Am an out and out foodie and this leads to being very critical of food which does not taste like the "original". Also love to eat out and this happens quite often:). Go to a restaurant for the food and not just to enjoy the ambience(although the ambience is definitely a big factor in liking / disliking any place!).
Love all sorts of cusines and also experiment a lot with my food. In no order of preference here are some of the restaurants / cafes in Blr that I have liked(have left out all 5 star ones - with the price and ambience they had better be good!). These are in no order or preference and I will keep on adding more to this list whenever I get the time.
- samarkhand - afghani / north west frontier province food. located at gem plaza on infantry road, valet parking is available, reservations are necessary if you do not want to wait for a long period. ambience is great, food is excellent and service is also good.
crowd - a slghtly upmarket crowd with lots of foreigners(mostly clients being treated by the IT companies:))
Bread sticks and different kinds of sauces are served while you wait and make up your mind on what to order. The menu is in the form of an "afghani newspaper" and the drinks menu is printed on the wrapping of a bottle(nice touch!).
You should start with the kebabs - the gelawati kababs are to kill for, some great options for the main course though I would recommend going straight for the nalli ki salan(tender lamb shanks in "dum" gravy served with special baby nans) Biriyanis are not too bad either, end with the amazing kulfis.
Without drinks - dinner for two would come to around 900/-
- tandoor - north indian food. located on MG Road, valet parking is available, reservations are necessary if you do not want to wait for a long period. ambience is OK, food is excellent, service needs to be perked up a little though.
crowd - similar to that of samarkhand
If you are going in a group make sure that you order the tandoori platter. Great stuff, the kebabs actualy melt in your mouth. Order a basket of rotis and some dal makhani before you change your mind:) the dal, according to me is one of the best that you can get in blr. go with the traditional tandoori dishes(chicken tandoori, tikka masala etc.) and you will not be disappointed. you can try the gajar ka halwa for desserts
Without drinks - dinner for two would come to around 900/-
- wanley - chinese. located on krishna temple road, indiranagar( off CMH road), parking almost impossible to get in the peak hrs - but lots available in the various mains and crosses nearby.
You would have to wait a little bit to get your table as this place is usually choc a bloc. Not your usual lah di lah crowd so you might want to give this a miss if the motive is to go to an upmarket place!
start with the soups and you are in for a surprise - this is one restaurant that does not believe in serving bird portions. A one by two soup will fill you up. drums of heaven are really nice as unlike other places the batter is really less and there is more of the meat. go for the wanley noodles(a mixed hakka variety) - if you don’t have pork then just ask them not to put pork. steam rice here is an absolute delight - if you’ve had the real stuff in the far east then this is really very close. go for the pork or prawn steam rices - due to the generous quantities you’ll have a lot of problems in trying to finish one plate:) if you love pork then order the roasted chili pork - hmmmmmm.heavenly. Chili chicken is not too bad(though you should tell them that you want it really hot!)
Drinks are not available.
Dinner for two would come to around 250/-(surprise surprise!). Don’t remember seeing anything on the menu which was more than 80/-
- Infinitea - tea bar / restaurant. located on cunningham road(diagonally opposite to sigma mall so you can park you vehicle in sigma mall:)
eclectic crowd - lots of teens(not surprising given that mount carmel is just down the lane), some foreigners, the "creative" types and also some families
now this is a place for tea and more tea(the owners apparently own tea estates in darjeeling). lots and lots of choices for the food - starting from momos(tibetan dumplings) to salads to lasagne to baked stuff. Salads are really good; just the right amount of crispness to the vegetables and the olives. Fish and chips are excellent. Given that most of the dishes are continental - you can just go ahead and order baked fish etc. they will get it exactly the way you want it.
A nice touch is the hour glass that is served with your pot of tea(you need to use this to time the brewing time for the tea). Oh by the way, tea will usually be served without the normal sugar and milk - you can ask for these if you want to.
Lunch for two would come to around 450/-( including the must do cups of tea)
You can also buy various types of tea there
- Magnolia - South East Asian Food. Located behind Koramangala BDA complex - ok not right behind it but on the road that goes down from 80 ft road towards raheja residency. Praking should not be a problem in the lanes nearby
Crowd - mostly IT folks
Actually a bungalow which has been converted to a restaurant. Decent ambience although the service is kinda slow. try the satay(this is defintely as close to the original as possible) and they bring it on a coal fired grill. the gorengs(nasi etc.) are quite good with the right amount of chilli and pungent flavour, prawn dishes are good as well
most food guides under rate this restaurant - not too sure why. If they were expecting this to be a ginseng(royal orchid hotel) then they have a problem with their perception
Dinner for two would come to around 700/-
If I remember correctly then beer is available
Lots and lots of other restaurants to write about.will do so on an ongoing basis.
Let me know if this review helped you.
take care
-cheers