A Ten-course Saturday night!

When I first saw the exciting Otto Infinito dining experience from GourmetItUp I knew I  couldn’t let it pass. It was only a good two weeks later that we managed to find time to go there. K wanted to go for another 10 course meal while I lobbied for the one at Otto. No surprises, I won the battle and we picked Saturday night so that we could take our time over dinner.

Very conveniently located in BKC, it took us 15 minutes to get to from Bandra. We decided to sit outside since the night was fairly pleasant and the restaurant was nicely lit. However, being a perpetual mosquito magnet didn’t go very well with this plan of ours and we moved inside to be spared the torture of the bites.

Since K chose the wine the last time, it was my turn and I picked the Reveilo Chardonnay. White wine is my preferred choice but in hindsight it was a great choice for the 10 course meal. The wine was bold yet so subtle, it paired well with nearly every dish on the menu.

            

“We began with a Mezze dip – the hummus, labneh , muhamaara and mutabel with crispy bread was a perfect way to start the Mediterranean feast. Having picked out my choice of the menu two weeks ago, K had no choice but to eat the other options. Prawns were delightfully crispy with potato straw and the pineapple dip made the dish exceptional, the combination was unexpected and brilliant. K had the yukon gold potato soup which didn’t look very appealing but the tiny bits of potato and parsley transformed it into somethinng quite delectable! For the third course, I opted for the Cypriot Grain Mix only because it had a combination of various seeds and yoghurt which would have made my mother very proud of me and to prove my point I sent her an image and named all the seeds in the mix, the texture and flavour of the seeds combined excellently with the yougurt. K’s balsamic chicken salad wasn’t as interesting, but he seemed to enjoy the slices of fruit that came with it. In view of all this, there was nothing exceptional about the Pave D Aubergine Confit or the Chicken Supreme A la Forno. The ricotta ravioli was very soft and creamy combined with an excellent tomato sauce. But sadly, that wasn’t the case with the Spaghetti – rich in taste, but a bit undercooked. The pomfret of course 6 was dry by itself but perfect with its accompanying sauce. K loved the mix vegetable Malfatti and didn’t stop remarking as to how tasty it was! Tagine was the only dish on the menu that none of us liked because it tasted like upma gone wrong. The Pan seared lamb dipped in chocolate was a unique combination and very high in flavour, if it were a little more succulent it would have been a perfect main course. The Mushroom ragout was tasty but the texture seemed like breakfast oats! Course 9 began my most favorite part of any meal – dessert. The cucumber lemon sorbet was hands down the best dish on the entire menu – served on a lemon rind, a perfect cure to the sultry summer. Dessert was the only course which you got all of the options and each was equally brilliant. Perfect bit sized desserts were delicious and the highlight was the yoghurt and pieces of mango which left me wanting more.

       

The one disappointment Mr. Ice Mafia said we had to mention was the speed of service! While they were a very friendly bunch they had, in Mr. Ice’s words, “a very slow response time to serve, whether it was coke, ice, water or mosquito coil” I think he had to ask for his glass to be filled with ice atleast thrice before it actually happened!

4 hours after we walked in to Otto, we waddled out- happily full and content. One happy Saturday night. Would we come back again, most likely yes!