During our last couple of visits to Koramangala, we had noticed a Windmills Craftworks – like structure coming up on the Koramangala Club road. Once I even thought I saw vats, and assumed a microbrewery. Alas, it wasn’t, turned out to be The Smoke Co. But then again, among Bangalore’s big picture problems, the reduction of eateries serving beef is a graver issue than the number of microbreweries per sq km. So good news it is.
We had been postponing the visit because visits to Koramangala these days meant carrying trunks – both the traveling accessory and the swimwear. The first for the traffic and the second for the rains! But during the Diwali weekend when Bangalore got itself an 80s throwback and the rain gods were taking the week off, we landed up for lunch, with B & N for company. ‘Blackboard’ specials meet high ceilings meet rich brown decor elements to create a classy and contemporary feel. The scaffolding and tarpaulin are hopefully temporary “accessories”. A zesty amuse-bouche was offered while we decided on what we would eat, and drink.
They have recently started serving beer and wine. That Desperado beer with tequila (or is it the other way?) was quite awesome. The Affligem Blonde is standard Belgian pale ale. We also tried the Spice Mango iced tea – excellent stuff with a strong peppery flavour. Make sure you dig out those mango slices and have them! The pineapple – ginger – sage – honey mocktail, in comparison was a bit more subtle and subdued in its flavours. I am not a fan of bread baskets unless they’re on the house, but this one is worth paying for! Fresh, warm and delicious stuff! The Mac and Cheese, despite being quite good, was almost forgotten.
We asked for a small Charcuterie platter with Spicy Chorizo, Bresaola, smoked ham, and five spice smoked mackerel, and I liked the flavour of the chorizo, but found it just a shade more chewy than I’d have wanted. The fish was cooked really well, with subtle flavours. The beef and ham were good as well, but it was the mustard dips that were quite fantastic. We then had what I really wanted to try – the Smoked Bone Marrow. It did live up to the hype – smooth and silky, and the onion marmalade with bread also gave it a contrast of texture and taste. Have it hot though.
The Roasted Chili Paste Chicken Ciabatta was my least favourite dish, largely because it was too salty. I suspect that oyster sauce was the reason. The BBQ Pulled Beef sandwich made up for it – excellent meat with a superb mango chili bbq sauce. The Roast Chicken, from the little I tasted, was rich and well cooked. I couldn’t taste the Brioche Buffalo Burger, but from the expressions of the person who consumed it with no qualms about not sharing, it worked well! It is served with a portion of bone marrow, which I happily consumed!
The Flourless Chocolate Cake was too good to be ignored and completely lived up to the “decadent” description!
A meal for 4 cost us a little over Rs.6200, and is well worth the cost.