I was back here for their SUnday brunch-- A hot cup of Cappuccino followed by A bowl of hot sweet delicious mushroom soup A plate of crunchy nachos with salsa and guacamole A bite of the cheese & corn balls and 2 kinds of Bruschettas Oh and the rich jalapeno dip This is how the brunch began on Sunday! If you thought these sounded wow, you are in for a surprise with the rest of the items on the menu. There was freshly baked Focaccia herb bread, fresh watermelon juice, a whole selection of cold salads- pasta salad, macaroni tomato sauce salad, Greek salad and coleslaw. Hop on to the next section and you see a selection of cheeses [ red chilli, garlic, black pepper and plain] with olives and a tomato+basil+ cheese platter as well Apart from these, there were 2 kinds of pizzas [one with broccoli and other with vegetables], a Lasagna that was rich & cheesey heaven and the beautiful melody of Rice dishes- Mongolian rice & Mexican rice. Oh wait, there was also the Mongolian noodles which had me smiling [quite a unique blend of flavours]! For those who love their pasta, there was the live pasta counter where you could get pasta cooked just the way you like them- pick the pasta, pick the veggies, pick the sauce and get cracking.. We are not done yet!! Wait up! Take your pick from the bowl of fruits, or pick up a shot glass or two with some yummy desserts- Mango cheesecake? Strawberry cheesecake? Chocolate mousse or Tiramisu? So many divine treats all in one place, well that is Little Italy for you! We were also privy to an extra dessert- gooey molten lava cake- chocolate cake with gooey center served with a vanilla ice cream that had a drizzle of chocolate sauce over it. This Sunday brunch is priced at Rs 699 [all inclusive], I would say this i s total value for money meal.. Enjoy a lazy Sunday morning, savour the dishes while enjoying the music playing overhead. You can also read this on my blog - http://aromasofkitchens.blogspot.in/2014/03/weekend-brunch-at-little-italy-besant.html

Probably the 1st Pure Veg Italian restaurant in Chennai, Little Italy has held ground for decades, inspite of others restaurants coming up in the same zone. And now few months ago, they have opened a new outlet in Besant Nagar. It is a nice big bungalow that has been remodeled and converted to a restaurant. There is also an open space where candle lit dinners are organized. I have visited the Nungambakkam outlet twice, once just for the salad and other time was for dinner with friends. The small lane just ahead of Cascade in Besant Nagar is where you find this restaurant. Go down that road and turn 1st left and you will be standing in front of the restaurant. A small make shift well stands near the front window with water pouring down a small bucket of sorts [could be a Feng Shui thing], there is also a bench that one can sit and wait in. The interior is quite nice, brick lined walls and subtle lighting and art work on the walls. There are two banquet halls upstairs with a door that can shut off the noise/music from that area. We were seated in the room on the right side, near the wall -nice cozy place. I loved the fact that the table was not cluttered with spices, sauces and other condiments. The evening began with a plate of their special Grande Nachos- lined with nacho chips with vegetables, refried beans and cheese sauce it was served alongside salsa. The nacho had a lovely bite to them, and was quite delicious. Following suit were two different kinds of crostini/garlic bread- one was an assorted crostini platter [aubergine& olives, zucchini, sun dried tomato & basil and simple cheese] and the other was masala garlic bread. The bread was crunchy yet not hard, the toppings were all bursting with unique flavours. My favorite was the one with sun dried tomato and basil. While we were talking about these ingredients, our drinks arrived. It is almost like they had read my mind as I was served a Berry drink made with kiwi, pomegranate and strawberries while few others got the Princess, which was a pineapple & grape drink. It was quite a tall thick drink that was filling as well. Once again, extra points for not making the drinks too sweet. Moving on, we got to try their Salad that was just fresh, and had quite a range of vegetables- lettuce, cucumber, avocado, olives, tomato, red capsicum, mozzarella cheese and capers. What a delight it was!! The thin crust Pizza that came next was pretty good, simple vegetables, very little cheese; the pizza was light and yumm. It also had broccoli and mushrooms on it!! We were nearly full and so I requested that the main courses and desserts be brought in smaller portions. We got to sample 3 kinds of pastas- Spaghetti with pesto, penne with rich tomato sauce and then came ravioli stuffed with spinach & cheese in a creamy tomato sauce. They were all good, but my pick would be the pesto one maybe cos I love basil. How can we forget the Lasagna we tasted, it was literal melt in your mouth kind of dish, though personally I wished the vegetables had a bit of bite to them. Just when we thought we were done, in came two plates with very different looking rice dishes. We were told one was the Mexican rice and the other was the Italian Risotto. Good flavours and textures. \Yayy, we knew all that was left to sample were there desserts. And boy where we in for a treat, not one but three desserts came our way- Tiramisu, Chocolate bomb [with vanilla ice cream] and finally the Pana cotta served with strawberry sauce. Burp!! This is one restaurant that any vegetarian would love to visit and keep going back for more. An average cost for a meal for 2 would work to Rs 800 –Rs 1000.

I wen to the Besant Nagar Branch. This was my first visit to Little Italy and I am sure it won't be the last! I had heard a lot about this place from friends and finally got the chance to taste their food. Must say, it was very good. We ordered two mocktails- Yellow Dwarf (Pineapple+Guava+Orange+ some more fruits which I dont remember) and a pomegranate and strawberry juice. They both were very well-balanced in terms of sugar and juices. Nothing overpowered the other. For starters, we ordered- Mushroom sauted in olive oil and something else with garlic bread. Main course- Sicilia pizza and Ravioli pasta in blue cheese sauce Must say all the food was well balanced, tasty, creamy and yummy! I and my to friends enjoyed a lot. The taste was perfect. I ate Ravioli for the first time and it was really very very good. I guess thats going to be a sure shot for me every time I visit the place. Though my friends said that the cheese dint really taste like the blue cheese. however, I loved every bit of it. the bill came down to some 1690 inclusive of vat and service charge. In fact, the food was approx only 1500 which i found pretty decent compared to other Italian restaurants. The food quality and quantity is decent. Moreover, considering it is only a vegetarian place, they have a lot of options to choose from and it was impressive. Let's hope they will keep their quality up to the mark!