Category: Whitefield

  • Uno Chicago Bar & Grill

    Some movies exist only so that a few good songs can be released into the universe. That’s roughly the way malls and eateries work for me too. Sometimes. Whitefield’s latest mall is thus host to Uno Chicago Bar & Grill. We visited twice – the first when the bar wasn’t functional, and then later, when we also decided to try out the Cinepolis that has opened at the mall. Uno is sandwiched between Punjab Grill and You Mee on the ground floor of Forum Shantiniketan.

    It has three sections – one facing the mall atrium, another indoor, and a third that is a bit more open and faces the apartments behind the mall. The first section has diner-like seating, albeit more plush. The second is a mix of that and standard chairs, and the third has bar stools as well, with some cobblestone flooring too.

    The white wine sangria they served us on the second visit was reasonably disastrous. Chunks of fruits meant that we kept wondering whether a fruit salad had been mixed with wine! Far from our Toscano benchmark for the sangria pitcher. The Chicken & Jalapeno Chowder though, is worth a try, though for the best experience, you might want to wait till winter. Thick, creamy, chicken soup with jalapeños and tortilla strips for some nice texture.

    We tried two pizzas. The Windy City Works was a thin crust pizza with pepperoni, pork sausage, chicken meatballs and bacon bits. They were generous with all the toppings and the crust was excellent too. But the outlet is known for its deep dish pizza, and that’s why we had to try the Chicago Meat Market pizza with lamb mince, chicken pepperoni, grilled chicken, chicken chorizo and parmesan. The small size proved quite sufficient for our appetites. No arguing the flavours here and the “double decker” levels of flavours is indeed quite unique.

    The welcoming committee does its job well, but the service takes some persuasion. The wallet will be left considerably lighter. We got close to Rs.1200 with just a soup and a pizza the first time, and a little over Rs.2700 the second time thanks to the Sangria pitcher.

    Uno Chicago Bar & Grill, Upper Ground Floor, Forum Shantiniketan, Whitefield, Ph: +91 9667540036

  • One for the Road

    We’re now in the midst of the not-so-gradual transformation of Seegehalli. After such hits as Aroi and Red Rhino, we were pretty excited when we heard that One for the Road had opened in the neighbourhood. On a Saturday evening, we decided to give it a try.

    The place is reasonably large, and we took a small tour before we decided on a table. The first floor only had a small section open since there was a private party.

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    But the ground floor gave us a lot to choose from. There are closed and alfresco sections, with some enclosed spots, and a choice of seating as well – lounge, high stools and bar.

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    Early January provides a little chill in the air during late evenings – perfect for a Cream of Chicken soup. Creamy and quite delicious, it was a good start to proceedings. Chill or no chill, cocktails had to be consumed. There was only one rum based cocktail and it did sound funny – What the Fag It is Fig. Fig and dark rum sounded like a good combination on paper, but ended up rather insipid. D tried another signature drink – The Tangerino, vodka based, but that was a disappointment too – the orange flavour was overwhelming.

    The silver lining was that they managed to deliver the Malabar Beef Fry intact. For mains, we tried the Bacon wrapped stuffed chicken with pepper diane. The dish wasn’t bad in terms of flavours, but the chicken was a bit undercooked.

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    We’d have liked some dessert, but most items on the menu weren’t available. The bill came to a little over Rs.2000. The service was decent, the ambiance was not bad either, but the food was a mixed bag. Not really a place we’d repeat.

    One for the Road, 87/2A, 35, Seegehalli, Whitefield Ph: 49652780 (map)

  • Punjab Grill

    …and we have a brand new mall in Whitefield. Let’s not speak of whether we wanted one. The mall wasn’t fully functional when we visited (mid November), but from the looks of it, the Indian non-resident Americans of Shantiniketan would be a happy lot. I was most excited by a microbrewery coming up. That makes it 9 in the vicinity! As D mentioned, there would really no need to get out of Whitefield on weekends.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Grill was what we visited for, and that was on the ground floor. The frontage is completely open, and while that might show off the interiors to passers-by, it does take away from the privacy. The decor is definitely fine dining – plush seating, chandeliers, photos of royalty and elegant crockery. The staff is very courteous too.

    All of that also means the pricing is exorbitant too! There’s no alcohol available, so we asked for lassi – D wanted a Kesar Pisteywali version and I chose coconut. We asked whether the coconut flavour was fresh (and not powder or extract) and were told it was. Reality was different and given the Rs.295 we were paying for it, I did something uncharacteristic – I sent it back, and asked for what D was having. That was thick, rich and a much better offering for the price.

    The Murgh Tikka Punjab Grill was our chosen starter – boneless chicken with a mildly spicy red chilli marinade. This was delicious fare and highly recommended.

    Mains was a Patiala Shahi Kadai Murgh which had onion, tomatoes, and green chili in a cashew based gravy. Microgreens for the with-it quotient. 😉 The Zafrani Paronthi Naan sounded interesting and turned out to be so as well. Filling too. D tried the Rajgira Parantha, which was described to us as one with an aloo filling. It didn’t have much of that but did have great texture.

    A nice paan shot (complimentary) ended the meal well.

    The wallet was lighter by a little over Rs.2500. We did know that going in, so we were mentally prepared. The service is extremely good. They are courteous, describe the dishes- along with the spice level to expect, and make sure serving and refills happen at the right time. If you’re in the mood for North Indian fare in this part of the world, this will do the job.

    Punjab Grill, Ground Floor, Forum Shantiniketan, Whitefield Main Road Ph: 49653240

  • HQ

    When we first came to Whitefield, Inorbit was a mall in name only. The lack of a multiplex didn’t help either. That particular issue remains unresolved, but in the last few months, we have seen an uptick in both the number of outlets opened, and the crowd. Most of the new restaurants have been of the family-friendly (read “no alcohol) kind, so the launch of a casual dining place with a bar was very welcome.

    We completely missed the entry on the ground floor, mostly because we were quite focused on getting to Shoppers Stop. That entrance did seem fairly conspicuous on hindsight. The other entrance is in a corner on the next floor, and we chose a cosy little table from the limited 2 seater options. For larger groups, there are quite a few plush sofa options though. If I had to do a word association for the place, I’d say green! There is lots of it, and that does a good job of creating a different atmosphere within the concrete mall structure.

    The alcohol menu is not elaborate, and from the few cocktail options available, I chose the Dark n Stormy Cocktail (that was the only one with Dark Rum) and D chose a Watermelon Mojito. My drink was dark rum and lime juice, though the actual recipe has ginger beer in it. A decent drink, just like D’s Mojito, which did have a distinct fresh watermelon touch.

    Our original starter choice was an Assamese Pork Khorika, but apparently that wasn’t available, so we went for a Hakka style pork. Crisp pork with soy and chili sauce, sliced chilies and shredded vegetables which they called pok choi (sic). But hey, the dish didn’t suffer on account on that. We also tried a Butter Garlic Calamari, which had way more salad than I expected. Thankfully, it was cooked well enough.

    For mains, we wanted to try a Cheese Chicken Fungi, which seemed interesting, but first ordered a “The Lot” pizza – chicken ham, chicken salami, mushroom, pineapple and a sunny side egg. There was indeed a lot happening, and yet, the overall flavour was bland. In addition, someone forgot the description of the egg, so we got yolk pieces too! The medium pizza was enough to abandon another dish. The dessert options weren’t exciting, and when there are specialist options around, why bother?

    The meal made us lighter by a little under Rs.1800. The service was friendly enough, and they had a good playlist going. Only the ambiance would warrant a revisit, so it’s gonna take a while.

    HQ, Inorbit Mall, 75, EPIP Area, Whitefield Ph: 49652626

  • Biere Societee

    I had seen the signboard opposite Prestige Shantiniketan on the way to Arirang. We had planned to go to one of the trusted local hangouts, but this was just 10 minutes from home, and the photos of the place promised a rooftop with a view. That’s something we have historically been suckers for! We got there early in the evening, and early in general, it seemed. They were still putting some finishing touches, but the place was pretty and the view was quite good too. Most of the seating area is alfresco, but they have a few tables in a covered section as well. I think the entire 4th floor is available as well, though it wasn’t open when we got there.

    We perched on the bar stools along the edge with a view of the Sheraton, Shantiniketan and beyond. When we began ordering cocktails, we were told that it might be delayed because they were getting ice from outside (first few days’ teething troubles).  But we got them soon enough – no delays – an Old Fashioned for me and The Brandy Crusta for D. They look liked twins in different glasses, but thankfully didn’t taste the same. My drink was not the best I have had, but not bad, and certainly better than many other places which massacre the drink! D’s drink had jalapeños and caramel syrup which got her a nice blend of flavours. We also got to know that there was a microbrewery happening in a couple of months! (we visited in mid August)

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