Diva, Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi Restaurant

Diva: The Italian Restaurant, GK 2, New Delhi [Revisited – 17/03/2023]

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

Diva Italiano: About

Every ten years, Diva Italiano goes in for a facelift. This time around, its 20th year was in the middle of the pandemic, so the makeover was postponed till late 2022. This has been quite a dramatic transformation. For one, the famed wine library which won the restaurant a Wine Spectator award has gone; the seats are more modern, yet just as comfortable. In the last two decades, the kitchen has been increasingly strong and self-assured, leaving Ritu Dalmia free to open outlets in other cities, both in India and Italy. Her catering business has taken her outside Delhi for extended periods, when the service and kitchen staff man the show with aplomb.

Food:

Terrine of cheese mousse (₹640) was a disc of sharp goat’s cheese topped with eggplant chunks and peppers, napped with a sweet-tangy (agre dolce) clinging sauce whose base was aceto balsamico – North Italy’s tastemaker. Diva’s menu has plenty of vegetarian options that are full of flavour and use prime ingredients. Sardinian fregola with sausages, mushrooms and jus (₹890) turned out to be a hearty, bucolic preparation where the tiny balls of pasta (made from semolina and about as small as our sabudana) were nappedin the jus of the sausages. Fregola is the pasta of choice in Sardinia – its relative proximity to Tunisia and the rest of North Africa where couscous is eaten as a staple, tells its own story (fregola is only made in Sardinia). It was delightful to encounter this particular preparation in the hallowed portals of Diva. Do be aware that unless you are blessed with a large appetite, after a plate of fregola, you won’t have space for a secondo piatto (main course). Thereare other, less filling options for first course, that usually involves carbs like risotto or pasta of various kinds. At Diva, the sauce enhances the pasta itself, which, needless to say, is always firm to the bite, rather than overcooked. For main course, grilled jumbo prawns with herb butter and couscous (₹1,990) was perfectly cooked, juicy prawns, minimally flavored the butter. My companion chose double baked beetroot and goat cheese souffle, which was pronounced top class.

Plus and Minus: Diva Italiano

Being from a vegetarian background herself, Ritu Dalmia always ensures that every single menu has some excitement for vegetarians.