Saturday, April 23, 2011

Alto Vino in Pune

Alto Vino at Pune MarriottTen years back in Pune, there was only one place to go for a formal Italian dinner: La Dolce Vita. This was a restaurant which was more hobby than business for its owner, Dr. Grant - the grand old man better known as the owner of Ruby Hospital. While that restaurant has changed hands (and its name in the process), there is no dearth of Italian dining options any longer. Every new five-star hotel in the city brings with it another new Italian restuarant.

While my current favorite is La Terrazza at the Hyatt Regency, I decided to take my wife to Alto Vino at the Marriott Convention Center during our anniversary. All restaurants at this hotel have a similar look and feel: lots of slatted wood and large, airy dining spaces.

Alto Vino at Pune MarriottAlto Vino has a fairly good collection of Italian wines, but the waitstaff has very little knowledge about wines. We decided to go with a sparkling wine from Italy that turned out sweeter than we expected and yet was pretty good.

Proscuitto at Alto VinoThey started us off with some bread and the customary olive oil and crushed olive dip. The bread was surprisingly good.

We ordered the Prosciutto San Daniele which was served with slices of musk melon and fig chutney. We also ordered the classic Buffalo Mozzarella with marinated tomatoes and fresh basil. Both starters were very good - the mozzarella was fresh and the prosciutto went extremely well with the melon, fig chutney and our wines.

Buffalo mozzarella at Alto VinoMy wife got herself a Canelloni di pollo con spinaci e funghi secchi - chicken canelloni with spinach, mushrooms, and truffle oil. I could see she enjoyed the dish.

Chicken Canollini at Alto VinoI decided to be brave and try their Risotto vialone nano con frutti di mare - a sea-food risotto. The risotto was quite alright with prawns, squid and mussels - but not particularly remarkable.

Seafood risotto at Alto VinoOverall, Alto Vino seems like a good choice for a more formal dining experience if you are in the vicinity of Senapati Bapat Road. I still would recommend La Terrazza over Alto Vino - where the quality of service and knowledge of the waitstaff is considerably higher.

Incidentally, this Marriott is home to a bakery and pastry shop that is very good indeed. The Pune Baking Company at the lobby level bakes several types of high quality breads and pastries daily for the discerning patron.

You can make reservations for Alto Vino at: 6683-3333.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Love reading your blog. I was wondering if you can get Foie Gras in Pune Restaurants and if so which?

Shantanu said...

@Anon: Unfortunately not. The nearest city for such indulgence is Mumbai.