Except for when my professional duties (while writing reviews for Bangalore Mirror) forced me, I have avoided Marathahalli’s restaurants. There’s something about the place that puts me off. But in the first weekend of Jan, when we wanted to step out of Whitefield, but didn’t want to go all the way to Indiranagar, we found ourselves at Sidewalk, whose tiny entrance belies the expansive space they have within.
The place was reasonably crowded even at 7 PM. We actually got in a few minutes after 7, and I was disappointed that we missed happy hours. But apparently, that was effective only from Mon-Thu. I realised later that we had dodged a bullet there! Despite the looks of the place, the first put off for me was the smell. After we sat down, D thought I was referring to the room freshener that was being liberally sprayed. I said it wasn’t, and she then assumed it was the hookahs. But it wasn’t that either. It’s a smell one is familiar with if one has stayed in and around 4th Block and ST Bed in Koramangala. I didn’t mention it to D, maybe I’m getting old!
The second put off was the number of spelling mistakes on the menu. I tend to suspect that the same amount of attention will be paid to everything else as well. In the cocktails section, it was almost as though the person who wrote it was sampling the drinks in parallel! I ordered an Old Fashion (sic) which had “whishky”. Predictably, it was off. D was adventurous enough to try a “Forbidden Apple”, which, I kid you not, had “briple sec”. It was also delivered in a glass with a sticky stem. When I pointed it out to the person who took the order, he gave it a massage before feigning ignorance. The tissue I used to clean stuck to it, but I realised that correcting him wasn’t worth the time. This place has a 4.3 rating on Zomato. I don’t recognise this world anymore! I’m sure now, I’m getting old.
The food, thankfully, turned out to be decent. The Andhra Chili Chicken was not very spicy, but had a flavourful masala. The Coorgi style Chili Pork wasn’t spicy either, but had well cooked meat and a nice tang. There was supposed to be a live band at 8, but after the assaults on the nose and palate, we didn’t want to subject another sensory organ to a potential disaster. We quickly asked for a Pasta Marco Polo. The red sauce was actually quite good, and with sliced chicken sausages and peppers, the whole dish was better than expected.
The ambient music was quite lively. The service, outside of the glass fiasco, was prompt. We paid a little over Rs.1800 for the experience. Sigh. Unless there is some tectonic shift, I am swearing off Marathahalli as a dining destination.
Sidewalk Kitchen & Bar, Ground Floor, Soul Space Paradigm, Marathahalli. Ph: 49652705