COPPER CHIMNEY INDIRANAGAR

My Bestie and I are starters and salad fans and she suggested Copper Chimney for lunch for our monthly meet up, because they have an exclusive salad and soup menu along with a regular buffet . Located in 12th Main Indiranagar, this is a neat, simple, no frills kind of place that serves mostly vegetarian and non vegetarian north Indian cuisine.

At first, we decided to go for their salad and soup only menu which is priced at 199/- which includes one soup and about six different kinds of salads. But then after looking at the buffet options, we opted for the main buffet.

Buffet menu included the six salads – all were good, mostly vegetarian with one non vegetarian salad thrown in.

Soup was tomato soup, vegetarian option and chicken soup for the non vegetarians. I dint want the tomato soup so they got me another, spicy broth that was really good. I forget the name.

Starters veg kebabs, paneer, chicken and mutton. Now, I dislike places that think vegetarian equals only paneer and said so. So they gave me tandoori aloo which was delish!

There’s a chaat counter that has only two items – papdi chaat and pani puri and both were awesome. I did crave for bhel puri though. We had two plates each of the pani puri.

The main buffet review here is only for the vegetarian items – Corn pulao, raitha, paneer curry (paneer again!), aloo gobhi curry and one other. We got hot, soft butter rotis and naan with almost homelike dal that I had with spiced onions and lemon slices and that finished us completely! Which is why we were too full to eat a lot from the other items like rice and curry but nevertheless tasted everything a little bit. Loved everything in this option.

By this time, I had stuffed myself with starters and chaat and rotis and dal so couldn’t eat much but wish I did. I just ate a spoonful or so of all the dishes and everything was very tasty, yes, even the paneer curry!:) My friend liked all the items on the non vegetarian section.

Desserts were a chocolate cake, raj bhog, kala jamoon, moong dal halwa and cut fruits with strawberry ice cream..the ice cream was the only item which wasn’t all that tasty.

The place gets filled up pretty soon so it is better to go a bit early for lunch (we were there by 12.30) or book in advance . They don’t have a huge list of items on their menu but what they had was fresh, flavorful and filling. I like menus like this.
What I liked most was the customizing the food – soup was changed to my liking, tandoori aloo was given instead of paneer… all with a smile– this is what service is all about. They were quick to replace plates and glasses.

A special shoutout to Sanjay who served us. Very pleasant, attentive, prompt and smiling. Much gratitude!

What I would have liked more – two more chaat items. Innovation with veggies other than paneer. Better ice cream.

Would I go again? Of course! I hope they keep up with the same standards. Would I tell others? Yes and also waiting to try their salad and soup menu.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

Details:
Plot 607, 1st Floor, Trifecta Douillet, 12th Main Road, HAL II Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Contact: 8657497390/08043757712
Timings: 12noon – 3:30pm, 7pm – 11pm

YAUATCHA - MG ROAD

I so agree with a Zomato Reviewer, Avanti Singh who rated this place 3.0. After all the rave reviews, my friend and I decided to have lunch here and boy! Did we regret it. The ambience is pleasant enough and the bar section looks like a drinker’s paradise. The tables, however, are far too close to each other though we were early and so were comfortable with our seating.
But..but..but.. the food!!! I am not sure if it’s a bad choice to have selected the set select menu instead of a la carte or if this kind of food is an acquired taste but nothing appealed to us and we aren’t too fussy when it comes to food. Ingredients were fresh. The select menu had soup (awful), Salad (awful), dimsums (veg okayish..non veg awful), main course of rice or noodles (awful), a stir fry (veg was good, non veg awful), dessert (mind blowing!) and drinks (awful)

Dimsums had very thick or slimy covering instead of the melt in the mouth ones that is usually served in the Chinese restaurants. Salad was too sweet. The juices orange and watermelon was thick and tasteless. In the main course, out of the two options of rice and noodles. we asked if we could have a bit of noodles and rice mixed even if it means a small portion but they wouldn’t oblige to customize it. I’m glad because I ordered the noodles and my friend ordered the rice and both were equally bad.

For a “high end” place, service is atrocious! Glasses were not refilled with water. Forks and spoons were not replaced. After each course served, for some reason they took away the salt and pepper shakers and we had to ask for it several times after trying long and hard to catch their attention and this happened every time we wanted something.

Desserts : Thank god for this! The chocolate pebble and red fruit fromage was heavenly and the only saving grace.

Prices are jaw dropping for the tasteless food and bad service. The only good thing at the end of it all was the chef who spoke to us to find out what happened and we gave him this entire feedback and he assured us of a better eating experience next time. Know what? There won’t be a next time. Hahaha!

Overall rating: 2/5 – only for the dessert.

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

Details:
Address: 1 Mg mall next to lido, MG road, Bangalore.
Contact: 9222222800
Time: 12 noon to 1 am.

VILLAGE - THE SOUL OF INDIA, MALLESHWARAM

I just want to say 2 out of 5 and leave it at that! This place is so disappointing that I don’t know where to start. How in the world are people giving this place a 4?? I’m seeing that some of the reviews enjoyed the kids and families entertainment facilities so I suppose that would explain the ratings. Located in Mantri Mall I decided to have lunch here, enticed by the items listed on a board outside the place.

Welcome drink – Buttermilk…the only good thing here. Concentrated orange juice..

They had a live chaat counter. I had dahi paapdi puri which was good. The bhel had some fried dal in it that made it stale and hard. Imagine having to bite into a bhel puri like you are eating some hard candy!

Starters – Dal vada, paneer pakoda, aloo chips and mini kachori – Good.

Buffet spread – this all veg buffet had on offer the usual fare..nothing that stood out..rice, dal, curries and of course one has to be paneer, papads, aloo curry, peas pulao, steamed rice, curd rice. They also had hakka noodles, pav bhaji and dosas, roti /naan/kulcha. So which would you choose as the best options? NONE! I found a lot of it stale and tasteless.

Dessert was Gulab Jamun and Rabdi – just one dessert. For the first time in my life, I left a Gulab Jamun halfway through. It was so hard you need a knife to slice through it.

Servi ce is meh!. Prices were okay. Ambience is really good, quirky with pics of yesteryear actresses, hindi numbers and all things you would find in a village. It’s the only appealing thing in this place.

What happens next is what needs to be noted. As soon as I finished eating and headed home, I was queasy and had to swallow several times from throwing up in the auto. Came home and threw up thrice. Worst case of food poisoning.

Would I go there again? Not even if I was paid in gold coins.

Overall rating: 2/5 – only for the buttermilk, starters and the dahi papdi chaat.

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

Details:
Address: Shop T-38/1, Mantri Square Mall, Malleshwaram, Bangalore
Contact: 9741223008
Timings: 12:30pm – 3:30pm, 7:30pm – 11pm

CANE-O-LA, JAYANAGAR

A visit to Jayanagar, for me, is incomplete without stopping by at Cane- O- La and drinking their oh so cool frothy Sugarcane Juice. I’ve never till date reviewed a juice outlet exclusively. A recent conversation with a friend about sugarcane juice triggered cravings for my most preferred drink (next to tender coconut water).

My first stop when I hit the area is to have sugarcane juice here and only then head elsewhere to shop etc. This is also the kind of drink I can have in any weather summer or winter.

As the name suggests, the place sells only sugarcane juice, freshly made in an open kitchen that all can view. They have the regular natural flavor alongside mint, salt and pepper, ginger, lemon and chat masala. This time around I had one with ginger and one with lemon and ended up skipping lunch!!!. This is one filling drink! I personally cannot handle more than one glass so I try out different flavors at different times.

The place is neat. There’s even a poster outlining the benefits of sugarcane juice. There is no seating. They have an option of disposable paper cups (charge Rs. 2 Extra for this) and also the option of adding ice cubes which is kept in an ice bucket. Prices are pocket friendly for a generous glass of sugarcane juice. Service is super fast!

I quite like places like these. Just one item on the menu to offer that is clean, pure, fresh and organic. Long may it last!! You will find that anytime you go there, there is no dearth of customers. People are always walking in and ordering the sugarcane juice. I do wish they had more outlets and more so in my area, Indiranagar. Cane- O-La has a fan for life!

Overall rating: 5/5

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

Details:
Address: 30th Cross, 11th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore
Contact: 080 22977711
Timings: 9:30am – 10:30pm

SRI DURGA CHATS AND JUICE - VIJAYNAGAR

This month I thought I’ll try out another new restaurant for reviews but then decided why not review a place I frequent every month and one which I love?

Sri Durga chats and Juice is tiny place located in Vijaynagar, very close to the vijaynagar metro station. After my music classes, I always head here for their awesome chats and they have quite a variety on offer. I stick to the tried and tested…I start with the dahi aloo chat and follow it up with the tomato chaat which the best I’ve had in a long time. Same order every month.

I keep thinking I should try many of their other stuff but I end up craving for the same two dishes every time. Those who love tomato should give the tomato chaat a try. The puffed rice they use as a topping is crispy and crunchy and goes well with the sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients are fresh and the person who makes it customizes it to order and hardly any waiting time.

Sometimes when I’m thirsty I go for the masala lime soda. Usually I get a dahi cutlet as a takeaway to snack on later and it is delish! I’ve also tried their fries, sandwich , burgers and vada pav as takeaways. So far not one single item I’ve had from here…either the chats or the other snacks or the drinks have disappointed me which is why I always go back to the same place month after month. As a personal preference, I like their chats over other snacks.

I must mention the magnanimous gesture by the person who runs the shop. I had once ordered some snacks as takeaway but left the parcel behind. Once I reached home which is the other end of the city, I discovered that I had forgotten to take the snacks. I did call the number and informed the owner about it but nothing could be done as it was too far away to go back and collect it. At my next visit nearly a MONTH later, the owner offered to deduct the price of the previously ordered snacks from my current bill as I dint get to eat them, despite the fact that it was my fault that I forgot. I refused but was really touched by the gesture. That’s customer service for you. He gets a 5/5 for that.

There’s minimum indoor seating arrangement and the place is clean though sometimes I get disturbed by flies. Prices are reasonable. This is definitely a place to check out if you are in the area and in a mood for a quick snack.

Overall rating: 4/5

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

Details:
Address: 7th Main, Chord road, Vijay Nagar, Bangalore.
Contact: 9880860902
Timings: 9am – 10pm

BOLOGNA - INDIRANAGAR

For a long time, my friend and I were planning to visit this place in Indiranagar which serves Italian cuisine and because she was raving about the salad and both of us being salad fans, decided to try this place out. We met for lunch and it was rather quiet. Ambience was simple and cozy.

The bread basket was awesome – fresh and tasty.

For starters, I ordered the Bruschetta al pomodoro..tomato bruschetta, my favorite at any Italian place. The bread was crunchy and the toppings were good. I still haven’t found one that’s worth drooling over and I’ve had this in many places, but this is one of the better ones.

My friend had Gamberi caldi con aglio e olio d’oliva…fresh baby tiger prawns tossed with garlic, olive oil and spicy pepperoncino and which actually looked like prawn pakodas. She liked it though she would have preferred it to be a tad spicy….but Tabasco solved the problem:)

For the main course, I had ordered Insalata di bologna – grilled veggies with basil pesto parmesan cheese with fresh mozzarella (cheese was really good), with balsamic vinegar dressing. I found it quite okay but I wish the lettuce leaves were shredded smaller. I felt like a cow chewing and chewing large leaves. My friend had ordered some salad that she had had in earlier visits which nobody could remember the name of, but it was with chicken. The manager tried to replicate the same and ended up skipping the chicken. She said somehow it dint taste the same as her previous experiences. As an extra effort, a chicken dish was made just for her, which she enjoyed.

For dessert, I ordered Bomba di cioccolato – chocolate bomb with vanilla ice cream which is not very different from some of the other places where I’ve tried the same dessert but you can never go wrong with chocolate.

All in all it was a comfortable lunch. I dint feel it was wow. I didn’t feel all that full though.

Staff seriously needs to be trained better about the orders and who wants what…skipping the chicken in the salad, mixing up my friends order with mine etc. It was made up for later. Service was good overall but can improve.

Would I go back again? Yes, to try some of their other dishes and they seem to have quite a variety and good options for vegetarians.

Overall rating: 3.5

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

In pics: Bruschetta, Salad, Fried Prawns and chocolate bomb.

Details
Address:759, 1st Floor, 100 Feet Road, Indira Nagar, Bangalore
Contact: 080 49653550
Timings: 12n to 3:30pm, 6:30pm to 11pm

1131 - INDIRANAGAR

After reading up on all the reviews on Zomato and visiting this place for lunch earlier this month in Indiranagar, all I can say is this is one hyped up place.

The first issue I had with this place was that there was no elevator. Having just got on medication for high blood pressure this was extremely inconveniencing for me to climb the long flight of stairs.

My friend and I met up here for lunch. The place has a breezy outdoorsy set up. We started with the herb crumbed onion rings.

This was crispy well on the outside but so chewy. This came with a salsa which was tasty. My friend however, wouldn’t eat more than two. We’ve had better onion rings.

This was followed by Asian appetizers – broccoli and water chestnuts which is not too different from the kurkure we make at home except that the water chestnuts added a nice unique twist and crunch to it.

For the mains we decided to have the immunity booster salad – broccoli, baby spinach, orange slices, pomegranate and lettuce, topped with red wine vinaigrette and roasted almonds. This was a big letdown. While the ingredients mentioned were present, they were just a smattering of them. The whole bowl was filled with lettuce leaves and more lettuce leaves. I usually love most salads but I personally felt it wasn’t worth the Rupees 245/- I paid for it.

Dessert was chocolate fudge cake and this at least ended on a sweet note. Nothing to complain or go wow about though.

Service was okayish. Nobody asked us anything unless we called for them or refill of water in the glass. The items on the menu is on the pricey side.

I’ve always maintained that the benchmark of any great restaurant relies on two things – will I visit again? And will I tell everyone about it?

Nope.

Overall rating: 2.5 – maybe one can try the other dishes and get lucky or maybe not.

First impression no-no. Extra point given because dessert saved the day.

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

In pics: Onion rings, broccoli and water chestnut, Salad and chocolate fudge cake.

Details
Address: 100 Feet Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Contact: 080 49652166
Timings: 11:30am to 1 am