I had been wanting to do this since a long time. A lot of people had told me you get Kolkata's best Italian at Hushh. So I had done a bit of research here and there and finally decided to visit the much talked about place in City Centre, Salt Lake. A lunch for two consisting of 2 starters, 1 portion of main course and 1 desert set us back by Rs 1875, a bit steep considering the decor or service or even some of the food is nothing much to write home about. However, there were a few good things here and there which were so worth it.
We started out with the 'Antipasti' or the starter course. I ordered the grilled mushroom said to be a 'healthy' option on the menu and couldn't resist ordering the seafood platter. Seafood never fails to make me happy and is usually considered to be a safe option. The grilled mushroom came with a vegetable and cheese stuffing and I could make out zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes in the stuffing. It was cooked to perfection. Juicy, flavourful, cheesy - just what I had expected there. And just like that, the platter that was about to come, seemed even more appetising. If these people could create such magic with mushrooms imagine what they can do with shrimps or squid. What a folly !!! The platter came with some grilled shrimps, grilled beckti, fried beckti and some fried squid. I started with the grilled shrimps first and it was really good. Hadn't had such nice shrimps in a long long time. Then tried the grilled beckti, it was soft and spicy. More Indian than Italian, I thought. It actually was marinated a whole lot of red chilli paste and barbecue sauce. I'm quite sure it's not half as Italian as they claim to be. Anyway, it was kinda yummy for the Bong palate. And then I tried the disaster - the fried squid. It was fried in a horrible horrible deep red batter that tasted half burnt and half bitter. I could not taste the meat at all. It was a big big big put off. That is the thing that made the whole platter so not-worth-it. Finally I reached the fried beckti. It was just a big chunk of fish fried in normal besan batter. It was dripping with oil and was more like something a Bong would make on a rainy day to have with his khichdi. And thus starters came to an end on a sad note.
Next up, for the main course I ordered a lamb lasagna. I was torn between an asparagus risotto, a gnocchi dish and the lasagna. I finally went for the lamb dish since it would be filling and one portion would suffice for two people. So it came with a big mass of lamb gravy, vegetables and sheet pasta covered with a crust of white sauce and cheese. Now, people who know me would know how happy cheese, especially grilled, melting cheese makes me feel. The cheese was wonderful, perfectly grilled and stringy and chewy and lovely. But after that came the big mixed up mass and I thought 'Hey, Isn't lasagna supposed to be a layered dish?
'. As far as I know, Lasagna is supposed to be baked with alternate layers of pasta, cheese and the meat gravy. keeping aside the technique, the dish tasted yummy. However, it veered heavily on the Indian side. In fact, it reeked of garam masala and a lot of dhania. The masala actually took away from meat's own flavour from the minced lamb. It was really filling though, and good value for money. More like a lamb gravy you can have with rotis, it was real comfort food :D
Finally came my Tiramisu. You do not go to an Italian place and order cheesecake or ice cream for heaven's sake. Sadly it was the only Italian desert there, but fortunately one of my favourite deserts. However, it too was a bit of a let down. Like in any other Indian restaurant it came with a cake base and not a biscotti base. The cake was dry and crumbly. Seemed a few days old actually. The coffee was really nice. Not too sweet, but a bit bitter and coffeish. But again, the cream used was not Tiramisu cream. It was just a cream cheese and whipped cream mix. However, it all came together quite nicely at the end - the coffee and the cream. It was an excellent desert by itself but a very poor tiramisu.
So go there if you want comfort food. But if you expect good Italian, it's not the right place to go to. Like the desert, it's good as a generic restaurant, but doesn't quite impress you as an Italian joint. But I'll still go back there to sample their risotto once which again, a lot of people recommend. But I'll know what not to order this time. Hope the next time will be a better experience.
We started out with the 'Antipasti' or the starter course. I ordered the grilled mushroom said to be a 'healthy' option on the menu and couldn't resist ordering the seafood platter. Seafood never fails to make me happy and is usually considered to be a safe option. The grilled mushroom came with a vegetable and cheese stuffing and I could make out zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes in the stuffing. It was cooked to perfection. Juicy, flavourful, cheesy - just what I had expected there. And just like that, the platter that was about to come, seemed even more appetising. If these people could create such magic with mushrooms imagine what they can do with shrimps or squid. What a folly !!! The platter came with some grilled shrimps, grilled beckti, fried beckti and some fried squid. I started with the grilled shrimps first and it was really good. Hadn't had such nice shrimps in a long long time. Then tried the grilled beckti, it was soft and spicy. More Indian than Italian, I thought. It actually was marinated a whole lot of red chilli paste and barbecue sauce. I'm quite sure it's not half as Italian as they claim to be. Anyway, it was kinda yummy for the Bong palate. And then I tried the disaster - the fried squid. It was fried in a horrible horrible deep red batter that tasted half burnt and half bitter. I could not taste the meat at all. It was a big big big put off. That is the thing that made the whole platter so not-worth-it. Finally I reached the fried beckti. It was just a big chunk of fish fried in normal besan batter. It was dripping with oil and was more like something a Bong would make on a rainy day to have with his khichdi. And thus starters came to an end on a sad note.
Next up, for the main course I ordered a lamb lasagna. I was torn between an asparagus risotto, a gnocchi dish and the lasagna. I finally went for the lamb dish since it would be filling and one portion would suffice for two people. So it came with a big mass of lamb gravy, vegetables and sheet pasta covered with a crust of white sauce and cheese. Now, people who know me would know how happy cheese, especially grilled, melting cheese makes me feel. The cheese was wonderful, perfectly grilled and stringy and chewy and lovely. But after that came the big mixed up mass and I thought 'Hey, Isn't lasagna supposed to be a layered dish?
'. As far as I know, Lasagna is supposed to be baked with alternate layers of pasta, cheese and the meat gravy. keeping aside the technique, the dish tasted yummy. However, it veered heavily on the Indian side. In fact, it reeked of garam masala and a lot of dhania. The masala actually took away from meat's own flavour from the minced lamb. It was really filling though, and good value for money. More like a lamb gravy you can have with rotis, it was real comfort food :D
Finally came my Tiramisu. You do not go to an Italian place and order cheesecake or ice cream for heaven's sake. Sadly it was the only Italian desert there, but fortunately one of my favourite deserts. However, it too was a bit of a let down. Like in any other Indian restaurant it came with a cake base and not a biscotti base. The cake was dry and crumbly. Seemed a few days old actually. The coffee was really nice. Not too sweet, but a bit bitter and coffeish. But again, the cream used was not Tiramisu cream. It was just a cream cheese and whipped cream mix. However, it all came together quite nicely at the end - the coffee and the cream. It was an excellent desert by itself but a very poor tiramisu.
So go there if you want comfort food. But if you expect good Italian, it's not the right place to go to. Like the desert, it's good as a generic restaurant, but doesn't quite impress you as an Italian joint. But I'll still go back there to sample their risotto once which again, a lot of people recommend. But I'll know what not to order this time. Hope the next time will be a better experience.
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