Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • EDGE – Infusion Bar & Kitchen

    A long time ago, when I was still confused between a Tom Yum and a Tom Kha, we visited On the Edge in Barton Centre, had a meal for all of Rs.950, and loved it. Time, as it is wont to do, flies. 8 years later, the place is now ASEAN – On the Edge, and a version of it has opened in Whitefield. Edge – Infusion Bar & Kitchen.

    The building (Miraya Rose) houses Ebony and Toscano in addition to Edge. And what’s more, there’s Daily Sushi, Cafe Noir and a Starbucks and Frozen Bottle in the same compound! Edge sits above the other two, and in a relatively small area, manages a bunch of seating options – high bar stools, a lounge section outside and casual seating inside. The decor and ambiance has a touch of class – special mention for the cutlery.

    We visited a fortnight after they opened for business, and found the place quite empty. While we were there, less than three tables were occupied. Not that we minded!

    There were plenty of cocktail options, but only a few based on dark rum/whiskey. So I went with an Old Fashioned, though I don’t trust places which call it Old Fashion! D asked for what I called a dirty sounding drink – Porntini, but it was a harmless concoction of vodka, vermouth and vanilla. The drinks, despite the names, were quite good.

    We first tried the Togarashi Chicken Stick – wonton crusted, Togarashi seasoning and Sichuan chilli flavours. The potato spirals were a nice touch. The flavours worked well and the crust and the spiral added an excellent texture. The Chakori Murgh Tikka was next, the yellow chilli gave it a mildly spicy flavour which made it a good companion for the drinks.

    For mains, we asked for the All Meat Cajun Jambalaya. It had chicken and sausages (the shrimp was excluded on request) and was served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Great flavours, and surprisingly filling despite the seemingly small portion size.

    The playlist had a good lounge vibe, and the service was friendly. The bill came to a little over Rs.2200.

    Edge Infusion Bar & Kitchen, Miraya Rose, 66/2, Siddapura, Varthur Road, Whitefield Ph: 47483026

  • Rassasy by Barcelos

    After three attempts at becoming food friends with Forum Shantiniketan, and mostly failing, we should have given up. But it’s food and drinks, so we persisted – this time with Rassasy by Barcelos. I had to google Barcelos to understand that they were a South African chain. That was the second warning, given the meh experience with Nando’s, but I ignored that too, mostly thanks to the Sangria pitcher pricing.

    Located on the ground floor of the mall, the place has two seating sections. The one inside offers plush sofas and generally more comfortable seating, but the evening breeze got us to sit outside.

    The warnings played out in the form of the sangria pitcher not being available. Funnily sangria glasses were available. When asked for the reason, we were told that the bar had opened only that day and they hadn’t got pitchers yet! And so we whined with glasses – D with a White Sangria with Kiwi & Grapes, and I with a Caribbean Sangria. D’s white sangria was mostly red, we were informed that the guilt lay with the grapes. My drink was like the Windies cricket team these days- mostly in shambles.

    The Cream of Broccoli (with chicken) saved the day a bit – creamy and flavourful with reasonably generous chicken. The Meat balls in spicy tomato sauce was the best dish of the day – the meat was cooked well and the spice was exactly the way we liked it. For mains, we tried the Portuguese Gravy  (Trinchado) with rice. This was peppers, tomatoes and onion (mildly spicy peri peri sauce to be added), served with spicy rice. This too wasn’t a bad dish and we probably would have appreciated it more if not for the sangria fiasco.

    The service was just about ok, the ambiance was decent enough, and they had a nice playlist. The bill came to a little over Rs.1750, and either by design or not, they forgot to add one sangria. Oh, well.

    Rassasy by Barcelos, Forum Shantiniketan Mall, Whitefield Ph:47483436

  • Prost Brew Pub(Whitefield)

    When we last visited our “home” microbrewery – 153 Biere Street –  we came to know of a change in management, and going by the changed look of the menu card, mourned the loss of a favourite. Time will tell if we were too harsh, but in the meanwhile, we needed to find an alternate in our favourite neighbourhood watering holes list that includes Red Rhino, Toscano Wine Collection, Biergarten, Irish House and Windmills Craftworks (the last one is like an abusive lover you keep going back to, but never mind).

    Prost in Koramangala had become a favoured place despite a slow start. So when we heard that Whitefield was getting one, we were quite happy. It’s almost opposite Decathlon, Whitefield, housed on the 11th Floor of a building that has a Zomato Kitchens on the ground floor. After a brief “sashay” past gawking delivery boys who didn’t seem to know there was something else other than Zomato in that building (almost true factually) and narrowing our eyes at a lift that predicted bad outcomes, we stepped off on the 11th floor. (more…)

  • Smokehouse Deli (Whitefield)

    Our not-so-new Forum Shantiniketan mall in Whitefield, which has already “grilled” us in many ways – Uno Chicago and Punjab – has now given us a Smokehouse Deli as well! While the first two are relatively easy to spot, the new entrant is reasonably well hidden. You have to exit the mall through the back on the lower ground floor to find it! Our sangria plans helped us stay focused!

    The place is classic Smokehouse, though the Indiranagar version does a better job of localising the sketches. Thanks to the proximity to the apartments, there were noisy kids. Thankfully, that reduced as the evening progressed.

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  • Float

    Kalyan Nagar is a favoured food hangout and Float got into our list when we had made the trek that side for Wanderers. While that place didn’t curry any favour with us thanks to its obsession with curry leaves, we live on hop and cannot resist a microbrewery!

    Float is spread across some four floors, each of which seemed to have multiple sections! How do these places break even, and when?! We sat on the first floor, next to pretty windows that overlooked the road. High seats, which bordered on uncomfortable.

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