Suman Tarafdar
Perbacco, the recently launched Italian restaurant at The Lodhi is helmed by Italian Chef Adriano Baldassarre, who is the Mentor Chef for the restaurant. He says Perbacco was born out of Singh’s and his combined passion for Italian food. “I look forward to sharing that passion with the guests of the hotel and the people of Delhi,” says 40-year-old Baldassarre, who has worked with legendary chefs such as Giorgio Locatelli, Antonello Colonna and Heinz Beck. His restaurant Tordomatto in Rome, which was awarded a Michelin Star in 2007, is located in the heart of the historic city. He launched his second restaurant in Rome recently, ‘Trattoria l’Avvolgibile’, offering traditional Italian cuisine. Offering largely Roman cuisine, his restaurants have two Michelin stars.
Baldassarre has worked in India earlier, in Vetro, Mumbai for a couple of years, and is familiar with the unique demands of the Indian guests, which gets reflected in the menu. Expect a far greater balance of vegetarian dishes than you are likely to see in most Italian restaurants. It is no surprise that the food is the obvious star at Perbacco. The 72-cover restaurant offers contemporary Italian dining infused with traditional flavours. Baldassarre lays great store by originality. The menu at Perbacco offers the best of Italian cuisine from all parts of the diverse nation. While an extensive à la carte menu is on offer, more unusually, there is also a 20-minute executive lunch on offer! Perbacco is open for lunch from noon to 3 pm and for dinner from 7 pm to 11:30 pm. An extensive wine cellar features over a 100 varietals from Italian regions such as Veneto, Valpolicella, Friuli, Piedmont, Tuscany, Puglia, Sicily, Umbria, Abruzzo, and more. Singh says, “we really want this to be an immersive food, wine, art and music experience (some of the music is from my own personal collection of Italian Rock and Ballads). I am looking forward to sharing our piece of Paraiso Italiana with everyone in the NCR.”
Baldassarre stresses that the focus for any restaurant should be on its food and the experience, a philosophy translated into practice at Perbacco. “The sole focus for me is on great-tasting food, which is rooted in traditional cooking,” he says. Baldassarre is a traditionalist at heart, at least regarding food. “When you come to me, you try my food. That is the concept here. it is different from anywhere else. We want traditional Italian food to be eaten here. When you try to change tradition to suit Indian tastes that does not work in the long run as you are not being true to the origin. You need to cook pure Italian food and focus on taste.”
Do spare a moment to take in the impressive interiors too. Huge wall artworks transport the viewer to picturesque Italian landscapes. The restaurant also features an exquisite private dining area, with another stunning artwork reminiscent of the grandeur of medieval Italian towns. For the most eye-catching artwork, however, you will have to look upwards. The middle of the restaurant features a Murano-inspired glass installation that was created using 144 hand-blown glass forms in the shape of flowers. In different hues of blue, red, yellow, orange and aqua, they light up the restaurant uniquely, perfectly complimenting the chef’s approach to the food.
