Buon appetito!

Source :The Hindu:MICHAEL SWAMY:nov 9,2011

The concept of dining out family style is novel at best, and often, one may be left disappointed by many of the brunches at Mumbai restaurants. 

While there are many options from mediocre to grand stand displays, does the brunch at Fratelli Fresh offer something more?

The in-between meal

The word ‘brunch' is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch, a concept of a late breakfast and early lunch thrown into one. The term was coined in Britain in 1895 and appeared first in Punch magazine.

The Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Powai stands upon a slope overlooking the lake. Add to it the restaurant that in my books serves the best brunch – Fratelli Fresh. 

As one enters the warmly designed restaurant decorated with Italian marble, one is impressed by the vast display of dishes all along the restaurant, with the kitchen designed to serve up the freshest of produce. 

Guests can take a seat in one of the various sitting areas provided; from casual or semi private areas to private areas within an al fresco atmosphere meant to make one relax, eat and enjoy a leisurely chat.

Live cooking

Fratelli Fresh is the new restaurant at the Renaissance and is headed by Chef Vincenzo Zizza, whose jovial and animated manner suffuses into the food and makes you wonder what is in store for the meal. 

Guests are welcomed with a glass of sangria which is a pleasant concoction of wine and orange juice. One can then heap on a pile of crisp salads and a host of lettuces like radicchio, rocket and iceberg onto one's plate. 

Salads like insalata caprice which is thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella or an octopus and potato salad which has a mixture of textures and flavours to salads of mushroom, zucchini and coloured capsicum and pasta salads tossed lightly in olive oil are amongst a host of others on display.

It is a joy to watch food being cooked in front of you and at Fratelli Fresh, the kitchen runs through most of the length of the restaurant.

 It's divided into four sections and one can saunter through choosing fresh pasta to be cooked to order like green gnocchi, orange taglioni or my favourite, fettucini.

The crowd seems to usually be around the grill where a waitress stands in attendance and shows you trays upon trays of seafood like grouper, sea bass, red snapper, salmon, king prawns and lobster.

 Grilled plain with just lemon and salt or tossed in garlic and oil or real home made tomato sauce, the seafood heaped upon the plate as an appetiser, accompanied by a glass of champagne, can be a meal in itself.

A king's feast

On display are a host of breads like warm focaccia stuffed with olives and herbs and basil flavoured baguettes with a range of vinegars and fresh olive oil as accompaniments. 

The smell of fresh herbs and flavours can bring out the best in any meal, more so in European food. To accompany the bread on the table are cheeses like brie, gorgonzola, fontina, and a variety of goat's cheese. We tucked into these with relish as there is something about bread and cheese; the flavours just make one feel whole.

The cold cuts section has plates of whole parma ham, prosciutto which is dry cured ham often uncooked and slightly tough, salami Napoli and mortadella which is pork meat ground to a paste, then shaped into a salami and sometimes stuffed with dried nuts like pistachios or pine nuts.

All the cold cuts were finely sliced paper thin and surrounded by a variety of olives.

After a well deserved break, we headed to the main course section where the hot kitchen table was laden with roasts of beef, lamb and pork; the meat was roasted and showing off various stages of readiness from rare and medium to well done and was served up and accompanied by baked potatoes and meat-based sauces. 

If one prefers gravy with one's meat, one can choose dishes like veal ossobuco and pan fried chicken leg cooked in garlic and rosemary and served with risotto rice, which is a sticky rice with a bit of crunch to it.

At this point one is doubtful of having space for dessert. But even after showing off almost every classical Italian savoury dish, there is nothing to beat the dessert section.

 It is full of pies and tarts filled with fig and pears, fruits and custard as well as a classical panetonne. 

The budino cremoso, a delightful dessert made of Italian cream and caramel is a must try. One cannot forget the tiramisu of which they have two varieties.

As far as brunches go, this is a true gastronomic delight.

What: Brunch at Fratelli Fresh

Where: Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel

How much: Non-Alcoholic – Rs 1,500, Alcoholic – Rs 1,800, Champagne Brunch – Rs 2,500

(Prices per person and exclusive of taxes)