Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Fenny’s

    This review first appeared in Bangalore Mirror.

    Fenny’s is almost opposite Raheja Arcade in Koramangala, on the third floor of the building next to Food World. They have valet parking, and those with a more modest and lesser set of wheels can park in one of the many side lanes and walk it up. The map and menu are at Zomato.

    The word ‘Fenny’ (though usually spelt feni) can mean different things to different people depending on what happened after they consumed it, but there would definitely be a Goa connection. So it is a bit funny that a restaurant named Fenny’s does not serve Goan food. But the owners clarified that the name symbolised a connection in spirit to Goa, further emphasised by a tagline “Happiness Everyday”. This was my third visit here, and I can confirm that the lift is most definitely a slice of Goa. It moves at its own pace, rocks, (though more in an effort to mimic waves) is mostly crowded, and starts and stops exactly when it wants to. But much like Goa, the niggles take a backseat as soon as you enter the place. The menu is a mix of Mediterranean and European, and is backed superbly by an ambiance and décor that’s probably one of the best around, and manages to easily transport you way out of Koramangala.

    We began with the Basil Bell Pepper Soup – the tomato overshadowed the bell pepper, but we enjoyed it courtesy the spicy flavour and a dash of tang. The Crispy Ola Breads with Fenny’s signature dip turned out to be four standard and largely unimpressive dips including salsa, Baba Ghanoush, and Hummus. The Peri Peri Mushroom was easily a better veg starter – grilled mushrooms with a vegetable stuffing and mildly spicy Peri Peri sauce. The Devil Beef Chunks had tender meat with a spicy sauce that also had chilli flakes in it. We also found this sauce’s cousin in Fenny’s Paprika Chicken, but it was spicier, fairer in complexion, and tastier as well. From the drinks section, we tried the ‘Dom’my Gun, which was unfortunately dominated by a guava flavour that mercilessly gunned down any taste of the vodka or the Fenny’s Special Mix that might have existed. You are more likely to have a better chance of success with ‘Vicky Donor’ -the other cocktail we tried – with its good mix of lime juice, vodka and spicy green chilli. But the winner proved to be the mocktail – the creamy Strawberry Delight, which also had pineapple, orange and cinnamon playing support.

    In the main course, the Fiery Hot Vegetable Pizza arrived first, and despite the double adjective, needed some assistance from chilli flakes to make it truly worthy of its name. But that didn’t take away from its awesomeness – crisp onion, bell pepper, chilli and mozzarella cheese proved to be a great combination. The Supreme Chicken with Mushroom Sauce gave us a sense of déjà vu – except for the abundance of mushroom, it was a near replica of the sauce in the starters. The rice that came with it was boiled a little more than it should have, and the dish was soon neglected. Another dose of déjà vu – though a milder one – appeared in the form of the Fish Grand Milano. But though it was reminiscent of the soup, its spicy, creamy nature soon stopped comparisons.

    We didn’t have much of a choice in desserts – the only options were a Chocolate Mousse, a Brownie and a Sticky Toffee Cake with Butterscotch sauce. The last one screamed for attention and got it! Richly deserved, I must add. It was moist, with an excellent texture and the rich butterscotch sauce complemented it beautifully. If it wasn’t closing time, I think we might have ordered one more!

    Fenny’s has managed to create a fantastic setting in the middle of Koramangala. The food is quite good, though in some cases, the portions are arguably small. They also have an interesting bar menu; all of this explains the increasing buzz about, and in the place. You’re better off reserving a place, especially on weekends.The music was a little louder than we’d have liked but is not really a conversation stopper. The service was prompt and helpful. The person who took our orders was really good, and the only spoilsport was another member of the staff who almost dropped our main course all over us and didn’t even bother to apologise! With a cuisine that’s not very common in this part of Bangalore, and an amazing ambiance, it’s probably only the lift that holds it back from reaching greater heights! (As you might have guessed, I did get stuck in it!)

    Fenny’s, 3rd Floor, 115, 7th Block, Koramangala, Opp Raheja Arcade, Ph: 080 65658000

  • Tilt

    If Koramangala needed one more addition to its eateries to tilt the balance in its favour, it’s done! Tilt is a gastropub on the same road as Truffles Ice & Spice. There is no valet parking so if you have a four wheeler, you’re probably better off parking in that lot next to Empire, and walking it up. Plenty of space for 2 wheelers though. Tilt bills itself as Bangalore’s first destination gastropub. I know a certain Monkey who might pick a joust over that, but since Koramangala IS Bangalore for a lot of people, we’ll let that pass. When we’d dropped in at Tilt a couple of months back, we had the luxury of choosing our seating at 8PM on a Saturday, but the second time – a few months later, people who walked in at that time didn’t even have a choice of where to stand. The place was packed – the ground floor, the mezzanine seating, and the outdoor option! I get the feeling that a certain Dj TT had a hand in it, but even otherwise, judging from our experience – the food and the general vibe – the place deserved it.

    Tilt has outdoor seating and in the indoors section, has a ground and mezzanine floors on two sides. There’s also the mandatory giant TV screen. The interiors include hat tips to music in the form of posters all over, but we wondered whether the grunge look had gone a bit overboard. However, the rest of the experience easily takes over before you start paying attention to the details. ‘Familiar’ is the word that Tilt uses to describe the music it plays, and it was exactly that. A sea change from the 2010-hangover music we heard the first time. It was still a bit loud, but everyone seemed to be having a blast, and that brought the painful realisation that age was not really tilting in my favour!

    The drinks menu was under construction the first time with print outs being given to us, but things had changed since then. The first time, we asked for a Sangria and a ‘Crazy Mango’. The sangria was reasonably good and had brandy in it, though measly in terms of quantity but the mango drink (aam panna based) was awesome, and highly recommended. The latter wasn’t available the second time though. The Tilt Kiss (mocktail version) was not bad either, but the Cosmopolitan turned out to be too sweet.

    The main menu is an eclectic mix of various cuisines, with many fusion twists. In addition to the regular menu, there’s also a bar snacks menu. The first time, we tried Oriental stir fried pork sausages. The sausages had lemon grass and soy glaze, giving it an excellent hot and sweet flavour. The second time, a rainy night menu meant that we had to try a soup. The Broth of leeks and charred Za’atar flavoured chicken got a few points just for the unique presentation, and the mildly spicy soup didn’t disappoint on taste either. We missed the German snail sausages in the dish, but the Pork Cocktail sausages and the superb sauerkraut seasoning quite made up for it. Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles was up next – grilled seafood, mushroom ceviche, crisp Basil chiffonade chicken with chlorophyll mayo and Peruvian bread. We found squid, prawn, and fish; the mayo deserves a special mention for the flavour it lent to the dish. The Old Monk Chicken crispy chilli hot wings has been a favourite and continued to be everything it promised.

    Technically, the mini wharf burgers are part of the bar snacks menu, but given we were a few drinks down, we tilted it towards the main course! I was warned that their appearance was deceiving and they’d be quite filling. I think there is some tasty truth in it. The Fusilli in creamy pesto with mushrooms was thick and creamy but might have felt a little ignored in the company of meatier dishes. Capriscisico calebresse was our pizza of choice, mostly thanks to its name dropping among ingredients – ham and bacon, to be specific. But the thin pizza was only average, though quite filling! For those interested, there is also a Man vs Burger championship that’s always on! The Penne Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo was quite creamy and tasty. The quantity was also decent. The ‘Interpretation of Kozhi Porichathu’ took some more time and the presentation was quite fantastic. The dish itself was only average. The chicken could have done with a little more cooking, and the Beurre blanc seemed to be made of coconut milk powder and that took away a little bit. 

     

    For dessert, we asked for a Gianduja hot chocolate souffle which had fried chocolate biscuits and a chocolate vanilla creamy ‘soup’. That took an inordinate amount of time. Apparently the chef had forgotten about it! Thankfully it was worth it. The two chocolate components beautifully complemented each other in terms of texture and flavour. During the second visit, we chose the Chilled strawberry bisque and the Crème Brule. (sic) The former also had pistachio quenelles and ricotta cream, which complemented the strawberry flavour but couldn’t really elevate the dish. The Crème Brulee was crunchy and custardy, but the custard was a little too hard.

     

    For about Rs.1500, you could share a drink, a non veg starter, a couple of main course dishes and a dessert. (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) Tilt has a lot of things going for it – good food, energetic vibes and from a few experiences, superb music! What it can work on are the details eg. dog-eared menu cards, and probably some character – something that for instance, Monkey has oodles of. If they do, there’s nothing that stops the establishment from going ahead full tilt, even amidst the gastronomic abundance that’s Koramangala.

    Tilt Gastropub, 99, Ground Floor, 4th B Cross, 5th Block, 1st Main Road, Koramangala Ph: 25530520

    The second visit has been chronicled on Bangalore Mirror.

  • Windmills Craftworks

    We’ve been hearing good things about Windmills Craftworks for a while now – that though we might be considered tourists given the distance between Koramangala and Whitefield, it was worth dropping in. We had tried once earlier, but they had an event and all the seats were taken. This time, though, we agreed to meet, and an OlaCabs booking was promptly made! That was a massive risk, given that they had left us high and dry only the previous night, but I persisted. When I didn’t get the cab details half an hour prior to the planned departure, I called up OlaCabs and they said I’d get the details in 5 minutes. True to word, I did get a call in 5 minutes, to tell me that there had been a mistake, and I would not be getting a cab! An auto, a Volvo and another auto later, we managed to reach on time! This accurate map really helped!

    The ground floor itself is business-like, and has nothing to offer in terms of directions. Your first task is to find the lift, then all will be clear. The floor which houses the establishment is a better representative of Total Environment Hospitality though. Once inside, there are bookshelves and comfortable seating options indoors and a smaller space outside from where you can see the IT parks that surround the building. Despite all that concrete, the latter is still a wonderful setting, and we chose to sit there.

    The menu is available on an interactive tablet that gives more scope for the appealing food visuals and you can order on it as well. The staff will also confirm the order with you. Though I was tempted to try the samplers, we went ahead with half pints (Rs.195) of Golden Ale, Hefeweizen, a pint (Rs.295) of Dunkelweizen and later a half pint (Rs.225) of the India Pale Ale as well. The Hefe, with its low bitterness, was the most popular, though I liked its darker cousin Dunkel too! The Golden Ale, which is probably the lightest around, was also quite good, and the Pale Ale, true to its name, paled in neglect at our table. Chicken in Pigs Blanket was our first starter, and though in itself it was quite good and not stingy on the bacon either, they could’ve given us a better dip. We then tried the Chicken and Smoked Bacon salad, which had some amazing flavours on the veg leaves that I otherwise ignore! But the pick of the starters was the Beef Picante, which will give any of my favourite Kerala preparations a run for its money. Superbly hot and sweet with very well cooked meat, highly recommended!

    This was about the time that we decided to skip the main course, since we couldn’t have done justice to it. So D decided to test out an Indian starter – Dill Chicken Kebab. It wasn’t bad, but by then the beef had set the bar really high! Given the dessert options, we jumped right in and asked for a Chocolate Pudding, Shahi Tukda, and an Orange Bread and Butter Pudding. The Chocolate was really dark and a little too bitter, though the strawberry helped a bit. The other pudding was fantastic, as was the Shahi Tukda.

    The service was prompt and helpful, and all of the above cost us, including charges and taxes, over Rs.3800. (3 people) Costly? Yes, but then the experience is quite worth it. Like a friend said, you probably can’t go there regularly, but for special occasions or to try the place out once, most definitely.

    Windmills Craftworks, #331, Road No:5B, EPIP Zone, Whitefield. Ph: 26592012

  • Arbor Brewing Company

    Ever since Arbor opened, and I saw them on twitter, I’d been pestering them on when they’d open the microbrewery. On my birthday, we’d wanted to visit Windmills Craftworks, but they had an event and were booked out. I casually looked up Arbor’s menu on Zomato and found that the microbrewery had finally opened!

    We went there once more later, and on both occasions, we realised that having a reservation really helped, though the first time we had asked for a table outside, but had to make do with one inside. I missed the passive smoking! 😉 Follow the map to get there, and make use of their valet parking.  I loved the way the building encapsulates Bangalore – Nalli Silks, a restaurant named 4 States, (not sure if it’s open yet, can’t find it on the web) and then Arbor, a microbrewery. The place is quite huge, with various kinds of seating options spread across its space. The music is rather loud, but I liked the playlists, so won’t complain!

    Over two visits, we tried the Brasserie Blonde, Bangalore Bliss, Big Ben and the Cold War. I loved the theme of the last one, but the coffee flavour was a little too strong and the drink too bitter for my taste. The Blonde was my favourite, and Bangalore Bliss a close second. D preferred the latter though. Big Ben was not bad either. I liked the way they have explained the drinks with trivia, notes and food pairing.

    The Flaming Chicken was our favourite starter – chilli sauce and an assortment of flavours like lemon, pepper etc. Quite spicy and extremely tasty. The Chilli Fish was also reasonably good – the sauce being quite spicy again. We didn’t care much for the Drunken Chicken or the Bourbon barbeque sauce it featured.

    In the main course, we tried a couple of pizzas – ‘I Like to Party’ and ‘Buffalo Soldier’. The former featured superstars like bacon, pepperoni, sausage, ham and cheese, but it was the latter’s fiery buffalo sauce that won us over. We also tried The Fleetwood – chicken sausage fried rice with garlic pepper sauce and a fried egg on top. This was just about ok. The dish we really liked was the Fiery Chicken Alfredo – creamy sauce and spicy red chilli paste came together very well indeed. But the star, as on most occasions, was a dessert – the gigantic Long Lasting Vertigo. Three layers of chocolate sponge cake with chocolate mousse oozing through! So awesome that we didn’t bother to try another dessert on our second visit!

    Our bill on both occasions came to around Rs.2500 – for a couple of beers, a starter, a main course dish, a pizza, and a dessert. Reasonable, I’d think. There’s a distinct buzz about the place, and I think it has a character that will develop well over a period of time.

    Arbor Brewing Company, 8, 3rd Floor, Allied Grande Plaza, Opposite Home Stop, Magrath Road. Ph: 080 67 921222

  • The Black Pearl

    Pirated from Bangalore Mirror

    There’s something very ironic about ‘borrowing’ a ship’s name from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and using it to run a restaurant with a pirate theme! Even more ironic when it’s located right next to an establishment called Empire! (map) But that’s exactly what The Black Pearl has done, and they have obviously invested a lot of effort into doing justice to the theme. Across three floors – the top floor akin to an upper deck with open sky above – there are décor elements that accentuate this – anchors, cannons, mannequins, chains and ropes, skeletons, swords. There is a tinge of tackiness too, like the huge bones that became the butt of many jokes, and it was a little funny to have pirate-costumed service staff valet parking and speaking in Hindi. But ambiance is only part of the tale – the service, and the food had a role to play too, and that’s where the seas got rough! In the end, keeping with the theme, looting did happen, in the form of a bill.

    Except for some pirate lingo, there was hardly anything on the menu (though the one we got was quite different) that went with the theme. When we began ordering the starters, we realised it was pointless to navigate the Continental and Chinese sections since they weren’t available. That went for some of the more interesting (sounding) drinks as well! From the Indian menu, we asked for a Til aur Paneer ka Tikka, an Afghani Mutton Boti Kabab, Aatishi Murgh and a Pirate Special Macchi Tikka. The veg representation was superficially spicy, though the paneer itself seemed quite fresh. We were served what was claimed to be the chicken, but easily sensed that it wasn’t. For a while, we pondered the various possibilities, until we were told that it was just the mutton dish. A little too bland. The Aatishi Murgh made an effort to live up to its name in terms of spiciness, and was quite a favourite. The Macchi Tikka was mildly spicy and quite tasty. In addition to some standard fare, we had ordered a Masala Cola. That turned out to be a Hajmola cola in disguise, with an overdose of masala! Exactly the opposite happened with the Pomegranate ‘N’ Tamarind Martini – it had no trace of a tamarind flavour. In the meanwhile, the ship was under aural attack – a singer was methodically gunning down favourite numbers!

    It took so long for the main course to arrive that we joked that it had to be brought from the mainland! The Dal Peshawari was watery and had none of the butter and cream that was promised! We unanimously agreed that the Navaratna Korma deserved a spot in the desserts section! The Malai Gosht turned out to be its near-cousin, the only consolation was that the meat was well cooked. The Murgh Matka suffered from a methi overdose, though the boneless chicken was tender. The Ulte Tawa ka Paratha was mentioned in the menu as a must-try, but was nothing special. Ditto for the Afghani Kulcha, which had a few dry fruits slivers tossed into it for the name’s sake! The excitement was delivered as Crispy Roomali Roti – another ‘must try, but deservedly so. It was huge and we thought this was the Family Naan we’d ordered! When we realised it wasn’t, we had a sinking feeling, soon justified when we saw the size of the actual Family Naan! Gigantic and they obviously had the Indian joint family in mind! Thankfully, it was quite good.

    Meanwhile, penance was happening in the form of bottled water, which was being served for free! The singer, as though understanding his limitations, was now crooning ‘Please Forgive Me’

    From about ten dessert options on the menu, only four were available, and that included ice cream! Considering the experience thus far, we decided to play safe and try just the Gulab Jamun. That was surprisingly not bad! By this time, the singer had reached ‘Take me home’, and we heartily agreed.

    For about Rs.1800, you could share a cocktail, a non veg starter, a couple of main course dishes, rotis and a dessert. (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) But ‘Arrgo’ would be a pithy way to describe our predicament – six of us held hostage in a pirate-themed restaurant serving not-so-great food. Such is the restaurant scene in Koramangala that a new place needs to run a tight ship just to keep its head above the water. Shape up or ship out, as the saying goes, and it’s mercilessly enforced. There would be first visits courtesy the theme, and the place was full while we were there, but unless there’s a sea change in the service, food and pricing, The Black Pearl could soon be in Davy Jones’ Locker!

    Black Pearl, Vikas Tech Park, 2nd & 3rd Floor, #105 1 A Cross Road, Koramangala Industrial Layout, Jyoti Niwas College Road, 5th Block, Koramangala, Ph: 080-64333111