Le Jardin Bangalore

This is the coffee shop at the Oberoi in Bangalore (which I regard as one of the established best hotels in the city). Went there for lunch and tried the pre-set menu (with combination of buffet). Basically the salads and dessert are spread out while you can selectteh main course from a choice of 10-15 dishes. Its a different idea but the food tastes good - its as simple as that. I tried the prawns and fish curries. was good. The dal and aloo subzi is always there to accompany the main course order. They can do better with an assorted bread basket! The taste of the food is nice and leaves a light feeling. The curries are fairly spicy but I guess the advantage here is that you can order it as you like - service is pretty personalized. Overall a good experience when you are ready to spend on the higher side. BTW - I would strongly recommend a cup of coffee at their open air bar (Polo Club) - it is served in a tray with some cookies and you will really enjoy it after a nice meal.

Style - 4 stars

Would I go there again - Yes!

Food for two - Rs 2500

Caperberry Bangalore

This one is located on Dickenson Road (right behind the Tanishq showroom). It is a very well done place - excellent food and very nice services. I was quite amazed that it was not crowded on a Friday evening when we went for dinner. There are decent portions of whatever you order - chicken, fish or vegetarian. I tried the grilled John Dorry (if I remember the name correct!). It was white fish - Australian, which had its own taste. I liked it. The chicken, duck and mushrooms looked good too!

Dessert was OK though. It was a fancy preparation (live chilled cooking in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 celsius) but I honestly did not relish the taste as much as I liked the main course. Must mention that the chocolate cake provided by them was at the perfect temperature. Was impressed by that!

Was not in for wines as I had to drive family back but then this is one place where I would say wine would go very well with the food.

If you are in the mood for something different - European - try this place.

For the ambience, service and quality - I would admit I found the prices reasonable.

Style - 4 stars

Would I go there again - Yes!

Food for two - Rs 1000 (without liquor)

Lido (Coffee Shop) at Hotel Ista, Bangalore

The old Lido cinema screen gave way to creation of the Lido mall and the Fame Cinemas in Bangalore (just off MG Road). As I write this - Big Bazaar is looking at setting up shop there. But the hidden treasure there is the hotel Ista (on top of the complex) which has its own entrance and its own set of beautiful restaurants.

By Bangalore standards - this is by far the best coffee shop I have come across - whether it is ambience, quality of food or service - a fantastic combination!!!

We went in to be awed by the open feeling in the coffee shop which is on a covered-open air setup (on a partially open 4th floor terrace which is covered well). The coffee shop opens up right into the pool and the palm trees make the ambience vey romantic! My mom thought it was a Persian touch although I felt there was a contemporary touch to it. We ended up agreeing that it is a mix of both.

They have continental, oriental, italian, western and indian on their coffee shop menu which I think is great for choice. We ordered as we wanted. Thin crust pizzas and vegetable shaslick. Couldnt have asked for more. The pizzas were fresh from the oven (including the crust) and the shaslick had grilled veg sheeks with rice and tomato based sides (of course the menu had a more sophisticated description than what I give).

There was a nice menu for the buffet (but not for me - it was a cold menu!).

I would not do justice if I do not mention the exquisite italian brouche with olive oil - that keeps you busy while you wait for food.

Romantic evening, business meeting, casual dinner, friends get together or just some coffee - I would go there again!

Style - 5 stars

Would I go there again - ABSOLUTELY!

Food for two - Rs 1000

Shiok - Inner Ring Road - Domlur Bangalore

This is a relatively new place in town. A small cosy place on the Inner Ring Road that connects Indiranagar to Koramangala.

We were actually driving down to another place when we remembered this attractive board and were fascinated by the name - Shiok.

It was a very warm welcome - the manager and the waiters were very welcoming right from the moment we walked in. It was not all that crowded perhaps because it is relatively new. The interiors are nice and woody - which we thought was neat.

Starters was a unique dish of King Prawns in Black Bean sauce - which we really liked They had opened up the prawns well and garnished with the usual chinese dressings which made it taste quite good.

We tried Indonesian Chicken Chill and the Sumatra Fish (Red Curry). Both were fine. I would not say the food is exceptional but certainly something we liked. I thought the rice was intentionally left a little uncooked but over the years have realized that this is how they like to serve it in Far Eastern restaurants.

They have a decent variety of chicken, lamb, beef, seafood and of course vegetarian options. They have also tried to mix in a little bit of chinese into the menu but I would rather go to Shiok only if I want Thai or Indonesian food.

Quantities served are reasonable (we eat less and ended up consuming just half of the 2 main course dishes served).

Style - 2 Stars

Will I go there again? - Yes (specifically for Indonesian )

Dinner for 2 - ~ Rs 800 total

Roomali with a view - Indiranagar Bangalore

This one is located on 100ft road in Indiranagar, Bangalore (just near Benetton). There is some parking in the basement but we were disappointed that there was no valet parking down there. We went on a Friday night but luckily got parking.

Its on the third floor terrace and we entered to see a buffet spread that was reasonable. Salads were on a stand (way too high to even notice!), there was a choice of about 5-6 veggies (the tawa veggies were the best), chicken and mutton looked rich but tempting and there was an out of place but tempting dal baati churma. The food is good if you are looking for the typical North Indian meal but slightly heavy on the oil. The Rogan Josh mutton was soft and inviting. Chicken Curry was nice too. Well marinated. The tawa bhindi, karela and the paneer were well cooked - standard taste which you would look for when out for a normal dinner. They provided us Roomali Rotis and Tandoori Rotis with the buffet. Dessert comprised of Ice Cream and Lauki Halwa (quite nice).

Overall - I felt it was a good outing for us. Service definitely needs improvement - nothing went wrong but it wasnt that warm or delicate either. If you are looking for a change and want to try out a quick bite - try this.

Style - 2 Stars

Will I go there again? - Yes (when the mood is quick Indian)

Buffet for 2 - ~ Rs 600 total

Lazeez - Koramangala Bangalore

If you are a Biryani lover (specially with a love for the Mughlai blend) or if you like Kolkata style - hot kati rolls - you HAVE to try Lazeez. Ideally located in Koramangala (in 5th Block just near the old Infosys building or near Casa Picola) - this restaurant even seems to have picked up the culture from Kolkata's mughlai restaurants!

Try Chicken/Mutton biryani if you are a good eater but if you really want to pamper your stomach - go for the Mughlai Chicken/Mutton biryani - its got the additional potato/egg in it which is quite filling. You can always have a chanp with the biryani. The rolls are made with maida parathas that are literally "floating" in oil so only have it if you can take in all the calories :) But the taste is fantastic. For the veggies - there are aloo, paneer rolls and for the meat lovers - there is every possible variety right upto double chicken double egg roll. The kebabs are very heavy and serve good portions. The curries have generous portions of oil so watch out. They seem to have realized this recently and during the last couple of months - I have noticed that the biryani is not shining because of excess oil (or ghee) but has the same good taste as it always did.

Ambience - its quite ordinary and a typical Kolkata Mughlai restaurant. This is not for a stylish family outing but for simple eating. I like to get food parcelled (they even have home delivery now) and relax at home. If you know the joy of coffee at coffee house - then you will know what I am talking about for ambience! Needless to say - this is not the place to go for expecting high end service.

Style - 1 star

Will I go there again? - I prefer home delivery

Meal for 2 - Rs 350

Mugen - Indiranagar Bangalore

Being close to our place is always an advantage because it saves us the effort of driving all over town to get to a meal! But this one is a new find. The food is different - Indonesian, Thai and Chinese. Parking is not tough as there is a valet (although I thought the guy could have been more proactive in the way he helps customers). You are bound to notice the interesting chef's table with "Benjorong" crockery as you enter. Pretty attractive - although we preferred eating in the more functional normal crockery :)

The starters are very nice - they can tune the taste to your buds which is quite cool. We tried veg momos and the "Gai yang horappa" - grill chicken with thai herbs and basil leaves. It was a good start. We've done some Thai curries, Chinese Curries and also went adventurous with Indonesian but and thought that food was good overall. They do seem to have a nice set of chefs. I recommend the "Pla neug manow" - fish in coriander & lemon sauce.

Service is decent and portions are good too. Get 2 starters and 2 dishes at a table of 4 (normal diet!!!).

Style - 2.5 stars

Will I go there again? - Yes (when the mood is traditional Oriental)

Meal for 2 (sans alcohol) - ~ Rs 1400