Last year, we took a 12-hour-long bus ride from Berne to Florence, just to meet David. The sculpture by Michelangelo stands tall at Accademia Gallery. We’ve eaten Italian food across the world, but the pizza at a bus stop in Genoa, the tiramisu at a bistro, the gelato at the piazza and the affogato at a local café has convinced us that the Italians take their food craft seriously.

Earlier this week, we had dined at Fieno, an Italian restaurant by Churchgate Hospitality, led by founder Pranav Rungta of Café Royale fame and co-founder Anurag Katriar.  The space, designed by ns*a Architecture, celebrates the heritage of Amarchand Mansion, in all its architectural glory. The ambiance gently introduces the Italian concept of a campagna into it. Within the private dining section, a miniature wine cellar guards a collection of 120 wines curated by Nikhil Agarwal of All Things Nice. “Travel became an essential part of people’s lives post the pandemic; they rediscovered cuisines across the world. The cuisine missing in this part of SoBo was Italian, so we decided to address that,” explains Rungta.