Jimmy’s Italian Kitchen

Although Italians never ruled India but Italian food is sure a reigning fare across the length and breadth of our country. There are numerous small and big café trying their hands on this but only few legitimate ones get it this perfect as the Jimmy’s Italian Kitchen in Mcleodganj, Dharamshala.

The place is cult Italian rewound with movie hangings and an orange hue to warm it up. The owners are sweetest serving of the place with Migmar Lhamo running the show since the initiation with her brother Jampa Gyatsang since 2001 and his wife Tsering Dolkar being no less contributor in lesser span of time. They would be happy to dash to your table on a single look.

What got me here the very first time was the Honey latte but there’s so much more added to the list now. I kicked off with Tsering’s suggestion of Tomato and Basil soup, I’m honestly not a soup person but this one sure got the best of me after this was sheer madness of food floating on my table; I prefer potato’s only in paratha or maybe mashed but this was another level with the sinful mix with tuna mayo grilled potato, Next in line were Quattro Frommagi & Piri-Piri Pizza which were great with original crust and just about right cooked in the wood-fire oven where the cheese melted to glory in my mouth.

Keeping the spirits high were Puttanesca pasta and grilled Sicilian chicken, I’ve personally always preferred Sicilian chicken in Italian café and this one was equally good with it’s quality, plated with a healthy breast of chicken, mashed potatoes and grilled Mediterranean herbs turned out to be an Italian delight like the pasta which was Penne soaking the freshest tomato and Black olives smeared to perfection.

That wasn’t all so I forked ahead with grilled chicken and Lemon chicken, the best part is all these grills comes with any 2 sides you wish to order from a good choice of 6-8 variants and making the grill they never go wrong as if the chefs were destined to do this. The lemon chicken needs a special mention as it comes with big chunks of fresh lemon to be consumed with chicken, it is not just for the hint instead gives it a tangy dash.

The sweet notes of chocolate mousse are clear winners with its chocolate quality so thick that you can probably flip the bowl and hold it till next summer to melt although if you wish to not overload your Italian taste buds with French finesse then you can try a simple banana cake which comes with fresh cream and tastes absolute heaven. My finishing notes were certainly pre-planned with Honey latte gearing me up for a big hibernation in my hotel room for the next few hours .

Verdict– With food that great they don’t need any pomp and show to market the place and could be really nosy but the owners choose to be polite and humble owing it to the great Tibetan upbringing. Their Tomato Basil soup, Honey latte and chocolate mousse can force me to take a detour from 500 miles at-least, That says it all i hope.