Who doesn’t love a Sunday brunch? The phrase brings to mind a relaxed afternoon with friends, conversation, good food, drinks, a cozy atmosphere and general sense of well-being.
I hadn’t heard of Chef Aldo Zilli prior to this invite to the launch ( Thank you @VTYGirl ) of Zerruco By Zilli. I Googled him of course, and found out all sorts of interesting things about his life. Like he holds the world record for most number of pancake flips in a minute : 117!
It was a dull, cold, miserable Delhi afternoon, which was further ruined by the typical Sunday-lament : “No Parking”. Zerruco By Zilli is at The Ashok Hotel in New Delhi ( Main gate entry and to your immediate left. ) and the hotel was organizing another event on the same day at their lawns. It was mayhem. After an half hour of driving around in circles ( the Valet had been strategically removed from his post ), we parked at the neighboring Samrat Hotel and walked it to The Ashok.
Zerruco is a nice space. With seating indoors and outdoors. We stood around outside for a while but the live music was a little too loud for conversation and Chef Aldo Zilli then showed us indoors and we immediately found a lovely-looking table. As you enter the restaurant, straight in front of you right in front of the heartwood wall are two tables that are higher than the rest of the room and can accommodate four people each. Favorite spot.
Above : Akanksha Redhu with Chef Aldo Zilli.
Below : the bar and the beautiful heartwood wall.
Below : mirrors on another wall.
Above : cocktails and my beer.
Below : more of the beautiful heartwood wall and @AkankshaRedhu getting ready to settle down and sample some food.
Above : dining setting indoors under the sun-roof.
Below : Window curtains and blinds.
And we bring on the food. Bit to get started included lamb, vegetables and mushrooms and very delectable pieces of grilled chicken.
Beautiful flowers in vases on the food tables outdoors. And olives. I love olives. The olive oil at the tables was some of the finest I’ve tasted.
Tomato and Mozzarella! This is by far Akanksha’s most favorite food bit and I’ve developed a soft corner for it as well.
More salad and breads.
The desserts table was choc full. Multitudes including marshmallows.
Above : Live music and live cooking.
Below : Sea bass in lemon butter sauce.
Above : Mini lamb rump steaks with vidalia onions and peppercorn sauce.
Above : Baby spring chicken with herb verdure sauce.
And freshly baked pizza!
Aha! And there’s the chef all set to fire up another fresh pizza in the pizza oven right behind him.
Pizza ready for the oven. Opposite the pizza oven is the outdoor seating space.
And the pizza is out and ready to be served.
More food tidbits on our plate.
I really did like the heartwood wall. It looks even more beautiful at night when it’s lit with different colors – the lights show through from between the wood panels and there’s even a configuration to show the colors of the Italian flag.
More food on our table – a pepperoni pizza as well. It was lovely – disappeared before I could squeeze in another photograph!
Mandatory loo selfie *wink*
Chef Aldo Zilli serving up his favorite from the desserts table. I don’t recall what it’s called but it was a more citrusy zesty version of what I’ve loved since childhood – something we call Tipsy Pudding.
And a plate for me too!
It was a cosy afternoon indeed. For me, visiting a restaurant is more about the experience. Of course the food has to be at least decent – without which there will not be a second visit. Also the staff and team need to be nice. In the case of Zerruco by Zilli, it was a satisfying experience on all counts. I felt warm and welcome.
Above : Akanksha and Aman.
Below : Bharat and me. ( Photos by Akanksha )
The air had gotten dirtier somehow! The Sun could barely be seen. But we were full of nice food and drink and had lovely company. I could literally feel the warmth in my heart. It was nice. Chef Zilli is such a nice guy! And there’s our picture with him, which we collected just before we signed off for the day.
The party of course continued till late in the night as was evident from Chef Aldo Zilli’s Twitter feed ( @AldoZilli.
Thank you for having us over Anjali @VTYGirl.
Zerruco By Zilli on Zomato and on Twitter @ZerrucoByZilli.
