Final Verdict: Melba doesn’t just feed you; it reassures you that, even in Nashik, there are chefs who refuse shortcuts and let craft be their compass.

Price for two: INR. 1500– INR. 2000 (depending on how indulgent you get).

There is a certain romance in the word trattoria—a place where food is not manufactured but made, where every plate bears the imprint of a cook’s hands rather than a committee’s brief. In Nashik, that role is played with quiet confidence by Melba, an Italian eatery that has, in its own way, raised the city’s culinary bar without ever shouting about it.

This is not a chain import or a franchise with tired ideas of “continental.” Melba is chef-run, artisanal, and unpretentiously serious about its craft. The philosophy is simple but rare in these parts: do fewer things, but do them properly.

The menu is Italian at heart, but not in the overfamiliar butter-garlic-pasta sense. Here, pizzas are hand-rolled, sourdough-based, and baked with patience. Pastas are rolled in-house. Burrata, Bocconcini, and Bufala Mozzarella are made on-site. There is a quiet confidence in producing your own cheese—an assurance that you needn’t rely on imported shortcuts because you can create freshness and finesse yourself.

On the table, this philosophy comes alive. The Sriracha Chicken Pizza is spirited, spicy yet balanced, with a sourdough base that delivers both crunch and chew. The Cheeky Pepper Pots are hearty, caramelised, and bright with feta and sriracha. The Man o Man Pizza arrives like an opera—layered with Spanish cured salami, Parma ham, and fresh basil, each ingredient harmonising rather than overwhelming. And then there is the Chorizo Pizza, made with smoky Goan sausage, bold yet comforting, deeply satisfying in its rustic punch.

For something different, the Chorizo Pide showcases the kitchen’s confidence—sourdough stretched into Turkish-style flatbread, topped generously and baked to a golden finish.

The drinks are an unexpected strength. The Ginger Ale—steeped with pickled ginger and finished with a cinnamon stick—manages to be sharp, warming, and refreshing at once. The Mint & Green tonic is lighter, with cucumber, mint, tonic water, and that subtle zing of pickled ginger—a perfect foil to the richness of pizza and pide. The Virgin Sangria, meanwhile, is fruit-forward and playful, proving that non-alcoholic doesn’t have to mean boring.

Melba is not flawless. Service can be a touch slow, particularly when the room fills up, and the overall pacing sometimes drags. But the slowness is not of the negligent variety; it is the kind of slowness that comes from a kitchen that insists on doing things the right way rather than the quick way. And when the food finally arrives, it justifies the wait.

What sets Melba apart in Nashik is not merely what it serves but how it serves. The restaurant is chef-driven, detail-oriented, and unwilling to compromise. It is not trying to imitate a tourist’s postcard version of Italy; it is attempting, earnestly, to interpret Italian food through craftsmanship and sincerity.

For a city still dominated by multi-cuisine menus and formulaic “fine dining,” Melba feels like a place that knows exactly what it wants to be—and executes it with quiet confidence.

Would I return? Without hesitation. Not because it is perfect, but because it is honest. And in the world of restaurants, that is rarer—and more satisfying—than perfection itself.