Having been in Bangalore, I have developed a level of trust in all BJN group places. So it was surprising that I hadn’t visited Hypnos & Samarkand yet.
We didn’t have much to do on a Saturday evening and wife was getting rather restless. So just the two of us made a spontaneous plan. It was a good 60 min drive for us and we were worried that with our rather late start, we wouldn’t get a seat. Surprisingly 8 pm seems to be early for Bangaloreans and we found just one table occupied when we reached there.
To say the least, the first impression was rather disappointing. Hypnos was a dimly lit white washed open area with rather large wooden tables. I presume they have tried to a do a Greek/Mediterranean setup but hey guys, you have tonnes of cash. Do a better job. We found the tables rather large for a 2 people party...the ones that are there are badly located. Since it was empty we were able to choose the larger table. It was a sultry summer evening and the only fan located far above us to a corner wouldn’t work. Again not something I would expect from a BJN run place.
The drinks are not too great to choose from. I was expecting better choices in cocktails. I finally ordered one not on the menu but the bar tender was ok in making it. The beer though was a nice surprise. The beer on the tap is served in large 500 ml jugs. In happy hour u get 2. So that’s like a lot of beer. The beer itself was not too bad. Esp. since we were seated in a rather stuffy open environment, it felt good. The starters are quite a choice of Lebanese, Greek origin. Good for both veg & non veg. Servings are generous although the dishes are pricey.
Service is quick and friendly. My wife didn’t like the first cocktail they served. So although you get two of a kind drink in happy hour, they were willing to substitute it with another. By this time the place was quite crowded. We realized there was a stampede (not literally) in Samarkand and a lot of the crowd was either choosing to wait here with a drink or was having dinner here. In retrospect, I though that was a wise thing to do (will follow in review of Samarkand).
I would recommend this place if you are a bunch of friends and who don’t mind spending a bit. I liked the the place in general but maybe I was expecting too much, the overall experience was average.