Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Under the Mango Tree

    This review was first published in Bangalore Mirror (yes, yes, we got our name in the papers n’ all) 😉 Have reworked it to suit the blog’s regular format. 🙂

    Remember Cornucopia in Richmond Town. (map) Its now got a new owner and a new name – Under the Mango Tree. The set up has been modified ever so slightly, the mango tree remains, and the erstwhile elaborate menu changed completely, though it still serves Continental and Italian. Here’s the new menu. Meanwhile, this time, my company consisted of Gautam, Radha, Karthik and Prmod.

    (click to enlarge)

    I started with a Cream of Mushroom and Leek soup, which turned out to be the best among its kind. Karthik’s Cold Melon soup was a bit of a disaster, and Gautam had still not come to terms with the existence of a vegetarian French Onion soup. The Goan sausages made a pretty decent starter.  The Pita and Hummus were only just ok.

    The ‘King Size sausages’ was what I chose for the main course, and again got lucky, because it was quite a good dish, with its caramelised onion sauce. Prmod’s Veg Lasagna also turned out to be tasty enough. The Sea Bass was quite a disappointment  – Karthik was sure it was mackerel, and both the Pepperoni as well as the Mozzarella – Hot Pepper pizzas one were only average.

    On to desserts. The Chocolate Mousse is not something a chocoholic ever complains about, but this one could’ve been better. The Mango mousse cake tried to be the saviour and just about managed to succeed despite some essence extravagance. The chocolate mousse with caramelised banana could’ve been a winner if the mousse had been allowed to be strong enough, it would have worked well with the banana, I thought.

    In essence, some hard work needs to go into the place. The aambiance is pleasant enough, and the owner, Nirmala, helps with the order as well as some amount of customisation. Cost for two people would be about Rs.1000, which would get you a couple of soups, a starter, main course dishes and a dessert. So, drop in, if you’re in the neighbourhood, and give it a shot.

    Under the Mango Tree, # 3, Laurel Lane, Richmond town, Bangalore. Tel: 9686601021

    PS: If you’re in Bangalore, and would like to be featured in a review, drop me a line with your favourite cuisine or new restaurant you’ve noticed – manuscryptsATgmailDOTcom, and we’ll figure something out 🙂

  • Plan B

    Actually it was quite a Plan A, since we’ve been hearing good things about this place for a couple of weeks now. (She insists I heard it from her first) And when pork and beef are involved, we usually have less of planning and more of execution.

    Plan B is on the ground floor of the same building as Hae Kum Gang, on Castle Street. Here’s a map to help you get there. As always, remember that Castle Street is a one way, and you cannot enter it from the Brigade Road side. Parking is relatively a simple task.

    Plan B has quite an attitude, and you can sense it as soon as you enter.  A lot of it is to do with the decor and those cool posters, and some of it is reflected in the nomenclature in the menu too. I was impressed enough to click a few snaps. (click to enlarge)

    I thought the branding behind the bar was done on a manhole cover, but I can’t be sure. The snap, unfortunately, didn’t turn out good. The place has a buzz about it, and its got less to do with Knopfler, REM or Axl Rose and more to do with the bright ambiance, and the people.

    This is the menu that ensured we got there. We were in a bit of dilemma on whether to start with pork or beef, but since pigging was the theme of the visit, Chilli Fried Pork it was. The soy sauce didn’t make its presence felt much, that was a good thing because the chillies could dominate. Excellent dish, I only wished it had been brought sizzling hot, we got it almost lukewarm.

    Meanwhile, we’d also (uncharacteristically) ordered a couple of interesting drinks. D ordered a Ruddy Mary (l) and I asked for a Diesel. (r) The Ruddy Mary has tomato juice mixed with beer with a dash of lime. Diesel is a mix of lager and cola. Interesting mixes, but in both cases, we felt the beer flavor proved to be too dominant. The drinks might have had more of a distinct character if the other flavours played a stronger role. But a good experiment, nevertheless.

    In the main course, beef and pork shared points, and chicken, perhaps for the first time in this blog’s history, was completely ignored. D ordered a Grilled Pepper Beef Steak, which she was quite happy with. The rice seemed buttered and different from the regular kind, and went very well with the steak. The sauce had permeated the meat, and though it acted tough with the knife, chewing wasn’t a problem. Even though it was well done, I think a steak knife was warranted. Also, the pepper sauce was a little too subtle. But despite that, the dish is worth a shot.

    I asked for a ‘Pigs in a Thermal Blanket’, a cryptic crossword kind of name for cured, spicy pork in a burger bun. Spicy it was, and the mayonnaise provided with it complemented it brilliantly. Those with a thing for greasy food will love this one. I did. In both dishes, the fried potato was a stand out item. Thanks to all of the above, we were quite stuffed, and asked for the bill, declining dessert.

    And then that Chocolate Mousse neon repeatedly winked at me. D promised to share, and we ended up ordering one. It was quite decent, nothing spectacular, but that’s more because of my preference for really strong chocolate than anything else.

    The service is prompt and generally excellent, and the owner does the rounds, adding to the casual and pleasant ambiance. Unfortunately, when he got to our table to chat, the pig and its greasiness prevented me from even offering a handshake.

    The meal cost us just less than Rs.1050, including a 5% service charge. I’d highly recommend a visit – for some awesome pork and beef, some neat experiments with beer, and a wonderful ambiance.

    Plan B, #20, Castle Street, Ashok Nagar. Ph: 9739902745

    Menu and photos at Plan B

  • Rendezvous

    A rendezvous that took quite some time, though its just a few minutes away from home. Rendezvous Euro Restaurant is on 80ft Road, right before Barista. Here’s a map. Since there are enough side lanes around, parking is not likely to be a big problem.

    Its more a friendly neighbourhood place than anything you’d come halfway across town for. But that also means that whenever I’ve passed by, I’ve seen it completely packed. We reached there a bit early, a little before 7.45. That, and the rains meant that we were among the first to arrive. But by 8.30 it was getting filled fast.

    Rendezvous has a warm dimly lit ambiance, with some good retro music in the background. Nothing elaborate in terms of decor and furniture, but neat and a great place to sip a beer and watch Koramangala life passing by. The menu is mostly Continental, with some Chinese options too. You can take a look here.

    The rain meant that we had to start with a soup. D and I shared a Mexican soup pot and my sis asked for a Cream of Chicken. Our soup, though described as a broth, was quite thick and creamy , and had salami, chicken and boiled vegetable with some cheese, that added a little zing to it.

    We skipped the starters and the Chinese options and got busy trying to choose from a range of steaks, pastas and burgers. I asked for a Chicken Crepes, D ordered a Peppered Chicken Pasta and my sis ordered a ‘Gold and Red’ burger. The Crepes were conspicuous by their absence, but the tangy mushroom sauce, and the spicy mashed potato ensured that I wasn’t left too disappointed.

    The missing component continued in D’s Peppered pasta, so D did a DIY with the pepper on the table, but apparently it still remained bland.So this turned out to be a disappointing choice.

    My sis’ Gold and Red burger turned out to be a mixed bag. The Gold half, which had cheese and salami was apparently good, but the Red half, with a cold chicken salad was given a cold shoulder. She also felt that the salad may have been her age. I was the only one not complaining much. No comments on the lines of ‘you eat anything’ will be tolerated. Hmmph. I was too stuffed for dessert, though there was even a marble cake, and the others weren’t too sure what would land up on the table.

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.700. The service was quite prompt. I think it serves as a good hangout joint, so this goes into a no gain, no pain category.

    Rendezvous, 15/1, 80 ft Road, Koramangala 4th Block Ph: 25631177

    Menu at Zomato

  • Magnolia

    One of the biggest contributors to Koramangala’s food-and-mouth epidemic is the 80 ft Road, which has more than a dozen (underdone estimate) outlets that cater to all sorts of tastes and wallet sizes. This week, we decided to drop in at Magnolia, whose earlier version existed in a quaint house very near to its current location. When coming from Sony World junction towards Sarjapur Road, cross Wipro Park, and you’ll find Reliance Fresh on your right. Magnolia is on the top floor of the same building. Here’s a map. Parking shouldn’t be a problem at all. We reached by about 7.30 and in half an hour the place was almost full.

    Magnolia has indoor as well as terrace/semi outdoor seating options. The latter is rather dim, but with the kind of weather Bangalore’s been having, its an awesome place to be. The only snag was that the photos turned out to be quite like those ‘paranormal activity’ photos. See. (that’s the soup!!) 🙁 We could’ve maybe got it right with some tinkering, but since the focus was on eating and the required material was right in front of us, being photo-foppish wasn’t a priority. Magnolia serves Thai and Chinese cuisine, (menu 1, 2 – this is the last printed one, the prices are higher by about Rs.10-20 now)  These days, we devoutly devour the former cuisine, thanks to Aroy for the Thai-in.

    We started with the ‘Thai Chicken & Lemon Grass Coconut soup’. Even considering the Mallu bias towards anything remotely coconut, this is a great soup. Its almost the Tom Kha soup, but slightly thinner and without the Galangal. The lemon grass flavour was just right, and not overpowering, and except for the rare chilli, not very spicy either. Definitely recommended.

    Next, we resisted the dim sum call and moved on to “Leg Mai Kai”. Even Google didn’t help me figure the name out completely. The closest is Loh Mai Kai. I thought it must be the iron-rich version of our dish but it turned out to be rice based. The ‘leg mai kai’ is roasted chicken with red and green pepper and turned out to be a reasonably good choice. The red and green pepper actually complemented the tending-towards-bland chicken instead of performing their regular role as space fillers. Maybe you could try the Crispy Chicken Chilly Honey, it does sound good. 🙂

    For the main course, Chicken Pad Thai with cashew nuts and as per their suggestion, Thai Chicken and Bamboo Shoot Red curry. The Pad Thai was quite good, though the cashews were conspicuous by their absence and the tamarind flavour was really subdued. The Red curry was awesome, mostly because the coconut overruled every other flavour that might have been there, except for the spiciness. The quantity of lemon grass was slightly overwhelming though. While it goes best with rice, this is a reasonably good combination too.

    The dessert options aren’t much. The service is great, and very prompt. All of the above cost us just over Rs.700. Definitely worth a visit when you need to go beyond the regular Chinese options around Koramangala.

    Magnolia, #37, above Reliance Fresh, near Wipro Park, 80 ft Road, 3rd Block Koramangala. Ph: 41102222

    This review happens to be the 50th one in Koramangala. It is also the 100th restaurant review on the blog. There is a reason why we chose Magnolia. More than 7 years back, when a newly married couple made Koramangala their home, and relied on Mars Chicken Delight, Lazeez and some others like Szechuan Garden, which don’t exist anymore, for their gastro-adventures, they saw Magnolia, the big cars parked outside, and wondered how many of their dine outs would have to be sacrificed to afford a visit.

    They picked up enough courage one day in June, and though were quite intimidated by the place, and the chopsticks presented to them, managed to have a good meal for about Rs.350, which they still considered costly. A lot of things have changed since then – they now have a blog that has a hundred restaurant reviews, for starters. They have changed too, as has the locality they once lived in. But its heartening to note that some things haven’t – despite many halfhearted attempts, chopsticks remain a strict no-no. 😀 The post is for that couple, and for the life and times then. Thanks for reading. 🙂

    PS. A new design. Much thanks to Arun and especially Mayank for the help against cruel Microsoft 😉

  • 13 Spices

    I really would find it difficult to name that many, but hey, its the name of a new restaurant in Koramangala that serves Indian, Chinese and a bit of Continental. Its located right next to erm, Chandni Chowk – yup, that’s in Koramangala too, before Sony World, when coming from the NGV/Forum side. 😀 (map) Parking is not much of a problem, mostly because of Chandni Chowk’s ample resources.

    We reached there by around 7.45, and in about half an hour, the place was full. The ambiance is quite interesting, because its as though they had lounge/fine dining in mind – colours, furniture, decor, and then realised that it’d be a more regular restaurant. So its now brightly lit, with a red/white/black decor and decent use of the available small space, though the wall to wall cushioned seating means that the space between tables is minimal.

    Though the menu has three cuisine options, its not really exhaustive on any front, but having said that, it does offer a lot of options in the Indian and Chinese portions. The former has half a dozen veg starters, more than double that in the non veg section (chicken, mutton, fish and prawns), plenty of gravy options in veg and non-veg and biriyani/roti/naan/kulcha to go with it. The Chinese section has soups, starters and about half a dozen options each in veg and non veg dishes, and rice/noodles. The Continental part consists of a few salad and pasta options. Its closer to ‘also there’ than a specialty, at least in terms of number options. We decided to go with the Indian part, the soup being the only exception – to keep the Chinese happy.

    The Lemon Coriander soup was delicious, but I think they should have one of those ‘red-colour-chilli warnings’ for unsuspecting folk. Actually for the suspecting folk too – I, for example,  have this very silly habit of adding pepper before I have even tasted it. You’ll like this one if you like your soups really spicy. The coriander part was slightly subdued though, and a chilli flavour somehow dominated, I thought. But I’d still recommend it, just don’t take the name seriously.

    Next, we tried the Malai Machili tikka. This one gets very high marks for presentation. The fish is Hamoor (Arabian Fish – Hamour says the web) and it did seem marginally different from my other fishy acquaintances. The cream marinade was really good, and the only suggestion I’d make is to have a stronger mint chutney to go with it, so that it can complement the dish better.

    We started the main course with a Murg Khandari, an onion and chilli kulcha, and a masala kulcha. We chose the chicken dish because its description claimed a unique mix- pomegranate juice, curd, brown onion paste, and tomato puree. It proved to be unique in taste too – tangy with a sweet kick in the end, thanks to the pomegranate seed, I think. The masala kulcha was decent, but the other one barely had any chillies, so wasn’t much fun.

    Though the portion sizes were quite decent, we were still hungry, and decided to try the second chicken dish we had noted earlier – Murg Badam Pasanda, with a cheese kulcha. Calories be damned. The Badam pasand was creamy and finger-licking good in that slightly sweet way that white gravies have (though this one is more yellow). The kulcha was only just about okay though. In between we also had a regular lassi because though there was  a mango lassi listed, we were told that it was (canned) juice based, not fresh. The lassi was topped with badam and had what we thought was a vanilla essence flavour. Slightly thin for our liking, but reasonable enough. We skipped desserts since the options were the usual ice cream based suspects.

    The service is very prompt, and though we thought our second chicken dish would take time (since we placed the order much later), they actually got it soon enough for the meal to be seamless – surprising because the crowd had picked up by then. The place is quite small – enough for you to see what people at most of the other tables are eating, but despite that constraint, they have done a decent job. All of the above cost us less than Rs.700. So its definitely worth a visit, for good food and excellent service.

    13 Spices, #898, 80ft Main Road, 6th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 40953881

    Menu and Photos at Zomato