Italian and Spanish favourites under one roof
View(s):By Arrenga Nadaraja
“If you want to eat real Italian tapas, you have to come to AQUA Pazza,” says Roberto Vicario, the Executive Chef at AQUA Pazza at Park Street Mews, the restaurant where Italian abstract art adorns the walls and Italian and Spanish cuisine converge to create dishes that are ‘contemporary and sophisticated’.
AQUA Pazza has three partners: Roberto (the executive chef for all their properties), Paolo Gavioli and Ian Fernández.
Since opening in November 2024, the team at AQUA Pazza have focused on locally sourced produce and high-quality imported ingredients with a range of choices, including vegetarian, vegan, seafood and meat.
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- Risotto
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- Gambas al ajillo
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- Agnello al vino e nocciole
“This place has Spanish tapas, the same that you have in Madrid or Spain,” says Fernández.
The restaurant offers a range of dishes including Spaghettoni All’Aragosta (bronze-drawn Spaghettoni with lobster and lemon zest) and Risotto Al Pesto E Gamberi (Italian Carnaroli risotto with homemade pesto, prawns and prawn jus).
Additionally, there is a selection of bite-sized appetisers such as Arancino (deep-fried rice balls filled with cheese), alongside shareable dishes like a cold cuts platter (mixed imported cold cuts) and mains such as Italian lamb rack with wine sauce, hazelnut, and baked potatoes.
“Mediterranean food and Italian is very healthy; there is a lot of variety,” Roberto says, reiterating that “you can have a different meal for a year without repeating any dish.”
They use modern cooking techniques, which include sous-vide, slow temperature cooking (to keep meat and fish more juicy at the same time preventing ingredients deteriorating with the heat), says the Executive Chef.
Desserts include favourites like Tiramisù, Pannacotta, and Crema Catalana.
For drinks, they offer Spanish Sangria, dessert wines and cocktails among others.
AQUA Pazza is open Sunday to Thursday from 12 noon to 10.30 p.m., and Friday to Saturday from 12 noon to 1.30 a.m.
Aqua Pazza restaurants can also be found in Galle Fort on Leyn Baan St and on Church Street, in Battaramulla at Kumarage Watte, and in Arugam Bay on Whisky Point Road, Pottuvil.
Visit their website at www.aquapazzarestaurant.com, follow them on Instagram
(@aquapazza.lk), or contact them at +94 76 472 3156 for reservations and additional information.
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