Mia Cucina — Restaurant in Mumbai

Mia Cucina - Welcome back to this part of the world. Place is compact with a good vibe. Known for its Italian food (specially the handmade (in house) pastas. They are yum. Been a regular. Been there yesterday. Apart from a couple of dishes which were tad high on salt, it was a smooth sailing. Christmas Menu has been curated well (though we tried from the regular as well)

Insalata Natale - (salad) this had a tangy touch from the mixed berries, crunchiness of the walnut praline some apple. Blue cheese has that sharpness. Green leaves could have been fresher. Some strawberries / avocado .Overall a nice salad made for the Christmas fare. Go for it.

Mulled Wine - this is the speciality when it comes to the festive mood. Aromatic/spices balanced well with orange/lime cinnamon and star anise. At the end of the day it's Red wine all the way.

Eggnog - again a very traditional drink (rich and can be heavy) it's all about getting the balance of Milk/cream/egg and rum. Try this out.

Fig And Feta was another salad which we opted for. This was good. Crunchy/fresh leaves with a dressing of Fig Vinaigrette, mixed green, pine nuts (enhanced the dish) and goat cheese cutting the sweetness and adding bold flavours to the salad.

No Soup (though we would have loved to try) Opted for some Fungi Croccanti (something different) Fried crispy mushrooms stuffed with ricotta/parmesan and mozzarella. Had a lovely texture. Served on a paste made of mushroom. Garnish of Microgreens. Overall nice.

Spiedi Di Gamberi alla Griglia - loved the prawns ( madewell simple yet classy ) Basically grilled prawn ( medium size , fresh catch ) marinated with lemon Chilli oil , grilled and served on skewers on a bed of Spicy mayo. This gave the tangy/spicy taste. Anytime for this.

Polenta con Pomodori - Fried polenta is difficult to get it correct. Chef did a good job. Lovely texture. Served with Spicy tomato sauce - aromatic and herbs. Overall good Antipasti. Goes well with a Drink (beer it was for me) normally we don't associates fried dishes when it comes to Italian food.

Torte Di Polio - Basically Minced chicken cake with herbs and a bit of aromatic flavours. Pan seared. This was served on a bed of chilli lemon mayo (tangy spicy) balance was good and had a lovely texture to it. Garnish of microgreens.

Pasta - Tagliatelle al mascarpone e spinaci - made in house (Pasta and Mascarpone) a gem of a dish. This is Mia Cucina for you. Just awesome. Lovely texture and balance was just perfect. Got the pasta just perfect. Combination of spinach (hint) and Mascarpone cheese sauce. That was it. They also serve with Chicken/Bacon/Prawns. Guess this was their star dish of the day.

Lasagne peperonata - a bit messy (presentation) chef look into it. Though the taste was top notch. Correct balance. In house sheet of pasta with roasted vegetables and tomato sauce. This had a hit of pepper. Overall a nice I=dish but for the presentation.

Dessert - Tiramisu, tasted lovely, just that it did not SET well. My bad I guess.

Overall experience - loved this place and surely I shall be back. Packed. Do make reservations in case you planning to visit and catch up with the Christmas menu which started on 23rd Dec and will end on 6th Jan. Service were...

The place is made out of brick walls and has yellow lights all around, probably a manifestation of one of the cute little warm places around Italy! All the dishes had Italian names and it was fun to read them, also it wasn't difficult because they'd given a good description of each dish below it.

There was live sports screening and after the match they had mellow songs being played all along and it complimented the set up so beautifully! The ambience was simply serene and the place woks for both, a family group as well as friends. I'd recommend to visit this place during the night to simply enjoy the Italiano feels with the beautiful walls and lights!

We had Zomato gold on the drinks, so had to repeat two of the drinks we ordered! Also to our great let down their blender wasn't working so we couldn't chose between smoothies and milkshakes.

So we went on to call for:

They gave us some bread and butter dip in this very vintage looking brown basket before bringing in anything and I was in love with the concept of giving a complimentary dish so perfectly aligned with their theme!

• Old Monk: Here again they were out of pepsi and thumbs cup, so we had to go ahead with coke.

• Hot Chocolate: It was too too sweet and while repeating it(since we had Zomato gold), we had to specifically ask them to not put sugar at all! But nonetheless it quite well complimented the cold weather and we enjoyed it anyway!

• Bombil Fritto: This dish was so beautifully cooked, I've never had Bombay duck in the prawn style! The bones weren't there and you just had to pick it and eat it like poppers. The sause it was served with was great and everyone loved the dish. So if you dislike fish just because of the bones, here's your fix!

• Polo Crispy Panini: Now this dish too came with some beautiful presentation! There was this glass filled with Basil leaves dressed with olive oil I'm guessing and also there was a mayo sause sidding the dish. We enjoyed the dish, it was soft and it had great fillings too.

• Pepperoni Pizza: Thin crusts always taste great and this especially was all the more thin and cheesy and had loads of pepperoni! It was a bit gressy but for all the right reasons and was enjoyed by everyone on the table! It did quite live upto the Italian expectation!

We didn't quite call for desserts because we were too packed but it does have a patisserie and the desserts did look appealing and I'd recommend one should try them out. The servicing was a little laid back but nonetheless I enjoyed the whole experience and would...

If you are looking for some Authentic Italian food with beautiful ambience and some aazing liquor concoctions than you have hit the right place. Located by the Powai Lake this place has a beautiful rustic inner air conditioned seating along with pleasant breezy outdoor seating. The staff is here so on point with their service and help suggest you the best of their menu as per your taste palate. Overall this is our take on @Mia Cucina:

Ambience: 5/5 Service:5/5 Food: 5/5 Creativity: 5/5

Food we ordered:

Polenta E Pollo Spiedini: Juicy tender chicken chunks and polenta cubes on a skewer well marinated in white cream and grilled to perfectly cooked treats. The texture of both went well. It was served with a drizzle of garnish. Definitely a must have.

Spiedi di Gamberi alla Griglia: Medium sized prawns on skewers roasted to nice sweet taste which is balance with seasoning and served on a bed of lime chilli mayo. It was definitely delicious with a splendid balance of sweet prawns meat and lime chilli mayo. Loved it !!

Pizza Arrabiata: Thin crust hand tossed pizzas lathered with inhouse sweet tomato sauce topped with spicy herbed chicken and cherry tomato with loads of Mozzarella. I love such authentic flavours as they don’t have the acidity of store bought pizza sauces but instead have their own sweetness which was then balanced out by the herbed chicken. Totally a must have.

Parmigiana Di Pollo: This was like my soul food indeed. A bowl of spaghetti tossed in sweet tomato sauce topped with a portion of chicken with crust of bread crumbs. It is then baked with fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Definitely a complete package deal indeed. Desserts: For desserts we had the classic Tiramisu cake & Blueberry cheesecake both of which were on point. Cocktails: For drinks we had the caramel buttered whiskey which was an absolute delight. Highly recommended. While try the Whiskey sour for a stronger concoction of 7 spirits.

Overall we truly had an amazing time. Special mention to our server Mr. Abhishek who made sure we had an amazing time. So do head to this place if you too crave for authentic Italian...