Ziti Comfort Food - HYD

Do you comfort eat? Even if you say no, I know you do. We all comfort eat. Some of us are obvious about it, some of us not. You want that favourite dish for dinner after a stressful day to cheer you up. You want food which is tasty and cooked perfectly. You want your mom's food!

Comfort food has the power to make you calmer than probably yoga has. A piece of chocolate can elevate your happy hormones faster than an hour's work out. Or how about a bowl of maggi while watching your favourite show? Never run away from comfort food. Every weight-loss diet has space for comfort food. Find a healthier version but eat that dish to make you mind and body happy.

Ziti, one of the newly opened restaurants in Hyderabad, is one such place which promotes comfort food to its diners. Situated a little away from the hustle bustle of Banjara Hills Road 2, the place can be a little hard to find. The décor is simple and nothing over the top. I liked how everything from the lights to the menu was colour coordinated. For a restaurant, it could be seen as too simple in terms of décor but for a comfort food place it's not bad.

Fresh bread! Best way of starting a comfort lunch! Ziti's specialities are the pesto rolls which they served along with regular bread rolls. All baked in-house (one of the owners was a bakery chef in Bombay), the pesto rolls had mixed flavour of pesto and garlic with generous amounts of olive oil. The bread rolls were soft with hints of sesame seeds - always a win according to me.

We started with their oatmeal crumbed cheese and oregano bites. Though a bit oily, this was a nice change from the usual cheese bites. The oatmeal provided a nice crunch and the inside was a mix of stringy mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese with oregano. The tomato sauce accompanying the bites would make a nice pizza sauce! I enjoyed biting into these with the stringy cheese providing a fun chewy texture to the dish.

Their signature starter is their maple and chilli smoked chicken wings. I loved the sauce! The sweetness of the maple syrup contrasted well with the smoky flavour of the red chillis. The chicken wings were succulent and weren't oily. We lapped up the remaining sauce with the bread. I now know why it's such a hit! 

For the main course, I had their zucchini and mint risotto. I was very interested to see how they would incorporate mint in a risotto dish. I wasn't disappointed. The flavours of the risotto were pretty good: though on the salty side, I thought the salt helped accentuate the mint but not in an overpowering way. I like zucchini so I didn't mind it. It helped reduce the monotone of the dish with its crunch. But I would love to try this recipe on mac and cheese - risotto is too heavy.

We also ordered the classic tenderloin burger. It was a burger bun sandwiching a tenderloin patty, grilled onions, veggies and a fried egg. This was another place which did not ask how well my friend wanted the tenderloin to be done. The burger bun wasn't the best, crumbling after a bite and was not able to hold the patty. The patty was slightly tough to bite into. Maybe it was just a bad day to order the tenderloin burger at Ziti, but definitely not the best burger in Hyderabad.

This is a must try dessert. Recommended to us by the management, Bits of Heaven was just that! Shortcrust pastry biscuits topped with a thick layer of rich and amazing dulche de leche and then a layer of white chocolate! Aaah! I was full from the risotto but one bite of this and I could finish the plate! I love dulche de leche! Made from condensed milk, it is the most decadent form of caramel that simply melts in your mouth! Please do try this if not anything else!

Their blueberry cheesecake, which was the cheesecake of the day, was dapper compared to bits of heaven. The cream cheese had a weird after taste and the crust was too moist. I didn't like the biscuit used either. It was like a paste of glucose biscuits.

All in all, we had a pretty decent lunch. The starters are definitely their plus points. They also serve a good quantity, so you can have a hearty meal here. Their mains are innovative but there some hits and misses. Their lamb chops are popular. For dessert, do try the Bits of Heaven and also the banoffee pie which I intend to try the next time I go. They have a good choice for vegetarians and are kid friendly.

Ziti Comfort Food
Cost for 2: Rs. 1600
Taste: 7/10 - innovative dishes but have their share of hits and misses.
Service: 9/10 
Ambience: 6/10