Maritime by San Lorenzo, Taj Lands End : A Taste of Europe Through Italy

Parma ham with melon balls

With the ever growing popularity of global food in India many countries have made efforts in popularizing their cuisine. This trend started with Chile promoting Chilean wine and food through its annual festivals in Mumbai and Delhi, and recently the Latin American countries got together to showcase their diverse culinary treasures through a food festival in The Leela, Gurgaon, Delhi.

Soup and Fried Polenta

Mumbai was a bit in the shadow, but the European Food festival which ran in the city between 6^th and the 12^th of September was a laudable effort by the European Union to popularize European gastronomy through a food festival which ran at several locations around Mumbai.

I chose to go to Maritime by San Lorenzo located at Taj Land’s end which completed its 1^st year on the 29^th of August for this festival. As we sat down for our meal, I realized that the restaurant also had a special anniversary menu and I decided to samples a few fares from that menu as well.

Fried Polenta and mushrooms

We started off with a Zuppa di Funghi, a porcini mushrooms soup and a side of Crostini di Polenta, a fried polenta with porcini mushroom sauce. A strong heady aroma of fine extra virgin Olive Oil hit my noise the moment I took the first spoonful. The soup, loaded with bits of porcini mushrooms, hint of garlic and extra virgin olive oil was a delight to the senses and an apt dish to begin the gastronomic odyssey. The platter of thinly sliced delicious Parma ham with melon balls, which the chef had sent, was the proverbial icing on the cake. The Polenta crostini, however, was average in comparison to the soup.

The Pasta trio

For the next course, the chef brought us a sampling of three stars from his master kitchen – Spaghetti Schillaci : Spaghetti with spicy diced tomatoes , fresh basil and chillies, Porcini e tartufo: Creamed Carnaroli rice with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil and Paglia e Fieno San Lorenzo: Plain and spinach fettuccine, creamy sauce, lemon marinated chicken strips, sundried tomatoes. Each dish bettered the other; perfect al dente spaghetti and fettuccine, a very creamy and rich risotto using carnaroli rice instead of the regular Arborio, a spicy towards the tail end tomato sauce with the spaghetti and the creamy rich sauce with the fettuccine made for a very simple and yet delicious flight of dishes. I just wish the chef had used the fresh herbs liberally as it would have taken the dish up a few notches.

Roasted Berkshire pork belly

The mains were equally interesting, I had the Gamberoni al Cognac, a dish with large king prawns, pan seared in citrusy Armagnac sauce and served with homemade manfricoli pasta. My friend went for Melanzane ripiene which was baked eggplant shell, filled with vegetables, ricotta cheese, served with side salad, and Pancettone di Maiale which was Roasted Berkshire pork belly, served with roasted potatoes and roasted bell peppers. The prawns were cooked to perfection and the sautéed pasta quite delicious. The baked eggplant was also quite good, but I thought the ricotta and the vegetables filling made it quite dense, my friend who incidentally hates eggplants, lapped it up in no time. The star of the table was the pork belly filled with a frittata with herbs inside and rolled had a crisp exterior and soft inside. Great dish served intelligently with potatoes and roasted bell peppers letting the pork belly shine.

Tiramisu

To round off our meal, the chef served us a portion of his Tiramisu and the Panna Cotta. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Tiramisu was one of the best ones I have had in India so far. The mascarpone cheese was soft and oh so creamy. The Panna Cotta was decadent, and well balanced; the berry coulis adding to its flavor. Certainly the desserts at Maritime by San Lorenzo are not to be missed.

Awesome spread, simple clean flavors that lets the produce be the star is the main forte of Maritime by San Lorenzo, European Cheese and decadent desserts add to the merry mix. The restaurant is certainly going to be on my list for the next special occasion or a romantic date – Bello e Delizioso!

Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs. 4000 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|

Timing: 12:30 PM to 2:45 PM, 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM | Wheelchair access : Yes

Address: Hotel Taj Lands End, Bandstand, Bandra West, Mumbai

Telephone : 022-6668 1234

Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.