New menu at Focaccia, HRC

I'm not sure what it is I like about Focaccia. It could be food - as Italian as it should be or maybe it's the ambiance of the restaurant or perhaps even the chef. So every time the menu undergoes a change, we are invited to try it out and we have Chef Mauro explain it to us. Of course, he never reveals the recipes.

Tartare di tonno, salsa ravigote, microgreens

One of the new appetisers is tuna tartare with ravigote sauce and microgreens. Tartare is always about the freshest of ingredients and tiny dices of fish are blush pink; the slightly tart dressing and drizzle of olive oil is all that is needed to round off the flavours.

Insalata di fichi e pomodorini con burrata fresca

Chef Mauro's salads are very simple, an alliance of as few ingredients as possible. The fig and cherry tomato salad with burrata is a good example; the creamy cheese needed only the sweetness of figs and cherry tomatoes and the acidity of balsamic vinegar to complete it. If it's crunch you need, the slice of toasted brioche provides it.

Flan di peperoni gialli, succo di pomodoro e bufala

Yellow capsicum flan, tomato juice and buffalo mozzarella is a flan unlike any other. It simply melts in the mouth with absolutely no evidence of having been made with a pepper. If you're looking for a vegetarian appetiser, you can't go wrong with this one. For me, a little more tartness in the tomato juice would have worked wonders.

Risotto ai gamberi e pepperoncino, avvolto nel branzino

Ravioli al brasato, burro salvia, fondo di carne e tartufo

Chef Mauro's pasta courses are always interesting. Prawn risotto wrapped in sea bass carpaccio had juicy prawns and rice cooked in a flavourful seafood stock. However, the braised lamb ravioli with sage butter and truffle wowed us completely. Silken pasta enclosed the most exquisitely braised lamb filling which was then drizzled with a luxuriant sage butter sauce. The medley of flavours and textures left us craving for more.
  

Pesce spada grigliato pesto rosso e zucchine grigliate.
Sundried tomato pesto is a perfect foil for the meaty swordfish.

Pollo dorato in salsa Villeroy, verdue allo scalogno, polenta al funghi

Breaded chicken breast Villeroy is the other dish that we absolutely loved. The chicken had been coated in a creamy sauce before being crumb fried. Moist and very tender, I'm sure there's more to the technique and it was truly divine. Mushroom polenta and mixed vegetables completed the dish.

From top: millefoglie al cioccolato e mousse al gianduja; salame di cioccolato; crème brûlée

Leave it to an Italian chef to make the most wickedly delectable desserts with nuts and chocolate - chocolate millefeuille and chocolate salami. The sugar crust on the orange and pistachio crème brûlée shattered with a single tap but the custard below could have done with a little more baking.

Millefoglie al cioccolato and how to eat it!

Chef Mauro 

Focaccia is at Hyatt Regency Chennai.
365, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai.

Do call +91 44 61001234 for more information or reservations.