Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Sidewalk Kitchen & Bar

    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.

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    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!  (more…)

  • Chianti (Whitefield)

    There is something both disconcerting and comforting that happens when one visits a place after 5 years and discovers both the self and the place to have largely remained unchanged! Well, technically, it’s not the same place, since the Chianti we visited 5 years ago is in Koramangala, and the one I am writing of is in Whitefield.

    We usually flip through the menu on Zomato before we visit, and this time after D had pronounced what she was going to be having, we decided to take a look at what we had eaten 5 years ago! And D’s choices were exactly the same – down to her deciding to ask for chicken to be added in the Cream of Mushroom soup!

    We got there early on the last Saturday of 2017. Chianti has taken over the space in the Park Square mall that Habanero used to occupy – on the ground floor. The mall, whose food options are now fairly impressive, was relatively quiet, even at 7PM. Lots of wood, some interesting art, a mix of lounge and functional seating all manage to give Chianti a lively and classy ambiance.

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  • ELVNTHRTYONE

    Indiranagar is getting so crowded now that they don’t even have space for vowels, at least if we go by the name of the new bar and kitchen that has opened at the 12th Main junction. Spread across three floors, each styled differently, it even has a simulated golf area. On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, we sat on the lowest floor, overlooking 100 ft Road.

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    We began with cocktails – D chose a White Chocobar, and I wanted to try out the 1131 Old Fashion (sic). The first was vodka based with the unlikely combination of green melon, elderflower, and white chocolate. A bit sweet, but potent and refreshing. 1131’s version of Old Fashioned had a few extra ingredients – orange, cinnamon and cloves, but though they were generous with the alcohol, the mix was rather lacklustre.  (more…)

  • The Druid Garden

    Sahakar Nagar’s role in our lives had been limited to being stared at for a few seconds while on our way to the Airport, but The Druid Garden made us stare longer, at least on Google Maps. Some might say that 25 km is a long way to travel for beer, but hey, when it comes to craft beer, we’re nothing if not committed! It did take a while for us to get around to making this trip though. But when the stars aligned – in terms of weather, traffic and Uber fare – we were ready!

    Sitting atop a commercial building, The Druid Garden is pretty huge, and the design highlights it even more with high ceilings and skylights, and multiple levels of seating. Different kinds of seating too – the typical brewery-style stark long benches, bar stools, lounge seating, and the regular functional kind. At 2PM on a Saturday afternoon, the place was crowded, but we got ourselves a nice corner.

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  • 612 East

    Being in the vicinity of two favourites – The Fatty Bao and Bombay Brasserie – meant that 612 East, even weeks after it had opened, got a bit of a stepmotherly treatment from us whenever we visited Indiranagar. But one evening, we resolved to go. Since we planned to reach around 6 and leave before 8, we didn’t bother to reserve. Quite a mistake, especially if you want to sit in the terrace section. We were offered a regular table which we would have to vacate by 8, but chose to sit on stools closer to the edge, with our backs to the giant screen – for the view and the lovely evening breeze! This was easily the best part of the experience. In the cab, we had been discussing how in a few months, it would be 15 years since we first got off the bus from Kerala. The setting was perfect for rumination. 🙂

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