Inventive without compromising on traditional flavours

Italian touch

Chef Luigi Ferraro, a resident of Sorrento, south of Italy, made a joint venture with Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, and conceived an authentic Italian restaurant which serves recipes solely based out of the place. An Insalata Caprese or Risotto is a common deal in cafes in Sorrento. But five-star treatment, yellow fancy lights and fine-dining nature of Shangri-La’s, makes Italy’s most rustic dishes appear striking and grand.

The restaurant takes an innovative approach on ‘Neapolitan’ cooking, which is one of the most recognisable aspects of Italian cuisine. They have wood fired pizzas, pastas, vegetable and cheese, and with some meat, Italians find endless permutations of dishes. Sorrento food is inventive, without compromising on traditional flavours.

If one knows Italian food, especially in the south region, the tomato sauces are sacred to the Italians, as sacred as olive oil. You should also be aware that it is not for the health conscious ones, Italian food sustains carbs (carbohydrates), literally. Therefore, it is filling too. The experimental ones and true food lovers should never let go off the opportunity of trying the food here. It lies on the expensive side, but each and every morsel is value for money.

It is a family place, where one can see two live kitchens with many cooks rolling the dough for you. All of them are experiencenced and are especially trained under Ferraro. He wants to keep everything as authentic as possible. His efforts are clear, even the flour for the dough for the pizza comes from Italy. Also, for pasta you will find shapes beyond fusilli and penne, they have artisanal pastas designed by the chef.

The dishes are carefully selected, the food and drinks’ menu is not large with heavy ‘authentic-sounding’ names, but are rather ‘delectable-sounding’. You will be inquisitive with every dish that the waiters carry while going past you, on to another table. The plate size of the main course is large, especially designed to serve a family of four. Metrolife tried Black Cod, lardo wrapped with olio negra, nuts and roasted forest mushroom. The cooks came to our table to cut out vegetables for salad, fish, meat and everything.

They have a ‘Cicchetti menu’ which serves as a new menu for appetisers and small plates. The story of cicchetti, which means ‘to start’, begins with the old Fiat car, where a contraption of the same name was used to start the car. The menu has some salads, soups and finger foods, as Italian in nature as you cannot imagine.

Coming directly from Italy are also the wines, each is from a choicest collection, and this deal could be expensive. It is better that you try the cocktails, which are no less but a better deal for money.

For desserts, the place offers an innovative Tiramisu, but Sorrento still has a long way to match up their desserts to their food. But the Mount Vesuvius with hazelnut chocolate cremeux, almond biscuits, cocoa soil and raspberry sauce looked divine and went down well.