Noci Adante in Chennai’s Express Avenue has South Indian bites to go with spicy drinks

Noci Adante at Express Avenue in Chennai offers a whimsical dining experience with a diverse menu inclusing Konar kari dosai tartlet, mutton pottlam rice and lamb raviolli along with a range of spice-infused cocktails. This restaurant replaces Mount road Social

At Express Avenue in Royapettah, where the popular Social once stood, there is now Noci Adante. Access is through either the E-hotel or the mall, where a silver deer statue and white flowers greet you, hinting at a whimsical, winter-wonderland theme.

The founders play into this idea, aiming to draw people in with a sense of mystery. “We intentionally kept the vibes different inside and outside so that people would come in and find out the mystery. ‘Noci’ in Japanese means a way of life and ‘Adante’ in Italian is a way of playing an instrument slowly. Our mission is to give the people a space where they can have a fine-dining experience which after 10pm will evolve into a party-space,” share founders K Balachandar, Avnish Sistla, and Dinesh Jaganathan.

Inside, the restaurant which can seat 110 guests is dark-toned with dim lighting and upholstery in brown, dark teal, and sienna. There is a stage with an LED screen for a backdrop - ideal for sport screenings and live acts, which Noci’s management has already begun planning. 

While the name is borrowed from Japanese and Italian, the theme of the restaurant is rather vague. The menu also reflects this confusion with an overwhelming mix of dishes from Indian, South Indian, Tandoori, Indo-Chinese and Western cuisines. Although it is not cohesive, there are several tasty options.

We start with the Konar kari dosai tartlet, a creative twist on the famous dish from Madurai. The dosa batter forms a crunchy tart, holding melt-in-the-mouth mutton chukka with serva, soft kalakki, a dollop of cream cheese, and olive dust. It’s a delightful bite that blends the crisp dosa with spicy mutton, cooled by the kalakki and cream cheese. “We went to Madurai and tried the Konar kari dosai and were trying to find a way to incorporate it into the menu. We also wanted it to be an easy-to-eat dish so we went the waffle-way. Serva is traditionally given on the side but we decided to add it to the mutton. Kalakki is inseparable from kari dosai but to add a ‘Noci’ twist, we also added cream cheese and olive dust,” explains Chef Gopinath G. Vegetarians can try a jackfruit version of this dish.

Next, we try the mushroom soup, served in flasks , and infused with truffle paste and oil. The chimichurri rubbed grilled chicken is flavourful, though slightly dry, while the Balinese chicken satay impresses with its tender, juicy meat wrapped around a piece of sugarcane, grilled, and served with a mildly spiced crunchy peanut dip and chilli sauce. The vegan-friendly idichakka cutlet made with jackfruit and paired with a more-spicy-than-sweet beetroot jam, is a well-executed starter.

Chef Gopinath emphasises that Noci Adante is about mindful eating. “We won’t be serving French fries or nachos like we usually find in mall-restobars. Even with burgers, I plan to serve Parmesan fries and a barbecue sauce. Apart from ingredients like truffle or Parmesan, everything else comes from a 50 kilometre radius. We’ll see how the dishes sell for 45 days and then work on an edit,” he explains.