Dezio

Dario’s has been a long-time favorite for Italian food lovers in Pune. This was pretty much the only place for authentic Italian fare in town until a few years back. Started by an Italian chef who decided to make Pune his home, the only thing missing in Dario’s impressive food menu until now was meat. Carnivore fans you can now rejoice! Dezio, their new restaurant in Kalyani Nagar not only celebrities the flavors of Sicily, but also brings meat on the menu.

Dezio has a variety of seating options.  The best seats are in their outdoor section, under the tall trees where they have also located their wood-fired oven.  The menu, like their other restaurants, has a lot of items to choose from.





We began with their antipasti platter which had a variety of cold cuts, cheese and savoury tidbits to dig into. They also brought us a bread basket of warm, fresh breads that were pretty good.



We ordered pastas and risotto for our mains.  This is clearly where they excel.  I loved the risotto and my companions relished their pastas.  The portions are quite large, but we polished them off in quick order.







Their desserts here are pretty large-sized too. I like their Tiramisu the best.  After the large portions of their mains, it may be best to share a single portion of dessert.



Overall, the restaurant delivers on many fronts.  The ambiance is great especially during the evening hours.  Their pastas are excellent.  I haven’t tried a pizza here yet, but given the wood-fired oven, I expect that may be something to try next time.  I wasn’t too excited about their appetisers, or at least the ones I have ordered thus far, but nothing too shabby.

 On the day I was there, the chef and his wife were personally supervising the staff. They have opened a restaurant in Chennai recently too, and that seems to be a trend with several restaurateurs of Pune:  Both Doolally and Turtulia have opened branches in Mumbai recently.