Restaurant reviews from the moon

हायवे गोमांटक

2008-03-23T16:01:00.001+05:30

No, that's not a mistake... the name actually is written in Marathi, and only Marathi. In fact, everything at this Gomantak restaurant in Mumbai is written in Marathi. They obviously cater to a very niche clientèle, but what they serve will satisfy any gourmand's palate.

The menu consists primarily of fish based dishes with everything from paplet and surmai to halwa and rawas. The main item is the fish thali, with your choice of fish - depending on availability of course, and the true connoisseur of fish can tell the difference between the different varieties.

The thali is served with one medium sized piece of curried fish, the type of curry depends on the fish, a bowl of rice, two chapatis, a katori of sol kadi, and a little pickle made of shell fish. The size of the thali is a tad small, but immensely tasty. A side dish of fried bombil is just about enough to push the experience to the next level, but throw in some baakri as well to bring it home.

The fish thali is priced at Rs.120/-, and although it's rather small in quantity, the crowd at this restaurant at lunch time proves that it's well worth it.

The sol kadi is a little light when compared with other konkani restaurants I've been to, but still has about the right flavour. I'd suggest getting an extra glass though.

Apart from fish dishes, they also serve mutton, chicken and fish kheema.

Blues rates it:
Food - Pretty darn good
Service - Okay
Price - A tad uppish, but worth it
Ambience - None whatsoever
Overall - great lunch place

Recommendation - definitely go there, go there often.

Getting there:
Highway Gomantak is a little hard to find if you haven't been there before. It's on the service road parallel to the Western Express Highway in Mumbai at the Kala Nagar Area. To get there, turn onto the service road from the Kala Nagar signal, and go down alongside the Kala Nagar flyover for about half its length. The restaurant should be on your right hand side, with a small Marathi-only name plate.

Bachelor's Ice-cream

2007-11-23T00:00:00.000+05:30

Sweet dreams with chocolate and ice cream, and a little falooda on the side. At two a.m. On Marine Drive. That's Bachelor's. Nestled in a nook beside the railway tracks at Charni Road station in Mumbai, this ice cream joint, milkshake and sandwich is a regular hangout amongst the evening crowd, racing down Marine Drive for kicks, stopping at Bachelor's to cool down.

Bachelor's is an experience that every visitor to Mumbai must taste to believe. Their unique flavours cannot be found anywhere else.

Open from five pm to the early am, Bachelor's is a great place to stop whether you're looking for a falooda on your drive home from work, a late night dessert, or even a large snack. The full experience largely covers all three.

Start with a drive or a walk down Marine Drive to build up the apetite. Skip the beach to resist the lure of the bhelwalla. Cross the road towards the entrance to Charni Road station, and head north a bit, or if you're driving, just pull over and park where the guard leads you. A waiter will take your order at your car.

Begin with a club sandwich. You may want to split it between two people, because it's large, and we wouldn't want to go filling up those bellies so soon. Wash it down with a chickoo milkshake or a mosambi juice, and savour the blend of flavours... the best is yet to come.

Pick next from their fine selection of ice creams. Highly recommended are the green chilly, ginger and ginger orange flavours not found anywhere else. The green chilly in particular, is a sensation to be experienced rather than recounted, but we all try. Imagine something cold, and mildly sweet, mildly tangy filling up your taste buds as you draw from it. Then imagine a split second later a fire shooting up your throat and out your nose. Actually, just try it. If it's too strong for you, indulge in one of their chocolate flavours.

They also offer other standard flavours of ice cream for those with no adventure in their blood.

Ice cream done, we come to the last course of the meal. Falooda. A large chunk of vanilla ice cream with sago seeds, vermicelli and a host of syrups all immersed in sweetened milk, but nay. My words can't do justice to the presentation and sensation that is the Bachelor's falooda. Have a large one. Split it between friends if you've already had too much, but don't pass it for later.

Finish off the experience with a final drive around Marine Drive and head home with a smile on your lips.

Blues rates it:
Food - Excellent
Service - Excellent
Price - Easy on the pocket
Ambience - Open air, sea breeze, what more do you want?
Overall - Definite all thumbs up

Recommendation - Go there, go there very often

Getting there:

Bachelor's is about 20 metres north of Charni Road station on Marine Drive. If you're travelling by road, look out for the shop on the left as you pass the Café Coffee Day on Marine Drive (heading south). If you're taking the train, get out of the northernmost part (heading towards Grand Road) of the station on the Marine Drive side, and walk in the direction opposite to traffic for a few minutes.

Bobby Dhaba

2007-11-19T14:51:00.000+05:30

Charming, old world rustic, quaint little lakeside restaurant are not terms that would normall be used to describe Bobby Dhaba... except for the lakeside part that is. The food here is to die for, and if you're unlucky, you could come close. So why am I telling you about this place? Bobby Dhaba is, probably the only accessible place in the heart of Bangalore city, where one can get an authentic, no frills, dhaba experience.

The dhaba is someone's house, or used to be at least. You enter into what seems to be the ground floor. Place your order first, and then head half a flight of stairs down into the eating area. This has a bunch of tables along the walls. On one end one has a charpoy for diners to sit on, while other tables have simple benches. The dhaba dog makes his rounds every once in a while.

On the menu is a standard fare of North Indian vegetarian dishes. Rajma masala, Daal Tadka, Daal Makhani, Egg Burji (ok, it's not pure vegetarian), and Paratha. Mmmm, paratha.

If you ask for paratha in Bangalore, most people would send you off to Lalitha's Paratha Point, but if you'd like it served pure, buttered side up, then Bobby Dhaba is the place. They have a small selection. Aloo, Gobi and Muli paratha. Each plate served hot with a huge blob of butter sitting on the top one. To partake of this feast, lift a paratha, swirl the butter around it a bit, and slide it onto the one below giving the next person a chance. Drop the paratha into your plate, and nurse your burnt finger tips. The large bowl of curd you've just received could help. You then stare dumbfounded as the boy brings in your next order of parathas cradled in the palms of his hands.

Parathas though, are not their only speciality. Probably tieing for top rank at this place is the Chaas. Served in a huge aluminium tumbler, many a diner has had a hard time finishing one of them. The chaas needs no seasoning. It has exactly the right consistency and taste, feeling slightly spiked and immensely refreshing.

Bobby Dhaba is not for the squeamish or for ye with weak stomachs. What passes for ambience is sufficient to turn away the faithless believer, but most who stay have lived to sing its praises. The dhaba dog, is friendly, but won't beg for food. If you don't like dogs, it may be a good idea to get one of the corner seats and not attract his attention. You'd also do well to be polite to the boys who serve you. You wouldn't want to be served parathas made of potato peel, after all.

So would you still want to visit Bobby Dhaba after all this? If you're an iron stomached Indian, with local food experiences on life's todo list, then this is one you can't miss. I'm glad I visited, several times at that, and I've lived to tell the tale.

Blues rates it:
Food - Yum
Service - Yes
Price - Affordable
Ambience - None whatsoever
Overall - Good place

Recommendation - Go there if you have an iron stomach

Getting there:

Bobby Dhaba is located next door to the Gurdwara at Ulsoor Lake in Bangalore. Head a little down the slope and look out on your right. They're closed on Mondays.

Caffé Uno, Charing Cross Road, London

2006-03-30T20:27:00.000+05:30

Cafe Uno is an Italian place on Charing Cross road near Leicester Square station. Peering in through the window, one doesn't see too many customers inside. The menu looks inviting, so I enter.

It looks like any other Italian place. The decor is nice. Yellow walls and interesting motifs on tiles on the wall. Everything hinting at its mediterranean origin. Breadsticks and olives await you at the table.

The menu has several interesting items, and I settle on a Penne dish with Bacon. The Salmon sounds good too.

The large number of single tables suggests that this place probably caters to many couples or singles and not to too many large groups. The distribution of people at the time seemed to support this theory.

My dish arrives. The waitress grinds pepper and parmesan over it and I dig in. A side order of garlic bread to accompany me.

The pasta is nothing special. I've made similar tasting dishes myself, and I'm no mean cook. The garlic bread was wanting in several aspects. On the whole, I keep thinking to myself - "Should have tried the Salmon", but then I'm not sure if that would have been too different. They don't advertise any areas of specialisation, so I assume everything on the menu is a special.

Blues rates it:
Food - Okay
Service - Prompt
Price - Reasonable by London's standards
Ambience - Pretty
Overall - Not worth it

Recommendation - On the whole, I wouldn't suggest going here.

Getting there:
It's at 24 Charing Cross Road WC2H 0BJ

Abeno Too - Leicester Square, London

2006-03-27T23:04:00.000+05:30

Abeno Too is a small Japanese restaurant just off Charing Cross Road at Leicester Square. The cooking area is in the centre of the restaurant, with a large table surrounding it. Smaller tables are arranged along the large window.

The seats double as storage boxes, or are they storage boxes used as seats? You decide. We placed our coats and bags in the boxes and then sat at the table. Our waiter/chef for the day cooked our meal on the table in front of us.

I'm not quite sure of all that he put into it, but it was a large mix of pork, seafood, eggs and vegetables cooked together into a pancake. I can only say that it tasted interesting. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't like anything I'd tasted before. The side order of shrimp was tasty.

Our waiter was quite friendly and helpful, though he didn't speak too much English. He helped with suggestions telling us what was good and what we might not have liked.

I would go back and try some of the other dishes they have on order, but mostly because of how friendly the staff are.

Blues rates it:
Food - interesting
Service - friendly
Price - reasonable
Ambience - bright
Overall - Nice place

Recommendation - Go there if you happen to notice it.

Getting there:
17-18 Great Newport Street,
WC2H 7JE,
London, England

Tel: 020 7379 1160

Seashells - Off Residency Road, Bangalore

2006-02-23T01:13:00.000+05:30

If you've ever wondered what happened to all the dance bars that were closed down last year, you should visit Seashells. This, I believe, is what all of them would look like. Large, spacious, dimly lit, a bar, multiple cuisines, many, many waiters, and few customers.

The first thing you see when you enter is a fish tank on the left with a large single silvery white exotic looking fish swimming in it.

The restaurant's name suggests that seafood is good here, but they still label it a multicuisine restaurant. For those who do not know, multicuisine generally means that they get all of them wrong. These guys aren't too far off that mark.

Their fish isn't too bad. You could enjoy it if you weren't thinking about the price you were paying for it. The unpublished prices are really high, and quantities are really low, so make sure you ask before ordering.

The chinese cuisine is really bad, and lacks any semblance of being food. The chopsuey we ordered had only fried noodles and sauce. There were three strands of carrot, a flake of a cabbage, a single cube of pineapple, and several slivers of capsicum. This in a bowl for two people. Do not order chinese at this place.

They also claim to serve tandoori and sub-continental (hyderabadi I think) food, but I wouldn't expect too much from it.

There are a large number of waiters - outnumbering the number of available tables, and three or four of them will descend upon you to take your order and serve you.

Blues rates it:
Food - Mostly bad
Service - Overwhelming
Price - Too high to be worth it
Ambience - Boring
Overall - Not worth it

Recommendation - Don't waste your time going here

Getting there:
The restaurant is on the lane that connects Residency road to MG Road at Symphony. It's the building next to Corner House. You can get in from either the Residency Road back entrance or the front entrance. The restaurant is on the first floor, with bright blue neon lights spelling out its name.

Khyber - Kala Ghoda, Mumbai

2006-02-18T22:06:00.000+05:30

I'd read good reviews of Khyber at various places, and read the entire story of its burning and rebuilding, so decided to visit during the Kala Ghoda art festival.

The first thing that you notice is that tables are placed very close to each other. It's easy to overhear conversations happening around you, even if they're not in your native language. The lighing is dim, and varied kinds of music plays.

The food isn't great. The rotis and naans are a tad hard, and not easy to hold onto. The Badaami Chicken (Almond Chicken) that we ordered was quite nice, and sufficient for two people.

All in all, I don't think I'd go back too soon, but I wouldn't put it on my never visit again list.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good
Service - Okay
Price - Uppish
Ambience - Cramped
Overall - Not the Khyber of old

Recommendation - Go there once maybe

Getting there:
Head towards Kala Ghoda from the VT side. The black building on the left hand side corner just before where the black horse used to be is Khyber.

Rice Bowl - Lavelle Road, Bangalore

2006-01-29T12:50:00.000+05:30

This is one place that I've been to on several occassions, and I've tried various dishes. Only one has come out a winner for me. The Phad Thai noodles. They aren't listed on the main menu, so most people miss it, but it's on the special menu, and is a steal.

For best effects, have it plain without a side order of meat or vegetables. Don't even bother with a soup as that could dilute the taste in your mouth. The Phad Thai here is best savoured alone.

The place has nothing to boast about as far as the decor is concerned. Lighting is dim but sufficient to see what you're eating. Music is interesting, and I've heard them play Metallica and The Scorpions with a largely family clientele. The air conditioning is a tad underpowered, making the place seem a little warm.

They have separate smoking and non-smoking sections, but no partition between them. Alcohol isn't marked up too much from the MRP.

Note: Don't mix this up with the Rice Bowl on Residency Road

Blues rates it:
Food - Tasty
Service - Good
Price - Decent if you know what to order
Ambience - Nothing to boast about
Overall - Good for some dishes

Recommendation - I'd suggest going there to try the Phad Thai noodles. A few other items on the menu are good, but this is the best.

Getting there:
Walk down Lavelle Road from the MG Road end. Just after the road curves, you notice SQL and Desmond's on the left. Immediately after Desmond's, you'll see rice bowl. It's in the basement of a larger building. The board is quite small next to the entrance and easy to miss if you aren't looking for it.

Menino's - Dona Paula Jetty, Dona Paula, Goa

2006-01-27T15:12:00.000+05:30

Menino's hasn't changed a bit in the last 15 years. The food and service are exactly the same, and the prices have gone up very moderately. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration because my memory isn't that good, but it feels close enough.

This is the kind of place that could quite easily goof up the details of your order while getting it mostly right. It's the kind of place where the local jetty workers would turn up for breakfast and coffee. It's the kind of place that a bunch of guys would just sit at to eat and chat, and of course, it's the kind of place where you do not order experimental stuff, because everything is.

Highly recommended is the Goan sausage bread. It's the best I've tasted in my latest trip to Goa. Not recommended are the samosas. They just aren't samosas, so don't bother with them. I'd also suggest staying away from the water.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good if you know what to order
Service - Goan
Price - Cheap and completely worth it
Ambience - None whatsoever
Overall - Good if you're travelling alone or looking for a quick meal with a view

Recommendation - Go there for a quick breakfast or lunch

Getting there:
Get down to the Dona Paula Jetty, and look out on your right. It's one of the few restaurants there.

Noah's Ark - Panaji Jetty, Panaji, Goa

2006-01-27T15:11:00.002+05:30

It's not often that a land lubber gets to dine on a boat, so this is probably an experience worth paying for. Better food may have made it worth it. In my opinion, a name like Noah's Ark itself should raise your shields and set your senses on alert. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen the name mentioned anywhere until I'd actually ordered.

Let's start with the drinks. We ordered a bloody mary and a cosmopolitan. The bloody mary was terrible. It had tomato pulp in it and wasn't spicy enough. The cosmo was made well, but served in a whiskey glass with a lot of ice - which ended up diluting it till it tasted like water.

The food wasn't much different. We ordered satay chicken as starters and fillet of red snapper on thai rice noodles as the main course. The satay wasn't. It was more like chicken tikka kababs without the red colouring. The red snapper crumbled to bits, and the noodles weren't very conducive to the fork and knife that they'd provided us with.

One of the waiters had a fake accent and made lewd sounding comments (I couldn't actually understand what he said).

Blues rates it:
Food - Edible, but that's where it stops
Service - Fake accents and mush
Price - Through the roof
Ambience - Great - what you'd expect if you ate on a boat
Overall - Don't waste your time here, try a different boat

Recommendation - Go there for the experience, have a drink, and maybe just starters. Skip the main course. Do the cruise if you'd like, but do it with someone special.

Getting there:
Get to Panaji Jetty, walk towards the Mandovi bridge, and keep a lookout on your left for the big boat with the lights.

Mum's Kitchen - Miramar, Panaji, Goa

2006-01-27T15:11:00.001+05:30

Mum's kitchen came highly recommended from several friends, so I had to try it out. Time, however, only allowed me to try the desserts there. I can't do justice to the place with this review, but it will serve as a placeholder until I've sampled their wares well.

The dessert I tried was the crepe pancake with vanilla icecream, and it was divine. Just the right combination of icecream, coconut, and all the other fillings. Even if you're not given to trying sweet dishes with strange sounding combinations, I'd suggest you give this a try and suprise yourself.

The staff is quite helpful, and from what I've seen, the place is always crowded during daylight hours.

Blues rates it:
Food - TBD
Service - Good
Price - Not too high
Ambience - Plain
Overall -

Recommendation - Go there

Getting there:
On the way to Miramar beach from Panaji, stop just before the beach. Mum's kitchen is on the left.

Britto's - Baga Beach, Baga, Goa

2006-01-27T15:11:00.000+05:30

On a cool evening, a walk on the beach can be calming and hard on the legs. Walk into Britto's to rest awhile and stay for dinner. Get there early to get a table, because it gets crowded really quickly.

I can't think of anything specific to recommend here. They have Goan and continental, and both are good, though I'd say their continental style is better than their Goan. We tried the Vindaloo with sannas, and it was amazingly spicy. The sannas were sweet to counter the spice, but weren't soft and fluffy like they're supposed to be — a victim of mass production I guess.

A tip - if the spice gets to you, eat a plain sanna, or some plain white rice. Leave the gravy; that's where all the spice is.

The fenny at Britto's is the cheapest I've seen anywhere. We tried Palm fenny with lemonade, and it was quite heady.

Blues rates it:
Food - Decent, spicy
Service - Good
Price - Medium high - normal for a beach restaurant
Ambience - Crowded, nicely lit
Overall - Promising place

Recommendation - Go there a couple of times, but there are better places for real Goan food.

Getting there:
Take the bus to Baga, and get off at the stop just before the last stop (you could ask the bus conductor for Britto's). A board on the road announces Britto's, and it's a few feet in towards the beach. If you're approaching from the beach, keep walking towards the north end of Baga, and look out for Britto's on the right near the end.

Taste of Tibet - Calangute, Goa

2006-01-26T01:51:00.000+05:30

If you're looking for a place to hang out with a bunch of friends for a really long time without doing much more than talking over a couple of beers, then this is the place. It's quiet, with not too many tables, and never gets crowded. They also have excellent momos.

The place is staffed by tibetan students and the menu cards and bill folders all have stickers proclaiming students for a free tibet. The boy who served us - Temzin - was a big Bryan Adams fan.

We tried Cashew Fenny and Rochetse - a kind of Momo Soup. The soup was yummy, and the momos hot. The fenny warming. A good start to eating out in Goa.

Blues rates it:
Food - Palatable
Service - To the point
Price - Not too hard on the pocket
Ambience - Dim, open, almost romantic
Overall - An interesting place

Recommendation - Definitely worth a visit even if you don't frequent it.

Getting there:
Go down towards Calangute Beach from the circle at Calangute Market. Once you pass the tourist hostel, look on the left of the road. It's a little tent like place in the compound. They sell T-Shirts at the entrance.

Casandré - Calangute, Goa

2006-01-26T00:50:00.000+05:30

Casandré is one of those restaurants that you walk past at dinner time and think, "Man, that must be expensive". We walked in at lunch time - well, much after lunch time actually - while most Goans had their afternoon siesta. We were greeted by a friendly waiter with a smile from ear to ear, and he remembered us on subsequent days as well.

There are two seating areas. The first on the verandah, with a view of the road, and the second inside, which is rather dark. A prominent sign inside reads, "No Drugs".

A glance through the menu told me that if Goan was what you were looking for, then this place had the right kind of food. We ordered a Kingfish curry, and baked mussels, washed down with palm fenny. The owner - Peter Arajo - suggested that we try it with lemonade. We tried it neat and with lemonade, and the latter really gave it something.

While we waited for our meal to arrive, Peter told us stories of how he'd save up pocket money as a youngster to buy fenny for 5 rupees and have it with lime cordial, and how the art was dying out as no one wanted to collect toddy anymore.

The fish curry and rice was authentic, and I lapped it up with delight, eating with my hands. The smile on my face said it all. The feeling was shared by my companions. The mussels weren't bad either, but January not being prime season, were medium sized. We were told that they get bigger in the following months.

The next morning we were back for breakfast and tried the Full Monty English Breakfast for Rs.100/- It is comprised of Sausages, Bacon, Eggs, Mushrooms, Baked Beans and Toast and is quite filling. They have several types of pancakes as well, that were nice, but could have been more imaginative. Also try their high protein milk shakes.

There's also a pool table to spend some time on. A definite do not miss place.

Blues rates it:
Food - Excellent
Service - Friendly and prompt
Price - Affordable, high if you go for proper seafood
Ambience - Quiet, charming and lazy
Overall - Nice friendly place to have a meal

Recommendation - Make it one of your regular stops

Getting there:
Walk down towards Calangute Beach from Calangute Market. It's on your right just after Eden. The place looks like someone's house.

Souza-Lobo - Calangute Beach, Calangute, Goa

2006-01-25T00:49:00.000+05:30

There are places that end up on tourist guides as the recommended place to be, and there probably isn't much point in writing about them. I cannot, however, leave Souza-Lobo's without a mention.

Like all other places on Calangute and Baga beaches, Souza-Lobo's puts tables out on the sand in the evening, with candles on each table. Unlike the others, they've been there for decades, and have a solid structure behind it all. You could choose to sit inside, on the verandah, or on the beach. The decor is very Portuguese, or maybe, just Goan.

They serve all kinds of food, but when in Goa, one mustn't eat anything but Goan food.

We tried fish tikka (King fish), Goan masala fried prawns, Chicken Xacuti and Sausage Pulao. The king fish and goan masala fried prawns were excellent. The prawn gravy was especially tasty, and the fish was soft and succulent on its own. The Xacuti, I thought, had a little too much gravy, but it treated the palate well. The sausage pulao (and sausage is one way to judge a Goan chef) wasn't the best that I've tasted. I'd recommend it anyway, but there are places where you'd get better sausage pulao.

Souza-Lobo also has a seafood platter, which has a whole bunch of things for Rs.300/-, this too, not unlike other restaurants in the area.

The thing that stands Souza-Lobo apart from others is the music and dancing. They have a live band playing popular numbers, and every now and then, a dance troupe of four performers doing a little Goan or Portuguese number. It's very entertaining, and drunken tourists often join in, dancing alone when the band plays.

The alcohol selection is pretty standard.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good
Service - So-so
Price - Touristy - more than what you'd pay if it weren't on the beach
Ambience - Open air, live music and dancing
Overall - Definitely the place to eat at Calangute

Recommendation - Go there in the evenings, and sit outside. Get the dancing.

Getting there:

Get down to Calangute Beach from the Goa Residency (GTDC) hotel. It's the third place on your right, on the beach. You can't miss it.

Copper Chimney - Bangalore Central, Residency Road, Bangalore

2006-01-20T23:23:00.000+05:30

It isn't often that a restaurant serves me something that makes me jump with glee. Copper Chimney in Bangalore did that. We arrived there at a little after 10pm, which in Bangalore generally means closing time. The girl at the door initially turned us away, but when I asked again she got us a table.

The ambience of the place just envelopes you as you enter. It's uncluttered, simple, yet pleasing to the eye, but they could do without the television screens. This is the kind of place where you'd rather listen to some light music while concentrating on aromas, flavours and conversation. Choose a table on the balcony if you prefer the view.

Our waiter was very friendly and helpful with the menu. He knew what each dish was, and also how they were made. Our choices were Tomato Soup, Lahori Chicken, Malai Kofta, Vegetarian Biryani and Taftan Naans. On the whole, the food was good, but the Biryani was terrible, and I would not recommend it at all.

The first time I tore a Taftan into two is a moment to be cherished. The aroma that lifts out of it is intoxicating. A fermented sweet smell of yeast, yoghurt, milk and sugar. Soft and fluffy and wonderful to eat. That's how I'd describe the Taftan at Copper Chimney. They claim that it's the house speciality, though I've seen recipes elsewhere.

Both the Malai Kofta and the Lahori Chicken were well made, and of a quantity sufficient for two.

I've been progressively disappointed by Copper Chimney in Mumbai, but the outlet in Bangalore is completely different. While prices are high, I'd say that this is one place where the experience is well worth it. Do not miss an opportunity to dine here.

They do not serve alcohol.

Blues rates it:
Food - Great
Service - Very friendly and quick
Price - Uppish around 200-300 a head.
Decor - Minimal, sharp and appealing
Overall - Very nice experience

Recommendation - Go there often especially with good company

Getting there:
Bangalore Central is at the junction of MG Road and Residency Road going down Comissariat Road. Go up to the fifth floor and Copper Chimney is the first thing you see as you turn out of the lift.

Take 5 - 100 ft Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

2006-01-12T18:59:00.000+05:30

Take 5's logo is a saxophone, giving the impression that it's a place for good Jazz music, and, one hopes, good food too. It's not.

There are two sections to the place, which I'd like to describe as the lively area and the quiet area. The former is alongside the bar and beer flows freely. It's got the most crowd. The outer area has far fewer people, and is better if you just want to enjoy a quiet dinner. The music is nice, but not all Jazz. The genre shifts between Latino, Disco and classics, and a little Jazz.

The ambient lighting is dim, with a single light focussed on each table. You may have to move the menu around a bit to read it clearly. The tree outside the window has a nice effect through, especially when it glows with light from nearby neon.

The food is what we're here for though, so let's get on. Aglio Olio with chicken, an Italian dish, which should have an olive oil dressing arrived with a good dose of Indian spices. The whole garlic cloves that make up a good part of the flavour of this dish even had the skin still on.

The wine was passable... they could do with a selection better than one limited to Sula and Chateau Indage.

Blues rates it:
Food - Mediocre
Service - Decent
Price - Slightly uppish
Decor - Nothing to write home about
Overall - Not that great

Recommendation - I wouldn't recommend going there more than once, but it's skippable altogether.

Getting there:
Get to the Café Coffee Day on 100 ft. Road. It's on the 2nd floor above.

Moshe's - Cuffe Parade, Mumbai

2005-12-30T02:48:00.000+05:30

Situated on the stretch of road from Nariman Point towards Cuffe Parade, Moshe's is easy to miss. The little entrance is covered by bamboo shrubs, and you've got to look closely to notice it.

They have a few tables outside and a few inside. It was lunch time, and we chose to go in.

Moshe's feels like wood and metal. The wooden floor sinks slightly as people walk past. The walls are painted red in a rusty shade. Tables and chairs are black or dark brown, and the large wheel of lights on the ceiling is a sight. Every window is decorated with vases of leaves.

Now, to the food. We started with the Mushroom and Almond soup. It may have been lacking in salt, but I think that the thyme filled the gap. The Harissa Prawns were excellent all around. Right from the salad dressing on the spinach to the pine nut seeds mixed with olives. The bread was grilled to the right level. Not too hard, but just firm to hold the prawns. This one's highly recommended.

The Oaf Memulay was interesting. It's a grilled chicken stuffed with a mixture of couscous, pine nuts and chicken mince. It's served with mixed vegetables, and quite tasty.

We washed the food down with a Lemon Grass cooler and a Peachy cheek.

Moshe's is open all night on New Year's eve. You may want to give it a try.

Blues rates it:
Food - Excellent
Service - Good
Price - Empties your wallet
Decor - Rustic
Overall - Great place to sit, relax and eat

Recommendation - Definitely go there

Getting there:

They're at No. 7 Minoo Manar, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai. If you're driving from Nariman Point towards Cuffe Parade, just after the junction of four roads going towards Regal, colaba causeway, Nariman point and Cuffe Parade, keep a look out on the left. It's easy to miss. The security guard and valet drivers up front will help you spot it.

The food Lounge - ESI Hospital Road, Bangalore

2005-10-15T20:34:00.000+05:30

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

2005-10-01T03:31:00.000+05:30

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.

The Vil'age - 100 ft. Road, Indira Nagar, Bangalore

2005-09-20T03:23:00.000+05:30

A scarecrow in a field of sunflowers. That's the first thing that gets your eye as you walk into the Vil'age. You walk out onto the terrace of the building, the open sky above you, and the tops of trees around you. We chose a table near the wall, so we almost had the tree canopy for our roof.

Suffice it to say that the ambience at this place is great. The waiters are dressed in Chokhi Dhani style outfits, but it doesn't quite cut it this far south. On the whole, I'd say great first impressions.

The food is what we're here for though, and while it is good, it does leave a little wanting. The tomato mint soup (tamatar pudina shorba) was tasty but went down too quickly. There needs to be enough in the bowl for you to savour it. Bread sticks may have been a good complement to the soup, but there were none.

We tried a few chicken kababs as starters, and these were definitely the best part of our meal. The lightly garlic flavoured kababs with mint sauce just slid down my throat. It would have been nice if the mint sauce had arrived with the kababs though. For the main course we tried a few vegetarian dishes. These were good, but not comparable to the kababs. The paneer makhani was a standard dish, but each paneer piece was too large and the gravy too watery.

They have some good rotis and parathas, so try out the ones you haven't seen before. You won't be disappointed.

On the whole, I'd say that the entire experience is good if you can overlook a few blemishes.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good, slightly wanting
Service - Good
Price - 180 bucks a head or so
Decor - very nice
Overall - Good open air dining place

Recommendation - Go there in a group, not too often.

Getting there:

Get to the Café Coffee Day on 100 ft. Road. It's on the 3rd floor above.

Sigri - Indira Nagar, Bangalore

2005-09-11T03:11:00.000+05:30

Sigri sells itself as a north Indian place in Indira Nagar. They have all kinds of dishes ranging from Fish in almond gravy to Afghani Chicken and Dum Biryani. They also have a selection of vegetarian dishes.

Every dish that I've tried here has been good, especially the fish. Fish preparations are generally tandoori or thick gravy style, and not what you'd get on the coast. Their chicken dishes are also quite good and tender. Servings are large enough for a two people with a little left over.

If there's anything I'd stay away from, it's the biryani. I'm not easily impressed with biryani at restaurants, and Sigri found it easy to disappoint me.

They have two floors, and there's not much to choose between the two, except the spiral staircase.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good
Service - Good
Price - 100 bucks a head or so
Decor - Pleasing
Overall - Good place

Recommendation - Good place to eat.

Getting there:

Go down 100 feet road towards Old Madras Road, take a left on 1st Cross, it's about one furlong in, on the right.

Rasoi Ghar - Ulsoor Road, Bangalore

2005-08-20T02:52:00.000+05:30

Rasoi Ghar is someone's compound with tables and chairs and a shack roof. I'd heard rumours that they had a good meal for lunch, so decided to go there. Went there in the evening, and there wasn't anyone there. Not even a waiter or a proprietor. I walked towards the back and someone came to attend to me.

Tried the Aloo Mutter with chappatis, since it's pretty hard to screw that up. They screwed it up. The Aloo Mutter was the worst I've ever tasted, and the chappatis looked like someone had walked all over them and then slapped ghee onto them to stop them from going hard.

I had no choice but to leave the meal half eaten. It was quite cheap, but totally not worth the price or the time you spend sitting there.

Blues rates it:
Food - awful
Service - almost non existent
Price - cheap
Decor - none whatsoever
Overall - Nothing to talk about

Recommendation - Skip it

Getting there:

Turn on to Ulsoor Road from Dickenson Road. Rasoi Ghar is in the compound of the second house on your right.

Choolah - Museum Road, Bangalore

2005-05-19T00:06:00.000+05:30

Choolah is a Punjabi restaurant at the start of Museum Road. It seems to have taken over from Aryashree. The food is nowhere near being good. The names of dishes on the menu are alien to even the waiters. Dal Bukhara is actually Dal Makhani and wasn't too bad. The tava mushrooms turned out to be tava chicken.

The server started to serve us the chicken when we told him that we hadn't ordered any. He then took the plate that he'd served the chicken onto inside, transferred the chicken back to the dish and served it to the people who'd really ordered it.

When they brought us plates, one was dirty. I asked them to change it. The server picked it up and handed it to the waiter, who wiped it and returned it.

Finally was the Dum Biryani, which was not good. The taste was okay, but the rice was extremely low grade. Not the kind of rice you'd expect one to make biryani from.

Blues rates it:
Food - So-so, not worth the price
Service - Confused
Price - Way to high for what they give you
Decor - Nothing much
Overall - Not worth the time getting there

Recommendation - Don't waste your evening going to Choolah

Getting there:
Ok, assuming you still want to get there... get to the junction of MG Road and Museum Road, then walk down Museum Road about 20 feet. Choolah is on your left.

Back Forty - San Ramon, CA

2005-05-07T20:27:00.000+05:30

Their menu proclaims that everything is cooked fresh, especially the spicy sauce they use for mozarella sticks and other dishes. Not! The sauce was so stale it was bubbling with bacterial activity. I tasted it and it was fermented, and tasted over five days old. The corn bread was also stale and falling apart. I couldn't pick it up without it falling to pieces. In the end I had to use butter to hold it together. The iced tea was tasteless. The pork ribs were decent, as were the beans, but nothing else was.

Blues rates it:
Food - Awful
Service - Ok
Price - Average
Ambience - Boring
Overall - Bad place

Recommendation - Don't go there. Go for the seafood or a Big Mac

Getting there:

21001 San Ramon Valley Blvd
San Ramon, CA 94583
N 37° 43.623
W 121° 56.6319

Café Lombard - San Francisco, CA

2005-04-27T02:54:00.000+05:30

An Italian restaurant run by a Chinese lady chef, with Chinese waiters, and an Italian clientele. The food is good, which is what keeps the Italians coming back. It's also terribly full of oil. The chef will also take orders, since there's only one overworked waiter. Don't go in expecting her to speak Italian, she'll reply in Spanish.

Unfortunately they have just one overworked waiter.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good
Service - Good
Price - Affordable
Ambience - Nothing major
Overall - An entertaining place

Recommendation - Go there and make friends with the cook.

Getting there:

1424 Lombard St
San Francisco, CA 94123
N 37° 48.079
W 122° 25.494

Pho Nam - Sunnyvale, CA

2005-04-25T18:59:00.000+05:30

Driving around, landed up at Pho Nam, decided to go in and try Vietnamese. The food wasn't bad. The sauces were nice, as were the steamed spring rolls. The chicken pho that I had was largely tasteless, so I can't say that I liked it, although it was filling. The place has nothing much in the way of ambience, but the staff are quite friendly, helpful and give good suggestions.

Blues rates it:
Food - Okay
Service - Good
Price - Reasonable
Ambience - Bland
Overall - Okay place

Recommendation - Go there if you prefer Vietnamese

Getting there:

844 W El Camino Real,
Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Opus - Palace Cross Road, Bangalore

2005-04-17T02:41:00.000+05:30

I believe my slot for favourite restaurant in Bangalore has just been filled. Opus is a Goan restaurant and stage for musical talent right in the heart of Bangalore. It's there because there was nothing like it before. Created by Gina and Carlton Braganza, Opus has the stars as its roof, a bricked and pebbled garden as its floor and white cushions with little stone tables fixed into the ground for visitors to laze around. They also have a stage area where musicians and plays perform live. Once a week Carlton's band plays.

The crockery has been finger painted by Carlton and you'll notice a fish theme all around.

While you may want to visit Opus for the food on occassion, the live shows are the real attraction. If you're an amateur artist and would like to perform there, just contact Gina.

Opus is one of the few restaurants that serve pork in proper Goan catholic style. I didn't see any sorpotel on the menu, maybe I didn't look closely enough. The sausage pulao is good, though I found it a little salty. The lamb chops are great.

Service is where Opus is found lacking. Having a packed house doesn't make things any easier. In short, if you go to Opus, intend to sit back and chill. Don't be in a hurry. Just get a good view of the stage and relax. You're bound to see Gina running around the place in her cap and Carlton strolling around with his camera shooting the band from various angles.

They have a Rs.100 entrance if a live band is playing or a play is showing.

Blues rates it:
Food - Goan
Service - Not if you're in a hurry
Price - Highish
Decor - Excellent
Music - Excellent
Overall - A live band with food attached

Recommendation - Go there often, weekly if you'd like. Treat it like an evening of art and music with a few goan cocktails and drinks.

Getting there:
The easiest way to get there is to start off from Mt. Carmel's College and move towards Windsor Manor. Slow down after you cross the underpass and look out on your left for the Dance Studio Inc. You'll see the board for Opus a little further inside.

Phones: Gina: 9844030198, Neil: 9845953242

Casa Picola - Residency Road, Bangalore

2005-04-17T02:30:00.000+05:30

Casa Picola is an open air café style restaurant where you can get good continental food and tasty desserts at an okay price. Everything we sampled was very good, and highly recommended. The chicken and vegetarian casseroles are baked, covered with mashed potato and served with garlic bread. The chicken stroganoff is served with rice.

Among the desserts, the black forest crepe/pancakes are highly recommended.

Don't expect much in the way of decor. They have round metal tables and metal chairs and a parasol over each pair of tables.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good
Service - Good
Price - Slightly uppish
Decor - open air café
Overall - Good food, good place

Recommendation - Go there often if the cuisine suits you

Getting there:

It's in Devtha Plaza, right opposite Bishop Cotton Boys' school on the junction of St. Mark's Road and Residency Road. Once you get to Devtha Plaza, get to the entrance, and take the stairs on the outside going downwards.

Shiok - CMH Road, Bangalore

2005-04-17T01:54:00.000+05:30

Shiok is a far eastern cuisine restaurant and cocktail lounge, all in one large second floor on CMH Road. The proprietor and head chef - Madhu Menon - used to be a usability guy, and Shiok is his own design. I liked the leaf shaped ceiling and the lamps that hang from there. The idea of placing a bottle of wine on each table is smart.

The menu has a combination of Thai, Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine as well as the chef's special. They have an extensive vegetarian section as detailed as the non-vegetarian section, including Mee Goreng - a Singaporean dish made with whole wheat noodles.

I found the food a little too oily, while at the same time flavourful. Ask the captains to suggest something based on your preferences and you won't be disappointed.

I can't recommend anything in particular as it all looked good and has been recommended by various people. The Mee Goreng was definitely good, and Madhu's Thai Red Curry with Chicken was tasty, though some people may find it spicy. I should try the Spiced fish grilled in banana leaves the next time.

Update: Recommendations: Drunkard's noodles, Laab Kai, Spicy tamarind chicken wings.

Alcohol served: Yes. They have a collection of Australian, German, Chilean, South African and Indian wines apart from all other spirits served at the cocktail lounge.

Blues rates it:
Food - Very good
Service - Good
Price - High, and an additional 20% on seafood because of the Tsunami
Decor - Charming
Overall - Lovely place for far eastern cuisine

Recommendation - Go there, definitely.

Getting there:

Map available on the website.

Go down CMH Road from 100 feet road. Stop at Bombay house on your right. Shiok is on the second floor.

Phone: (080) 5116 1800

Sufi - Wind Tunnel Road, Bangalore

2005-04-17T01:28:00.000+05:30

Persia, formerly, and currently known as Iran is in a region of the world where meat is the staple diet and Sufi is very much a meat eaters place. The first thing that strikes you is how large and grand it is. Sufi is designed to look like palatial balconies that overlook a central lawn. The seating area is arranged along two parallel balconies connected by a walkway. Persian art and curios line decorate the walls. The floor is wonderfully tiled. Lamps hang from the ceiling and rope curtains hanging about two feet down from the top provide the perfect punctuation to the ambience. Each table is placed on a persian carpet, some of which are 30 years old. Some tables have large, soft cushions instead of chairs.

If for nothing else, visit Sufi for the decor and ambience.

The food is nice, and one gets a good selection of chicken, mutton, beef and sea food. I wouldn't rate it as excellent though. What is good is the Doogh - a drink made of yoghurt and persian spices, however quite a few people do not like it.

They also have butter chicken, called Makhani Chooze. Most dishes are just a single piece except for the kababs.

For the veggies there is some Indian fare too. Hara Bhara kababs and various baingan and spinach dishes.

If you're someone who doesn't eat red meat, or stays away from beef, be warned that the kabab platter contains beef, mutton and chicken.

Now, you could go to Sufi and not eat. They have an art gallery with persian

Blues rates it:
Food - Ok, acquired taste
Service - Average
Price - Very Pricey
Decor - Excellent
Overall - Nice place to eat at once.

Recommendation - Go there, if only for the ambience

Getting there:

Go down Airport Road until you get to Pizza Hut on Wind Tunnel Road (the autorickshaw drivers know it at Murgeshpalya). Turn along Pizza Hut and move a few furlongs down. Sufi is attached to ClubX, just behind the Pizza Hut building.

Mangalore Pearl - Cole's Road, Bangalore

2005-03-19T05:26:00.001+05:30

Maka zai zai, maka zai zai.

Mangalore Pearl leaves a little touch of Mangalore in the heart of Bangalore. Never again will I crib about the state of food in this city.

Situated near the corner of Cole's road and Wheeler road, it's easy to miss Mangalore Pearl if you don't know where to look. We spent about 45 minutes roaming around Cole's road, but that was partly because we were given bad directions. It was worth it.

We were five, one mangalorean, one goan, one konkani, one keralite and one dehliite. Fish was on the menu, and a little chicken too.

We ordered Pomfret curry, Surmai curry (King fish or Seer fish), Prawns Masala, Fried Mussels, Chicken Kuri Roti, and Sol kadi. It was heaven. A little on the spicy side, but we loved it.

About the dishes:

You can't really expect fresh fish so far from the coast, but the fish curry was as close to the coast as you can get without actually being there. Eat it with rice.

The fried mussels weren't as good as I've tasted at Martin's in Goa, but they were good.

Chicken Kori Roti was my favourite. You get a bunch of rice wafers (looks similar to a crushed up dosa) and you pour the chicken curry over it.

Oh yeah, when eating mangalorean food, use your hands.

We've ordered food from here again. Chicken Roce Curry, fried fish and the Lunch meal are good. Best of all, you get a fish meal for 30 bucks.

Update

A few more things to try:

Pork/chicken vindaloo with sannas
Mutton patroday curry (on weekends)

Blues rates it:
Food - excellent, a little spicy
Service - good
Price - very reasonable
Decor - bright
Overall - all thumbs up

Recommendation - If you like Goan or Mangalorean cuisine, this is the place for you. If you like fish, this is the place for you. Definitely go there. Also, don't order anything vegetarian.

Getting there:

Get to the Wheeler Road / Cole's Road junction. Turn onto Cole's Road. It's on the first floor of the first building on the road. Look up as soon as you turn or you'll miss it.

Phone Number: 25578855

PinXX - Dickenson Road, Bangalore

2005-01-17T03:43:00.000+05:30

Pinxx is the 24 hour coffee shop in Central Park hotel. [info]mannu and I had a second dinner cum breakfast there a little while ago — an appam with bacon and cheese, and another with chicken tikka, followed by coffee.

The place is quite nice looking. Good decor, nice music - even at 3am. They have a bowl of water with a flower floating on it on every table, and well, the place is all pink... enough to remind you of its name, but not enough to hit you in the head. The washrooms are labelled XX and XY - after the human gender chromosomes, and the basins are large bowls. Quite interesting in all.

When we got there, the tables were already ready for breakfast. There was butter, jam and marmalade at every table, and tea cups with tea bags on the side.

The appams were tasty, and the coconut gravy was really good, as were the two chutneys, one coconut based (green) and the other tomato based (orange). We felt that the quantity of meat was a tad insufficient though - especially for the price. The coffee (filter) was good.

I guess the price reflects the decor, and the fact that you are in a large hotel.

They have a breakfast buffet from 6:30am to 10:30am, I believe it's for Rs.165, and at lunch time there's a multi-cuisine lunch buffet.

Blues rates it:
Food - Quite nice
Service - Good
Price - Very high
Decor - Excellent
Overall - Great place if you can afford it, breakfast should be nice

Recommendation - If you're earning well, or you have a hot date who isn't into dancing, then this is one of the places you should visit. The bar closes early though.

Getting there:

Get to Manipal Centre on Dickenson Road, just off MG Road. Central Park hotel is at the back of Manipal Centre - the entrance is right at the back. Pinxx is on the first floor on the inside.

Gangotree - Church Street, Bangalore

2005-01-15T00:54:00.000+05:30

Update: The restaurant has either closed down or moved to a different location

5 of us visited Gangotree on Church street today.

Tahir and I had been there earlier and tried out the Rasgulla chaat, which was quite good. We took some other guys there today to try more dishes.

Now Bangalore isn't known for good chaat, so when one finds a good chaat place, one must put it to the test.

Our aim was to try out the Jalebi chaat, that they serve only on Saturdays and Sundays, however they were out of it, as were they of Chinese golgappas. We decided to try out many other dishes.

Rasgolla chaat, papdi chaat, bread chaat, chola batura (why?), chinese bhel, aloo tiki chaat and finally, our own invention, laddu chaat.

The chinese bhel was absolutely amazing. The aloo tiki chaat (raghda pattice) totally sucked. The laddu chaat wasn't too bad, though since the laddu doesn't absorb liquid like the rasgolla does, it didn't work out quite right.

They have okay pani puri. I still prefer Karachi Sweets.

Blues rates it:
Food - Chaaty
Service - Not bad, the boy is easily confused though
Price - Ok, a tad high
Decor - Nothing
Overall - Good snack place

Recommendation - Go there for the chaat, on a weekend, you might also find some interesting social activity around the place.

Getting there:

Go down Brigade Road from the MG Road side, and take the first right onto Church Street. Keep on till you get to Barton Centre. It's right after that.

Lemon Grass - Bandra, Mumbai

2005-01-03T01:52:00.000+05:30

Lemon grass is maybe the 3^rd or 4^th restaurant to come up at that location near the HSBC junction on Turner Road. There used to be Tacobel, which turned into Taco corner, which turned into something else, which finally turned into Lemon Grass. It has a kind of look that invites you in, while at the same time hinting that it could pinch your wallet. Then you get closer and the aroma draws you in for the kill.

Their best dishes are chicken based. I've tried the seafood on occassion, and it wasn't up to the mark. We tried a crispy Thai fried chicken with Phad Thai (flat) noodles. Moderately spicy, and very tasty, however, my tummy did suffer the next day. Your mileage may vary.

I do recommend this place for the various things it does to your tongue. I've been here three times in the past, and have liked almost everything tried here.

What I didn't like were the desserts. Their cheesecake sucked completely. Go elsewhere for dessert... you might find the kulfi guy across the junction a good place.

Blues rates it:
Food - Yum, but the desserts suck
Service - Sufficient
Price - High, but servings are large
Decor & Ambience - Excellent
Overall - Pretty good place to dine

Recommendation - Go there with a couple of friends and order 2 or 3 dishes. They have great starters.

Getting there:

On the junction of Turner Road and Pali road (the one that connects Hill Road to Pali Hill). It's at the end of the line consisting of Pot Pourri, Tiffin, Sahibaan and Lemon Grass.

5 Spice - Horniman Circle, Mumbai

2004-12-29T20:22:00.000+05:30

Had lunch at 5 Spice today (Horniman Circle, Mumbai). The food was decisively delectable. There were just two of us, but we lapped up a lot.

Starters:
- Pattaya Prawns
- Tapan Yakee Lamb

Main Course:
- Wooly Chicken
- Spicy Thai Rice (Chicken)

Dessert:
- Strawberry Cheesecake

Of the above mentioned 4 dishes, only the prawns were dished out in two person sized servings. The rice, lamb and chicken would have easily served 4, even with me at the table.

I liked the lamb the best. It's served with a brown sauce, slightly sweet to tangy, and sprouted moong (~~what's the English word for moong?~~ sprouts (thanks prerna)) If eating with chopsticks, you should place a slice of lamb down on your plate, pile up some moong on it, dip into the sauce and pop into your mouth. I can still taste it. Wow.

The wooly chicken was also quite nice. A light brown gravy, not very spicy. It mixed well with the spicy thai rice which was really spicy. The strawberry cheesecake was the perfect top off, unless you're someone who dies for chocolate. I would not recommend the Death by Chocolate here to anyone who's eaten at Corner House before, but the Chocolate
Mousse, and cakes all looked verrrry tempting. They also have a 5 Spice sundae, which is very similar to Trilogy at Corner House (except there's no mango flavour).

Blues rates it:
Food - Excellent
Service - Good
Price - High, but servings are large to match
Decor - Pretty
Overall - Excellent

Recommendation

Yes, I highly recommend going here, and I suggest you do it in groups of at least 3 people, 4 if you'd like to try more than one dish.

Getting there:

Get down to Horniman Circle. If you're going around, take the lane behind RBI. Go down a bit, skip the first little gully (called Store Lane I think), and 5 Spice is the 2^nd on your left.

Swadishta - MG Road, Bangalore

2004-10-15T01:18:00.000+05:30

Not the kind of place one would review, but I'll try. Swadishta is an Andhra restaurant on MG Road. It's the best of the worst (read affordable) restaurants around. The Andhra Thali, Egg Fried Rice and Biryani are favourites, though they seem to have hiked the price on Egg Fried Rice and Biryani since we started going there. For the weak stomached, there's always curd rice.

I believe they also serve alcohol here, but I've never asked.

Blues rates it:
Food - Ok, a little spicy
Service - not bad
Price - reasonable
Decor - sit and eat kind of place
Overall - Another one of those daily meal places

Recommendation - Not a place to take a date, but if you're just out for lunch or dinner while working, then go there. Don't go there too often or you could screw up your stomach.

Getting there:
It's at the base of Mittal Tower on MG Road. Can't miss it.

Santrupti - Off MG Road, Bangalore

2004-10-15T01:08:00.000+05:30

Note: The place is either undergoing renovation or has been demolished.

Santrupti was one of the first few places I had dinner at. It has nothing to offer, but if you're hungry and this is the only place around, go in and eat. It won't cost you much. They close at 10pm, but will serve you if you get in at 9:55.

The good stuff there is the bullet idli. 12 idlis in a bowl of sambar. Really good. I think it's a Monday special. The Kudubu is nothing special, and their weird Spring Roll Dosa is worth a miss. North Indian thali is okay, not worth the price and skip the soup. Dosas are okay too, but heavy on the oil. If you really want dosas, walk down to Adigas instead.

Note: Santrupti appears to be closed for renovation or demolition. It isn't clear which at the moment.

Blues rates it:
Food - okay
Service - okay
Price - easy on the pocket
Decor - sit and eat kind of place
Overall - good for a regular eating place until you get fed up of it.

Recommendation - If you like South Indian food, Santrupti is good, and it's cheap enough that you can make this one of your regular dining spots.

Getting there:
Go down MG Road towards Trinity Circle. Take a left at the circle, and it's the first entrance on your right, opposite the Taj. You'll have a hard time crossing the road.

Lalitha's Paratha - Dickenson Road, Bangalore

2004-10-14T23:55:00.000+05:30

Lalitha's Paratha on Dickenson road is a reasonably large sized restaurant with AC, non-AC and secluded areas. They're famous for their parathas, as being one of the few places in Bangalore where one can get a good taste of north India. Unfortunately, they throw in too much oil to make their point.

They have a variety of parathas. Aloo (Potato), Gobi (Cauliflower), Mooli (Radish), Onion, Egg and Chicken. A paratha plate consists of two parathas and a bowl of curd. The chana masala, rajma curry and butter chicken go well with any of the parathas.

Lalitha's Paratha also serves very oily biryani. Choices are chicken, mutton and egg. I'd suggest skipping the biryani.

Blues rates it:
Food - Good, oily
Service - Decent
Price - Reasonable
Decor - just a place to sit and eat
Overall - If you like paratha, this is the place

Recommendation - good regular dinner place. Get home delivery if your order is more than Rs.150.

Getting there:
Go down Dickenson Road from Manipal Centre away from MG Road, towards Commercial Street. Follow the road as it turns left. Go past Wigan and Leigh college, and the sweet shop. Lalitha's Paratha is clearly visible across the road from the tempo parking area.

They also have a branch at Domlur, on the road behind Shanti Sagar. This one's much smaller though.

Noodle Bar - Bangalore Central

2004-10-14T22:20:00.000+05:30

If you dropped in to 'the lounge on the second floor' at Bangalore Central, looking for comfortable seating, you'd be disappointed. Noodle Bar is a small place, far smaller than the outlet in Bombay. The tables have backless benches that take you back to school. It gets painful if you stay too long, but perhaps that's the idea.

The food at Noodle Bar is excellent. Especially good is the Hong Kong chicken and the shrimp based starters. Try the fried golden prawns. The various sizzlers are great, but their speciality is a DIY dish. They give you a sheet of paper with checkboxes against various catgories. Noodles, veg, non-veg, toppings, sauces, and grade of spice. You tick of what you want and hand it to the chef who'll toss it for you. We didn't get to taste ours.

The black pepper chicken noodles aren't very nice unless you add a good gravy to it. Japanese teriyaki fish is nice, but could do with a lot of improvement.

The service at this place isn't very good. The waiter at our table confused the orders and handed some of our dishes to the other end of the very long table. They also brought food and drinks in at different times, so half of us were still getting our drinks while the other half had finished theirs. It was the same with food, so there were people who had to sit and stare while those who'd gotten their food later finished. I ate right through :)

You can get a pair of chopsticks if you're interested.

Noodle Bar serves various interesting cocktails and soft drinks too.

Update: The entrances to the Noodle Bar and Bombay Blue have merged. There's now a single door to go to either, and you can order from either menu.

Blues rates it:
Food - Excellent
Service - Ok
Price - High
Decor - Minimal but smart
Overall - good food if you don't look at the price

Recommendation - Go there, but not in very large groups. It confuses the waiters.

Getting there:
Get to Bangalore Central at the junction of Residency Road and MG Road. Take the escalator up to the second floor. Noodle bar is straight ahead on the left. Don't go right, you'll hit Bombay Blue, which isn't recommended.

93 - Residency Road, Bangalore

2004-10-05T01:47:00.001+05:30

Restaurant closed Ponnasamy's has opened in its place

93 is a little Indian/Chinese restaurant on Residency road. There are innumerable restaurants on Residency road, and 93 is one of the better ones. The food is good, the ambience is great, there's not too much of a crowd, and you can just sit there for hours talking.

We visited 93 on a Wednesday evening, which probably explains the lack of crowd. After having talked for well over an hour, we ordered. Dishes ranged from American Chopsuey, Tsing hai chicken and veg haka noodles, to makai palak (corn in spinach) and rotis.

The chopsuey was great, as was the tsing hai chicken. Haka noodles with garlic sauce was good too, but I prefer to have it with chicken.

If you're interested, they will also provide you with a pair of chopsticks.

The only problem was that they forgot to give us any cutlery, though considering how long we waited before ordering, they might not have been expecting us to eat.

Blues rates it:
Food - excellent
Service - good
Price - easy 50 rupee meal
Decor - very cool
Overall - great place to eat, or just chat

Recommendation - Go there, definitely.

Getting there:
Go down Brigade road to the junction of Residency road. Turn right onto Residency road and keep going up to the petrol pump. 93 is on your left, right opposite the pump. It's part of Hotel Algate, which is at #93 Residency Road, hence the name.

Phone: 91-80-25594786/7/8/9/6965/66

The Dhaba - Outer Ring Road, Bangalore

2004-09-19T03:17:00.000+05:30

If you've been for a late-night show (in Bangalore that means 9:30) at Multiplex, and are looking for dinner soon afterwards, you have several choices. There's the food court at Multiplex (no), there's the dhabas across the road (seedy looking), and then there's The Dhaba, about a kilometre away.

The moment you walk in, you're hit by the decor. A lot of it is made to look like straw roofed sheds. The tables are made out of tree branches and a large slab of wood, but half the seats are well cushioned. There's the front of a large "Horn Ok Please" style truck against one wall, with its lights on high beam, and there's the side of another truck making up the back rest of one of the larger seating areas.

I thought it was all very nice, but also a tad confused.

Service was quick, but the waiters weren't sure who ordered what, as a result, dishes tended to end up at the opposite end from the person who ordered them. Alan finished his meal without getting to his tandoori rotis.

We ordered a lot. Butter chicken, chicken biryani, paneer makhani, veg navratna, and two bread baskets. Portions were quite large, and the six of us were stuffed by the end.

The restaurant also has an alcohol menu.

Blues rates it:
Food - nice, but not great
Service - prompt, but confused
Price - high
Decor - very cool
Overall - Good place to try once

Recommendation - If you're into concept restaurants and interesting decors, you'll like this place.

Getting there:
On outer ring road, Martahalli, move from the airport road bridge away from Innovative Multiplex. Keep going till you see the first bunch of restaurants on the left. There's one on the ground floor, and another on the first. The Dhaba is the one on the first floor. It's got several used tyres laid outside.

Earthen Oven - Residency Road, Bangalore

2004-07-30T13:00:00.000+05:30

Update: This restaurant has closed down

Located near the Brigade road junction on the left side (moving away from MG Road) of Residency road, Earthen Oven is partially hidden behind a tree. It's easily missed, and of the four of us, only manish and myself had noticed it before. The outside has pictures of fast food and icecreams leading one to believe that it's more of a takeaway place than a restaurant.

Once inside, perspectives change. The place isn't bad looking. No fancy decor or theme or anything. This was just a simple, down to earth, place to get mass produced food. We were greeted by a gentleman who seemed to be the proprietor, but was just as happy taking note of an order. He saw to it that we were comfortably seated.

You'll notice something strange about the windows on the walls. They aren't really windows, but cleverly designed mirrors. I guess it's hard to have real windows on a wall you share with your neighbours - shows some amount of imagination.

The waiter was prompt at our table. We asked for soup - the first item on the menu. He listened to us decide how much we wanted and when we communicated the same to him, declined us saying that there was no soup. Okay.

We then ordered starters - Baby corn manchurian dry. It arrived shortly, and was quite tasty. We'd decided by then on the main course - Mushroom Masala and Paneer Adraki. The Paneer was supposed to be spicy, so we asked for a lot of water - which we had to ask for again. Jace and Balaji had rumali rotis while Mannu and I had plain rotis each. Both dishes were good. I can safely say that this has been one of the better meals I've had out in Bangalore. Jace and Balaji however complained that the rumali rotis were a tad too thick. They were visibly so.

Two dishes weren't sufficient for the four of us, so we ordered another - Gobi Manchurian gravy. This too arrived quickly. Manish ordered a butter naan, and I a plain naan. Jace and Balaji shared a butter naan between them. I've never had Gobi Manchurian before, and I quite liked the way it was prepared.

We left Earthen Oven full and completely satiated.

I've been back once, and tried out their non-vegetarian fare. We tried chicken saagwala, and it was really good.

I have just one complaint - they really should be checking whether our glasses of water are empty or not and refilling them when they are.

Blues rates it:
Food - good
Service - not bad/good
Price - decent
Decor - functional
Overall - Nice place

Recommendadtion - give it a try.

Getting there:
Go down Residency road from MG Road, before Opera house and the Brigade road junction, you'll find a tree on your left. Earthen Oven is behind that tree.

Spiga - Vittal Mallaya Road, Bangalore

2004-07-24T11:33:00.000+05:30

I've dined at Spiga thrice since coming to Bangalore, and have enjoyed all three experiences. The first time we ordered a host of dishes - 10 in all, plus soup. The mushroom soup is good.

I tried the Red Wine chicken. There was only a hint of wine, and in only one mouthful. Other dishes included Alfredo chicken, lots of veg pasta stuff, and some tossed salad that no one touched. Some of the guys tried the Fajitas. They're nice, but don't order that as an only dish.

Soft drinks are served in large tumblers, and last through the meal.

Lighting is dim, with certain areas lit only with candle light. It has a kind of charm to it. You're also treated to Worldspace radio, tuned in to some good channels.

Spiga's forté is Italian. Stick with the pastas, steaks and garlic bread. You won't be dissappointed.

All in all, food was good, especially when you have good company. Prices were on the high side, but affordable.

Spiga is on Vittal Mallaya road, just off St. Mark's Road. It's easy to miss, so look for the Ritu Kumar showroom, Spiga's located on the first floor of the house to the right of that.

Blues rates it:
Food - very good
Service - depends on how crowded it is, but generally adequate
Price - On the high side. Don't make it a daily affair.
Decor - Great

Recommendation - Put it on your list of places to visit often.

Update: On a subsequent visit to Spiga, I had my credit card lifted, and several purchases were made off it. The experience has scared me away from visiting this place ever again.

Little Chef Restaurant - Church Street, Bangalore

2004-06-15T12:26:00.000+05:30

Note: This place has closed down.

Situated on the corner of Church street and Museum Road, you could be excused for passing by this restaurant. It looks a lot like a garage - an automobile repair shop, complete with auto parts, grease, tyres, corrugated aluminium roofs and not very bright tubelights. The hoarding outside looks more like an advertisement for a nearby restaurant rather than a nameplate announcing your location.

One enters and finds old car seats strewn about the place, coincidentally, in pairs, facing each other, with an awkwardly sized table marking the distance between each pair. The car seats are typical of the old ambassador or fiat that ruled the roads a couple of decades ago, and had more suspension in the seats than the axles.

We were five, so got a corner table with three passenger seats on three sides of it. Food was chinese, and I won't go into which dishes we chose, because I don't think it makes too much of a difference. There were four dishes in all - 3 non-veg and one veg - which were more than sufficient for the five of us.

I enjoyed the food, and the pieces of chicken were actually visible and identifiable.

Try the American Chopsuey, or the Schezwan. It's pretty good.

Blues rates it:
Food - good
Service - good
Decor - innovative
Price - pretty easy on the wallet
Overall rating - great

Recommendation: go there

Hotel Sapna - Residency road, Bangalore

2004-06-07T00:06:00.000+05:30

Had dinner at Hotel Sapna, Residency road. The first thing that hits you about this place is how large it is. One could easily fit a pub and a dance floor in there... this so close to the Residency road/Brigade road junction and you can imagine the kind of money the proprietor would make, but noooo, he chooses to have a large, spacious, mostly void of customers restaurant that serves cheap food and has only one waiter.

The North Indian thali was palatable. South Indian food may have been better - no idea, and not going back to check. Food was cheap (only the thalis crossed the Rs.22 mark).

There were also no paper napkins to wipe your hands with.

Blues rates it:
Food - okay
Price - cheap
Decor - blah
Service - you'll have to beg the guy to serve you

Recomendation:

You probably don't want to go there at all unless you're looking for a really cheap (in every sense) meal. It has nothing more to offer.
If you plan on setting up a pub, then maybe go in and talk to the owner about it.