Spaghetti Kitchen is on the second floor of Select Citywalk—near the Food Court. This is a large restaurant, with wide panes of glass looking out into the main atrium of the mall. There’s plenty of natural light. Inside, there are large glass vases full of creamy-white flowers; there are tables and chairs in dark wood, prettily placed lights and an air of elegance that manages to stop short of being oppressive. Unlike restaurants like Olive Beach (where I’d be nervous about speaking too loud), Spaghetti Kitchen nicely straddles the line between stylish and family. You can bring your children here to eat pizza (in fact, there are a couple of families around while we eat), you can host a corporate lunch here, or you can do a big, big Sunday lunch with an old friend.

We sit down, and the hostess who’s escorted us in hands over menus. The description of the food—the antipasti, the main courses, the pasta, the pizza, the desserts, everything—is mouthwatering. The consulting chef here is the famous Australian chef Bill Marchetti, and just about everything he’s put on the menu sounds so gorgeous that we take a long time to decide what we want. We eventually choose the non-vegetarian antipasti platter to share, and order individual main courses: pork chops with Mediterranean vegetables and mashed potatoes for Tarun and me (our tastes our very similar), and gnocchi with gorgonzola for Carlos. The men order beer, and I an iced tea, though there’s a wide range of wines and spirits on offer too.

A waiter comes by to place a basket of assorted breads, along with a butter dish on our table. They replenish it every now and then, so we have plenty of bread—lovely, oregano-flavoured bread, slices of French bread, basil-baked bread... I have it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, both of which are at our table.

The antipasti platter comes with about four or five slices each of a selection of cold cuts: salami, prosciutto, ham, a chicken ham with green olives, etc. There are also thin slices of cheese, little mounds of chopped green olives and chopped black olives, and a few succulent spears of asparagus tossed in butter. Delicious!

The main course is equally fabulous. The pork chops that Tarun and I have ordered come ready sliced, so we don’t need to ply a steak knife to separate the meat from the bone. Also, the meat (thankfully, not fatty!) is tender and cooked just right. It rests on a large helping of smooth, creamy mashed potatoes, with a generous heap of Mediterranean veggies—sautéed zucchini, bell peppers and aubergine—on the side. There’s also a lovely yellow sauce coating the meat. It’s slightly tart, slightly peppery and out of this world.

Carlos’s gnocchi comes, swimming in a cheesy gorgonzola sauce, served up in a porcelain dish shaped like a skillet. Very pretty! He says that he’s very fond of gnocchi, and this is excellent.

By the end of it, we’re all too full to order dessert, even though some of the desserts sound fabulous. I’d set my heart on a dish of strawberries marinated in brandy and served on vanilla ice cream—yum! But we all pass up dessert and ask for the bill instead. It comes to Rs 3,561, including a 10% service charge, which means no tip is needed. Not cheap, but definitely great value for money.

Given the opportunity, I’d go to Spaghetti Kitchen any day. The service is good, the ambience is pleasing, and the food is superb.