Prego Al Fresco - fresco dining has a new address!

An opportunity came my way through an invitation to attend the launch preview of Prego Al fresco at The Westin, Hyderabad. A fan that I am of Al fresco dining, believe me that when I say this is the best possible setting, especially for great moon-lit(or not!) evenings by the pool side! The ambient lighting indeed has done its job in making the lounge look comfortable and relaxed.

It had just stopped raining when most of arrived on the venue. The scent of rain, the humid atmosphere made Al fresco a really enticing place to sit out and enjoy the food served, or even a glass of some finest scotch and cigars! We were welcome with flutes filled with sparkling wine. Soon enough, we met Mr. Dietmar Kielnhoffer, General Manager, and Exec. chef Steffan Dawson who explained us the concept behind opening an Al fresco and about its Mediterranean fare.

The following four pictures are courtesy, The Westin.

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

The swimming pool definitely got everybody hooked to it because of that lighting. It definitely blends with the Al fresco ambiance!

The stunningly blue pool!

Pool-side bar

The menu

The tables were already laid out with a Mediterranean platter on each of them. It had three dips and three kinds of breads. The dips(Olive tapenade, tomato-parmesan, mushroom-truffle oil) were quite good, but I felt the olive tapenade combined with the za'atar flat bread really stood out with their typical Mediterranean flavors.

Olive tapenade, tomato-parmesan dip, mushroom-truffle Oil dip, za’atar, khaboos and another variety of flatbread(forgot its name!)

The first course of our dinner was Amuse Bouche, a roasted bell pepper rolled into a pinwheel with goat cheese within. It didn't quite impress me for the two reasons - first - it looked really tiny to be called as a dish, not even exotic at that. The most prominent taste was that of the goat cheese only. Other than that, it was pretty bland.

Amuse Bouche - roasted bellpepper and goat cheese pinwheel

Since I had opted for a non-vegetarian course, the second dish that came my way was Tuna Salad. The tuna indeed tasted great and it had this rich smoky flavor. The avocado, asparagus, lettuce indeed complemented the taste of tuna. The slice of orange(if I remember correctly) added that slight sweet-sour combination, just about right and not really overpowering the tuna's flavor. However, I was disappointed with the quantity served. In all probability, I thought, this could be a portion only for the tasting session and they might have a better portion served from the actual menu after launch.

Tuna Salad - smoked tuna, asparagus, avocado, lettuce

Meanwhile, my vegetarian friends had been served a Mediterranean anitpasto, which was like an assorted plate of marinated or spiced fruits and veggies. I got a feedback that the anitpasto was good.

Mediterranean antipasto - chili marinated olive, caramelized fig, pickled grape, tomato feta salad, baked artichoke, olive tapanade, crunchy ciabatta

I opted for the Mediterranean lamb pie as my main course dish. The menu said it had parmesan and bechamel sauce, but I hardly tasted any of that in it, may be just a hint of it. The lamb ragout in it was quite well cooked and had a good flavor, but the eggplant was a bit seedy which I wouldn't really like. The  tomato sauce was good indeed and it definitely complemented the eggplant and ragout. I would say this is definitely can become a great dish with just a little bit of adjustments here and there. Talked to the chef and gave my feedback. The portion size is good enough. One thing to note is, when it comes to presentation, they all looked so very tempting! Hats off to the chefs for their expertise on presentation!

Mediterranean Lamb Pie - oven baked layered eggplant, lamb ragout, bechamel, parmesan

I tasted the lemon chicken as well. I did talk to chef Steffan on basically on two things that would transform this great dish into an amazing dish. The lemony flavor was quite faint and indistinguishable - this could be tweaked easily. The chicken breast piece, though perfectly grilled, was a bit tough to cut through owing to its thickness. A reduction in thickness and you have an absolutely delicious dish in front of you! I really liked the sides of spinach and balsamic glazed potato. They absolutely go hand in hand with the lemon, oregano grilled chicken.

Lemon Chicken - Lemon, Oregano grilled chicken, blasamic glazed potato, spinach

Vegetable Timbale - lemon couscous stalk, chickpea, Mediterranean vegetable

Vegetarian moussaka

Even though the menu had a choice of desserts, we were actually served samples from all of them. The one that delighted me and left an after taste on my palate was the phyllo wrap. the baklava was on a sweeter note than it was supposed to be, it was good though but not as good as the phyllo wrap. The Bougasta was more of a layered pastry and optimally sweet,  crispy and yet soft to bite. Would definitely recommend the phyllo wrap and bougasta!

Phyllo wrap, Baklava, Bougasta

Blue Curacao, Watermelon juice

They have an impressive array of scotch, and impressive because they are all single malts. Not to forget the wines and the exotic cigars on display. If you are inclined to have a smooth scotch while enjoying one of those exotic cigars, then this is definitely the place for you to be!

Single Malts!

Cohiba Cigars - a luxurious brand with premium quality

The attendees

A little bit of tweaking here and there, and you have the privilege of enjoying some great Mediterranean fare sitting by the pool-side, downing it with a wine or single malt scotch and a few premium cigars to go with. The ideal summer evenings would definitely add a great touch to fresco dining! I would definitely recommend you to try the al fresco dining at Prego and I am sure you will fall in love with the place!

~By Invitation~