Experience the Sula Magic at Little Italy!

A decade ago ,Nashik was known as a pilgrim city, a place where Kumbh Mela happened, a place where Ram,Sita and Laxman stayed on exile,and a stopover ,when visiting Shirdi.

But in recent years,the infracture developments has put Nashik amongst the fastest developing cities in the country. And with the best grapes produced here and 35 wineries Nashik is the Wine capital of the country!

And for the best Wine and Dine experience, there is no better place than Sula Vineyards!!

Here we enter the Sula premises.

Nashik has been my home for past couple of years ,and my husbands hometown as well...And we have been fortunate to witness the growth of this humble pilgrim city , into a world class city- in the making!! But its only in the couple of years that we started frequenting Sula Vineyards.

One of our visits happened on Monday , an Id holiday.....a perfect set up to visit the lush green vineyards, with the swift monsoon drizzle...and the gentle whispering winds, it could'nt have gotten any better!!

With the festivities that the Shravaan month brought , and the traditional food, we needed a change from the regular lunch options. So we decided to go Italian...

Driving away from the city chaos , we were led into a quiet narrow road surrounded by lush green fields,that transformed into grape plantations,once we approached Sula. Though we had a little trouble managing parking,it being a public holiday,we managed it ,with little help from the security.

lush green grape plantations at the entrance ..Sula

Visiting Sula and not purchasing some of the exotic wines it has to offer ,dosent fit in my agenda.

So we headed upstairs ,watching the bottling plant while ascending the stairs,  leading to a Gazebo ,overlooking the lush green vineyards ,and a panaromic view of the Gangapur Dam on the other end. After having enjoyed a glass of Chenin Blanc with a platter of assorted cheeses ,olives and crackers , we made our purchases and headed to Little Italy!

Little Italy , being a chain of Italian ristorante..we had visited one at college road ,Nashik. However,guess the Sula Magic worked over this one!! Unlike the earlier experience of a plush ,ambient restaurant , this one had a very rustic finish. Wooden tables and benches over cemented floorings and the wine bottle lamps ,gave a very warm, and homely feel. And with the wooden fence over the landscaped garden....you get the feeling of  having walked into an Italian village!(I might be exaggerating though,but just to convey ,how good it felt)

Wooden table , crude flooring...Just the experience

beautiful arrangement!But the bottles are empty...;)

The complete picture!! Taken on our next visit!

The wine bottle Lamp..innovative,isnt it?

the wooden fence...

A view like this just by your table...would u feel just by the countryside??
 

You get to see a wood fired stone oven next to the tandoor (of the Soma restaurant),when you enter the restaurant, so a Pizza was the obvious first choice.

We had ordered a garlic bread with cheese ,that came out to be a burger bun filled with morzeralla ,served warm. A bit dissapointed, but was very positive with the pizza.

Ordered a Sicilia, that was a nicely baked crisp crusted pizza ,with some beautiful toppings, I loved those picked onions!!There are various customised,Indianised options like goan, Paneer tikka etc..but I recommend the authentic ones.

The menu also recommends various wines to be paired with specific dishes...but we decided to go with my favourite Chenin Blanc...(120 rupees per glass)

The pasta was a Barberesca-made in creamy sauce with exotic veggies and a hint of garlic and Parmesan! We decided to go with penne,since we had been warned by the service boys , that the new chef was a bit slow. So we decided to keep it simple ,instead of a gnocchi ,or a ravioli(my earlier experience with ravioli was the best..yummy) This one was creamy , but not cheesy , average! Considering the cost 375 rupees..The Pizza , the same cost , was better with respect to cost and portions.



barbaresca with penne,ordinary but creamy

And now to the dessert...we had to wait for good 25 mins for it!! Chocolate bomb with vanilla icecream... but worth the wait...A gooey chocolate lava cake ,with oodles with chocolate oozing out neatly served with Vanilla Ice cream ,drizzled with chocolate sauce...heaven!!

Later we were informed ,that the delay happened,because the chocolate bomb bursted before it was served...Irony....Actually the lava from the cake oozed out before the dessert reached our table.And the restaurant wanted to serve the best and original dessert ,as it should be...Impressive...and with the taste , I dont mind the delay!!!
 

Chocolate bomb!!

Bomb Burst..and the lava oozzing out..yummy

The Sizzling brownie was average...and was served with a not so rich chocolate sauce that arrived late.....maybe I had it better elsewhere.

 

Icecream's melthing...where's the sauce

But remarkably good was the creme'e caramel....firm,moderately sweet ,and a wonderful caramel...and eggless...too...I dont like the ones with eggs!!

Creamy..sweet caramel...absolute delight.

So overall , a wonderful experince, barring some delays, but hey , it can happen on one of day!!

So a thumbs up to Little Italy and To the Sula Experience!!

The sula Sun..the logo..

wandering around in the Sula premises...beautifully maintained...

You can visit Sula homepage for further details,and upcoming events!

http://sulawines.com/Home/