It’s not often that the Vogue India team can agree on where to eat. We have wildly different palates, craving everything from buttery blue jasmine rice to a specific way to make Maggi. But when fashion and food converge, we all come together. This synergy was on full display when we were invited to India’s, and South Asia’s, first-ever Armani/Caffè, which opened at Jio World Plaza on September 12th.
Giorgio Armani’s creative vision, known for its immaculate, clean lines and well-defined structure, is evident in the restaurant’s interiors. The frill-free space is awash in muted blues and greens, accented with classic Armani motifs and screens emblazoned with a palm tree.
The Vogue India team arrived at 8pm on Thursday night, energized after a long brainstorming meeting. All we could think about was food. Khushali Gandani, senior manager of audience development, social & analytics, was feeling uncharacteristically peckish and, as a longtime fan of Caprese sandwiches, opted for the Caprese salad. “It didn’t disappoint,” she says with a smile. “The mozzarella was wonderfully fresh and the juicy Datterini tomatoes added the perfect balance. Together, they created an effortlessly delicious start to the meal, setting the tone for everything that followed.”
As a North Indian, social media consultant Kashish Mishra is no stranger to spinach and has eaten her fair share of palak paneer and saag aloo. Still, the spinach cannelloni was a revelation for her. “The tenderness of the hand-rolled pasta combined with the creamy spinach and ricotta mixture inside was a delight. What struck me most was how the textures played off each other—the soft pasta, the creamy filling, the delicate sauce.”
To everyone’s dismay, I was next. I have a reputation for having the palate of a five-year-old and being the pickiest eater on the team, so the pillow-soft steamed potato and parmesan dumplings tossed in creamy tomato sauce were a joy to my selective taste buds. I’m always skeptical about eating at restaurants since I don’t consume any vegetables – a fact that never fails to raise eyebrows in a room – but a combination of cheese and potato is my sweet spot, and the gnocchi alla Sorrentina delivered a ten on ten in this department. Before the dumplings were served, they were further topped up with parmesan cheese and torched to caramelize the cheese crust. I pretty much wiped my plate clean within seconds and had no qualms about asking for seconds.
Executive editor Arman Khan, Vogue India’s resident Italophile, hasn’t been able to shut up about the spaghetti alle vongole he had when he travelled to Italy in June this year. “My only reason to take a lengthy detour from Florence to Naples was to sample Naples’s authentic spaghetti alle vongole—a classic Neapolitan dish with just spaghetti and clams and absolutely nothing else.” He described the scialatiella alla vongole served to him at Armani/Caffè as “the memory of that Naples on my plate with a fine dining twist.” The clam liquor—the juicy extract from the clams when they open up—was the icing on the cake or the “perfect garnishing on my long pasta.”
With one bite of her parmigiana, fashion features editor Shriya Zamindar told me how every Italian grandmother has her own twist on the eggplant parmesan, just like Indian dadis do with pickles. Every spoonful whisked her further away from the present and back to the time she lived with an Italian host family as a 13-year-old exchange student. “I don’t think I had ever eaten eggplant so willingly before my host’s nonna made it as a special welcome for me,” she recalled. “The key to a good parmigiana is that it must melt in your mouth in a riot of flavors, just like this one did. The eggplant was masked by the tomato sugo and melted cheese —you’d never realize what it actually is until you read the ingredients.”
When we entered Armani/Caffè at 8pm on a school night, we did so with the express understanding that we would leave there within an hour and a half; two at best. Four hours later, the clock struck 12 and we were still there, making jokes at each other’s expense in the way that only colleagues who spend 8-plus hours together can. Digital editor Sonakshi Sharma attributed the time flying to the carefully sourced tipples we were plied with for the duration of our meal. Her pick? The negroni bianco, although a very different version from the classic blood orange rendition she is accustomed to drinking with her father. “The clever swap of the traditional Campari with Bitter Bianco may have left a transparent liquid with an orange peel swirled in my glass, but that had no effect on its flavor,” she said, her eyes twinkling at the memory of the drink. “The citrus hit at the end perfectly offset the bitterness in my mouth.”
Shagun Jangid, designer, raised her glass to Sharma’s praise. “I’m not a fan of tiramisu but I couldn’t resist when they paired it with a cocktail called The Last Word. The mix of gin, cherry liqueur and melon liqueur was perfection—refreshing, yet rich, with just the right amount of sweetness and tang. Heavenly, when paired with the creamy tiramisu.”
As someone who rushes to sample a tiramisu at any new place in Bombay featuring the dessert on its menu, editorial associate Kalyani Adhav didn’t need any liquid motivation to order the Tiramisù Chicco. “The best tiramisu I’ve had in my life was made by Beatrice, an Italian lady who hosted me and my friends at her beautiful home in Tuscany a few years ago. The tiramisu at Armani/Caffè comes pretty close. The espresso and melt-in-your-mouth silky-smooth mascaparone paired with fresh berries felt so nostalgic. I wiped it off my plate even after being extremely full from everything we’d eaten and I’m sure I’ll go back for more soon.”
When we left the restaurant at around 12.30am, all of Jio World Plaza was empty but our hearts were full. None of us looked at our watch, none of us complained about the fact that we would have to work on fewer hours of sleep the next day, none of us grumbled about the long drive back home. For once, we were buoyed by the rare experience of sharing a meal we had all enjoyed.
