Diva, Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi Restaurant

Diva: The Italian Restaurant, GK 2, New Delhi [Revisited – 11/02/2022]

Restaurant Name: Diva: The Italian Restaurant, Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi
Phone: +911141637858, +917827934131
Address: M-8A, M Block Market, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110048 India
Time: 07:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 2,500
Cuisines: Italian, Pizza, Salad, Fast Food, Beverages
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Full Bar Available, Romantic Dining, Indoor Seating, Wifi

There is something infinitely heart-warming about being able to ascend the stairs inside this veritable institution, and find that though the decor has been minimally changed to appeal to today’s diner, it still has all the elements of the 22-year-old restaurant: a bookshelf on the way up from the ground floor, a wine library that has won inter-national acclaim, comfortable chairs that look attractive and tables that have full table-cloths (a feature that even hotels are dispensed with) and welcoming staff, old and new. Ritu Dalmia has always been the quintessential hostess in a city teeming with male staff and largely absentee owners (who have other lucrative businesses to attend to) and it shows in the very fibre of Diva. In fact, the name alludes to agelessness, and that is exactly what the regular customers keep returning for.

Diva: The Italian Restaurant, Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi: Food

In the primi piatti (starch-/carb/pasta section) orecchiette with slow-cooked sausage, mushroom, Tuscan pecorino sounded just the thing for a blustery winter’s evening. You never have to tell the chef to cook the pasta al dente, because that is the standard operating procedure here, mercifully. Plus, the Diva kitchen has been trained to add the flavorings to the pasta and not vice versa, a lesson that is so easy to forget. If you like to eat light, just the primo piatto could well be a full meal! My secondo piatto (second plate / main course) was prawns guanetto with tomato and olive sauce (Rs. 1590). That the tiger prawns were cooked to perfection goes without saying, even though it is a rarity else-where in our inland city where seafood cookery has yet to reach the heights that meats and vegetarian cooking have. The tomatoes are obviously sourced from a city farm because the colour, flavour and hint of soumess are rare to find in our markets. My companion chose pan-seared salmon with green beans, Brussel sprouts, mustard fruit reduction (Rs. 1290). The greens were cooked and blended to a puree; it formed the bed of the dish. The generous filet of salmon was surrounded by sections of slow-roasted bell pepper and mostarda reduction drizzled around the plate.

Plus And Minus:

It is a pleasure to see flashes of brilliance sprinkled through the menu a la Dalmia.