Going the Italian way

The menu at the New Friends Restaurant in J P Nagar is something to die for. The restaurant that originally started dishing out only Italian food soon branched out into serving Chinese, Indian and continental fare.

Thanks to the demand in every category, the restaurant has now become a favourite hangout with youngsters and families.

Started by Borkatte Sundar Poojari a while ago, the eatery serves authentic Italian dishes, some of which are given a 'desi' twist.

"There are authentic Italian dishes for those who are familiar with and love Italian food. Some of our customers don't like the original way of making Italian food, so we give some of the dishes an Indian flavour. We make it a wee bit more spicy and maybe cook it a bit more than usual," explains Poojari.

Asked why he chose to start his restaurant with Italian food, Poojari says that he found the Italian cooking method easy and quick. There are a few dishes that are exclusive to this eatery. The 'Hot pepper chicken' is chicken cubes cooked and coated with crushed pepper, cashew paste and chilli flakes. The 'Stuffed pocket chicken' is another must try. "Here the whole chicken is stuffed with mushroom, capsicum and other vegetables and then cooked in tandoor style," says Poojari.

The restaurant also serves lasagne in vegetarian and non-vegetarian, potato and cheese croquettes and 'Chicken and vegetarian hot pot', Mexican soup pot in vegetarian and non-vegetarian and Italian pasta. "A lot of thought goes into preserving and serving the real taste of all the dishes," explains Poojari. He adds that the flavour of every dish is changed now and then just to break the monotony."Effort is made to present as much variety as possible," he says.

Poojari says that all dishes on the menu are tried and tested by him. "I don't want to serve anything that is not popular with the people. We make sure that all the ingredients that go into the dishes are natural with no artificial flavour or colouring," he adds. There are also a wide range of salads and starters.

New Friends Restaurant is located at No 12/11 20th main BTM Layout 1st stage, opposite Citi bank ATM. For details call, 9481287232.