India’s first fast food casual restaurant. Now get Italian the way you like it!
Indian restaurant market is saturated with American “Fast Food” (burgers, pizzas etc.) Italian cuisine is perhaps one of the fastest growing cuisines in India in terms of acceptance and popularity. Authentic Italian cuisine seems to be associated forever with fine-dine and Casual-Dine segments. Good Italian cuisine is not really available for the masses to try and appreciate. Grande Fabio’s was born out of this opportunity present in the market grooming to become India’s first Fast casual Italian Restaurant- a means to redefine the concept of QSR.
Grande Fabio’s, as the name suggests, means ‘Grand’ and ‘Fabulous’, and that’s what this place is…!! A work of art of four college buddies, this place is a breath of fresh air. With so many QSR’s and American Fast Food Chains cropping up in every nook and corner of Delhi, this place is sure to win your heart.
Being a Quick Service Restaurant, this place stands out in terms that they bring to the masses a near about authentic fine -dine Italian experience, at a very nominal and affordable price, and to top it off, you get to design your own masterpiece every time. The Pastas are cooked in matter of minutes, true to the Italian way of cooking as well as having a large degree of customization options.
Four college buddies, Puneet Gandhi, Karan Kansal, Sameer Gujar and Vikesh Ishwar Patel, different in all aspects, with different professional background and all based out of Delhi, came together for their love for food and being food fanatics , one day decided to open a venture, given their love of Italian cuisine, a go at the authentic one in Italy and determination to bring the same authenticity to Delhi at a reasonable rate, so that people of all kinds can enjoy the experience, they created this joint called Grande Fabio’s.
And to make their dream come true and give a face to this complex concept of QSR pasta and more, a renowned culinary expert came to their rescue. Mr. Raminder Bakshi is a top brass having more than 22 years of experience in the hospitality and F&B industry. His decisive leadership quality has helped him in setting up Food Courts, Multinational QSR, Hotels and Restaurants & Resorts.
Famed as “The Young Turk” from his early days, he successfully conceptualized multiple projects and created his own style in the kitchen, blending tradition with modernity in his training and experience right from his grooming days at IHM Bhopal. Through the years spent in Hilton Group in varied locations like Delhi, Egypt, and the Metropolitan Palace hotel in Dubai, he embarked on a journey of culinary discovery. As a Chef Tournant at Hyatt International where he moved through the kitchens of exclusive Hyatt properties like Grand Hyatt Delhi, Hyatt Regency Delhi, gaining further expertise and training aspiring chefs in the intricate art of gourmet cooking and grooming tomorrow’s culinary leaders.
Being a keen planner and strategist with a track record of achieving Revenue, Profit & YOY Business Growth in startups, he has attained a niche for himself in the highly competitive and ever changing environments of the Indian F&B circuit. He presents himself as a one stop solution for all F&B related glitches, having acquired such diverse experiences in domestic as well as international markets with a fair understanding of “International Business Standards”. At present he owns THE ART CULINNAIRE which specializes in conceptualization and execution of restaurants / hotels / base kitchens / banquets / outdoor catering / air catering services / institutional catering / quick service restaurants and much more.
Ambiance:
Grande Fabio’s is a no nonsense concept, they have a very minimalist, yet bold and chic decor, with white walls and huge bright spots of red spheres, a display counter comprising of beverages, desserts and focaccia, and an all steel compact live kitchen. They believe in serving the best and that’s their sole focus. It’s a fairly small space with a seating capacity of around 15-20 people.
Service:
The staff is really friendly and highly suggestive. You walk up to the live kitchen, choose your pasta, choose your sauce, and go crazy with as many veg/non-veg toppings you like, and give him barely a minute to present to you a fabulous dish. The owner is also very friendly and a big foodie himself. To quote him ” I will never serve something that I, myself would not like to eat”, hence here at Grande Fabio’s, best is what you will get.
Food:
They proud in their authentic sauces, which i must say are delicious and no wonder it took a couple of months to perfect them. This tiny joint in Defence Colony is sure to revolutionize the concept of QSR serving food as good as a Fine Dining restaurant but at a dirt cheap rate so that anyone and everyone can enjoy a freshly made bowl of yummy pasta. So since i was there for the food tasting along with my partner, we tried three of their pastas, one focaccia and three desserts, we were so full, we couldn’t venture to try the rest items, which is a great reason for me to go back and experiment more…
Whole wheat fusilli, tossed in their famous tomato basil sauce, with additions of bell pepper, olives, mushroom, slices of spicy chicken sausage, tiny morsels of barbecue chicken, finally topped with a sprinkle of veg Parmesan- the pasta was cooked al dente( thanks to their customized, one of its kind Electrolux pasta boiling machine), and the entire dish was presented to us in less than a few minutes, lesser time than what one’s computer takes to start!! The veggies were vibrant and fresh, the chicken was really moist and flavorful, and the tomato basil sauce was like none other i have eaten so far, a chunky tomato based sauce with tiny shreds of tomato and earthiness of the basil, made it one of their signature sauces. Though unfortunately, the sauce was a bit too loose in consistency, but that didn’t compromise with the taste. The toppings were ample and the Parmesan added a kick to it.
Gnocchi made in mamarosa sauce( an amalgamation of red and white sauces), tossed with bell pepper, zucchini and broccoli- the gnocchi was the best gnocchi i had, pillowy, super light and airy, with a deliciously thick sauce, and crunchy green veggies, was my partner’s favorite dish of the day. Tiny dumpling made from semolina, wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato and bread crumbs, the light nibbles are fun to eat.
Ravioli in creamy pesto sauce: Spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli, heavily loaded with creamy pesto sauce, whacked up with spicy chicken sausage,mushroom, zucchini and broccoli, finished off with grated Parmesan, this dish was my personal favorite. The filling was more than enough, the centre of ravioli was well cooked and moist, but unfortunately the edges were a bit tough(may be because of the the fact that the pasta is kept in deep freezer, to make it readily available and for a quick service), but the spinach and ricotta filling was flavorsome, the creamy pesto sauce with the right amount of oiliness and aroma and freshness of basil, was packed with a punch of flavors and the topping complemented each other perfectly.
Pepperoni focaccia: okay so generally we get really fluffy and humongous portions of focaccia, generally infused with olives and herbs, but here they bake their own fresh focaccia and have tried to make it more flat in texture, so that delicious toppings can be added on them. The Lamb focaccia was my second favorite, really crispy and light focaccia bread, topped with oodles of cheese(Gouda, Emmental and Cheddar) and generous slices of lamb pepperoni, toasted to perfection.
To accompany the above delights, we chose a root beer and a coke from their beverage counter, which also had ginger ale, and other aerated drinks. After stuffing ourselves with great combo we decided to move to the dessert part, and had:
Belgian chocolate mousse: a tiny shot glass full of sinful chocolate mousse, the mouse was really right, fluffy and airy and tasted decadent with the perfect Belgian chocolate indulgence, topped with a layer of salted caramel, which added the salty taste and sticky texture and complimented the dessert well.
Philly style cheesecake: A huge slice of classic new york cheesecake, the cheesecake was slightly dense in texture but felt light upon eating, the initial bite gives you the taste of coconut which takes you by surprise. But as you dig deeper, the cream cheese works its magic and you can’t stop eating it. As they import their desserts from various bakeries around town, the base of the cheesecake gets a bit soggy, but it doesn’t affect the overall taste.
Tiramisu: a small, wide glass full of yummy goodness, super moist and soft cake base topped with thick whipped cream, infused with coffee powder, and another layer of the same, was the perfect end to our fabulous gastronomical journey. The crumbliness of the cake with the sweetness of the whipped cream and the slight bitter yet strong taste of coffee, was devoured in no time.
One spoon-full of the pasta proved that this express pasta was no lesser than the ones served in any fine dine restaurant. With every dish costing under 200-300, this is a quick economical and yet tasty offering to the city’s culinary scene. Kudos to Raminder Bakshi, culinary expert for this venture who’s executed this difficult concept successfully. While this is the first outlet, there will be more very soon- as per the passionate group of guys behind Grande Fabio’s.
Authored by – Shivani Rastogi
