Reviews Upstairs Italian Restaurant

Name: Upstairs Italian Restaurant
Address: Upstairs Corner Of Kb Jacob Road & Bastian Street, Opposite Santa Cruz Basilica, Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, I-682001
Telephone: +91 97456 82608
Rating: 77

Arunava Mandal

Me and my fiance visited this amazing place on suggestion of one of our friends. The owner personally took out time to interact with us and made us feel at home. The ambience of the place is very homely and food reflects that. Their Italian fare was delicious and fresh. They also have amazing shakes. I highly recommend their barbeque chicken pizza.

Mar 24, 2019

Pavithra Krishnaswamy

This is go-to for me every time I visit Fort Kochi. Any dish off the menu is delicious, homely, and like a warm welcome to Kochi.

The Cinnamon Iced Tea is a must-have.

Mar 06, 2019

Neha Kadhale

One place in fort kochi which serve a variety of pizza and they are indeed good. We also had profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce and it was heaven. Not to miss Matt Justus, a singer and guitarist who will sing out your favourite tunes and make the atmosphere joyful. You can also request him to sing a song of your choice or dedicate to a loved one and sing along. Nice place to relax and enjoy good food with live music

Aug 16, 2018

Nafeesa Rajan

the pizzas her are just yummmmmmm.....and the live country music just adds to the flavour of the nite .... the place was busy with foreigners but we were given equal attention too...the owner is quite into making his place popular by checking on all the guests.... must visit ....

Apr 23, 2018

Mariam Christopher Laffernis

Another amazing place in Fort Kochi! It’s a tiny café opposite St Basilica church. The best Italian joint in Kochi and everything on the menu is delicious! Order anything and u won’t be disappointed..but it comes a bit pricey.

Apr 13, 2018

The Panda Lover

Walking through the streets of Fort kochi on one fine weekend I ended up finding this cute little place. What drew my attention to the restaurant was the sound of live music. Being an absolute sucker for moments like these, I decided to try out this place. I must say it did not disappoint. The pizzas here are so flavourful. I had the chorizo de Pamplona. Chorizo is a spanish/potuguese spicy sausage, typically made with pork and smoked spanish paprika which gives it it's red colour, and is often fresh or lightly dried. Yes, the pricing is slightly on the higher side but in fort kochi most places are priced this way. Now coming to the music, I hear they have live music on most days. It's an older man with his guitar belting out some classics such as "country roads", "hotel California" and Bob Marley songs. Definitely made the dining experience more enjoyable. The service here is very fast and the waiters are really polite and helpful in case you aren't sure on what to choose from the menu. Am looking forward to coming back here very soon!

Apr 03, 2018

Manuj

On a late evening stroll, the sounds of strumming guitar pulled us to this place, in an otherwise quaint town that Fort Kochi is, this one was buzzing. Looking for quick bite and cool drink, the live guitar just added to the feel. Probably one of the few lively places, the guitarist is a cool chap, you can't miss out! Cool simpleton decor, nice wooden furniture, decently priced for two (1000-1200₹) right at the junction with refreshing air from street-view windows. Active staff offers warm smile and well cooked food. Cinnamon iced tea, Pannacotta with strawberry sauce, Pesto classic and Tomato Taleggio cheese & salami pizza is all we could manage. Pannacotta is a stand out n must try, for sweet-toothed of course! Gunjan Caur

Feb 01, 2018

Rohan Desu

+4.5

Initial appearance was deceiving but the experience just kept getting better and better. I would definitely recommend to try this if around Fort Kochi area.

Food: Simple italian menu. Tried the beef lasagna and chocolate pastry. Lasagna was superb and portions accurate. Chocolate pastry was good. Which we had more time or a bigget group to try out more
Service: Very polite staff. The owner is very friendly and courteous and waa checking in if we were attended to properly
Ambience: Simple clean decor. There was a giy playing guitar. Until he started singing we did imagine he was good at all. He was singing and playing superb blues music.

Dec 10, 2017

Rashma Rajendran

+4.5

Me and my frnd visited upstairs on tuesday. Had chicken al Pollo pizza with chilli and onion along with diet coke. It was worth every penny spent. The ambience was goood, he said the night time would be wonderful to be there.

Dec 02, 2017

Jishnu Vediyoor

A great place to have some awesome Italian food. But if you are a local foodie or a foodie who is worried about budget, please note that this place costs a bit more than usual Italian places, but who cares if you get great food right?

PS: The menu is changed ( Visited on 30/11/2017 )

Nov 30, 2017

John Paul

+4.5

Been here a couple of times and the food was always good . The restaurant is set on the first floor of an old house covered by a canopy of trees with a laid back ambience.

We Had:
Gnocchi with tomato sauce and Parmesan
Fritto Misto

Verdict:
Food: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Value for $$$: 3/5

Must try if you visit fort Cochin

Sep 21, 2017

Akshay Shah

A great place for Italian food! Both the pasta and pizza were excellent and it is an enjoyable offbeat place to relax with quality food! The staff is nice as well. Overall great experience!

Aug 20, 2017

Kpurani

Most authentic pizzas in India! Must visit place if you are a pizza lover and visiting kochi.

After having pizzas here, you wouldn't want to go to Pizza Hut or any American pizza restaurant

May 13, 2017

Sharun John Joseph

One day at New year eve my friends and I found this place. We were drunk. But even while I was drunk, I have someone in my head saying 'Go upstairs'. And I did........

Fantastico!!!!
The BEST pizza I've ever tasted. And I love that vibe this place gives me. And the FOOD......speachless!!
If you are looking for a place in Kochi with better food, you know now where to go💋
The best food with reasonable prices. I've became ur regular customer(I wish my house was near to this place)

Feb 04, 2017

Ashish Chauhan

+3.5

Last Saturday night while Randomly exploring Fort Kochi we ended up at this place. Place is quite simple but the live music add colours to the place. Pizzas we ordered were quite nice and service was also satisfactory. Prices are reasonable and can be visited once a month ;)

Jan 25, 2017

Vinod Krishnan

+3.5

Referred by a friend we (wife, cousin and I) landed up at this place for a Thursday night dinner. The place is literally "upstairs", located on the 1st floor of a small building located on the corner of the street. Given the name and the location, for some reason, I was expecting a kind of fancy little place, but this one turned out to be a restaurant in the no frills category. It was a small corridor kind of a space on the 1st floor with minimum to no decor and 10 tables. Infact, it looks a lot more fancier in the photos (including the one I have posted) than what it really is!! Having said that, what catches your attention as soon as you enter the place is an elderly gentleman with a guitar sitting at the entrance and playing soul music. So apparently, he was going to be our entertainer for the night… and did pretty good…
We were quickly ushered to a table in the far end of the restaurant and provided with a few menus.. One look at the menu and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the pricing...now we have been to a lot of restaurants and have seen way more expensive places, but this one, given the look and feel of the place seemed very expensive. Of course, we hadn't tasted the food yet, so it was too early to form an impression, but, the look, feel and ambience to the price ratio seemed to be heavily lopsided… Now Kochi was known for reasonably priced restaurants, but it seems like that's a thing of the past!!!
Anyway, now that we were here, we moved away from the pricing and went thru the rest of the menu. For one, the place had quite a few options to choose from, especially if you are a meat/ sea-food lover and there were a fair amount of vegetarian options as well. The vegetarian food was not marked out/ identified separately, so one might need to read thru the entire description before they can figure out if it was vegetarian or not.
We went ahead and ordered one portion of Bruschetta, one chicken soup, one fried squid, one chicken calzone, spaghetti in Mama Rosa sauce and one portion of prawn in butter garlic sauce served with rice. The order was served fairly quickly. Once the food was on the table it was gone in no time. The presentation was very mediocre, but the food was tasty and had the right flavours and balance. Now in general, I prefer the taste to the presentation, so this was fine with me… but yeah, given the pricing, I would have expected a lot more fancier presentation. Let's move on from presentation… the spaghetti in the red tomato based sauce was one of the better ones I have had ever. The sauce did not taste of tomato sauce or tomato puree which is what ends up happening in most places. It was mildly creamy, mildly sour, filled with flavour and to top it all, the spaghetti was nicely coated in the sauce. That was definitely the tastiest spaghetti I had in a while. The grilled prawn was really good as well, albeit the sauce had a tad too much butter, good for us but for few others that might be a problem… Bruschetta had a more homely look and feel… looked like they had used a store bought bread loaf for base instead of a home baked base. However, the tomatoes were nicely coated with olive olive oil and topped with flavourful parsley and basil. Squid was fresh and was done tempura style. It was done well and crispy.. Full points for that… Soup was good too, but nothing out of the world .. Calzone was also nicely prepared and had smooth mushroom and cheese stuffing in it. To top it all we ordered two portions of chocolate lava cake with ice-cream. The flavour was good and it was not overly sweet. However, it was baked a minute or two longer than needed, solidifying the lava… We did bring it to the attention of the owner cum chef and he agreed that it was indeed baked a little longer than needed. Apparently that was done to suit the taste of some customers who complain that the cake was uncooked… well, not exactly what I wanted to hear…but yeah that’s what it was…so not much of a lava cake. That's probably one dish that would get a 2 on 5, thanks to the extra 2 mins of cooking.
From a service standpoint, felt that the staff could have been more knowledgeable about the food. They were literally staring at me when I asked for a few recommendations… The owner/chef was kind enough to come to us and spend some time talking about himself and the place. However, he seemed to be a bit too particular about keeping his menu clean/ stain free and told us a couple of times to keep it clean. Once he even started wiping it with a tissue paper while I was going thru it… :) … that was a first for me.
Outside of that, he was still nice!!!

In short, if you are looking for a nice setting, décor, ambience etc…this is not the place for you. If you are looking for reasonably good Italian food served in a very basic setup then go right ahead…mind it, the cost is that of a fine dining place though!!!

Dec 30, 2016

Gayathry

+3.5

Amazing pizza I must say. Absolutely loved it. It's thin crust, good toppings, cheesy, soft and crunchy. It has that real Italian taste to it with its organic herbs. Absolutely loved it. A must try.

Dec 26, 2016

Brokelings

Literally upstairs, this restaurant has a very rustic feeling to it. It's a small corridor kind of a room with about 10 tables. We went there on a Saturday and it was jam packed. Somehow managed to get a seat, we ordered a few drinks, a pizza and a pasta. While we waited for the food, the live singer entertained the crowd really well with some golden oldies. To our disappointment, the food took really long to be served as the restaurant had run out of its capacity. But when the food arrived we were back to happiness. Brilliant pizzas and pasta. The drinks like the cinnamon iced tea and the lemonana(granita) were really refreshing too. The waiter also made it a point to delight us by giving us a special pannacotta with mango sauce on it. That was a heavenly experience. I'd suggest this place to everyone going to fort kochi. If not for the live singer, we hungry souls, would've maybe lost our cool. Food is amazing though.

Jul 16, 2016

Gilson Tomy

+4.5

An italian cusine with neat and variety food. Alpolo pizza is one of their famous dish. You can taste variety of Italian foods from here. An apt place for pizza lovers.

Jun 10, 2016

Food Panda- Reshmi

Walked into this restaurant by 4:30-5pm... Its situated on first floor of an old- fashioned bldg opposite to a church( not sure of da name)....

Ambience: Pretty nice...with red oxide flooring and wooden furniture and roofing...really gives you the feelg of an typical kerala architecture.

Food: We ordered Polo chicken pasta and Olives, bell pepper and mushroom pizza. The pasta tasted good in a red sauce. I wish it had little more sauce ( though a little bland for my taste buds). The pizza was the showstopper. Let me explain in detail. The crust is so thin, crispy and crunchy which is topped by a generous layer of cheese. The cheese tasted really good and different from normal dominos and pizza hut pizzas. This was topped by olives mushrooms and bell peppers. The pizza was a real treat for our heart and tummy...

VFM: The dishes are on a bit pricey side. But for the quality and taste its worth once a while i feel...

Overall verdict: Lovers of continental food must make a visit to this place.

May 29, 2016

Gastronaut

Situated on the first floor of an old building in the heritage area in fort Kochi, serving Italian menu, it's one of the best places in Kochi. Especially if you are interested in Italian cuisine.
Food - very good
Ambience- not great but if u like old rustic not so pompous settings it's OK
Service - a bit slow but , those guys are really helpful
Value for money - according to the ambiance and service it's overpriced but . . .u ll forget all these when u start gulping down the food
Would have given 4.5 if the interior was done properly.
Worth mentioning is , live music. Ya u heard it right. . . So go ahead take the plunge into Italian menu with an icing of live jazz music

May 28, 2016

Allen Reji Varghese

For people who are constantly let down by the "Italian food" in Kerala, here is a place with some authentic dishes and good selection of dishes. They have minimalist yet beautiful ambiance, overlooking Santa cruze baslica, its pretty much a cool place to hangout with your friends. Me and my friends make it our priority to visit this place, whenever we get a chance to visit fort Kochi. Beef Lasagne, Alpolo chicken pizza, Bolognaise pasta are some of our fav dishes from here.

May 26, 2016

Jua

+3.5

The 3 cheese pizza and their mashed potatoes 😍. The 3 cheese is really good and must try. Service is slow, ambience is ok. The desserts are also nice.

May 16, 2016

Aby Thomas Leslie

My friend and I visited this place last week. We are both pasta lovers.
But we were also amazed by the pizza. It was one of the best dinners we had. The food did not take much time like any fancy restaurants. It has a marvelous ambiance with very good service. There was live music playing in the background and it just added to the perfect night.

A must-go-to place for foodies.

Apr 11, 2016

Michelle M Almeida

+3.5

The entrance has such a happy mix of colours, it turned my sleepy afternoon around immediately.
I ordered two Cinnamon Iced Teas which was a little too sour for my taste, however it was refreshing.
That, paired with a Prawn/Squid Marinara Pizza, whose crust couldve done without the extreme crisp, was perfect for an early afternoon.
The pizza was light and great to bite into.
For dessert, the Profiteroles filled with ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce was a great choice.
Total spent: 850/-

Mar 14, 2016

Kittu Jitani

Amazing place to be... A very friendly staff and the pizzas were damn good!!
Would like to visit it again and will surely recommend my friends

Mar 12, 2016

P1381

+3.5

My mom and I had visited Upstairs Italian Restaurant during our last visit to Kochi. We were actually in search of a different cuisine, but in the end, we decided to go to this place as I remembered one of my friend's, who is a big foodie, had posted pics and review about the restaurant.

It was a sultry Saturday afternoon and once we reached the restaurant, we found it very refreshing because there was so much of breeze. There was just one table that was occupied. We grabbed one near the window and immediately, the waiter came with the menu.

The first thing we noticed when we had opened the window was the the prices are extremely high! Hoped the quantity would justify the price, and out of the 2 items which we ordered, only one did just that.

Since we are vegetarians, there were lots of options for us to choose from. The only downside of it all - most of those items were not available! Finally, after flipping through the menu several times, we decided to order:

1. Fresh Lime Soda Sweet & Salt - Nothing is more refreshing than a tall glass of Fresh Lime Soda Sweet & Salt. The Cinnamon Iced Tea sounded tempting, but unfortunately it was not available!

2. Appetizer - Panzanella - Mix of fresh tomatoes, basil, onion, olives and croutons in extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette. The dish looked extremely pretty when it was served. Two people can share this dish. The taste was really unique and since we are not used to cooking with olive oil, we felt it was really good. The tomatoes were extremely fresh, croutons were crispy and thanks to the vinaigrette, it added tons of flavor.

3. Main Course - Thin Crust Pizza with Onion, Bell Pepper & Mushroom - This restaurant is famous for Thin Crust Pizzas and we were extremely happy with our choice. There were 8 slices loaded with cheese, onion, bell pepper and mushroom. I think the cheese was imported, because it did not taste like the usual cheese we use at home. The crust was thin and cooked well. Mom and I are not fans of Thin Crust Pizza, but still decided to try the pizzas here. One pizza is sufficient for two people. I would definitely recommend this pizza for Vegetarians.

It was time to order dessert. I went through the long list of items and asked which one did not include egg. Unfortunately, out of all the desserts which were in the menu, most of them were made with egg. There were only 2 desserts which were eggless and out of those 2 only one was available! Uff! Decided to skip the dessert and ask for the bill!

There were a lot of negative points about this place. However, the plus point was the taste of the food which was really amazing!

I hope the Management can make major improvements in their menu by ensuring that more items are available. The prices are drastically high and if you are a major foodie, then some of the portions are too small for one person to eat. Do drop in once to this place to see what it's all about. You might have a better experience!

Please find my overall rating for this restaurant:

Food: 3/5 (Variety) 5/5 (Taste)

Service: 5/5

Ambiance: 3/5

Mar 09, 2016

Joseph

+3.5

Upstairs is probably the oldest Italian restaurant in Kochi.

Checked them out recently as part of a foodie meet.

Decor:

The place is simple and located on a cozy corner overlooking the Santa Cruz Basillica. The decor isnt anything exceptional, but may appeal to a tourist. They played some 90's hindi music at first, which was a strict no for italian. Later switched to latina.

Food: We ordered a Marinara seafood pizza, an al pollo chicken pizza. both thin crust. A friend of mine is a big fan of their chocolate panna cotta, so we ordered both chocolate and strawberry panna cotta. This was my first panna cotta, so maybe it's the high expectations or that I'm not a panna cotta person, it didnt impress me.

They were generous to give us complimentary Profiteroles, which was really nice of them.

Service: Staff was friendly. No issues

Value: Didnt really hit the value quotient with me.

Will I go back?

Probably not. But there are a lot of people who totally adore this place. So try them out and see if it works for you.

Mar 07, 2016

Namratha Keshava

Great italian food
Do try if you like the non indian version of italian food
Also do ensure that you have a lot of time at hand as service is slow

Mar 06, 2016

Sidharth Manoj

+3.5

Well, it's a simple and cute little restaurant. Went there for lunch today. Ordered the Beef Lasagna and Calzone Farcito. The taste was a 10 on 10 but it's definitely an overpriced place. The quality of the food was top notch but the quantity was just too less.
Loved the service. Amazing people. Had a pleasant time. If you don't mind the price and just want to have decent food, this is definitely a good place for you.

Dec 06, 2015

Avik Banerjee

+3.5

A cute little joint, with some nice continental menu. The food is slightly overpriced, but tasty nonetheless. The staff are courteous, and sometimes, they have live music playing in the evenings.

Dec 06, 2015

Arun Bala

An Italian bistro. Upstairs is defined by the food it serves. It's definitely overpriced, but then again looking at their target clientele, I suppose it makes sense. But it's definitley worth the price they demand. The owner is very friendly and quite helpful. Their food is really scrumptious. Only hiccup is that they allow people to smoke inside. That definitely doesn't help while I am trying to enjoy a meal. The menu is dependant on the availability of the ingredients. It's definitely better to ask them for the days menu in advance. Cuts down a lot of ordering time.

Dec 04, 2015

+4.5

A quite little place near the Santa Cruz Bascillica. The ambience might put you off a little but their food is just amazing. Started off with their lemonana, which was ok - it was basically just crushed ice, mint and a little bit of sugar. There wasn't much flavour of lime so had to ask for lemon wedges. The drink started tasting better once the ice melted. Bruschetta was amazing, the blend of herbs, olive oil and tomatoes on well toasted bread kept us wanting for more. It was good though that we did not get more of it. The food in store was mind blowing. Being a vegetarian in Kochi is quite a bit of a challenge due to limited options. This restaurant didn't fail me there - chose to have Lasagne and I don't regret that one bit. When the food came, my first thought was that the portion might not suffice but I guess looks can be deceiving. The lasagne was amazing and so was the salad served along with it. I did leave space in my tummy for dessert and thank god I did. We ordered three desserts - espresso and ice cream, panacotta topped with chocolate sauce and the most amazing pineapple cake (with real pieces of pineapple) topped with caramel sauce, served with ice cream. It was an extremely good meal and I was very impressed by the standards, quality and flavour of the food served. The one thing I missed out on was pizza for which I would definitely go back the next time I am in Kochi.

Nov 29, 2015

Swecha Prakash

+4.5

They have the best carbonara in town.Its worth going for,and will definitely make you come back for more.The place is all about their food.As the name suggest,it's on the first floor,next to fusion bay.carbonara,gnocchi and their panacotta are personal favourites.

Nov 15, 2015

Sangita

+3.5

Have been there for my friends bday treat. The place is very simple,nothing great to look at.very tiny place but ya good for people who like to smoke while there meal.
So we ordered quite few stuff like bruschetta with some veggies and olive oil,which taste good to me,had taste of fresh bread and herbs,it was yum.
Thn we ordered our main course with thin crust pizza with chicken nd veggie toppings ,pasta with white sauce. And pasta in pesto sauce nd finally arrabiata.
To b very frank I liked all of them. It was not too indian taste to it, mild nd flavourful. Its perfect till whn you don't see the bill😐
I felt what they serving in way of quantity and ambience's,its not at all worth the money.
Its nice if you dont mind spending extra cash😎

Nov 02, 2015

Mekhala Benny

Ambience - 2.5/5
Service- 3.5/5
Hospitality - 4/5
Bruschetta with mozzarella and salami - 4/5
Spinach and cheese pasta - 4/5
Prawns with butter garlic rice - 6/5
Panacotta with chocolate sauce - 4/5
Profitroles with ice cream - 4/5
Lemonana - lemon mint drink - 4/5
Price - slightly overpriced.

Oct 31, 2015

Quite A Plateful

+4.5

So, what do you make of a restaurant owner who tries to discourage you from ordering extra cheese in your pasta?

"What's his problem! I want it, my food, my way, " is what runs through your mind. Well, Thomas' problem is good food, cooked and eaten the way it should be. The good-natured and smooth talker he be, he shrugs and agrees, repeating that the pasta is going to be cheesy minus the extra. But he still wins the fun argument : agrees to bring extra parmesan, on the house, on a side plate. Almost a challenge about the quality of his cooking.

Well, the friend and I did lose the challenge. But found the BEST Italian kitchen in town. No doubt. Places like Elements and their noisy claims of real Italian are rubbish. Upstairs is worth all the travel to Fort Kochi, worth the wait for a table. Worth the smallest trouble you take to dine here.

It is another example of small quaint spaces making for the most diverse dining experiences. Couldn't stop admiring the handpainted walls. For the touristy souls, the windows look onto the Santa Cruz Basilica. And there's this warm feel to the small hall of wooden tables and chairs - almost like dining in somebody's house. There's a small balcony on your right as you enter - cosy space if the weather is good and you can tolerate smoking.

The friend ordered the Carbonara - cheesy as cheesy gets, didn't touch even a shred of the extra parmesan. The other order was a vegetarian lasagna - so so so good that I didn't miss meat.

And dessert, MY OH MY! The best chocolate sauce in town. Imported and with some extra magic in it. We had it with the pannacotta - such silky smooth art, and the profiteroles and icecream. Thomas is real generous if you ask for extra, too. Comfort food has a whole new definition now.

Upstairs mostly has a clientele comprising foreigners and usually misses a few specials on its menu if it's the off - season.

But for the love of Thomas and his spectacular Italian flavours, go go go!

Oct 29, 2015

Tresa Remin Varghese

A really nice place or shall we call it a restocafè? Authentic italian pizza and the best panacotta ive ever had! Truly amazing place right in the middle of fort cochin; small but cute place where you can enjoy the gentle breeze and have food without regrets. Really a lovely place with very reasonable prices and good quality food. I recommended many of my friends to try out the chicken pizza and panacotta and profiteroles with icecream. Its defenitely my go to place of all times whenever i get to fort cochin.

Oct 07, 2015

Shahana

+3.5

My first experience in exploring the Italian cuisine. That's what this little cafe specialises in. Probably most unnoticed by the tourists. Their service is great. I had my first ever beef lasagna and spaghetti from this cafe :) I loved the lasagna. It was beefy / cheesy and altogether a combination of explosion of flavours !! Looking forward in visiting again... I tried also a drink.. It was some sort of a mojito .. Green in colour.. It was amazing!

Sep 04, 2015

Bibble Baln

Exceptionally good Italian joint. I loved the 4 seasons pizza would love to have it again. Ambience is not a highlight but to have good Italian food you would probably be to Upstairs 😊

Aug 30, 2015

John Kurian

+3.5

At upstairs and I figured I'd write a live review. Five minutes after we entered, we were greeted by a host who rudely asked us to keep our phones away and avoid photography. After the first initial upset, the rude host came over to take our order, and attempted to again rudely take or order from us. Well, our group of friends are already ticked off. Let's see what further surprises Upstairs has in store for us.

Jul 01, 2015

HT`s Food Zone

+4.5

The italian food is excellent here, i was with my italian friends and they also agreed on that 100%. Service is not that fast so chill and relax till a cool metrosexual waiter/attender gets your plate of italian delicacies.

Jun 28, 2015

Ashwin Jacob

One of my favourite places for Italian from Kochi. The service is excellent and one of the best you will experience, the owner of the cafe comes up to you interacts and makes sure everything is smooth. I was here for a light lunch and had the Carbonara and Arrabiata, the food was served on time and didnt take long.

It tasted really yum and the from other pastas it tasted more natural. The ambience is a little on the rustic and it goes well to the whole Fort Kochi feel. So overall the Service was great; food tasted nice authentic, natural wasnt that rich though
Ambience is neat clean rustic. Pricing was on a premium side when compared to other places in the city.

I think this would be one of those places where you should visit if you love italian food and you are in Fort Kochi.

Jun 11, 2015

Sammienatorr

This review is coming a month too late. After a long day exploring museums and lovely Lil shops at fort kochi, we was tired and were just about to enter the Santa Cruz basilica when we spotted this place. It's easy to miss the place as it's hidden away. The ambience is rustic and very simple. We walked up and seated ourself as no one was there to attend to us. In minutes a guy came out, introduced himself as the owner. He personally took our order. We ordered a four season pizza as we were not that hungry. The place has a sweet view of the roads below. You are transported back to the 80s.. The atmosphere of the place with the cool jazz playing in the background is enough to call you down. The place gets to you. The pizza arrived in 20 minutes but we had nothing to complain about. The pizza was fresh and the toppings were perfect. We loved it. The bill came up to 300 bucks and completely worth it..

Ambience - 5/5.
Service - 5/5.
Good - 5/5.
VFM - 5/5.

May 16, 2015

Ajinkya D

This is hands down the best Italian food I've eaten anywhere in India. The bruchetta is stunningly divine, the pizza is thin, crispy and packed with flavour, and even the memory of their pasta will make your mouth water for weeks after. And the gnocchi, oh god...

The staff is courteous to a fault. The view is calming, and the ambience is comfortably relaxing. I cannot recommend this place enough.

Apr 13, 2015

Lakshmi Krishnakumar

unlike the standard chain pizza stores that the big cities offer us, upstairs is a more personal and original place. it plays the right kind of music, the windows open out to the beautidful Basilica of Fort Kozhi and there is an old-world charm, which is only amplified by the very sweet staff. we had a simple chicken pizza, which was so lovely and crisp (as compared to the mass produced breads they call pizza at other places), that we went for stuffing our stomachs with seconds. lovely, lovely!! oh plus, they have free wifi too :) definitely a go-to place after a long day of cycling in Fort Kochi

Apr 11, 2015

Apurva

+4.5

Got introduced to this place by a client of mine and boy its an amazing Italian joint tucked in the by lanes of Fort Kochi. The owner Thomas, an extremely warm and courteous person will sweet talk you into ordering a lot of food :p but it will be worth it. The food is really good and portions are large but a lil expensive.
But if you are a fan of Italian food and dont mind driving down to Fort Kochi this is surely the place you wanna go.

Apr 04, 2015

T S M

My friends and I went for lunch to the Upstaris last week. I have eaten Italian at many places in India and Melbourne and, in my opinion, the food here rates right up there with the famous Lygon street Italian eateries.We shared the fried ciabatta, the gnocchi, a pizza and fried calamari and prawns. We washed it down with some nice and refreshing iced teas. The ciabatta and the pizza we ordered had similar toppings of freshly char-grilled veggies- zucchini, aubergine, mushrooms- in a delightful and light and freshly made tomato sauce. The gnocchi was excellent, well cooked and well-seasoned. The tomato sauce it came in was excellent too. The pièce de résistance for me were the fired calamari and prawns served with a light sauce and a summery salad! Not too chewy, they were cooked to perfection.
The food is moderately priced and is great value for money. The restaurant has a nice quaint cafe feel, with neat wooden furniture with views of the hustle bustle of the main street below at Fort Kochi and the Santa Cruz Basilica. We were visiting Cochin, but this is 1 place I would definitely go back to the next time I visit Fort Kochi.

Apr 03, 2015

Akhil Prasannakmar

+4.5

Absolutely awesome food. Tucked under a home stay, this gem of a restaurant will give you some of the delicacies of Italy. The ambience is simple but the food is very good. Quantity wise not great but absolutely good service. Owner Mr Thomas is a delight to talk with. Definitely a must go for foodies.

Mar 08, 2015

Ni Ka

+4.5

This little restaurant came out to be a star!! Went last week with friends.. Relished the veg pasta and pizza..My non veg friends tried prawns.
The food was amazingly good. The host was nice. Food did not take much time to arrive. Ambience is simple and pleasant. Rating is for food..and food alone!!!! Loved it!!

Mar 03, 2015

Rohit

+3.5

Upstairs is a simple and minimalistic Italian restaurant at Fort Kochi. The staff is extremely courteous. The pretty lady who served us also helped us choose the course. We didn’t have much room in our tummy for a Pasta and Pizza both, so we went for just the pasta.

We ordered the Penne Pasta in White sauce. Topped with Broccoli, Bell Peppers and Mushroom, this pasta was a tad bit under cooked and bland. However, it didn’t compromise much on taste. Just that we had to chew a little more.

Overall, we enjoyed the pasta and will come back to try their pizzas and other preparations.

Feb 19, 2015

Sruthi Menon

+4.5

Very different from what Pizza Hut and Dominos has to offer, Upstairs is a wave of fresh breath for the Italian food lover. The entrance is narrow a little hard to find, nestled in between a home stay and a little shop. There isn't much to say about the ambience - it's quite basic, really. But it beats its fancy counterparts when it comes to the menu. Half the dishes we couldn't pronounce, but it was really nice to know that the place offered such a variety of eatables and drinkables.

In the end, after much head scratching, we were helped out by the owner Mr Thomas, who gave us info on what was in what, so we ordered a tomato lettuce salad with honey-mustard-olive oil dressing, one of their pizzas Calzone Forcito (folded, filled with cheese, olives, capers, mushroom and pork) and the pannacotta with chocolate sauce.

The salad was very basic and very nice, and the dressing was amazing. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, the tomato slices red and firm. The (folded) pizza was also really good, and the stuffing was amazing, and tasted very authentic. Lastly, the pannacotta (droooool), with thick chocolate sauce poured on top, was every dessert lover's dream - bittersweet chocolate sauce, underneath which the beautifully firm, pearly white pannacota sat waiting.

I would definitely visit Upstairs again, and will certainly recommend the place to friends. Now, is the restaurant a little expensive? Yes, it is. But the food is worth every penny you pay. I'd rather spend my money on places like these instead of Pizza Hut or Dominos, any time of the day. Cheers to the Upstairs team!

Feb 17, 2015

Madhu Menon

+4.5

Best italian food in kochi...had pizza from upstairs and it was very tasty...authentic italian ingredients and garnishings...
Thanks to Thomas

Feb 02, 2015

Angelle Roselyn

Best Italian food in kochi. Every dish is bursting with flavor. Well balanced mix of herbs on the dishes really put you in such a foodgasmic mood. Pizzas are great. The lasagne too. Have the lemon sorbet drink too.

Dec 23, 2014

Harshil Shah

This restaurant is a hidden treasure. The narrow staircase and the ambiance might make you think twice before entering but do enter because the food is simply amazing and worth every penny. The staff is friendly. The pizzas are really tasty and the fresh juices are great too. They have a good Italian spread. The quality of food is good.

Dec 09, 2014

Vimal Benny

If you are in search for authentic Italian food, this is the place to be. The street salad, pizza, pannacotta are all worth trying. The place is small but well kept and neat. Remind them about giving you the bread, olive oil and butter to start with.

Nov 28, 2014

Andrew Verghese

The food here is really excellent and a real indulgence. Italian at its very best, don't be bothered by the ambience...very frugal but the food really out does everything else. Free Wi-fi is an added bonus. It does take some time to serve your order but thats because everything is made fresh. Try it out and you won't be disappointed!!

Nov 07, 2014

Michelle Rose Markos

+4.5

Cozy lil place but amazing food ! If you want Authentic italian food in cochin this is THE place !! The Chef is a really friendly guy and can strike up a comversation almost about anything. MUST order the crepe with chocolate there . it is to die for :D

Oct 21, 2014

Abraham Jacob

The place is cozy and welcoming. The owner / chef Thomas is honest and dedicated and the food is one of the best italian that ive had. Maybe its the genuine ingredients that shine through...
I had beef lasagne and the lasagne sheets were soft and well cooked, the quantity just right and the flavours were smoky and brilliant. The thin crust pizza also was excellent though it might just not be enough by itself for an empty stomach

Oct 09, 2014

Vikram Prasad

This is the hidden gem in Fort kochi. Having tried almost all the restaurants here this one steals the show.
Just come here. It's simple but the food is amazing! Ask for Thomas he runs the place and knows what he does,!

Just brilliant!
Would I visit again?
Of course just to come and eat here i can travel from bangalore. It's worth it!

Aug 23, 2014

Jaikrishna JK

+3.5

To start of, the ambience is very rustic. Service is average naturally as in the case of any restaurant with minimum staff strength. Coming to food, they use quality ingredients like the cheese, prosciutto, chorizo etc. Pastas are cooked perfectly with proper seasoning. Pizzas are thin crust with cheese in abundance and taste awesome. To the downside, for the varieties of tea they use tea bags. Prices are slightly on a higher side, but i dont mind paying for that quality of food.

Aug 15, 2014

Camilla

If you want to enjoy a nice Italian dinner in a relaxed ambience near to the Santa Cruz Basilica, you will not be disappointed with Upstairs. The chef is a local guy and he knows some Italian, too, he's talkative and funny and he will tell you what you should go for. The pastas and pizzas are really good and the place is cosy, it's not too heavy on the pocket either. I wish the choux pastry had been fresher that day, but my mistake as I didn't listen to the chef! Next time I want to try their breakfast and their famous Italian coffees!

Jul 24, 2014

Reviews Upstairs Italian Restaurant

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