Twist in the pizza @The Right Place, The Residency

*Update:  An Indian Twist to the Italian Fiesta" has been extended up to November 30th.

If there's one food that has undergone fusion in diverse ways, it must be the pizza. It's also the one most open to being reinvented. From the crust ingredients to the shape, cheese topping and everything in-between, perhaps the only thing that it hasn't been topped with is soup! Or has that too been done?

So, how do you like your pizza? Classic Italian style with marinara and mozzarella or one doused in everything including ketchup, oregano and chilli flakes?

Invited to review the ongoing "An Indian Twist to the Italian Fiesta" promotion, I was a little apprehensive. It's a known fact that pizzas in branded chains in India taste very different from their counterparts abroad. But to blatantly Indianise a pizza? How much makeover could it take is what a friend and I set out to discover at The Right Place.

The all-day restaurant at The Residency is a functional space, buzzing with activity and packed on a weekday evening. Executive Chef Ganesh came over to introduce us to the 2 page special menu - 10 starters, 5 veg pizzas and 5 non veg pizzas in 2 sizes - personal (6") and medium (12"). With names like Silli Chilli, Bombay Masala, Delhi 6 and Chicken Pizzini, it was fairly easy to guess the ingredients that go into the pizza. But that was the easy part.

Mildly flavoured  garlic bread

Spicy chicken meatballs; beer batter prawns with tartar sauce

Two starters to start the meal with - spicy chicken meatballs and beer batter prawns. The meatballs were negligibly spicy, tasty but a little hard when they cooled down to room temperature - you've got to eat them as soon as they are served. The prawns were fairly large and tasted fresh, the batter coating them was thick though the tartar sauce was too tame and needed more zing.

As for the pizzas, Chef Ganesh was kind enough to make us tasting portions. While waiting for them to arrive, we learnt that the restaurant had acquired a pizza oven recently, not a fancy one but one that makes a pizza efficiently. Hence, every order for a pizza takes about 20 minutes to complete as the process of making it starts right from kneading fresh dough.

Bombay Masala; Silli Chilli

From the vegetarian menu, we chose Silli Chilli and Bombay Masala. The pizza bases were thin but not wafer thin, had a nice texture and could easily be cut with a knife. The former had a topping of paneer, capsicum and chilli and a mild flavour of tandoori masala. I do not like to add additional seasoning to my pizza but as instructed by Chef Ganesh, oregano flakes sprinkled over it brought the layers of masala tastes to life. The latter had sliced tomatoes and cheese; chilli flakes and oregano perked up the flavour.

Chicken Pizzini; Shaan-e-Punjab

Sliced sausages cooked in makhni gravy and topped with onion, capsicum and paprika was the description for Chicken Pizzini. The makhni gravy played second fiddle to the sausages, nice sausages but they completely overwhelmed the gravy. Shaan-e-Punjab had slices of chicken cooked over charcoal and topped with cheese. The meat had a delightfully smoky flavour and was my favourite of the evening.

The pizzas look homely but come loaded with their respective toppings. Each of the sauces tastes different and the spices are used with a light touch. Interestingly, sauces and toppings are spread almost to the very edge of the crust, negating the need to leave it uneaten.  And the best part of it all must be the pricing - veg pizzas at 199/++ and 299/++ depending on the size, non veg at 249/++ and 349/++. There is a combo on offer - a personal pizza, 4 slices of garlic bread and a milkshake at 299/++. Takeaway pizzas are also available.  

Bisi belle bath with a temper

We were stuffed but when we were told that The Right Place has a very loyal clientele that comes in later in the night for the South Indian specials and especially for the bisi belle bath, we just had to try a small portion. Tempered with cashewnuts, shallots and curry leaves, it was sublime.

Live music on Thursdays & Fridays at Black and White

Black and White is the name of the restobar at The Residency. If retro Tamil music is your thing, catch MJ Shriram singing SPB's music every Thursday from 8pm. On Fridays, it's Hindi karaoke . The place is pretty popular so make sure you're on time as it gets pretty crowded as the evening progresses.

Pizza with an Indian Twist is on till November 15 November 30th, 2016, from 11 am -11 pm. Do make reservations at 044 28253434.

The Residency
49, GN Chetty Road
Chennai 600017.