Ciro Catanio and Tania Lea, chefs from Italy, came to Chennai as tourists some years back. They developed a liking for the place, which brought them back on more frequent and longer visits. In time, they wanted to become a part of the scene and so in 1998, they opened a little Italian restaurant -pizzeria in Besant Nagar. The restaurant is quite small -- a full complement of twenty diners would leave little elbow room -- but it comes complete with the trademark Italian red-checked tablecloths, high-backed wooden chairs, red-tiled floor, and even framed photographs of Italian matinee idols on the walls. It has beautiful antique glass lampshades. They named their restaurant 'Bella Ciao'. 'Bella' means "beautiful' and 'ciao' is what Italians say when meeting with or parting from others.

Only traditional ingredients are used in the pizza, pasta, salad, lasagne and the numerous other dishes, which are cooked in true Italian style, using - as in all European cooking - spices in small doses. This, in Ciro's words "makes dishes savoury, without distorting their own natural taste and flavour". The menu includes: the starters Crostino al Funghi (bread roasted and topped with cheese and mushrooms) and Shrimp Cocktail; Baggio Salad (lettuce, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, sweet corn, celery and crotons); first courses Farfalle alla Siciliana (Butterfly Pasta in a tomato, aubergine, garlic sauce with cheese and chilli flakes) and Pasta al Bolognese (pasta in lamb tomato sauce); second courses Capretto al Vino (lamb cooked in red wine) and Vedure al Gratin (vegetables baked with sauce and cheese). The starters cost from Rs.30 to Rs.70; the salads from Rs.85 to Rs.140; first and second vegetarian courses cost from Rs.60 to115; and first and second meat courses from Rs.100 to Rs.130. There are also "fast foods"; burgers (chicken and veg) for Rs.50-Rs.70, hot dogs for Rs.75, fish'n' chips for Rs.100; vegetable sandwiches for Rs.50; meat sandwiches (tuna, chicken and shrimp) for Rs.70.

The pizzas are expensive (Rs.130-180 for a meat pizza, and Rs.100-160 for vegetarian) but the variety on offer is large. Meat pizzas offer a choice of sausage, bacon, chicken, prawn, calamari, tuna, ham, egg, and salami; and vegetable pizzas have aubergine, capsicum, olive, artichoke, mushroom. Traditional Italian pizza uses one or more of four types of cheese: Mozzarella, Parmesan, Blue and Gorgonzola, and, as the manager Jeson says, "the base is thin and crisp, not thick and soft as in American pizzas". "Real Italian cuisine awaits for you in Bella Ciao. See you there," says Ciro.

Bella Ciao is at E-32, 2nd Avenue, Besant Nagar, 600 090. Phone 491-9171 

It is open form 11.30 am till 3.30 pm and from 6.30 pm till 11.30 pm. Tuesday is a holiday.

Arun Masilamoni

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