Order Coimbatore’s Van Dough pizzas at Alliance Francaise Madras’s new cafe space

Some six months ago, erstwhile Alliance Francaise of Madras’ famed cafeteria stopped dishing retired its iconic citrus tea, cutlets, and cocoa cake, wonderment arose among the assemblage astir everyone’s changed snack-time circumstance.

By the clip their each nighttime festival, La Nuit Blance took spot successful October though, premonition made it wide that pizzas, measured not by the slice, but with dollops of impressionism, were soon going to beryllium making their mode to this French-training institute’s menu.

Van Dough pizzeria, each the mode from Coimbatore, seemed to person arrived with a paper afloat of experimental topping combinations including sherry leek and potatoes; ghee roast chicken; and a mushroom and beetroot pesto, connected soft, perfectly charred, well-hydrated pizza dough. Is it worthy a try?

Quite simply, yes.

We statesman the repast with a cherry herb and ail confit, afloat of basil leaves and balsamic vinegar that bursts successful the rima rather literally, arsenic it is successful cherry tomato’s quality to get with pomp and a caller sweetness. Served with bread, this crockery is for everyone who likes jammy tomatoes and spreadable garlic, a tiny hint of saccharine and umami.

What’s absorbing astir the Van Dough paper is that it seems to person been constructed from the lives of its galore founders. The sugarcane chickenhearted that follows next, is simply a communicative that the co-founders, look to person already told our Coimbatore newsman Jeshi, but it is charming and worthy a repeat. “My co-founder Siddharth [Sethi] would often sojourn a street-side store successful Pune for his meals and asked the vendor if helium could marque him thing new. Within seconds, helium walked crossed to a sugarcane vendor who was selling canes. Added minced chickenhearted connected a instrumentality with beardown aromatics, and past presented the crockery to us. Years ago, I asked the vendor if he’d similar to articulation us, but helium likes to alert solo. This crockery is an attempt, but not an nonstop recreation,” says Dhiren Khturia. Eaten with a greenish chilli lipid afloat of scallion, chives and the likes, the chickenhearted successful itself is loaded with a beardown hint of kaffir lime. If you similar Asian flavours, this is simply a large pick.

Before we determination to the adjacent dish, Dhiren and capitalist Vignesh KR, inquire maine to instrumentality a breath. What is astir to arrive, they say, is their magnum opus, a instrumentality favourite if you may. Double-fried oyster mushrooms successful a delicious, airy batter, seasoned with a blistery and spice pulverization [blend of cayenne, Kashmiri red, and interestingly, veg broth powder], served with an in-house blistery chromatic and whipped food sauce, this crockery bangs.

As for the pizzas that get quickly, effort the ghee roast chickenhearted pizza, sherry leek and thin-cut roast murphy slice, and the beetroot pesto with mushrooms. Dhiren says that the room unit spends hours stirring the ghee roast paste made with kandhari chillis to get the cleanable level of capsium, on with a deed of sweetness to this wonderfully spicy dish. The food is the abdominous that balances the crockery out. Served connected a furniture of naatu thakkali marinara, this is apt to beryllium an fantabulous munchie. The beetroot pesto is simply a homemade look that comes from Dhiren’s mother, erstwhile Van Dough was a tiny unreality room successful RS Puram called The Cloud Kitchen Project. Times person changed but the iteration of this look remains untouched.

Van Dough besides makes their ain handmade pastas including 1 with capers and artichokes and different with gochujang but the erstwhile requires a firmer al dente texture and the second needs much seasoning. But, “We are besides coming up with a burger, sandos, and brunch menu. There is java circular the timepiece astatine the cafe and desserts by Paris Plage astatine the counter. You should travel backmost for that. We besides person an evolving menu. We can’t hold to experiment,” says Chef Pratham.

Van Dough seats 30 astatine its cafe room wherever 1 tin work and dine, 20 successful its picturesque outdoor space, and 30 much astatine their backstage eating country wherever brunches and backstage events tin beryllium held.

A period into moving the operations successful Chennai, founders Dhiren, Siddharth, and Pavithraa Priya, on with capitalist Vignesh, accidental that loyalists of the marque from Coimbatore person been sending their friends to the cafe to illustration a slice. When radical locomotion into this transformed space, astatine Alliance, there’s usually a brushed “wow,” says Vignesh.

“We are looking to usage the mangoes connected field for a peculiar paper during summer, and besides statesman a plot for our herbs if each the permissions travel through,” says Dhiren.

Where does Van Gogh diagnostic successful the expansive strategy of things? I’m definite the founders person a coagulated communicative that is not conscionable a pun. Have they near an content though? You bet.

Van Dough Pizzeria and Cafe is astatine AF Madras, College Road, Nungambakkam. A repast for 2 costs ₹1,500. Contact 9840894518 for reservations.