Delifina in Chennai is a valiant take on the cafes of Rome with its pizzas, decadent desserts, and dark Italian roast coffee

Delifina, on Wallace Garden Road, is a valiant take on the cafes of Rome and designed to be a place that you could eat at everyday. Sit down with a pinsa, or grab a ciabatta sandwich and coffee to go.

Here, under the warm glow of lights and the whiff of fresh bakes, I feel a sudden contentment. I suspect the maritozzi has a role to play. These Italian cream buns are 90 grams of pure joy. “They look like Pacman,” laughs Chef Ralph Dsouza, adding that in Rome, maritozzis were traditionally given by boyfriends or husbands to their loved ones as a sign of commitment. “Eggs, butter and milk are fermented for a day in a fridge and the next day, we make these brioche-like buns and glaze them. Then we put whipped cream with orange or lemon zest,” he explains. There is also a chocolate, whipped cream and hazelnut version of this.

The counter is a riot of colour with a variety of pizza squares jostling for space with sandwiches and cookies. We mull over the menu while demolishing a warm chocolate chip cookie. The Faema 61, a grand looking coffee machine, enjoys pride of place as it emits a red light and busily hisses in the corner; it looks more like a DJ console. The aroma of coffee is like a warm embrace that feels great even on a muggy September afternoon.

It is apparent that Delifina takes its coffee seriously. So much so, that one portion of the ceiling is studded with large wooden coffee beans as decor. In keeping with the theme, the ceilings have Renaissance-style murals.

From the list of coffees, we try the Nutella con panna, sweet, cold, and heady with a double shot of espresso and a dollop of whipped cream. Service is quick, and soon our table is laden with pizzas, and pastas. 

The rigatoni pesto pasta, made with blanched pistachios, is light and does not feel greasy despite a creamy texture. The spinach and artichoke pizza with pickled onion, is a clear favourite, followed by the roast chicken, pesto, and bell peppers. The dough is fermented for 18 hours; the base is crunchy on the outside and airy inside. “Nine or 10 varieties of these pizzas are made everyday. We want the toppings to be as traditional as possible and use vegetables you normally find in toppings in Rome. All sauces are made in-house,” says Ralph.

For dessert, the tiramisu arrives in a glass. It even has dalgona foam on top. The idea was to make it look like a latte, says Ralph. As we stick a spoon in, the tiramisu dramatically oozes out like lava from a volcano. However, it is cloying, and that unfortunately overpowers the flavour of the espresso. The simply plated, chocolate sponge cake has more of a character. It is moist with a layer of mascarpone and candied hazelnut. Since Italians and Chennaiites can rarely end their meals without coffee, we order a piccolo, which, as Ralph says is the the closest drink you’ll get to a filter kapi here.

Delifina is at 19, Wallace Garden, Third Street, Thousand Lights. A meal for two costs ₹1,200.