Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • I & Monkey

    D wanted to write this post owing to the title, but my super power is admin rights for this blog. Ha! A rainy, slushy Bangalore night tried to make a monkey out of us, but we stuck to our plan, though it did mean that we  looked like wet monkeys when we arrived at the restaurant on 12th Main Indiranagar. (on the left, when coming from the Sony Center signal on 100 feet Road) Parking – 12th main and those side lanes, you should be fine. If I’m not mistaken, this building used to be the former cricketer Prasanna’s house! Not surprising, the owners would want this to be a money spinner too, like their other venture – Windsor Pub. 😉 We had a reservation, and I didn’t say this aloud so we managed not be thrown out, wet shorts and all. 🙂 Classy lighting, well placed tables and foot tapping music makes for a great ambiance in spite of the mandatory LCD screens.

    Thanks to the reviews we read online, we had a rough idea of what we wanted, though we couldn’t find a menu online. I managed to take a few snaps of the menu, something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t (and rely on Zomato) But there seems to be some perception that the menu is limited. The snaps would prove otherwise. (click for larger image) They also have a well stocked bar and an extensive wine list.

      

      

      

    Though we were drowning under the choices, we asked for a special (not on the regular menu, seems to be a week’s special) – Momo Pork Wopper and very uncharacteristically, and greedily added a second starter – Chargrilled Chicken Fillets. The latter was only because the one we really wanted – the Shikari Style Veddi Erachi was not available. They offered us a close equivalent but that was a more regular dish, so we passed. The pork momos were quite tasty and steamed well, though we’d have liked the sauce to be a bit more spicy. The chicken fillet also had a ‘gunpowder’ filling, which actually ended up adding more texture than spice to the mix. But it’s worth a shot. 🙂

      

    For the main course too, we were spoilt for choice, and it was quite fun to read some of the dish names too – goes well with the quirky name of the restaurant. After much deliberation, we decided to order the Calangute Chicken Bafath. It comes with appams/sannas and as you can see, we chose the latter. The sannas turned out to be quite good, and the gravy, mildly spicy, turned out to be one of the coconut milk based ones that we have a strong liking for. There are many many more dishes which, at least on paper, sound really good, so while this one was quite good, I’d urge you to be adventurous. 🙂 We debated desserts, but there was nothing that really made us sit up and take notice.

    The service is helpful, but does tend to go a bit overboard. For instance, in our feedback form, we said more dessert options would be great. The person who took the order immediately came back and started an extensive survey on what we’d like!

    The meal cost us just over Rs.950, inclusive of service charge and tax. Slightly on the higher side, but worth the occasional visit.

    I & Monkey, 968, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Ph: 40923656

  • TOIT

    Finally, we used the same tactic at TOIT as The Biere Club – Sunday lunch, much more easy to accomplish than the 2 seater Saturday dinner. For those not in the know about TOIT, this should tell you the story so far, as well as help you get there. Though I’d been here before on a couple of occasions, D was a first timer. They have a valet parking and for two wheelers, there’s the pavement, though it’s not always easy!

    The microbrewery has 3 floors, and we sat in the non smoking section on the 3rd floor. The smoking section has a great view of the Metro, though you need to be a large group to get a table there. At lunch hour on Sunday, it’s quite a peaceful place, but the buzz during evenings is quite something! Over to the food and booze. You can take a look at the menu here. In addition to this, there are the different kinds of house beer too.

    I wanted the Weiss, but that was not available, so I ordered the Dark Knight. D asked for the Basmati Blonde. The Dark Knight was not as bitter as I expected, though this does change towards the bottom. The Basmati Blonde is quite light, with just a faint malt touch. This is usually the one I have, and I only tried the other to test it out. 🙂 I would’ve liked the beer colder though. [I happened to try the Weiss on a later visit, and now I don’t mind cheating on the blonde) 🙂

     

    We ordered a TOIT Sunavachik for starters, strips of chicken with a dip and which can be made mild, spicy or very spicy as per your choice. We asked for very spicy, but it really wasn’t all that spicy. The dip complemented it well and it made for a good combo with the beer too. [Again, during another visit, we ordered ‘spicy’, and boy it was!] I think the menu has changed a bit though, since I couldn’t find the special TOIT pork dish I was looking for and the dish we had ordered was not something that was in the menu earlier. Hmm.

    For the main course, we ordered a Cream Cheese Chicken pizza – a thin crust pizza with marinated chicken and buckets of cheese. I would have liked it to be a bit more spicy – even the chili flakes on the table didn’t help. Despite being reasonably ‘toit’, we asked for the TOIT special dessert – a layered chocolate cake, which I didn’t feel was flambeed though. But it’s chocolate, and there was lots of it, so I really can’t complain. 🙂

      

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.1450 including service tax and charges. TOIT is a place I haven’t heard a negative opinion about, and the packed atmosphere, even on weekday nights, is a testament to its popularity. Yep, it means you must visit. 🙂

    TOIT, 298, 100 feet Road, Metro Pillar 62, Indiranagar

  • The Biere Club

    Having been thwarted once on a ‘table for 2 after 7pm on Saturday’ at TOIT, we decided to try another tack at The Biere Club and reserved a table via Poshvine for Sunday noon. Here’s a map for those who aren’t sure where it’s located. Parking would really depend on when you’re dropping in. One option is to park at UB City and walk. We sat on the ground floor, with a view of Lavelle Road as well as the microbrewery. There are two more floors – the smoking sections, I think. Lots of graphics on the walls, reminded me a bit of Mario Miranda. Looks like a peaceful place, without the buzz that TOIT seems to have, but that was probably because of the time we were there at.

    From the huge selection of beverages and meatables, (don’t worry, there are veg options  in plenty too) we decided to go for a wheat beer (you get a 500 ml for the price of 330 ml as part of a breakfast combo) and a glass of Biere Sangria. We also ordered a Moroccan Chicken to go with it. The wheat beer was fine, and perfect for the non-regular beeraholics, but on my taste buds scale I prefer the Basmati Blonde at TOIT and the one at Punjabi by Nature, in that order. The stout beer is pretty good, if we go by the 4sq tips. Maybe some other time, when I’m not riding back. 🙂 The Sangria was much better, and chances are that you’ll really like it – especially the little zing that the lager adds.

     

     

    The Breakfastwich arrived first – a sub with ham, bacon, a couple of fried eggs and a token cheese presence. While the bacon and baked beans were just fine, the entire thing proved a bit unwieldy, and didn’t really impress much. The Breakfast pizza arrived a bit later, and it was then that we realised that they had forgotten to tell the kitchen about the Moroccan chicken. But one look at the pizza was enough to convince us that it was a fortunate mistake. The thin crust pizza had bacon, sausages, mushrooms and a fried egg at the centre of it all. Sliced just right, it was quite awesome with a tomato tang, mild spice and a good load of cheese. Great combo with the beer. 🙂 We really had no space for desserts.

    The service was reasonably good, barring the Moroccan chicken incident that proved advantageous for us. All of the above cost us less than Rs.1200, thanks to the Poshvine deal. Definitely worth a visit, especially considering that it’s Bangalore’s first microbrewery. 🙂

    The Biere Club, 20/2, Vittal Mallya Road-Lavelle Road junction Ph: 42124383/4/6

  • Pizzeria Romano

    Despite us practically visiting every other restaurant on the road – Oye Amritsar, China Pearl, Cafe Malabari, Yana Sizzlers, Vicky’s la terrazza etc this is the one that got away, thus far. But as with all things food, we knew we would get to it someday. And we did. 🙂 If you still haven’t figured out the road, here’s a map. The building is right next to Oye Amritsar. I’m reasonably sure they have valet parking, but in any case, there are enough side roads nearby.

    The ambiance is quite awesome, and music and movies are the theme. The stairway that takes you to the dining area have some cool posters. They have a live music act on weekend nights, and when we arrived, things were being set up. It’s probably a good idea to reserve a table. We saw quite a few guests being turned away while we were having our meal.

      

    The menu – both liquor and food – is quite extensive. You can take a look here. D tried the Cobra Venom (tequila and cranberry based) , being used to me by now :D, and I was so lost in the choices that I ended up with a breezer.

    From the starters section, we chose the Stuffed BBQ Chicken, bell peppers in slices of chicken breast with a faint flavor of wine from the marinade, and a BBQ sauce that was mildly sweet and quite spicy. This one is highly recommended. From the really huge number of choices  in pizzas, pasta, sizzlers and steaks, we sniffed out the Pattaya option from the special street pizzas, mostly thanks to the promise of coconut flavours. 🙂 We also asked for a Chicken Parmesan. The former turned out to be excellent though there was only a whiff of coconut, but there was enough chicken on a stone oven made crust  to keep us happy. The Parmesan came with a red sauce and pasta, and was another good dish. The only snag was that we ran out of space for desserts.

    All of the above cost us close to Rs. 2100. Costly? Yes, but thanks to some groovy music, decent service and awesome food, we had a great time, and will definitely make a few more visits to check out more things from that huge menu.

    Pizzeria Romano, 55, 5th Cross, Above Fulki, 6th Block, Koramangala Ph: 40953751/2

    PS: Review #150 🙂

  • Smoked Out barbecue

    You’d probably not find it if you weren’t looking for it. Which is probably a good thing, since the place would work for you only if you enjoy this kind of food, and the ‘tasty’ smoke that comes with it. Else you’d most likely be smoked out. It’s located on 8th Main, Koramangala, the same as Ooty Chocolates, and the one that goes from Dalma on 100 feet Road towards 1st Block Koramangala. If I have confused you enough, here’s a map. Parking should be a breeze.

    There are about half a dozen tables, and you can see your meal getting cooked. You can watch the road too, and generally relax to some good music. The only thing you’d probably miss is a beer. In essence, a place you would consider keeping a secret, just so you can easily find a table the next time you’re there. 😉 There’s a sprinkling of attitude too, check out the coasters. Also loved the menu board!

     

    The menu (click to enlarge) is to the point, so don’t expect to see casual mentions of noodles or butter chicken anywhere. We decided to start with a Grilled Beef Burger and a Whole Thigh, and add to it in case we felt hungry. The Burger was excellent, crisp on the outside, superbly ground meat inside and helped by a tasty sweet and spicy sauce. The French Fries deserve a mention purely for the flavour that they brought to the table. Cheesy, mildly salty and overall a great complement to the burger. The Whole Thigh is served with a veg salad and garlic bread. Though it was quite decent, I’d have liked the chicken grilled a bit more. Since we were still hungry, we also got ourselves a Grilled Chicken Fillet Burger which was as impressive as its beef cousin. Continuing the theme of the restaurant, the desserts are also grilled (fruits). But we had a movie to catch and therefore skipped.

     

    Thanks to Poshvine, the bill came to less than Rs.450. Reasonably good service, the owner is usually around and helps you with choices and takes the order himself. If you are fond of barbecue, or want to try it out, this should be in your to-do list.

    Smoked Out barbecue, 8th Main Rd, Koramangala 4th Block, Ph: 9980199822

    PS: 9 years is around the time one gets too old for birthdays, but can’t help mention that this is the date on which it all started 9 years ago. The amazing coincidence is that though the review has been published now, I visited the place on my birthday in March!