main course we decided to stick to French flavours, ordering the Barbequed Scampi (Rs 690) and the Typique Chicken (Rs 540) served in a reduction of Sula's Dindori Shiraz. The former was served with a side of a delicious saffron-studded risotto, the perfectly cheesy companion to the earthy scampi.
The chicken with its accompanying caramelised onions and potato puree gets a distinctly sweet flavour from the red wine sauce. We wiped our plates clean, but thankfully had room for dessert, ending our meal with the piece de resistance Thali au chocolat (Rs 520) an assortment of chocolate desserts. Keen to sample the rest of the exciting menu, this will definitely be a repeat order on our next visit.
