Olive Garden’s newly relaunched Italian menu makes it Kathmandu pioneer restaurant for authentic Italian cuisine.

Hotel Radisson is a well-known five star hotel in Nepal. It’s located at the prime of the city in Lazimpat, Kathmandu. Located right besides the main lobby of the hotel is its signature restaurant Olive Garden. The place is adorned with vines on the ceiling and an elegant display of wine collection on the walls. We were welcomed into the restaurant by Ms. Anu Parajuli. The relaunch of its Italian the menu at Olive Garden has turned heads of many fine diners in Kathmandu. Chef Utpal Kumar Mondal, an internationally trained chef, was the mastermind behind the development of the new menu. He shares that the inspiration for this new menu was the customers he met who sought Italian cuisines in town but were disappointed in their quest.  The realization that the city lacked restaurants that could deliver an authentic taste of Italy made him want to launch the new menu. Chef Mondal and his highly talented team have now designed this new menu that truly fills the void of an authentic Italian restaurant in Kathmandu. He believes that in order to produce an authentic experience one must also use authentic ingredients. This is the reason Olive Garden uses ingredients directly imported from Italy. Here are some of the favorite items on the menu.

Bruschetta

This light and fresh appetizer starter kicks off the journey of authentic Italian flavors in your mouth. The array of toasted bread topped with freshly diced tomatoes. drizzled with olive oil, rubbed with parmesan cheese, and garnished with basal is a mouthwatering treat. I noticed how the simplicity of this dish enhanced its flavors, and how each ingredient stood out with its own distinct flavor and how the ingredients complemented each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Spaghetti with Pomodoro Sauce

How can an authentic Italian culinary experience be complete without authentic Italian pasta? The chicken spaghetti with Pomodoro sauce is an explosion of authentic Italian flavors. The dish here is prepared to perfection in both flavor and presentation. The attention to details in its presentation is impeccable. The plate is decorated with shades of red from the pasta drenched in Pomodoro sauce, and little edible flower petals used as a garnish. The tanginess of the tomatoes with the spices and olive oil of the Pomodoro sauce can be experienced each strand of the pasta. The finesse and flavor of the dish can only be described as an outcome of the mastery of the art of food preparation.

Apple cake with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream

Finally, the dessert of the day arrived in the most scintillating fashion. The apple cake was in the center of the plate. The toffee sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream that was on top of the caramel shard were a delight to the sweet tooth. The brown crust crumbles as you run the fork through it revealing its warm and smooth apple filled center. The cake balances well its delightful warm sweet flavor with the cold sweet flavor of the vanilla ice cream. And the caramel toffee sauce on top of all that is nothing less then pure palette paradise.