la kuchina - jehan numa palace

what lies behind that quaint green door?
every time i go to jehan numa palace i am really amused by the fact that the door to la kuchina remains closed, like it's hiding a wonderful secret inside! and it really is a wonderful little space with an open kitchen and amazing hospitality.

luxurious and high end from the food to the decor, this place oozes sophistication and i hate to admit it, but i tend to spend an extra half hour getting dressed if i know i am headed there for the night.
so a favourite, visited from the land of sheiks,sands, and oil and we ended up at our yearly ritual girls night spot for some downtime.

la kuchina has a lovely drinks menu with a good wine list, which we skipped on this particular night.
the food menu is italian heaven and one can compare the variety and taste to any high end italian restaurant in any of the big cities.

we walked into an almost empty room, that was buzzing with energy from the kitchen and found our favourite corner spot to settle down at. what i love about such places is that you don't have to worry about loud music or too many people and can kick back and have a real conversation.

what we ordered:
1. tomato and basil soup :
came in the prettiest bowls along with a platter of breads and tasted perfect! tangy and creamy and warm was exactly what we needed in this weather. and the undertones of basil in every spoonful was simply perfect.
2. whole wheat penne in pink alfredo sauce with chicken(a first time order):
the penne was perfectly cooked! or should i say, perfectly "al dente"! the pink alfredo sauce? well i could have bowls full of just the sauce for dinner and be completely satisfied. the best pink sauce i have ever had! the chicken was cut into bite sized pieces and cooked on point! it wasn't as spicy as i would have liked, but then a little chilli flakes fixed it for me and my friend who isn't a spicy food fan had nothing to complain about.
the only thing i could nit-pick about is that the pasta used wasn't all whole wheat only. we definitely found a few not wheat penne pieces in our pasta but since we were enjoying our meal we chose not to complain about it.

the meal was perfect, the company even better and it was just a lovely night out. we did not order dessert. we decided to walk out to their coffee shop for dessert.

the dinner costed us rs.1080.00 which isn't value for money but not too heavy on the pocket for an upscale restaurant.

what i would recommend:
1. the tomato basil soup/ broccoli soup : both are just perfect starts to a meal, amazingly delicious, wonderfully served and perfectly made.
2. the pastas and pizzas : i have tried a few different ones on the menu, and if i had to pick a favourite it would be the aglio olio, and the alfredo pink sauce.
we ordered the gnocchi once and that was a disaster i am not ready to experiment with again.
3. the thai curry : the best i have had till date in bhopal.
4. the wine list is worth a try, they provide a larger variety than most places in town.

a little piece of advice, always order what you know you can enjoy and eat, i usually order weird stuff off menus and experiment but this has been one place where every risk and experiment has been a big fail for me.

i will definitely be going back for the food and vibe and the simple feeling of being in a super eclectic ambience because it just makes me feel better!

overall experience -
food 9/10
ambience 10/10
service 9/10
cleanliness 10/10
price 8/10

i was very much looking forward to dine at much famed la kuchina. some may know but many may not, one of the scenes and a song from katrina and ranbir starrer rajneeti have been shot in this very restaurant only.
at the outset i would like to mention that the staff (barring the manager) was over excited and concentrated towards foreign guests and showing little or no interest in the indians. i hate such evident discrimination and i as well as indians on the other table also felt the same. though, the manager was courteous to ask us about our experience and confirm if we are treated well. also, from a restaurant of this stature, i would have expected the staff to serve the food but that wasn't the case either. service definitely needs a push here and that's why i am not rating this restaurant too high on a relative scale.
coming down to food, i had regular vegetarian pizza. absolutely no complaints with the pizza. perfectly cooked thin crust pizza with lot of vegetables. exactly what i was carving for from a long time in bhopal. then i had fresh lime soda, which was not at all a fine dining experience. very ordinary.
a meal for one would cost around 700-800rs inclusive of taxes which for such good food at an elegant restaurant is pretty decent.

a great outlet for italian food. we order for a cappuccino of wild mushroom soup. it was perfect. with a very subtle but evident taste of mushrooms. we tried garden vegetable pizza. as the name goes, it had broccoli, bell pepper, capsicum, olives. could baked it little crisper given that it was thin crust. the sauce was dull, which made it little boring. also, we had mushroom white wine pasta. now this was perfect. subtle taste, perfectly cooked.

la kuchina is a part of jahanuma group of hotels and they are the only authentic italian restaurant and the best in town for their food quality and taste. this place is serene and has different vibes which is sometimes spoiled by loud music. in all i just love this place.they also keep organising pizza fest's to serve variety, those have always been good. as far as charges go, i won't say those are high because the kind of food is served its worth it all. in all i think improvement can be done in the variety of drinks probably wines of different countries so on & so forth. it's interior makes it look this place even more peaceful.

this is probably the best italian restaurant in the city of bhopal. the chef doesn't look italian but he seems to "think italian!"
he even seems to have noddles in his head, and a spegetti brain! try the zucchini parmesan soup if you don't believe me? or, nibble on a mozzarella gnocchi sorrentina while sipping a doppio caffee! but wait a minute, where did the grilled rack of new zealand lamb come from (perhaps from the fabled italian south seas islands?)! or, the braised lamb steak? maybe roman lambs?
and, from the chicago mafia we have for you walnut pie and cheese cake! mama mia---

the one stop shop to feed your italian food cravings. this is the place to visit. very authentic and tasteful food here, not to mention the hospitality is really nice.

all pizzas are just fantastic, thin crust, crisp and finger licking good. pasta is equally good too. specially the pesto!

i love this place. be it quaint plush setting or the picturesque environment that makes you feel straight out of the movie set. service seems to dawdle at times from quick and responsive to a bit slow at times. nonetheless the time spent here is worth the wait. last when i visited this place i had a spicy piri piri pino veg pizza. the pizza was delightful - thin crusted and baked to perfection. can't wait to be here again.

well its the same story i feel as with every over hyped restaurant. the ambience was wonderful . the staff was very good but the food was very average. the pizza, starters , main course was not up to the mark .

la kuchina used to be my favourite restaurant in bhopal, place where we could go and celebrate those extra special days. for a restaurant whose pricing is that high, it has way too many fluctuations regarding its quality. for this price, i expect consistently good food. the last time i went there was in june 2016 and we ordered these dishes:
-cappuccino of wild mushrooms: it was about 2 teaspoons too salty which made the soup taste like warm salt water, but they took it back and fixed it and then it was pretty tasty.
-chicken alfredo: right amount of creamy and cooked perfectly. 
-spaghetti a la bolognese: well cooked pasta and meat and really good sauce.
-chicken shaslik: i don't remember anything else other than the taste of red chillies in the sauce.
-veg khau suey: same as the shaslik. 
i understand spicy, i like spicy but these two dishes seem to be cooked by the devil himself in the firey pits of hell. when we tried complaining, the manager insisted that this is how these dishes are cooked and refused to understand how spicy it was. the dish was abandoned after the initial two bites because no one was in the mood for "death by too much chilli powder". after a lot of complaining and persuading, we finally got other dishes which were nice.
-classic english fish and chips: crispy fish and chips with light flavours and no fish-y smell.
-baked vegetable lasagna: very ordinary, nothing special. 

ambience: warm and welcoming decor with a wafting lovely fragrance of pizzas in the oven. good music set at a volume where you can hear conversations happening around you. 

service: the servers are very attentive and pleasant. the food can take a very long time to reach your table, especially when they are having a busy day, then you can forget about your food for a good 30mins.
beverages: stick to alcoholic beverages unless you like paying rs 180/- for a glass of nestea iced tea. the alcohol menu offers a lot of options, there is something for everyone. cocktails are extremely tasty and they have a wide variety of beers and wines as well.

highly recommend:-pizzas- super pepperoni; all meat (serving size is pretty large)
- pastas: chicken alfredo; spicy primavera
-  main course: spinach and feta stuffed chicken, eggplant parmesan

skip: -the entire "make your selection" section. it is not good and it is especially terrible for that amount of money.
- soups
- risotto
- desserts: 310 for a fruit salad? 410 for a walnut pie? really? walk over to cafechino for better desserts (tip: discount on desserts and bakery items after 10:30. reach earlier in case you want to eat their blueberry cheesecake as it is one of their popular pastries and gets finished off by 10.)
- non-alcoholic beverages

jehan numa should also look into the typographical errors on their menu cards. la kuchina is frequented by a lot of tourists so don't give them a chance to laugh at these mistakes. these little errors can be annoying in the long run

quality restaurant in one of the most upscale places in bhopal. well set up, la kuchina has a welcoming atmosphere. the staff is very hospitable and the service is quick.

coming to the food, i don't think it lives up to the hype. perhaps it is the best italian in bhopal, but i have had better in other cities.
but keeping that aside, if you go here with no background knowledge, you will be bowled over. we tried the veg piri piri pizza, chicken sashlik and arrabiata pasta with chicken. the pizza tasted nice, though it had a slight resemblance in terms of taste to home baked pizzas. the pasta was initially raw tomato-y, but once we informed the management about it, they replaced the dish and it came back better cooked and tastier ! the chicken sashlik was very tasty - full of spices, yet retaining it's non indian look.

that's the best place to grab some italian food. the food is really good accompanied by great service. this place has set a new bar for what we call food. it's a little low on seating not that spacious but got a table easily.

situated within the jehan numa... came out as a nice surprise for the cuisine served . good fresh italian/ mediterranean food with a glass of draught beer to accompany... we tried the broccoli soup which was brilliant in terms of taste... served with freshly baked portions of bread, taste was subtle and creamy... loved it... the black pepper crusted chicken was good but not exceptional. we ordered the smoked salmon pizza and the all chicken one. the norwegian smoked salmon was quite nice with the smoky salmon taste not necessarily overpowering the pizza.. perfectly balanced... didnt enjoy the all chicken one... not to my taste... have to mention the roasted peanuts served with the beer.... the best i have had so far!!! ever... was locally sourced and yummy to the core ...

italian part of the hotel. during international pizza festival i ordered turkey pizza. it was really bad and uncooked turkey chunks were raw and the crust was too thin. there was hardly anyone sitting in the cafe. expensive place.

best place to have italian cuisine at city of lakes. with not much in mind we headed to this place. though the place was not that spacious but got a table easily. it has open kitchen so you can easily glance at your food from your table side. so we ordered for black pepper and walnut crusted chicken tenders which they served with some garlic breads. this turns out to be delicious, chicken breasts were tender as name said with perfect crispy fine coat of walnut's. a special sauce was served which was very new to taste buds. spicy primavera with spaghetti was the next choice which had nice blend of herbs , olive oil and tomatoes. to accomplish any italian cuisine pizzas are must so we tried four fourth pizza. presentation was quite notable as each slice had different ingredients stuffed along with cheddar and feta cheese. at the end surprisingly each stuff ordered was worth the money and pocket friendly. best fine dining experience so far at bhopal. thanks la kuchina team :)

well, la kuchina is a food place in itself. all sophisticated and a fine dining place it makes you happy always. and i mean it.
ambience is so warm and welcoming.
staff is courteous and welcoming to the core.
music is perfect.
and talking about the menu, they just get it for you the way you'll like it.
we ordered for -
spicy primavera pasta- yes, it was spicy as the name suggests. and the cheese, oh my god just takes your heart away. it smells and tastes equally good..!! the herbs and the tanginess of the red sauce combines well with baked cheese and the right amount of "hotness" to call it spicy. if you are a person who's nose and eyes water with even a little bit of spice, it isn't the dish for you. it's for hardcore lovers of spicy food.
smoked chicken pasta- the tender pieces of chicken, pasta drenched in white sauce and all creamy. what else do you need!
bread was on the house.
a pitcher of beer which was really smooth and sangria, which just makes your day.
a place to go sit and have a perfect date, girls day out, family lunch/dinner or be it anything. because it's worth it.