ISLAMABAD: A new eatery called the Streets of Milan in F-7 looks out onto beautiful trees seemingly distant from the heavily trafficked areas nearby. With seating in the courtyard below Coffee Lucio and on the rooftop, the restaurant combines a fine dining Italian menu with al fresco meals. Subject to the vagaries of the weather, umbrellas and mist fans compensate and make the experience enjoyable.

The fine dining experience comes with a four course menu.

For the antipasto or starter, we tried the insalata di caprese, the perfect summertime dish, and the bresaola.

The fresh ripe tomato and soft flavourful mozzarella were lovely and though it could do with more fresh basil, the salad came together beautifully.

The parmagiano used for the bresaola was also of very good quality. The meat could have been sliced much thinner but was well flavoured.

In the mains, the mushroom risotto, a margherita pizza and the bistecca alla fiorentina stand out.

The cast-iron grilled 8 oz black Angus strip steak was cut in a T-bone shape and the meat on the medium grilled steak melted in the mouth.

A word of caution, ask for the sauce on the side, as the steak would only benefit from being served with a little melted butter and salt.

The pizza crust was sliver thin, and crispy, drizzled with a good quality extra virgin olive oil – simple, classic and Italian.

The best dish, though, was the risotto. Mushrooms, Acquerello Risotto rice, cheese and garden vegetables combined into a creamy bowl of comfort food.

The rice was slightly al dente while the vegetables added both flavour and texture.

The Monterosa cheesecake with layers of sponge cake, cream cheese and strawberry sauce was delicious, moist and not terribly sweet – and something to look forward to in spring when strawberries are in season and the fresh fruit can be incorporated in the cake.

The double chocolate fudge cake did not stand out although it was fresh and again not overly sweetened.

What was outstanding was the Lucio carrot cake which was sweetly spiced and smothered with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon powder which gave it a little kick.

As all desserts and drinks, it came from the Coffee Lucio bakery where they made the cake in layers, adding a thin filling of icing in the centre to retain moistness.

The coffees, including the espresso and cappuccino, are made from the Illy blend of coffee beans, an Arabica coffee blend that is velvety smooth and very fragrant.

The owner, Ayesha Temuri, gave the barista staff credit for serving the best coffee in the capital saying that Felix Opili, the head barista and manager of the coffee shop, is fully trained and serves the same quality and selection of beverages that one would get sitting in Italy.

She added: “We also have some healthier versions of bread in the coffee shop which are prepared fresh daily, like oat bread, light wheat bread which gets crispy when toasted, and oregano seed bread and of course all the Panini breads which are made in-house”.

Music by the Italian singer and songwriter, Lucio Dalla, added to the charm of the little eatery.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2018