All posts filed under: Restaurant Reviews

Comic Relief – Leaping Windows Cafe (Now Closed :( )

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If you manage to find it (Google maps included), I’d say pat yourself on the back. If it makes it any easier – Leaping Windows Cafe is on the road parallel to Indiranagar club (Ask the fruit vendor at the end of the road). Like all things Indiranagar, this is an old bungalow converted into a café. What it also uniquely is, is a comic book library to read your Tintins, Asterix and Calvin and Hobbes in peace. Of course, you pay 40 bucks an hour, but that’s small change. You walk past the reading den on the ground floor to the 1st Floor which has multiple seating options, all of which have bold comic paintings hanging on the whitewashed walls. We choose to sit outside as it was cool and it faces a canopy of trees, which always is a plus point for me. I plonk myself on the low cane chair/ settee and proceed to look at the menu. Standard breakfast options coupled with a section for Burgers/ pastas/ salads/ mains and quick …

Some Irish grub and Amritsari Fish @ Blimey! (1 MG Road Mall, Bangalore)

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If you’ve lived in Bangalore for the past year, chances are you have already heard of Blimey. Not the expression ‘Blimey!’ (I’m pretty sure no Irishman/women uses it these days) but Blimey the gastropub located at 1MG mall. They are pretty notorious for their packed to the kilt hilt Sunday brunches and the teeny boppers that frequent the place for sundowners. With the amazing view of Ulsoor lake from their terrace, coupled with some cool cocktails, Irish brews and grub – they have survived the one year mark. And that my friends, is an achievement in Bangalore, which has become ruthless in weeding out restaurants and pubs which don’t make the mark. So to celebrate their coming of age (yes, one is a good number), the gastropub has decided to update their menu with some cool new dishes. We went on a Monday to sample the old and the new and let you know what hits the spot.    I tried to keep the focus on the food, but when offered a Dirty Martini (the …

Dining in Style – Riwaz @ The Ritz-Carlton (Bangalore)

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A New York style maven once said, ‘Style is a way of saying who you are, without having to speak’. In the matter of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, luxury seeps through every pore of its being! From the awe inspiring driveway, to the elegant and intricate jaali work, to the splashes of gold and the fire and stone décor – you just can’t escape it. Riwaz their North-West Frontier cuisine restaurant envelopes itself in this richness while somehow managing to still keep the décor modern. Chef Ramandeep Kukreja heads the culinary team at the restaurant and is clearly passionate about the cuisine. While I felt this type of cuisine was done to death in all the ‘North Indian’ restaurants in Bangalore, I still could not turn down an invite to sample the new menu at Riwaz. (They make a conscious effort to come out with something new every six months.) Why, some of the recipes are sourced from the chef’s own family and that gave me the necessary incentive to accept a dinner invitation on a …

FoodLovers Gourmet City – Le Jardin @ The Oberoi (Bangalore)

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Bangalore has been a glutton for restaurant showcases in the past couple of years and every gourmand worth his salt, bookmarks this time to explore and indulge. Le Jardin at The Oberoi played host to us this Thursday to kick start the FoodLovers Gourmet City event. With 20 of the finest restaurants in Bangalore participating this year, it promises to be a celebration of all things food. While value for money has always been the driving theme for restaurant showcases, FoodLovers Gourmet city combines that with a specially curated menu featuring the chef’s signature dishes. Add to that the variety of cuisines on offer, options to dine out at lunch or dinner, choices between a 2 course and a 3 course menu – and you have yourself an event that’s bound to stand out from the crowd. FoodLovers takes it a couple of notches higher and ends the showcase with FoodLovers Chefs for Charity. The 20 participating restaurants offer a gourmet grazing experience over lunch on 29th March, at The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore.  All proceeds from …

Syrian Christian Delicacies @ Karavalli (The Gateway Hotel, Bangalore)

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Karavalli has a long standing tradition of training its chefs in the kitchens of traditional homes and still continues to procure ingredients from the original source. As a tribute to household recipes that can be lost in the pages of time, Karavalli makes a conscious effort to bring this back into our memories and taste buds by hosting traditional food festivals. This February it plays host to Mathai Achayan and his Syrian Christian delicacies.  God’s own country has a host of different communities that call it home and each one of them has a special way of treating local spices like red chillies, coconut, pepper, fresh fish and meats to bring out something completely unique. In Kerala, the Syrian Christian food is a little different from the regular Kerala Hindu Sadya, becaue of the addition of non-vegetarian elements to the meal. The most noted contribution of the community to the cuisine of Kerala has been the hoppers, duck roast, meen vevichattu and the istew (stew). Mr. Mathai hails from the Vattukulam, in Kottayam district, which …

Live Blogging for Social Media Week Bangalore 2014 @ Fava (UB City, Bangalore)

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Bangalore played host to Social Media Week (#SMW Bangalore) this year and it was definitely an honor to be a part of it! The FB page states that “SMW Bangalore is where we make progress in regards to how humanity and technology come together”. Taking place in eight cities simultaneously from February 17-21, 2014 it is truly an amalgamation of the best social media mavens in the world. #SMWBangalore is powered by Nokia India & Hosted by R Square Consulting, and I was invited to take part in the Live Food Blogging Session at Fava. I also spoke in a panel discussion about Social Media and its impact on the restaurant industry, but I will focus my efforts on taking you through the live blogging session.  Let’s be honest first off. It is super difficult to eat, listen, interact and finally blog at the same time. Especially when people like me are attached to their DSLR’s like conjoined twins. My Samsumg S3 takes fairly good pictures compared to other mobile phones but it really cannot …

Grill Fest @ Polo Club (The Oberoi, Bangalore)

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Let’s say you had a chance to dine under the stars in a beautiful garden with the sound of a gurgling fountain in the background. Let’s say you had the finest and freshest produce laid out in front of you. Let’s say you had a very accomplished chef manning the grill to keep you company. And let’s round off this hypothetical situation with one talented mixologist who wouldn’t stop impressing you with exciting cocktails. Wouldn’t you rush to be a part of this? Well, lucky for you this scenario is not something I cooked up in my overactive imagination. Polo Club at The Oberoi ensures you will have a lovely evening at their Live Grills Festival. I was invited for an evening of grills, cocktails and fun conversations (the last part we rustled up ourselves) and left the evening a little more light headed then when I arrived. Polo Club is a place that fits perfectly with Bangalore’s Garden City tag. And it really is a joy to dine alfresco in a city that is …

A New way of getting High @ HIGH Ultra Lounge (World Trade Center, Malleshwaram)

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Yes you heard me right, Bangalore has a new way of getting high. Considering our pours of alcohol last us only till 11:30 pm, we all need something to supplement the evening. Now before your mind goes wandering in directions that could get both of us into trouble – I’ll cut the suspense short and introduce you to HIGH Ultra Lounge. Located on the 31st floor of the World Trade Center in Malleshwaram, it aims to set the bar ‘high’ for all clubs in Bangalore. At 421 feet above the ground you can’t really help feeling ‘above the rest’! We were invited for a special blogger preview of the club, which officially threw its door open to the public this weekend. We were asked to dress warm because of the altitude but nobody warned us that the ride to the top in the glass lift would be nothing short of an adrenaline rush. The dedicated lift takes you zooming up to the 31st floor in under two minutes and if you have vertigo its best …