We had been hearing about the place since the beginning of the year, and were pretty excited about the sixth microbrewery in the vicinity. (yay!) Through Jan and Feb, when we saw ads, we would eagerly check if the menu on Zomato was updated. All we could see was Geist! Not to be discouraged, I would call up the place to check anyway. After a couple of “next month we’ll be opening the microbrewery” I gave up. But towards the end of March, I got a message one Saturday morning that the microbrewery was open and there was a 1 + 1 offer. I immediately began working on my sinuses which had been acting up from the day before, and convinced D to make the trip.
Located opposite The Zuri, it’s a bit like the TARDIS. You get an idea of the hugeness of the place only once you’re inside! I wondered how they’d manage to fill the place until D pointed out that there’s probably a huge reverse migrant crowd from Prestige Shantiniketan that might like a microbrewery around. Plus, there’s ITPL next door.
The Pallet has been built from the sacrifice of quite a few trees, to the extent that it’s almost like a carpentry workshop! Not to say that it isn’t aesthetic, but yes, “too much wood” can exist! (No, that’s not what he said!) The service levels were great int he beginning, though we were told that the German wheat would only be available later in the evening. Since we were a bit early, we could get our choice of seats, and we found a cosy corner to drink and watch the world.
The beer starts at 500 ml (it’s a little difficult to understand the economics behind not having 330 ml) and we asked for a Hemlock and a Teak. The first is Belgian Wit – a bit pale, but packs a punch with some spicy notes. The second is Pilsner, and on a relative note, slightly sweeter than the other, but again, great zing.
As expected (we now have reasonably good prediction capabilities on this), a couple of dishes we asked for weren’t available – squid and pork. We began with the Dark Rum Marinated Chicken, which turned out to be our least favourite. I even chewed slowly and let it linger in my palate for a bit to see if I could get some rum out of it, but alas. Overall, the marinade was insipid and the meat was burnt a little more than we’d have liked. We then tried a Tempura Chicken Maki Roll which was quite futomaki in size (D found that inconvenient) and excellent on flavours. We wouldn’t have minded a wasabi dip though.
Cheese stuffed Lamb Seekh Kebab was next. This was served with naan, and though we had been told it would be spicy, it was only mildly so. We debated a bit on the mains, but since we hadn’t had Khow Suey in a bit, Burmese it was! This was quite good and they got the flavours absolutely right. A little work needed in terms of condiments for the texture.
Desserts are available at a counter, but only the usual suspects – cheesecake, brownie, tiramisu and carrot cake – were available. We skipped.
The bill came to a little over Rs.1850 (also courtesy Zomato Gold). The service was friendly and prompt. The soundtrack was very good. Plenty of classic rock remixes and contemporary pop made sure everyone goes home humming! We will probably visit again because the beer is not bad and there are more dishes to be tried!
The Pallet, Opp The Zuri, HVP Crest, ITPL Main Road, Whitefield Ph: 45128792