It was a Wednesday afternoon at the glitzy, scarcely crowded Jio World Plaza at BKC. But the only place that was surprisingly crowded was the all-new Armani/Caffè. Located adjacent to Giorgio Armani’s boutique, this is not only the first Armani/Caffè to have opened in India, but the first in South Asia! Armani/Caffè launched in 1998 and since then it is opened its outlets in more than 20 countries such as Milan, Tokyo, Munich, Dubai, and more.
The restaurant seems to be an extension of the Armani boutique, perhaps as a means to extend the brand’s influences in all aspects of the customer’s lifestyle. “I always wanted the Armani brand to become an expression of style as a lifestyle, of sophisticated simplicity as a sign of elegance in every field, the food that is one of the most important elements of everyday life could not be missing,” says Giorgio Armani in a statement shared by the team.
As you enter, it is hard to miss the tiny details that exude the Armani brand’s ethos. Right from the handles on the door with Giorgio Armani’s initials’ logo to the interiors, it is as premium as it can get. The place does not have glitzy, over-the-top interiors. Think quiet luxury and sophistication paired with a sense of fashion but in a restaurant
The 52-seater space is adorned with a palette of muted blue and green tones – giving the space a cooling and pleasant vibe. The classic Armani palm tree motifs are also seen not only on screens across the space but also as a soothing print on the menu as well. What stood out for us is that the interior had a good balance of minimalism but still had character as the brand beautifully articulated the ‘less is more’ approach it is known to stand for.
If a slice (no pun intended) of Italy were to be experienced, I would suggest it be at Armani/Caffè in Mumbai. The menu featured a selection of carefully curated Italian dishes. It was as authentic as possible as the menu remains standard across all outlets of this restaurant around the world.
What makes this restaurant even more exclusive is the fact that the diner can feast on Girogio Armani’s favourite dishes!
The options for pizzas as a vegetarian were a tad bit disappointing because the menu has only two choices – Margherita Pizza (₹1,300) and Pizza Parmigiana (₹1,350). However, the taste made up for the lack of options here. With eggplant as a topping, the Parmigiana pizza looked as good as it tasted! The Roman-style pizzas were light, well-seasoned and the dough wasn’t too chewy or too crunchy. As we ate this pizza, we felt like Julia Robert’s character in Eat Pray Love where she was having a “relationship with her pizza”.
The Cannelloni con Ricotta e Spinaci (₹1,250) was stuffed with ricotta, spinach, parmesan fondue, pecorino, and basil sauce. It seemed like a textbook spinach cannelloni and we could not help but go for multiple helpings. It was light, flavourful, and a crowd favourite on the table.
The Polpette di Verdure al Pomodoro (₹1,750) is one of the signature Armani dishes and we knew why after the minute we had our first bite. The aubergine and vegetable dumplings, Corbarino, Datterini, and sundried tomatoes with parmesan resembled gnocchi. But when we bit into one of these dumplings, we first noticed their texture. The melt-in-the-mouth dumplings and the slightly tangy sauce paired with a generous amount of parmesan were perhaps the perfect bite we had that afternoon.
Coming to an Italian restaurant, we were looking forward to try their Tiramisu (₹1,150). A coffee bean-shaped dessert arrived at our table and looked quite tempting. As we dug into the mascarpone mousse, we enjoyed the dessert but if you are expecting a traditional tiramisu – layered lady finger with mascarpone cream – then you might be disappointed. This seemed to be a tiramisu-inspired dessert or rather just a coffee dessert than the classic cult favourite.
We opted for another dessert Bignè al Cioccolato (₹800) whcih as a plate of profiterole, chocolate sauce, and vanilla cream. The choux pastry was light and airy and the combination of vanilla cream with warm chocolate sauce was quite good but overall, the dessert didn’t stand out for us.
The Insalata Caprese salad (₹1,250) had mozzarella, Datterini, and Corbarino tomatoes with basil oil. It was a great start to our meal and was fresh but if given an option, we would rather opt to order their pizza, mains, and pasta again.
However, what stood out the most for us at Armani/Caffè was the fact that despite indulging in carb-heavy food of bread and pasta, the meal didn’t leave us feeling stuffy. The meal was light, fresh, and left us satisfied with recommendations to share with a friends and a few options to come back for.
