Today I would like to Review the Empire Kormangala Restaurant.
I am a self-confessed foodie, but I generally do not get into writing any reviews on Restaurants as I believe that judging a restaurant on the first attempt or even the 2nd and third are not true indications of the actual quality of the place.
Considering that I have now visited the Empire Koramangala Restaurant about 5 times in a Month, I feel that the place is absolutely pathetic save for the desserts!!
Decor and Ambience:
The place is well laid out, comfortable seating and ambience is almost the same as any other empire restaurant across bangalore
Food:
Food is definitely not something I would compare with the other empire restaurants, the food here appears kind of tasteless, I agree that looking for Good Chinese in an indian restaurant is not such a great idea, but no salt or taste in the chicken fried rice makes no sense! Even a local eatery out on the road knows how to make a decent tasting plate of Chicken fried rice!
The Indian food that I have had here, mainly Biriyani , Butter Naans and Methi Chicken are also not upto the mark. You may argue that the prices are a steal, and we cannot expect too much more for the price you pay, but C’mon, the USP of the place is that it IS an INDIAN Restaurant and it just does not justify the Empire branding!
Desserts are the saving grace in this department! The choice is huge and the desserts themselves are simply superb (Maybe coz its outsourced??!!)
I personally recommend the Gudbud and Wild Nectar!
Service:
Only one word to describe the service, PATHETIC!
The waiters and the captains are too busy talking to each other all the time and do not care about the customer (Happened on all 5 Occasions)
Food seems to take an eternity to arrive (4 times out of 5), god only knows what the hell they do in the kitchen, a basic order can take upto 20-25 mins. to arrive and you would typically have the waiters staring at you and making you feel conscious in this period!
On more than a couple of Occasions, the Lime water ordered along with the main course (in one case along with the starter) arrived along with the dessert! For gods sake, why does it take this long to get something as basic as a lime water, typically the captain and the waiter would ignore you if you try to call them to ask them about the status of your order! Never a word of apology from any of them.
Crowd:
The crowd is the basic empire crowd but with a huge mix of college students(Owing to the dense populace of colleges around) and families to boot as well. Alcohol and Smoking is prohibited so you would not have a rowdy crowd here.
Recommended for Business discussions and College students due to the amount of time you sit here waiting for your order (Get the sarcarsm?)
Not recommended for People who do not like to waste time and prefer quicker meals!
A typical meal for two with starters and the main course along with desserts would amount to around Rs. 400. This is definitely easy on the pocket and if you are on a tight budget and dont care much about the service, then this is the place for you.
Location is on the road to Jyoti Nivas College (HDFC Bank Road) and diagonally opposite Chung Wah restaurant