Located on a quiet street in Nungambakkam, walking into Nolita feels like stepping into a bistro in Italy.
Chennai:
White and turquoise décor meets the eye and the smell of garlic bread tantalises the senses. One look at the menu shows that the restaurant is no-fuss and believes in perfecting the limited dishes they have. Pizza and pasta form the mains while a couple of soups, appetisers and salads are available too; not to forget desserts.
The thick, creamy three-cheese mushroom soup is almost a meal by itself and adding a dash of freshly ground pepper to it enhances its richness. The spinach and roasted garlic soup, a specialty of the restaurant, is also worth trying.
A unique aspect of Nolita is that they use only sour dough bread to make the pizzas and garlic bread — “The breadmaking process is similar to setting curd in the sense that it is prepared the previous night and left to ferment for use the next day. This improves the quality and nutritional aspect of the bread,” the chef informs.
However, not all the toppings on the pizzas are new to the city. One might find the same olives, sun-dried tomatoes and mushroom combination in any other woodfire pizza joint. The pepperoni pizza doesn’t impress either for it is pretty straight-forward save a slight burn it leaves at the back of the throat after two bites. The variants that do seem worth trying are the jalapeno, fig chutney and bocconcini white pizza, or shrimp, chilli, capers and lime pizza.
The pesto pasta is simply out of the world and is probably one of the creamiest and most ‘saucy’ pastas one can find in the city. Up until this point, most of the food is flavourful but too much on the salty side. The chicken wings (anti pasti) is the only dish, which has a sweetish hint to it thanks to the BBQ sauce. A dash of unpredictable flavours in the other dishes would be nice to refresh the palate. The choice of beverages to go with the food is limited too and the lemonade might as well be taken off the menu for it doesn’t do anything.
To end on a sweet note, the tiramisu is the perfect choice. This might seem clichéd for a restaurant that serves Italian, but it is worth it. Ladyfinger biscuits (known as savoiardi in Italian) infused with espresso and a hint of rum make this dessert stand out from what is served elsewhere. So, if the staff recommend this traditional tiramisu for dessert, simply nod and graciously accept it.
Nolita
Address: 6, Nawab Habibullah Avenue, Off Anderson Road, Nungambakkam
Contact: 80562 06305
Timing: 12 to 3.30 pm, 6.30 to 10.30 pm
Cuisine: Italian
Must-haves: Homemade ice tea, cheese croquettes, creamy pesto pasta