Less Pros, More Cins!

By Raul Dias

Claiming to be modelled on the lines of a typical Venitian bacaro, where the homestyle food is fast and the conversation rough, Cin Cin couldn’t be more different. A well-lit, sophisticated space that was crammed full of a mix of the BKC corporate and the ladies-who-lunch crowd the afternoon we visited, the restaurant exudes a hip, stylish vibe. It also intelligently divests itself of the usual tropes one has come to expect of a casual dining, Italian restaurant in India.
This means that thankfully, clichés like terracotta wall/floor/counter top tiles and the ubiquitous, on-display wood-fired pizza oven find no place here. But sadly, Italian restaurant requisites like the all-important bread basket (complimentary or otherwise) and the olive oil-balsamic beakers too are missing and fail to show up at our table, despite requesting for them.
It’s the same story with the serving cutlery that the staff very reluctantly supplied us with after much coaxing. Apparently, the food here is designed for individual portions we are told, thus debunking the whole ‘family-style dining’ philosophy that Cin Cin proclaims is its USP. With the focus on Italian home cooking, pasta dishes feature prominently on the menu, including staples such as bucatini all’amatriciana, garganelli and other classic home-cooked dishes such as risotto and gnocchi.
Almost an hour into placing our order, our table finally saw some food action. The well-made ricotta and parmesan stuffed cappelletti pasta doused with an intensely meaty pork ragu was spot on perfect, though we could have done with a more generous portion of it. Intrigued by its rather verbose name, we called for the Filipa goes foraging pizza. The twinning of the portobello and porcini mushrooms with roasted garlic, sitting atop a pliant, not-too-thin crust base made this 12-inch pie a winner all the way.
One sip of to-my-Tina, the watered down, insipid tomato juice-based gin cocktail was enough to send it back to where it came from. Our free replacement of the high on tequila, low on taste tegroni Aperol cocktail had us abandon the idea of having a drink here completely. We finally settled for the alcohol-free fennel and dill fizz that was ho-hum at its very best.
Suitably al dente Arborio rice spiked with orange zest, holding within it fresh, succulent prawns with a drizzle of lemon olive oil, was the risotto gamberi e agrumi that passed the good risotto test with flying colours. However, once again disappointment made its presence felt as we took a bite out of the tre latti con berries dessert. The mushy sum of its crumbly vanilla sponge and thin, runny milk custard parts with a sad duo of frozen blueberries garnishing it, this one fell flat, both literally and figuratively!
Ditch the drinks and desserts and concentrate on the food. Now, that is one mantra we’d do well to chant the next time we find ourselves at Cin Cin. If ever.


WHAT: Cin Cin
RATING: ** (2 out of 5)
WHERE: Ground Floor, Raheja Towers, Near Dena Bank, BKC, Bandra East
WHEN: 12 pm to 1 am
COST: Around Rs 3,800 for two, with one cocktail each
CALL: 6995-6666

(An edited version of this review appeared in the 28th April 2018 issue of the Hindustan Times newspaper, India on page 15 https://m.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/a-hit-and-miss-italian-job-raul-dias-reviews-cin-cin/story-QjjOtAb21pFOjrlNXWqn4M_amp.html)