There’s a kind of silence that settles over a room when a dough meets a cook’s hands — measured almost meditatively. Well, this feeling was what we felt as we entered the newly launched Si Nonna’s, the original sourdough pizza’s outlet in Film Nagar. The outlet has also launched its second destination in Khajaguda.
What sets this apart is its mother dough being stretched with deliberate care, ovens pulsing with steady heat, and chefs moving in a rhythm that feels instinctive, not staged. We experienced this up close during an invited preview, which set their intent clear — kind of slow and steady craft.
Our meal began with Focaccia al Rosmarino from the Bites to Start — an honest showcase of their sourdough. The loaf was light inside and the crust blistered just enough to add character. Rosemary, flakes of Maldon sea salt, and a slow pour of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) made it fragrant without needing anything more. Then came the Eggplant Parmigiana took a different route: warm, slow, and deeply comforting. The layers had softened into one another after their time in the oven, turning the eggplant silky while the cheese and sauce wrapped it in a mellow, savoury richness. Followed by the Mozzarella & Jalapeño Croquettes, crisp on the surface and soft inside, offered a comforting mix of mashed potato, cheese, and a gentle jalapeño warmth.
Then came the pizzas picked by the chef himself. The Veg Classic stayed true to tradition: tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil, a hint of EVOO. Nothing more, nothing less. The simplicity allowed the dough to speak — soft at the centre, airy at the rim, kissed by the fire. The second vegetarian pizza, which was one of the chef’s favourites, was impossible to ignore. Built on Nonna’s mushroom cream, it layered roasted mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomato confit, aged parmesan, parsley, truffle oil, and basil. It was creamy, deeply aromatic, and full of roasted notes, yet surprisingly restrained — rich but not cloying, indulgent but still lively.
The way Italian chef Massimo Verzini, the executive chef of Si Nonna’s speaks of dough is as if it were a living entity. He explains, “Every morning we feed our mother dough starter because it’s alive. The dough goes through several steps prior to being prepared as part of a pizza — it is hydrated, rested, and allowed for full swelling, before being divided into smaller pieces to prepare for the next day’s use. Each individual pizza will only spend less than one minute (in most cases, less than 90 seconds) in an oven set to a temperature of 400°C (around 750°F) so that they will come out soft and ‘blistered’ and have a hint of ‘smokey’ flavour.”
The chef is very firm when it comes to one idea: the ‘base’ is where authenticity lies. In the case of cooking pizza in India, for example, through changing ingredients from pork or beef to chicken, he remains committed to using traditional Italian cooking techniques when creating his pizzas.
For the non-vegetarian pick, the kitchen leaned into bolder flavours: tomato sauce, Fior di Latte, chicken pepperoni, blue cheese, basil, and onions. The blue cheese added a quiet funk, the pepperoni brought warmth, and the tomatoes kept the whole thing bright.