My Villa 39 restaurant review

As soon as you enter Villa 39’s über classy cream and silver interiors, most of your senses are taken on a roller coaster ride of a lifetime. Touting itself as Mumbai’s first ‘home style’ Italian restaurant, Villa 39 that is housed in an elegant heritage building sure looks like a home… that of a very moneyed Italian Countessa! Before your sense of taste is tickled to the hilt, your sense of sight is treated to stunning visual montages. The alabaster bar and intimate lounge at the ground level accessorized with venetian silver mirrors provides the perfect ambience for downing a few of the restaurant’s stellar cocktails, like the house special Mojito 39 made with coconut water and garnished with lychees or the highly unusual Bitter Chocolate Vodkatini that packs quite a mean punch.
A wooden staircase leads up to the fine dining area, which is embellished with silver antique arches and moldings. Beautiful chandeliers extend their charm to this Italian culinary masterpiece with spotlights reflecting the beauty of the wall carvings. But it is the food that truly wows the taste buds. And while Villa 39 does serve classics like the Pesto Pizza and the Warm Chicken Panini at lunch time, the place shines its best at dinner with a menu that has unusual offerings like the Fried Zucchini Blossoms and the superlative Champagne Risotto. Also worth a mention are the various types of pastas like the Lobster Linguine, Lasagna as well as standard Italian restaurant fare like Fettuccini Alfredo with Smoked Chicken Sauce accompanied by the Parma Ham with melon and figs.
Now for the downside. With such a well crafted appetizer and mains menu, it is rather surprising and a tad disappointing that the desert section of the menu lacks imagination and flair with a boring and rather bland Tiramisu and a ‘gelato’ which turned out to be normal ice cream that the waiter fessed up to have come out of a carton and not hand-made as one would have expected.
But overall, Villa 39 is a welcome breath of fresh air that has careened its way over Mumbai’s culinary scene!

--Raul Dias

B-1 Amarchand Mansion

16 Madame Cama Road, Colaba

Mumbai 400 039

Tel: +91 22 6657 3939

Fax: +91 22 6657 3938

Email: info@villa39.com

Website: www.villa39.com

Meal for 2- Rs. 2,500 (Without Drinks)

(First published in the October issue of The Man)