While staying at Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, we headed to Olio, a luxury Italian restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel. At the entry were earthen pots with bottles soaked in juices with a colorful presentation of bell peppers in red, green, and yellow colour. It looked so lovely and colorful with thyme and other herbs presented and preserved in big jars along with grains and Italian oils in big glass bottles which looked tempting, beautiful and healthy. Olio means ‘Oil’ in Italian. The 39 seater restaurant is done in orange, brown and white extending a classy and elegant appeal. We could spot very minimal decoration around which looked really sophisticated. It has an open kitchen concept with a wine cellar on the sidewall with exotic wines. There was upbeat English music playing in the background. The menu made its way to our table in the form of a wooden plank. We asked Chef Sameer for his recommendations. Anybody would love to taste the breads, pasta and salads coming from the open kitchen. We started with the house breads which came with two kinds of dips- olive dip and coriander dip. They were presented so well and were really appetizing. Next came amuse bouche, our palette cleanser extending our expectations for dishes to come. The rustic Minestrone Soup was a nutritious blend of tomato and root vegetables broth with pasta and parmesan cheese. I would like to call it a healthy tomato gravy soup with delicious veggies and a slice of toasted cheese bread(garlic bread). Burrata was specially prepared by the Chef for us. The Buratta cheese with beetroot coulis and tomato confit was refreshing and fresh. Just loved it! It is must try here! The fruits added the zest and the cheese freshness. Arancini, our favourite deep-fried rice balls which had asparagus sauce around it were crispy on the outside and, soft and velvety on the inside. The taste was very delicious with the mushy rice filling and yes cheesy too. Spaghetti Aglio Olio E-Peperoncino was made with extra virgin oil, garlic, chilli and parsley. It was nice, spicy and very classy, with fresh stir-fried veggies. Olio pizza came with feta cheese spread, pesto, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke and fresh mozzarella. It was colourful, crispy, cheesy and done well with exotic toppings which tasted different and nice. Afterall, Olio specializes in Italian delights and is famous for its thin crust pizzas. The open kitchen was full of action - we could see pizza dough preparation happening in front of our eyes which looked very interesting, Chefs were carrying out their food duties and churning great Italian recipes, Pizzas were being made live in the woodfire oven. 3 chefs were preparing main course and starters while 2 chefs were in the pizza section. Both the sections were well lit with orange lamps. I loved my Olio experience- the pizza, Italian oil flavouring or tasting the authentic unique flavours of Olio kitchen. The Dessert of the day was Pina Colada. It was interesting to have one of my favourite mocktail in a pastry form – sweet and topped with edible flower and chandi ka vark. It was very different and nice.

Perfect place to stay in if you want to hear the waves. A great view from the room; the rooms are spacious, clean and the service is great.