Cafe Mezzuna Kolkata: If ever there was 'perfection' served on a plate it was here at Mezzuna. It scored a 10 on 10 on its 10th anniversary! Art was served with fine detailing. Curated by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai or Chef Saby, each of the dishes served was a celebration of culinary excellence.
Café Mezzuna, at Forum Mall on Elgin Road completed 10 years of its operations in Kolkata and celebrated it by introducing for the first time a menu curated exclusive for Kolkatans…Fresh Baked Sourdough Neapolitan Pizza—Naples Breeze and Romana Pizzas; Chili Lime Prawns, Spicy Tomato Salsa Jalapenos, Barbecue Chicken, Roasted Peppers and Portuguese Espetada and Turkish Kebabs such as Fiery Char Grilled Chicken and Biggie Lamb Adana.
The menu amply reflects the genius of Chef Saby…perfectly delicate flavours heightened with fresh ingredients. Be it the sourdough pizzas, the Lean Chicken Koobideh, the Burrata Bomb, the Zebra Ravioli or the Sea View Lollipops…all together creates a brilliant visual treat and are exceedingly satisfying for the palate.
The tastes linger long after one departs from the dining scene at Café Mezzuna. The all new menu is sure to lure a greater number of gastronomes. This collaboration, between Chef Saby and the much admired restaurateur Anjan Chatterjee, is a celebration in itself!
Chef Saby is a recipient of the most coveted National Tourism Award, for the Best Chef of India, awarded by the President of India. His biggest international achievement came when he won the Best Chef of India at Varli Awards, New York, to name a few.
The menu needed a revamp, more so, the pizza section… “Our whole focus was on creating the signature Neapolitan pizzas,’ informs Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, “in fact it took an entire day to explain what is a pizza…it’s like biryani...when you go down south they will serve a green dhania biryani while someone from Bengal will argue that it is not…similarly pizza is being served in various avatars and much removed from the original recipe.” He laments the fact that little or no research goes into the preparation of pizzas which have more than two hundred year old history attached to it.
As per the legend, the modern pizza—an open-faced flatbread slathered with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese—was given to us during the 18th century by Raffaele Esposito, a baker from Naples, Italy. In 1889, in honour of King Umberto and Queen Margherita, who were visiting Naples, he made a pie topped with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, ingredients which represented the colours of the Italian flag, as a patriotic gesture. It is rumoured that the Queen enjoyed the pie, and thus it came to be known as a Margherita.
“Here, at Café Mezzuna we are trying to bring back the original Pizza Neapolitan and our crew is being trained by a pizza master from Naples.” states Chef Saby. “We have also worked with a flour producing company from Naples, and our cheese is fresh mozzarella…there are no other toppings except for tomato, truffle tapenade and cheese…no chilli flakes, dry herbs or meat toppings. So this is what you will get when you ask for Pizza Margherita.” A special oven by Marco Cappiotti has been installed in the kitchen. It is handmade and essential to create the perfect pizza that the Chef wants to serve. It takes about 120 seconds to create a pizza in this oven. Sourdough is being used to create the pizza base. The dough is prepared 24 hours in advance and allowed to rest under a controlled temperature.
Besides the pizzas the must try items are authentic Turkish style kebabs…the Biggie Lamb Adana, this is perhaps the one-of-its-kind of kebab being served only at Café Mezzuna. For Biggie Lamb Adana, minced mutton (from the shoulder region) is seasoned only with salt and left to marinate for two nights and cooked over high heat to be served with a thin flatbread, sumac flavoured onions and dips. Then there’s the juicy and succulent Lean Chicken Koobideh served with fresh salad, roasted potatoes and a dressing drizzled over the kebabs. Both, besides being a visual delight, are truly delicious!
All the items have brought together the best of local ingredients...such as mushrooms, smoked Bandel cheese and Kalimpong cheese, feta, home-cured cottage cheese, fresh greens and other ingredients.
The list of ‘must tries’ include the Burrata Bomb, Avocado Crostini, Zebra Ravioli, African Suya Kebab, Sea View Lollipop and three Milk Cake. Experiencing the new menu at Café Mezzuna calls for an unhurried time as each of the items need to be relished with each bite!
A unit of Anjan Chatterjee’s Speciality Restaurants Ltd, Café Mezzuna has wooed its customers with a spread uniquely its own.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
