It’s not often that we venture so far away from our native country – Whitefield – but the visuals of The Open Box, and its fusion menu, were enticing enough to drag us all the way to St.Marks Road. On reaching there, we realised that it was the same place that Spiga used to occupy. We were big fans of Spiga when it used to be in a house on Vittal Mallya Road, but the second version really didn’t live up.
We walked in close to 1 on a Sunday afternoon, and easily found a place. But if we had been late by half an hour, I think we’d have had some trouble getting a table. The space is separated into about 3-4 sections. The lower floor has some seating near the entrance itself, and the bar separates the remaining area into two.There’s also some seating upstairs, but it didn’t seem open. The furniture is functional-cool – I particularly liked the swivel chair I was seated on. There are some fun decor elements, and that extends to the plating devices too. Not to mention the goofy ‘Nintendo joystick’ posters in the loo! A pool table and a gigantic world map (made with artificial turf) add to the character. We found quite a mixed crowd there – at least two sets of older people having a get together of some sort, and many groups of much younger folk as well!
The menu – both food and drinks – is really interesting, with a variety of things that we thought we’d like. So choices were really difficult. We finally decided to begin with a Kid Creme and Piyakkad Nariyal for drinks, and a Chicken Naan Sense and Pet Se Momos for bites. I usually end up with pink drinks (!) but the dark rum and chocolate drink arrived in a feeding bottle , which cleverly concealed its potency! D’s gin based drink with tender coconut water, basil and lime was more dignified, and really fresh! We had chosen a Butter chicken filling for the momos, and really liked it – non greasy, and mildly spicy. The other dish had spicy naan, topped with well cooked, flavoured chicken – very pizza like.
We would have continued with the starters, but there were just too many interesting dishes in the main course. The Fettusuey was a given – my favourite Khow Suey, but made with Fettuccine – if that ain’t best of both worlds, what is? It all came together really well, keeping the soul of the dish intact, but adding a delicious twist. The Pork Belly Chettinad Pizza had some very well made pork and a crunchy thin crust. We had finished our drinks by then and decided to try the TOB Sharbat – watermelon, RoohAfza, white rum and chilli! A spicy end to the main course, tempered only ever so slightly by the RoohAfza and watermelon.
We were stuffed, but once again, the menu was too tempting for us to give desserts a pass. The Maghai Paan ice cream, served in a mini bucket, is an absolute must have! The chocolate Burger wasn’t bad, but on hindsight, we should have gone for the cheese cake, which we saw on a table nearby and immediately lusted for!
At Rs.3880 for all the above, it’s debatable whether a hole was burned in the pocket, but we really liked the food, and drinks. Culinary history is filled with martyrs – with both originals and adaptations spoiled for good. But in whatever we consumed, TOB got the balance perfectly right. The menu sounded interesting, and the food lived up to the promise.
The Open Box, 4th Floor, Halcyon Complex, St. Marks Road, Ph: 49653111