Wednesday, February 4 2009

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A tasty plate of Italian appetisers....

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AGAINST back drop of modern interior and subtle Italian music, Bella Italia opened its doors, with a gala launch at the new wing of Trincity Mall, in Trincity.

By day it’s a café but by night, the chateau turns into fine dining. The restaurant will cater to patrons who wish to have all their cravings satisfied with authentic Italian menus created by Venezuelan-born chef Carlos Mejia.

Mejia spent several years in Italy as a chef and is of Italian-Venezuelan parentage. He said, although the restaurant provides mainly fine Italian cuisine, he has to take into consideration local tastes. “I still have to think about Trinidadian tastes. Trinidadians like a lot of pepper and they like a little sweet. Italian food is not sweet. I want to make a mix of Trini flavours,” he said. According to the owner of Bella Italia, Vijai Ramkhelawan, the two levels of the high end restaurant were designed to give patrons a taste of Italy, with every ingredient imported from that country.

“It’s a chateau. When you come to Bella Italia, you come to Italy, where you can get fine wine and contemporary Italian cuisine catered with fresh authentic ingredients,” he said. Saddiqua Alli, who was responsible for the interior, complete with an authentic brick oven for turning out crispy authentic Italian pizzas, as well as the cozy second level, said the chateau caters for patrons who wish to lounge, prefer privacy and enjoys fine dining.

“It’s a trendy environment. It’s private and what I like about it is that it is secluded,” she said.