m a n u s c r y p t s

Yes, you see something missing, but no, I haven’t gotten the spelling wrong. Nor is this some wordplay stunt on any famous golfer you might have heard of recently.

I assume that since the owners would have found it difficult to replicate the original, naming their ‘resto-cafe’ to sound like the iconic event would be their way of paying a tribute. Works for me, and if good ol’ rock’n'roll ain’t good enough for you, the fact that they have a soup laced with chocolate should get your immediate attention and affection. But we’ll come to that it in a while.

Woosdstok serves continental food, pastries too, and is located on the road that connects the Koramangala-Indiranagar 100 ft road to CMH Road/12th Main etc. When coming from Koramangala, take a left immediately after the flyover, and you’ll find it on your right after about a 100m. You can find a map right here. Parking isn’t too difficult for 2 wheelers, and I’m sure those at a higher tier can find a way.

We didn’t reserve in advance since we planned to reach early, but we saw that the place was beginning to get crowded by the time we left, so you might want to keep that in mind. Woodstok has seating on two floors and seemed like a house converted into its current function. So instead of coldly functional/symmetric/ordered seating, there are balconies, diner style options, some modas and so on, all lending character to the place, while retaining the functional element. Ok, enough of design, we obviously had other designs for the visit. We chose to sit on the balcony, overlooking a not-so-crowded road, and it added a lot to the the experience.

The menu can be found online, so bonus points for that!! I’m guessing the kids menu would be popular too. We started with a ‘Cream of chicken with a twist’. The twist is in the form of a chocolate sauce, just a wee bit, but hey, just for once, I’ll say its the thought that counts. The soup was very creamy, and with a little pepper, it worked out very well indeed. Though it did take a little longer than usual to get to us, they kept us occupied with a garlic bread basket. (though I found it odd that they chose to give 3 slices when there were 2 of us – wouldn’t any even number have made more sense? )

For the main course, we asked for a London House Woodstok Grill (its a sizzler) and a Chicken Marsala. The Grill was all that its descriptor promised it to be, with grilled chicken, a mini steak, cocktail chicken sausages, bacon and ham with a pepper sauce. Yes, there were sauteed vegetables too, but they only got the attention they deserved. The mashed potatoes were good though. The steak was well done and unlike the Mallu joke, I didn’t have to kill it before I ate it. Grilled chicken, bacon, ham, bliss, enough said. The Marsala, we were told when we ordered, would be slightly sweet, but it actually had a strong oregano flavour instead. Along with the mushrooms, mashed potatoes and tender chicken, this has a unique taste worth checking out.

The flip side is that we were too stuffed for dessert, in spite of the many tempting options. ‘Woodstok Wonder’, we’re destined to meet someday, i promise ya. Meanwhile, they also gave us a complimentary lime sorbet (completely frozen) that served as some consolation for me.

All of the above came to just over Rs.1050, including a 10% service tax which is well deserved. There is a nice personal touch to their feedback mechanism. The sheet not only asks for feedback on the specific items you have consumed, but also has the name of the ‘crew’ who served you. Neat, and Bijoy, you did a great job, along with the wonderful lady who showed us to our seat and came back to check if everything was fine. This one goes right into my favourite list, food, ambiance and service, and is definitely worth checking out if you have a relaxed evening in mind.

Woodstok, Near Firepro, #3777, Domlur Service Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Ph: 080-42115042/+91 9686191998

is not just a number. And though I’m not aware of any deep significance that say, a 42 is privileged to have, it happens to be the name of a ‘bistro bar’ in Koramangala. 64 is located diagonally opposite Jukebox. (map) Let me warn you that traffic in this area is an absolute pain, so you might be better off leaving your vehicle at the Bosch parking space (take the left turn opposite Star on Hosur Road) which is relatively free during weekends, and walking up the rest of the way.

64 has a mix of seating options spread across the first and second floor of what appears to be a house converted into its current usage. But this actually works in its favor. The cuisine is predominantly continental with just some lip service paid to a couple of other cuisines. You can have a look at the menu here. (and thank Roopashree)

The menu offers quite a few options for vegetarians also, and within non veg, you can choose from chicken, fish, lamb and prawns. Since we couldn’t find a thick soup in the menu, we’d almost decided on a starter, but a casual enquiry resulted in us ordering a cream based chicken and mushroom soup, which isn’t on the menu. The chicken was added on our request, that was nice of them. The soup turned out to be slightly less thicker than we’d have liked, but the creamy, peppery flavour was good enough for us to be largely satisfied.

For the main course, we chose to ignore the pasta options. D ordered a ‘Chicken Piccata’ and I asked for a ‘Stuffed Chicken Pockets’. We both chose rice (over bread), and that didn’t disappoint. The sauces used in both dishes were excellent, though the chicken could’ve been a little more tender. The Chicken Piccata has a mushroom-pepper sauce, which went very well with the rice. The chicken pockets were indeed stuffed, but possibly could’ve been a little less bland. Thankfully, the tangy sauce covered up for it. The portions will not be sufficient if you’re really hungry and I’d recommend a starter if you’re planning to make a full meal of it in 64. Since we had other plans for desserts (that Crepe Connection refuses to let go of its stranglehold) we skipped that bit here.

64 is closed on Mondays. It offers a Sunday special breakfast and lunch menu, which sounded (and I’ve heard good things about it too) quite sumptuous. There is also a ‘corporate lunch’ on weekdays, in which you can make your own salad, pasta and also includes a soup and dessert too.

While the food is quite good, what really works for this place is the ambiance. While it did help that we landed up early (7.30 PM), there is something definitely relaxing about the place. It is really unhurried as its brochure suggests. No live acts on the day we visited, but with ‘The Killers’ and ‘Coldplay’, I couldn’t really complain. Even though it is in a part of Koramangala where the traffic can be absolutely maddening (even to watch) the place manages to let you wath the world rush by, in peace, with some excellent service and a really soothing design and ambiance. Make sure you drop in. (if you need just desserts, there’s always Corner House right around the corner )

64, 1st Main, 7th Block, Koramangala Ph: 9241734704

…is back, at a new location, and since the old version on Vittal Mallya Road was a favourite, we had to check out version 2 too. The new Spiga is on St.Marks Road, on the 4th Floor of the Halcyon Complex, that erm, funny white building right before you turn into Vittal Mallya Road. Two wheeler parking can be found a couple of buildings before this one, and for those with a couple of extra wheels, there’s valet parking.

Spiga is a rooftop restaurant, semi-outdoor, with different sections. Some of the tables give a nice view of the cityscape. I’d describe the ambience as fine dining meets lounge. Dim lighting and candles with techno/house pulsing in the background. I personally preferred the coziness of  the home-converted-into-restaurant earlier version. This is cool too, in the white cushion mediterranean kind of way (which I think is the idea) and quite a neat place for a romantic dinner, but it lacks the character/uniqueness of the old place. Maybe that’ll happen over time, and the halcyon days will be back.

We got in by around 7.30, and got a table without reserving in advance, but by 8, the place was quite crowded. They seem to have a well stocked bar, and the liquor menu is quite extensive, with what looked like a decent collection of mocktails, shooters, and aperitifs in addition to the usual alcohol options. I couldn’t spot a KF beer, my regular benchmark, though there were other brands.

There are only two soup options – one veg (roasted pumpkin) and the other non-veg, at Rs.120. So, we had the Chunky Chicken and Veg soup, which would have been great if it had been a tad thicker and creamier. It was good though, with the promise of chunky chicken pieces met. It comes with garlic bread, and an additional portion of garlic bread is  complimentary. To be noted that there isn’t a by-two option, but the table was small enough, and the bowl big enough for us to create the option.

In case you’re the salad kind, there are four kinds available – Caesar, Neo Classical Greek, Oriental and Pear & Walnut. All have veg and chicken options, and are priced at Rs.150-180 and Rs.180-210 respectively. And if you prefer starters, there are quite a few options there too, in veg (including a paneer dish), fish, prawn, lamb and from thai, mexican and mediterranean cuisines. Priced at Rs.100-180 for the veg, and Rs.200-250 for the non veg.

Pasta options consist of alfredo and pesto, with veg and chicken options. (Rs.200/250) There’s also a fettuccine with bacon and prawns. (Rs.280). The main course has about half a dozen veg options, a little more in chicken, and a few interesting options in fish, prawn and lamb. There are a few Thai dishes in this mix too. D chose an Olive Fish, “Grilled fish, white wine mint sauce, olives, sprinkling of pine nuts, spinach rice, hasselback potatoes, with feta and onions. I chose a Mediterranean Chicken, “Seared chicken, red peppers, feta, mashed potato and pasta”. D’s fish dish was a bit on the bland side, with (strangely) a lemon flavor. She liked my chicken dish better. Unfortunately for her, I did too. I’d definitely recommend it. I want to try out the bacon wrapped fish sometime though.

There are half a dozen dessert options, some of which you may not find anywhere else like the lemon ricotta pie, the ginger orange cheese cake, or the oreo cookie cheese cake. No, we didn’t have any, and yes, I find it difficult to face myself in the mirror, especially when I think of the rich chocolate fudge cake.

The meal cost us just 0ver Rs.700. Loved the logo, and the black and siver business card. The service could’ve been better. We asked for water at room temperature, and got ice cold water, though they replaced it. We were asked if the main course could be served, while we were still having the soup, and in spite of asking them to wait, they served it almost immediately. Thankfully, we had just about finished the soup. Also, a word of caution. The main course portions are only just about sufficient, and if you’re going in hungry, a starter is recommended. Drop in for a pretty neat ambience, good food and yes, the desserts!!

Spiga, No:9, St.Marks Road, ‘Halcyon Complex’, 4th Floor. Ph: 42110469/70

Cornucopia is part of a ‘cricket homestay’ called ‘The Bat and Ball Inn’, supposedly owned by Sreesanth, Uthappa, Charu Sharma and one other partner. No, you won’t find appams here, the place serves Continental and Italian fare.

Here’s a map that will show you how to get there. While you can access it from Hosur Road, its easier to get there via Richmond Road. On Richmond Road, take a left turn immediately after TNT (opposite Citibank) and then take the first right. You’ll see the place on the right. It also hosts a cafe called ‘Silly Point’, and a boutique (which I think is) called ‘Dressing Room’. (It was about to rain, so my focus was on getting inside, especially since we had lost much time in trying to figure out the location, and had a movie to catch) From what we saw there, you don’t really need to reserve.

There are two seatng options, one a regular restaurant closed setting, and the other behind this, which is a bit more open. On the way to the latter, you have a passageway lined with framed caricatures of cricketers. I half expected to see staff in cricket gear, but they haven’t gone that far with the theme.

The menu has a lot of options, both veg and non veg – Continental and some Italian too. You can take a look at the entire menu here. There are soups, starters and salads, in addition to the main course options and desserts. We started with a ‘Spiced chicken and corn soup with lemon grass’  (cream of chicken and corn kernels with spring onion, coriander, chilly and lime). The soup was extremely good, probably the best we’ve had in a long time. It was moderately spicy and on a chilly Bangalore night, was a perfect start. If you’re planning a long leisurely meal, you might want to check out the starters too.

For the main course, we ordered a Stuffed Chicken Breast Nanterre (chicken breast stuffed with minced pate and mushroom grilled and served with a red wine, green chilly and cheese sauce) and a Poached Chicken Breast Clemenceau (chicken cooked in wine and mushroom, finished with cream, herbs and crushed peppercorn). You have to order mashed potato separately, though they didn’t bill us for the bread and flavoured butter. Both the dishes were extremely good, with distinct flavours that I could detect even with my taste buds being retired hurt (thanks to a bad cold). The chicken was done well, and not undercooked (like in many places that serve Continental stuff) and the sauces were simply superb. Both dishes highly recommended.

We were too stuffed for dessert, so that’s been left for the next time we drop in. Thankfully, the end of the meal also brought a mini shot of chocolate and coffee, in a semi liquid state, with chocolate just managing to edge out the coffee flavor. Coffee takes revenge by not allowing the mix to get too sweet. I refuse to intercede because I’m busy convincing myself  that its dessert.

All of the above cost us just below Rs.800. With desserts and starters, it would be around Rs.1000. The service deserves special mention because it was extremely prompt. You should drop in for a relaxed ambience, extremely good food and if I have to judge from that mini-shot, awesome desserts.

Cornucopia, 3, Laurel lane, Richmond Town Ph: 41149495

Zoe is a restolounge on 7th Main, Indiranagar,a  Bistro Mediterranee, according to the menu. We’d been hearing about it for quite a while now, so since we were around the area, decided that now was as good a time as any to check it out. Zoe, here we go.

To get there, turn left on to 7th Main from 100 ft Road Indiranagar (after 12th Main, when coming from the Koramangala side), and you’ll find it on the right. Parking isn’t much of a problem at all. And from what we saw, you don’t need to reserve in advance. Its got both indoor and outdoor seating. Since it was a nice breezy evening (as it usually is in our centrally air conditioned city) we decided to sit outside, though they had some nice sofas inside, where you could lounge about.

In addition to the main menu, they also had a special menu for the day, and we ended up ordering most of the stuff from that!! The main menu has a whole lot of stuff that you could lounge around with  – espressos and derivatives (no, don’t think finance!!) , cappuccinos, lattes, chocolate drinks, brewed coffees, teas, iced lattes, milk shakes, smoothies, sodas, mocktails, dessert coffees and fresh juices. And then there are soups, veg and non-veg, priced between Rs.95-115, starters at Rs.145-185, sandwiches and wraps at Rs.135-165, burgers at Rs.150 (only non veg options) and salads at Rs.135 -195. The main course has pasta options among other things, but the options are a bit skewed towards non veg, and are priced between Rs.240 -290.

We started with a Lung Fung soup, “cubes of chicken along with fined (sic) chopped carrot, green chilli, garlic, onion, ginger, egg white, spring onion, corn floor (sic) and seasoning”. The soup was very good, notwithstanding the spelling errors in the description. A bit spicy, moderately thick and hot, all of which made it a delicious start to an evening that was getting chillier. We then decided to try a starter and settled for Barbeque Chicken Wings, ” marinated fried chicken wings toasted  with mild spicy barbecue sauce served with garlic mayo”. This was also quite good, though the chicken was slightly under cooked, the sauce was excellent. The mayonnaise had only a mild garlic flavour and complemented the sauce very well.

For the main course, we asked for a Chicken Venetian, “stuffed chicken with salami and fresh mozzarella cheese along with grilled shiitake mashed potato served with tangy venetian sauce and grilled vegetables”, and a Chicken a la brace, “sicilian style grilled chicken stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese served with pesto rosso fries and salad” The latter was the only dish we ordered from the main menu!! The Venetian sauce didn’t impress me much, mostly because it was too tangy for my taste, but the shiitake mashed potatoes more than made up for it. D said the chicken a la brace was good, and if you’re a Popeye-like fan of spinach, you should like it too.

All of the above cost us over Rs. 850, which though a bit pricey, was well worth it, in terms of the quantity and quality of food. We skipped dessert, though we did take a parcel for someone else. The ‘Black Out’ we ordered was charged an exorbitant Rs.152, I hope it tasted really good, because the quantity wasn’t much!! Meanwhile, the service was quite prompt, there wasn’t any delay in serving the dishes, and they gave us a complimentary drink too. There are quite a few of those chocolate and coffee stuff that I need to check out, so we’ll definitely be back.

Zoe, 3790, HAL 2nd Stage, 7th Main, Opp Ambedkar College, Indiranagar. Ph: 42115257

Cilantro is the Spanish word for coriander leaves, say some on the www. (D was sure, i had to check. Makes sense – she cooks, I eat)  It’s a restaurant in Koramangala, say Bangaloreans, and as it happens many a time, everyone’s right. To get there – at the Sony World junction on the Intermediate Ring Road (Koramangala – Indiranagar), take a left turn towards Koramangala 1st Block (when coming from Indiranagar), and keep going till the next signal (thats where the Maharaja restaurant is – map), take a left at the signal, keep going straight, and where the road takes a natural right turn, you’ll see the Halcyon complex, inside which is Cilantro. Two wheelers can be parked right outside, and there are enough bylanes around for four wheeler parking.

Cilantro is promoted as a ’sunrise to sunrise cafe’, serves North Indian and Continental, and is spread over a semi outdoor and indoor space. We hadn’t reserved in advance, and if you’re going before 8, you can just walk in. We chose to sit outside, and realised that the unspoken part was that the mosquitoes joined anyone else who came after sunset, for their dinner.

They introduce you to their salad, pasta, and barbecue counters, which you can go for, in case the regular menu doesnt appeal to you. We thoroughly ignored the salad counter, gave a cursory glance to the pasta counter, where there was a choice of 3 pastas, and deliberated over the barbecue counter, where there was fish, chicken, lamb, pork, calamari, prawns before settling for items in the menu. The chef is quite eager to help you around.

The menu has sandwiches – both veg and non veg, with prices ranging from Rs.125 – 230, burgers, priced between Rs.130-155, both of which are classified under ‘any time’.

During regular meal hours, you have a choice of half a dozen soups, including veg and non veg, appetisers – including a couple of prawn and calamari options, and kebabs. For the main course, you could choose from the continental options – veg/prawn/ beef/ pork/ fish/ chicken or the Indian section which offers decent choices in veg and non veg, with rotis and rice to go along with them.

We started with a Chunky farm style chicken veloute soup. Though there is a creamy flavour to it, it’s actually made from stock (not milk) and has chunks of chicken. A very good soup, and they bring you a bread basket from which you could take white/brown bread, bread sticks or croissants.

For the main course, D ordered a “Red Wine Chicken Breast”, (chicken simmered in red wine, glazed and served with home made pasta) which was recommended by the staff, and i went for a Char grilled pork chops with bbq sauce, (served with cous cous and buttered tossed vegetables) which was recommended by the web reviews. The chicken dish was very good, from what little i tasted of it, and was served with sphagetti. The pork chops were well amde and the gravy was fantastic. The cous cous complemented it well. There were ’strange’ vegetables, which I didn’t bother figuring out, since I had meatier things to consider.

There were the regular Indian and Continental dessert options – gulab jamun, chocolate mousse and the like, the only one that stood out was a coconut caramel custard, but we decided to skip. They also serve liquor. Our bill came to just over Rs.750. After the meal, have a few polite smiles ready, since the chef and at least two more members of the staff ask you if you had a pleasant experience, and also inform you about a Sunday brunch. You could check out the place – pleasant and relaxing ambience, with loads of greenery, and decent food.

Cilantro, PB 4708, No: 9, Drafadila Layout, 4th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 41102200

Koramangala meets Calcutta at  The Esplanade, a restaurant serving Bengali (traditional and Anglo Indian contributions) and Continental cuisine. This lies between China Pearl and Vicky’s, on the one way connecting Inner Ring Road with the road from Forum to National Games Village. (refer either of the two links for a detailed route) You’ll find it on the right, a few buildings after the Unilet showroom. Parking shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Don’t be misled by the dark, vacant ground floor, the restaurant is on the first floor, and the entrance is through a small door that you might miss at first glance. Check out some great posters of the Calcutta that was, on your way up.

We reached at half past seven and easily managed to get a cosy table, that gave a nice road view, but you might want to reserve if you’re planning to go after 8.30.

“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French; sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek; soy sauce makes it Chinese; love and divinity make it Bengali.” so said Pandit Ravi Shankar, according to the menu. Also as per the menu, The Esplanade tries to amalgamate the indigenous Bengali cuisine with the European influence that was acquired during the pre independence days. A modest tribute to famous restaurants, like Peliti’s and Firpo’s, that dotted the original Esplanade.

The place doesn’t serve alcohol but has quite a few mocktail choices, including a Regent Rave, their version of an aampora sharbat. But the chilly Bangalore weather made us skip that. We’d have liked a soup but there seemed to be only a couple of options (veg, non veg soups of the day) so we decided to go for a starter – Paddo Pataye Kasundi Murgi, which is “a perfect mixture of chicken and raw mango mustard steamed in a lotus leaf parcel” Unless you have a huge problem with the mustard flavor, you’ll love this spicy, tangy mix. A plate has six portions, perfect for a group of 2-3. The Chicken Kabiraji, meanwhile, is in my watchlist. There are quite a few veg options and even some salad options. They give you papads while you’re waiting.

For the main course, you could choose from a range of Continental stuff, with plenty of veg and non veg options – chicken, lamb and sea food. We, however, decided to explore the Bengali dishes. The beginning of that section rivals the Bay of Bengal in terms of the aquatic life represented – at least about 25 sea food dishes!! From this humongous set of options, we chose the Elish Machher Roast , “boneless hilsa roasted in grill topped with spicy tomato gravy and served with steamed rice” From the relatively small selection of chicken and mutton dishes (4 each) we selected the Esplanade chicken curry, “a contribution by the Anglo Indian community to Bengali cuisine”  Thanks men Ok, before you grass eaters mutter, you have over a dozen choices too.

To go along with that, you could choose rice (steamed or two veg options or the elish pulao, which I have earmarked for later use) or bread options. We ordered a basket of loochi (poori for our limited consumption purposes ) which had 3 of them, so we also ordered a Tinkona Paratha, “whole wheat bread roasted in ghee”. You could also try a hinger kachori or a hathh roti.

We began with the loochi, the chicken curry was quite good, but the fish stole the show, its combination with the steamed rice is finga lickin good. Yes, I did do that. If you’re calorie conscious, leave your consciousness at home, that fish dish had an entire container of ghee devoted to it. If I hadn’t seen the desserts beforehand, I might have placed a repeat order. They also gave us amshotwer(sweet mango) chutney, which offset the effects of the chillies i had munched.

And thus we reach the last (but never the least important) page in the menu. In addition to the regular Bengali desserts – rasgulla, rasmalai and mishti doi, there’s also chhanar jilipi, fried natun gruer ice cream, tia maria mousse (though the last two weren’t available) and Mishti Chaanar Paturi, “sweetened and flavoured homemade cheese roasted in grill”, which I ordered. D ordered a Baked Rashogolla, “tiny rasgullas baked with thickened milk and topped with dry fruits”. It actually turned out to be one big rasgulla. Unfortunately, though the desserts weren’t too bad, they didn’t live up to our expectations, especially after our experience in Koramangala’s other bengali restaurant – Kolkata.

All of the above cost us just over Rs.1000. I’d recommend a trip to the place, preferably after skipping a meal, since you’d be tempted to eat a lot. You could also try the weekday lunch buffet priced at Rs.215, and get a valid excuse for sleeping in office.

The Esplanade, #151, KHB Colony, 1st Floor, Koramangala 5th Block. Ph: 40927878/7888

Yes, before you wise ones point it out, the name does elicit a feeling of connectedness with the blog. You can guess y.

We’d heard about Cafe Y and ‘filed’ it for the future when we were returning from ‘Something Fishy‘, but we never managed to remember it when the dine out question arose, until D did this weekend. Cafe Y is on Langford Road, very close to the Hosur Road – Langford Road junction, but its a one way (no entry from Hosur Road until that morning when Bangalore’s traffic cops have their next mood swing), so you’ll need to take the right turn after that junction and loop back. Parking is available on the side road right next to it.

We hadn’t reserved in advance since we planned to go early – and we turned out to be only the second group at 7.45. By about 8.30, there were several other groups though. There are a couple of seating options outside, very close to the road, but could work well on a breezy night. We chose to sit inside. The yellow-red decor is worth mentioning. Its pleasant and bright and yet somehow lends an amount of coziness to the functional design. In addition to the main Continental menu, they’re also now offering a Chinese one. The latter is not exactly exhaustive, but has decent options of soups, starters, and main course dishes in both veg and non veg, and yes, desserts too.

Now, the continental menu, that’s what I’d call fairly exhaustive. There are no less than 14 soup options (and thats after counting ‘creams’-of which there are multiple options as a single option) and a lot of them are different from the usual suspects we see around – ranging from the regular minestrone, mulligatawny and consommes to Hungarian Goulash, Scotch Broth, seafood chowder, and some good options in veg too – for instance, I’ve never come across a Gazpacho before. We decided on a Fragrant Chicken soup, which is a “chicken flavoured cream soup with pasta seasoned with fresh lime, mild chilli and chicken”. It turned out to be an excellent thick soup with a unique flavour, actually flavours, though you wouldn’t call the chilli mild, but hey, I’m not complaining. Loved it!!

There are salads too, and an option to make your own from choices of vegetables, meats and dressing. And what has been referred to in the menu as ‘Sidewalk’, which could serve as side munchies as well as starters – veg and non veg, priced at Rs.55 and Rs.80-125 respectively. The ’stuffed tuna in pepper’ and ‘chicken liver pate’ have been duly noted for future consumption.

For the main course, you could choose from a variety of sizzlers – you have the option of creating your own in this too. Choices of veg, and all sorts of animal life – lamb, beef, pork, chicken and a couple of seafood options too!! Sigh. And then there are the ‘Fusion Flare sizzlers’ – that come in veg and non veg. Ever seen a “Corriander and jeera rice served with chicken katti roll and Indian curry sauce”? There’s also a special ‘Kiddies menu’ and a whole assortment of bakes too – lasagna, sausage moussaka, and so on. And then the plethora of steaks which give you a high. This was the only part of the meal that left me disturbed – a couple of pork dishes, a few beef ones, and many chicken ones, I love all of the animals in question equally – okay, some more than others, but had to forsake dishes made of them when I made my final choice for the main course, after long and intense deliberation. I promise to return.

I ordered a Chicken Olivia, “grilled chicken served on a bed of sphagetti and topped with tomato, basil sauces, olives and fried egg” and D chose a King Chicken Americano, “crumb fried breast of chicken with a stuffing of mushroom, olives and parsley served with BBQ sauce, french fries and assorted vegetables”. The dishes remained true to the fantasy that their descriptions had created. The sauces were excellent, the quanities were perfectly sufficient, and the flavours somehow retained their uniqueness even while complementing each other.

Now, the blueberry cheesecake here has quite a reputation, but I’m quite a blinkered horse when I see a Chocolate Mousse on the menu. And as i type this, I close my eyes in fond memory of that awesome piece of work. It was rich, with that tiny hint of better that (for me) takes a choc mousse to another level.

The nice part is that all of this leaves one full without that bloated feeling, and one’s wallet without that thin feeling. All of the above cost us just over Rs.600. The service, while efficient, could do with more smiles. They did give us a wide smile after we paid the bill though which left me wondering what was it about me that made them think that I might not. Still, Cafe Y moves quite easily into our list of favourites on all fronts – ambience, food, value for money, and yes, skills with chocolate.

Cafe Y, 2/2, Langford Town. Ph: 41144561

That name and the description – ‘a contemporary cuisine restaurant’, in a paper insert that said “Get greeted by an Italian host, experience western ambience, place your order for a continental dish with a chinese attendat (sic) to be cooked by a flame chef” meant that I really had to take a look myself, even though (for some strange reason) I had the same feeling I did when i bought tickets for Himesh’s Karzzz, this, despite it being a part of the Azad Group (the same that owns Tandoor)

To get there, (when coming from the Indiranagar side), after the Sony World junction, take a right turn on to the road that has William Penn, Barista etc, and then a left towards Jyoti Nivas college. The place is after the Apollo clinic, and before the Qwiky’s outlet.(both roads are one ways)

I’d begin with saying that whoever decided the name should take a long hard look at the menu card. My professional experience (brand) tells me that higher powers must have insisted on having ‘Tandoor’ in the name for some strange synergy only they can perceive. The menu is a mix of continental, oriental and a few north indian items. The issue is that there is very limited ‘depth’ in each category, with the continental part being slightly better off. For me, the very fact that a restuarant with such a name has Tabasco and HP sauce on the table jarred. Though the seating is quite comfortable, the ambience is also like the menu – lacks any specific theme. They play “9x music”.

Anyway, considering that there were only a couple of choices in chicken gravies, and we’d rather go to a specialised Oriental cuisine place if we wanted that, we decided to go Continental, and started with a Mushroom Cappuccino soup, which is “white wine and thyme flavoured cream of mushroom”. D asked for chicken in it too, and got it. Must admit that the soup was pretty good. They also gave us some bread with some special butter, which seemed to be mustard based.

For the main course, we ordered a Flame’s mix grill – “a combination of chicken, lamb, fried egg served with potato roesti and grilled tomato”, and Lasagna alla pollo – “baked layer of pasta with chicken bolognaise, parmesan and cheese sauce”. The mixed grill was strictly okay, i really have had better stuff – in terms of quality and quantity(at Indijoe, for example). The Lasagna was definitely better though the garlic flavor was a bit too much, but the quantity was quite sufficient.There were a few dessert options, including a rice kheer+strawberry ice cream combination, but we really didn’t feel adventurous enough.

Wallet wise, it set us back by a little less than Rs.700. The service is pretty decent, though  after every course, two people ask you how the food was.That gets irritating after a point. The pricing means that the target crowd is definitely not the JNC kids, who have way too many options around anyway. I really wish they’d concentrate on one kind of cuisine though, this spread really didn’t appeal to me.

Flame of Tandoor, #63, Near Jyothi Nivas College, Koramangala Industrial Layout. Ph: 41104337

PS. Okay, I admit, maybe I was just disappointed that the chef didn’t turn out to be one of the Fantastic 4. In my defence, ‘Flame chef’ is very misleading. The Italian host was missing too. Okay, I’ll stop nitpicking!!

..which means ‘The Big Mouth’ in Spanish. It belongs to the same group that owns Java City, and describes itself as the reality version of something like Facebook. In terms of ambience and attitude, it definitely works (although the demographics would mean that we were the oldies crowd )

Boca Grande is located on 80 ft Road, Koramangala, the road that goes from National Games Village to Forum. When coming from MG Road side, take a left after Forum, and you’ll have it on the left, after Mocha, opposite the Indian Heritage Academy. Deez, my chocoblog pal, had mentioned it first quite sometime back, and we managed a few dessert visits before this one. We got in by around 7.45, and the first floor was almost full, which meant that we didn’t get any of those window seats we were hoping for, but the crowd thinned by around 9, when we left. The place serves continental, but what makes it special is the humongous choice of desserts, and ice cream concoctions.

We started with a broccoli, corn and chicken soup, which was made even more tasty by the nippy Bangalore weather. I’d have liked it a bit thicker though. Before I forget, needs to be mentioned that there is enough choice for ‘herbivores’ too. Yes, I would be classified as Omnivore too, according to the menu card

Next, we ordered a Chicken Cordon Bleu with in-house BG sauce – that’s “chicken breast stuffed with chicken sausage and italian mozzarella cheese, grilled, accompanied with herbed mashed potato”. That description sets some high expectations, and boy, does it deliver!!  The sauce deserves a special mention since that’s what takes this perfectly grilled dish to a much higher plane. We then had a Grande’s pizza, which has “smoked chicken, chicken ham, chicken tikka, chicken salami, lamb pepperoni, lots of herbs n lots of cheese.” It did have all of that, but it didn’t quite reach the stellar status that the previous dish had. I felt that it wasn’t really value for money, but with the ingredients, the price is perhaps justified. I’d suggest that you skip the pizzas.

And now for the main course – desserts My respiratory system troubles meant that I couldn’t afford anything cold, so I ordered a crepes – Choco Banana Cocoa Extravaganza – “a tempting mix that literally melts in your mouth”, and that was exactly what it did – those large crepes with chocolate flowing all around. There’s a Belgian chocolate dish that takes half an hour to make, that’s what I’ll go for next time. D ordered a chocolate ice cream sandwich, turned out that it wasn’t available, so she settled for a Chok Late – “choco roco, chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream blended with black forest pastry, chocolate crispies, hot and cold chocolate and nuts”. Well, settled for would be a wrong term, because she really settled into it, and wanted to be carried home after she was through with it.

All of the above, including a service charge cost us just over Rs.750. The service, though a bit tardy to start with, got better. It must’ve been the crowd or the general mood of the place – hang out and chill.

Boca Grande, 8th Block, 80ft road, Koramangala. Ph:41105183/41110889