Category: Eating out

Maharaja Restaurant Review: This Mangalore eatery is a bit of a letdown [3.5/5]

Do a quick Google search on “best chicken ghee roast in Mangalore,” and one of the first restaurants you encounter is Maharaja. That alone should send your expectations soaring. The ambience Then, things start going downhill. And that happens from the moment you sit down. It starts with the décor, which appears pleasing and old-school at first. But the moment...

Mahesh Lunch Home review: A seafood promise that went unfulfilled [3.5/5]

In a landlocked city like Bengaluru where quite a few people have the ability to pay premium prices for good food, a seafood restaurant specialising in Mangalorean cuisine might have been considered a safe bet. Mahesh Lunch Home in the heart of the city might have reaped those rewards, had it not been for the quality of what it promised...

Restaurant Review: Pepe’s Pizza delivers dollops of delight [4/5]

Pizza joints have been mushrooming up all over Bengaluru, like other eateries serving popular foodstuff, like biryani. And in both cases, only the better ones persist, while others shut shop within six months of opening. Pepe’s Pizza in Bellandur falls in the former category, serving some pizza and starters that can send you into a food coma. Obviously, this is...

Special menu by Chef Jia at Mahjong Room of ITC WelcomHotel [4.5/5]

ITC WelcomHotel, one of the premier hospitality institutions in Bengaluru, often hosts special chefs as guests who curate special menus for one of its two in-house restaurants: Jacaranda and Mahjong Room. Now, I have reviewed Mahjong Room before, and the Chinese food there is really good. So, this time, my expectations were even higher when an actual Chinese chef curated...

Skoolroom Review: This is as close to nostalgia you will get! [4.5/5]

Eateries looking to invoke nostalgia seem to be the in-thing now, besides BBQs. Few, however, do it better than Ulsoor-based Skoolroom, which can easily transport you back to school. The only drawback here could be the amount of money you spend. The ambience As a café, Skoolroom has an inviting atmosphere. Adding to the nostalgia are random phrases etched on...

Firki Café Review: This watering hole will send you for a spin! [4.5/5]

Cafes, lounges and bars, like barbecues, are mushrooming almost all over Bengaluru. However, they seem to be concentrated more to the south of the city. That is where Firki Café scores a brownie point: It is in the north, and more importantly, near the bustling Manyata Tech Park. Ambience Firki Café has quite a few layers to it. For starters,...

Restaurant review: The Biryani Café is a hidden gem worth exploring [4.5/5]

Phrases like “hidden gem” are often thrown around for every little shop with even halfway decent food these days. Let me be clear that while The Biryani Café is indeed small as compared to its competitors, it deserved the “hidden gem” moniker in more ways than one. The ambience The Biryani Café is located on the second floor of a...

Tata Cha Monsoon Menu: Comfort food that needs a little more kick [3.5/5]

Tata Cha, the out-of-home beverage arm of the Tata Group, recently launched its Monsoon Menu, aimed at the youth who want a better-than-average experience of drinking tea and snacking. I was fortunate enough to be invited to taste the menu, and came away both a little happy and sad. The Monsoon Menu The new menu has three items on it....

Restaurant review: By Chance is a good watering hole in several ways! [4.5/5]

Posh areas and thoroughfares in Bengaluru generally translate to really costly eateries. By Chance is an exception in that regard: Not only is it reasonable on the pockets, but it also does not compromise on the food, drinks or the ambience to achieve this! Ambience Located on Brigade Road itself — just a stone’s throw from where the thoroughfare meets...