What do you get when you combine an Italian chef passionate about food, a five star hotel, spacious interiors and fresh organic produce? Alto Vino at J.W Marriott Pune of course. Repeated requests from patrons for healthier food culminated into a new fresh organic menu wherein the salad leaves are sourced from a local vendor, while some pastas are imported directly from Italy and the organic rock salt comes from Chandigarh. This was my first visit to the restaurant and believe you me it will surely not be my last.Chef Christian Huber’s attention to detail shines through in his food and boy does his food do the talking. I love salads as much as desserts- have to balance out my sweet tooth. For the antipasti I chose Insalata Rustica- a rustic salad which was a gorgeous medley of different fresh organic salad leaves, cherry tomatoes & parmesan flakes. The dressing was spot on. I was in salad heaven. Next came the Melanzane alla Parmigiana- eggplant parmigiana was another knock out consisting of charred eggplant topped with a rich cheesy sauce. There was a nice burst of freshness courtesy the inclusion of basil.
I have read countless recipes of Calzone but never had the opportunity to sample one. Imagine my delight when I spotted it on the menu and wasted no time in ordering one. Calzone, a closed pizza was very happily ticked off my food bucket list. For mains first up was the organic pumpkin Ravioli- this dish won hands down and emerged as my personal favorite. The ravioli is made with seven grain flour which had a very unique texture and was complemented well with the sweet pumpkin stuffing. Salmone al Vapore asparago verde e salsa di funghi was a beautiful piece of perfectly seasoned salmon with lemony mushrooms on the side, served atop tender asparagus shoots. What I loved about this dish was the clean fresh flavor of the salmon minus any sort of mucking around.
Finally we came to my favorite part –dessert. Tiramisu and chocolate fondant are synonymous with Italian desserts and I just had to try them. The chocolate fondant was rich, gooey and extremely sinful. I wiped my plate clean so well that I could have given any dishwashing liquid a run for its money. The tiramisu was light & delicious. JW Marriott PuneSenapati Bapat Road, Pune 411053Telephone: +91.20.66832215 Website:www.jwpune.comSanaea Patel
