We have almost stopped travelling to Bangalore for food, but since my first visit with the office crowd went reasonably well, and we had to find a meeting point half way, the Irish-themed Gawky Goose on Wind Tunnel Road seemed like a good option. It’s a fairly large space with three distinct sections. While the central section has predominantly plush settings with sofas and wing chairs, the two others are outdoor and al-fresco and more like a regular bar. The good part is that none of them really feel congested. And on weekend afternoons, there is a pleasant vibe.
We began with my regular Old Fashioned and a Brandy Sour for D. The only gripe with this was the pricing – quite high for a 30ml. However, since they had an offer running, we hardly paid anything for it!
The food menu is pretty expansive and has a whole lot of cuisines. We began with the Coorgi (sic) Pork that was superbly cooked and had just the right amount of spice. It came with soft Kadambuttu that complemented the taste very well. Up next was the Dan Dan Chicken and Water Chestnut Dim Sum, which had excellent spicy sauce and dim sums with great texture.
Since the first round of dim sum worked, we ordered Chicken & Basil for the kids, and that was a success too. The Kung Pao Chicken was sweet and spicy with Hoisin sauce and Shaoxing sauce, a good break from the flavours thus far. And finally, we tried the Ghee Roast Chicken-stuffed Paddu. I am not a Paddu fan but this I was happy with. I did wonder whether they could have been more experimental than the standard chutney.
We were reasonably stuffed, and tried only a couple of mains. The Spicy Chicken Diavola lived up to its name and the devil-style sauce, though the usual jalapeños were ditched in favour of peri peri sauce, pepper confit, chilli flakes and a topping of arugula. And finally, to calm everything down, we ended with a Grilled Chicken Breast, with red wine jus, Bok Choy and what someone called man-made-cauliflower – broccoli!
A meal for two would be in the Rs.2000-2500 range. The service is prompt, and it’s worth mentioning that they employ at least two visually-impaired folks. That’s worth a clap. The food was quite good, and if it weren’t for the distance, we’d probably drop in again. If you’re looking for something a little different from the vanilla Indiranagar watering holes, this one is it.
Gawky Goose, #77, Wind Tunnel Road, Murugeshpalya Ph: 9901787273