Pasta rasta for regular Italiano

It is inspired by the famed Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and its produce. This new Italian restaurant even takes its name from the city famous for its hearty meat sauce, Bolognese (ragu, according to the Italianos!) Bologna is serving up some authentic portions, with a huge plethora of dishes on a menu that has many bits and bobs of a taste trail from the villages of Italy. Bologna is simplistic, no frills here, is affordably priced compared to the other Italian restaurants in the city, and comes with years of dishing out Italian thanks to owner Jason Cheru, who was earlier part of Chianti, and before that, with Fiorano (in Koramangala).

Deciding to foray out into a solo venture with Chef Lokesh who has been with him for years, Jason wanted to give people affordable but good quality Italian through Bologna, which opened its doors to foodies recently. With Indiranagar now a bustling Soho, comes =another place, this time on 100 Feet Road, with quaint little balcony, and a simplistic, picture-rendered decor.

“Chef Lokesh worked with Fiorano and Chianti. The idea was to give regular folk an Italian diner that is easy on the pocket, with better quality and service,” says Jason Cheru, the owner. We started with a carpacchio as we looked through a sumptuous menu. The carpaacchio was plated to perfection, in the thinnest of slivers with a nice dollop of pesto on each. There was also parmesan with a bread basket filled with the softest buns and breadsticks that had just a hint of cheese. The carpacchio was good. Next came the Caesar Salad. We love it, if it’s made right! This was very average, nice anchovies sauce, but too much iceberg, too few Romaine. It would have been great with a garden full of the latter. The chicken was tender, and smaller strips would be great to blend into the salad.

The balcony is quaint, and nice for an evening or lunch with the family… as we dug into the freshly baked bread basket with herbed butter. We ordered a classic carbonara and pork chops next, even as we did justice to the carpacchio.

The carbonara came in ample portions, with the yummy white sauce that coated it well, although we would have loved more sauciness to the dish. The welcome bits of fried bacon were delicious, and the dish on the whole was alright. A welcome Parmesan texture, we would have liked more of it.

The pork chops came in glazed in their own juices, and cooked well, with very little fat. We liked that one could taste the meat instead of being drowned in a marinade. They were a bit tough, though. Portioned with glazed herbed butter zucchini and other veggies, and a herb mash, It made for a nice robust meal although the mash could be creamier.

What makes Bologna special is also that all their pastas are made in house; they even make their own mascarpone, and fresh ricotta. “We serve the best of cold cuts too, mortadella, proscuito, and of course our Bolognese sauce with bacon is made in house,” adds Jason,

In terms of taste, the flavours and idea are wholesome, and portions are ample. It’s an easy meal of Italian at your next door deli, but could do with a bit more emphasis on finer taste specs. There are pizzas, salads and soups on the menu and we liked that their mains had grilled salmon and prawns with lemon butter. There’s tenderloin, lamb chops, stuffed chicken and duck on the menu too with interesting add-ons. And cannelloni and the lasagne bolognaise too, wish they also offered the bolognese with other pasta. The desserts are also interesting, like the caramel slice, tiramisu and peanut butter mousse that caught our fancy. We’re saving those for next time, though! 

Bologna
First Floor, 759, 100 Ft Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Meal for two: Rs 1,400
Call 080 43027392
They will starting a set course menu for lunch soon