La Magia, Koregaon Park, Pune Italian Restaurant

Restaurant Name: La Magia, Koregaon Park
Phone: +919325532934, +918237902020, +919561652248
Address: Sunderban Resort & Spa, Lane 1, Koregaon Park Rd, Vasani Nagar, Koregaon Park, Pune, Maharashtra 411001 India
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 1,500
Cuisines: Italian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Serves Alcohol, Outdoor Seating, Indoor Seating, Free Wifi

The Sante Spa Cuisine team of Sonal Barmecha and Chef Shailendra Kekade are back with La Magia, a vegetarian Italian restaurant that is housed in the same premises as Sante in Koregaon Park near the Osho commune.

La Magia, Koregaon Park, Pune: Decor

The decor is in tune with La Magia’s Italian or European theme. A mix of classic and contemporary furniture, carved wooden mirrors in the passage, ornate wall plates and a textured, gold-filled cracked effect on the wall. The seating is elegant and comfortable. The use of wooden cabinets and vintage cupboards elevates the look of the space The outdoor section is modeled like a cafe and shares space with Sante with one large family table that segregates the two restaurants. The outdoor section is nestled amidst tall trees with occasional sightings of peacocks walking around or perched on the trees. While the indoor section is great for formal dinners and gettogethers, the outdoor section is perfect for spending a quiet afternoon with friends, particularly during the winters.

La Magia, Koregaon Park, Pune: Food

The fully vegetarian, Italian menu at La Magia is meticulously curated by Chef Shailendra. The menu goes beyond the cheese-laden pasta and pizza which we have come to associate with Italian cuisine. It is refreshing to see a menu that heroes ingredients like mushrooms, beetroots, fresh herbs, tomatoes, cheese in different avatars. The pasta, sauces and bread are made in-house. Getting through the Italian names on the menu might be challenging, but the accompanying description will help and so will the staff. We started with the piccolo or small plates section. The fungo Freddo was a crispy, wafer-thin flatbread generously topped with mushrooms. The umami flavour from the mushrooms coupled with the crunchiness of the flatbread was next level. The beetroot agrodolce had beetroot balls beautifully poached and marinated with orange juice and wine. These balls were served on carrot julienne nest and drizzled with a tangy and flavorful beetroot sauce. The description given for the garden of bocconcini reads baby mozzarella, olives, cherry tomatoes and herbs. This will not prepare you for the beautiful presentation of this dish along with some delightful surprise elements. This light salad has a delicately set and delicious tomato jelly served with fresh mozzarella balls, olives, cherry tomatoes and mixed herbs. I would have preferred greens like arugula, amaranth or basil instead of pungent herbs like sage, dill and mint. The il sovraccarico or simply Italian baked potato was tasty and loaded with sour cream, cheese and a spicy tomato sauce. We paired our appetizers with a hearty crema di Parmigiano or potato broth which was served with a crusty bread smeared with an intense and delicious olive pate. For mains there is pasta, risotto and pizzas to pick from. We kept it simple with the stracciatella alla puglia pizza which was a hand stretched Naples style pizza with crusty edges, tomato sauce and blobs of fresh stracciatella cheese. Among the pasta options, we picked the black olive and mascarpone stuffed ravioli served with arugula pesto and topped with truffle oil. The flavorful olive and mascarpone filling and the slightly bitter arugula pesto was something new and an interesting flavour combination. We ended the meal on a supremely high note with the vola vola fragola dessert which was a crispy vol-au-vent or a hollow puff pastry topped with a white chocolate moulded strawberry which was filled with a creamy strawberry mousse.

Plus & Minus:

The presentation and plating of food at La Magia will remind you of the many international culinary shows you have seen over the years. The great part is, they taste equally good. This is Italian food beyond the cheese-laden pasta and pizzas. While the staff was courteous and friendly, the service was slightly patchy.