The food Lounge - ESI Hospital Road, Bangalore

The Food Lounge just pops out at you if you're walking down ESI Hospital road. You notice this glass wall, with unoccupied tables inside, and a couple of guys behind a counter, doing pretty much nothing. Walk in and check out the menu, and this looks pretty nice.

There are two things that hit you at the outset. This place is bright, and it's green. Okay, there's also the fact that it's empty, but I'd attribute that to the rainy Saturday evening. One wall has the semblance of smooth round rocks protruding from it, while the pillars between the glass wall to the outside have designs in mosaic tiles.

I wasn't feeling too hungry when I went there, and it wasn't too late either, so decided to try out a light salad. The guy behind the counter had a few suggestions, and when I told him that I'd like something with chicken, but no egg, he improvised and made it up for me. The bill I received said mixed veg salad, so that was interesting.

The salad was good. There's no doubt about that. What did disappoint me was the serving size. The bowl I was served in was a standard soup bowl, but it was topped up to less than half capacity. I lazed over it, and let it go down slowly. This place would be great for brunch on a bright afternoon with a lot of people going by.

They also serve meals - an executive veg meal for 65 bucks and a non-veg meal for 75, and can organise birthday parties, or corporate get-togethers at their premises - it could house about 25-30 people tops. There's also a special weekend brunch for Rs.110, but at that price, I'd rather go for a buffet.

I wouldn't go there too often, but I won't give it a miss either.

Blues rates it:
Food - Nice, very small servings
Service - Quick and friendly, accommodating too
Price - Reasonable, but could be slightly less for the quantity
Decor - Minimal, subtle, and nice
Overall - Ok, could be far better.

Recommendation - Yeah, go there, what the heck.

Getting there: If you're coming in from airport road, turn onto 100 feet road towards Indiranagar, and then take the first left. If you're coming from CMH road, then go down double road until it turns into 13th cross, and finally ESI Hospital road. If you're coming from Cambridge road, come down 3rd main until you get to the ESI Hospital and turn right.

Keep going till you come to Figurine Fitness (on your right if you're coming from ESI Hospital, left if you're coming from Airport road). The Food Lounge is right next to it.

Sikandar - Garuda Mall, Commisariat Road, Bangalore

Garuda mall in Bangalore has a lot to offer the hungry man. The food court on the third floor, Sikandar on the fourth and Kobe's on the fifth.

We visited Sikandar on the day they opened, but they were invitation only on that day. We returned a week later and it was bustling with people.

The décor is intended to be Persian. They have dim lights, and each table has a bowl of water with rose petals and a little oil lamp floating in it. The area is quite spacious, and they have several segregated areas for private parties.

Their menu does not have too many dishes, but they excel at what they serve. The chicken is extremely tender and tasty, but the servings aren't too large. The rotis are mostly standard fare, but their Ulta Tawa Ka Paratha is excellent. Each paratha is cut into four quarters, so calculate at one paratha for two persons. Definitely try out the various kebabs that they have to offer. They're all good.

Among the main courses that I'd recommend are Nalli Ghost Potli Masala and Haleem. Their afternoon buffet is also very good.

The overall experience at Sikandar was quite nice, the only thing that was left wanting at the time was the service, but I've found it vastly improved on future visits. When we first visited, the waiters repeatedly forgot to bring us the menu, then they forgot to take our order. They bumped into me a few times, and almost knocked me with a chair once. I'd put that down to them being new and inexperienced. They've definitely improved since then.

Sikandar serves alcohol too at standard restaurant prices.

Phone number: +91-80-41252333

Blues rates it:
Food - Great
Service - Good
Price - Worth it with the right group of friends
Decor - Dark, but interesting
Overall - Good place for a sponsored meal or a quiet dinner with close friends

Recommendation - Go there.

Getting there:

Get to Bangalore Central on Residency Road, and take Commisariat Road (the one with ICICI bank on it) towards Lifestyle/Globus/Shopper's Stop/Garuda Mall. It's on the 4th floor of Garuda Mall.