Restaurant Review - Sakley's Bakery, Nainital

Every hill station worth its mettle has a good pastry shop. One that is usually owned by a foreigner or an Indian with a love for baking.

Nainital is a beautiful and popular hill station and no doubt it had its very own charming deli.

Sakley's on one end of Mall road towards Mallital is your destination for wonderful food and desserts overlooking lake Naini.

The menu features continental and Chinese specialties and being in an adventurous mood we tried a mix of both cuisines. 

Some sweet corn and manchow soup to start with was a good idea on a damp rainy day. The thick soups were delicious and served piping hot. 

We ordered for our main dishes soon after.

We tried some sizzlers, a veg and a chicken variant and both were very good. They had different sauces poured on it and the pepper sauce was brilliant. Chicken was cooked all the way through and came off the fork quite easily.

The pasta was below average though, didn’t really like it much. 

We also had a bowl of noodles which had lot of vegetables in it and could be had as a meal in itself even without any accompanying gravy.

So overall it was a good meal by and large, but in a pastry shop you just can’t resist desserts can you?

We tried a few of their delicacies including banofee pie, chocolate pastry etc and all of them were pretty good. Full marks for the food.

The decore is simple, lots of wood work and a large painting of a beach surprisingly. The nice aroma of food was all over the small restaurant. 

It's a pity our peace was marred by some Punjabi aunties who felt they were in Palika Bazaar and were just too loud, not allowing us to get into our ruminative best.

Service is good and pricing is not out of the roof either.

It's great for a break from the usual north indian or indo-chinese cuisine available everywhere else and certainly more homely for any western travellers.

If nothing else it makes for a good dessert takeaway place.

Rating - 4/5

Hotel Review - Vikram Vintage Inn, Nainital

Nainital is filled with restaurants and places to stay so making a decision is rather difficult. We looked up at some other reviews and froze upon Vikram Vintage inn, considering many hotels were already booked for the long weekend and it seemed like a good option.

Locate at Mallital, it is about 2 kms off Mall Road, so tucked away from the maddening rush which isn't a bad thing. 

The added advantage being they have a couple of shuttle vehicles with free drops and pick ups to Mall road which is real useful.

The hotel itself is not very large, they have limited rooms and cottages, but very well maintained.

The rooms were very large and well laid out including good sofas and a table besides the comfortable beds with firm spring mattresses. 

The bathroom was also spacious and our room had another little brick room sort of attached to the bathroom which was fully covered and i didn't understand its purpose really. Necessary toiletries were available in the room and hard dryer on request.

Other facilities in the hotel include indoor billiards table and carrom and an outdoor badminton court. 

They do magic show and puppet show twice a week for kids and other days are free.

They have a bar which serves only beer and wine, so if you are planning on hard drinks, please carry your own.

The restaurant gave us plenty of opportunities to feast on some good food. The package we had included breakfast and dinner, and we had an evening of indulgence as well, so got lots of opportunities to sample the food during our stay.

Food is quite good, mainly north indian. Spread was not extraordinarily large but sufficient variety for all. 

Enjoyed the pakodas, the nice rotis and homely sabzis. Good sandwiches too. 

Lots of greenery in and around the hotel and a view of the verdant rolling hills was very pleasing to the eye.

Service levels are pretty good. staff is friendly and always willing to help you with a smile. Our stay felt rather homely. Unfortunately it was ruined by bad weather and heavy rains, so we couldn't really enjoy to the fullest, but nainital is due for another time..

The pricing is slightly on higher side otherwise it is definitely a good place to stay in Nainital.

Rating - 4/5

Hotel Review - Holiday Inn, New Delhi International airport

On our recent visit to Delhi, we chose to stay at the aerocity which is the new hub of hotels close to the airport. Given the wide number of choices and competitive tariffs, it was difficult to make a decision. Going by the brand name we chose Holiday Inn.

Our stay was very brief, just one night so can't say we got to sample everything the hotel has to offer. 

The service is good, check in and check out would not take you more than a couple of minutes and the staff is courteous as you'd expect.

The rooms are spacious and equipped with minibar and a large cupboard with a safe. 

The bathrooms are well equipped and thankfully had a faucet too. 

  

The modern concept of having blinds separating the bedroom from the bathroom is the case here.

It's something that I personally disapprove of, as it doesn't ensure complete privacy. It's not necessary you will be sharing the room with your spouse, and your roommate could be a work colleague, your parents or siblings etc in which case it feels a bit inappropriate.

The bathroom had necessary toiletries etc.

Depending on which side of the hotel you are staying, your view is likely to be the road or like in our case, another hotel building.

We had an early checkout so couldn't have the complimentary breakfast, however we did order dinner in our room. They have different cuisines, but we stuck to north Indian.

Tried a Palak murgh, dal and rotis. Simple meal, but not quite by their standards.

The food I must say was below par even for a regular eatery standard, let alone a star hotel. The dal was bland and tasteless, the Palak gravy was watery and chicken wasn't great either. The rotis were not even baked evenly. 

When the waiter came for clearing and asked us how the food was, we gave him a honest feedback. 

He apologised and said he'd send us some complimentary desserts to make up for it.

The gulab jamun and even the vanilla ice cream that followed were not up to the mark and we were rather disappointed. 

The hotel also has a lounge apart from an outdoor swimming pool and a fully functional fitness centre and spa.

Since we didn't try any of these facilities, it won't be possible to comment on them.

Going by the value for money factor it's not a bad deal, and based on our experience i'd rate it a 3/5 for now.

Restaurant Review - Maison Des Desserts, Hauz Khaas Village, New Delhi

Le Maison Des Desserts est tres bon patisserie.
Just had to read a little bit of french to describe what i felt which translated to english means "The House of Desserts is a very good bakery".

That's true of this place. A small cafe housed in one corner of the food hub that is Hauz Khaas Village.
The seating here is very limited and so is the menu. Revolving around desserts primarily, they also serve hot beverages and cafe food like sandwiches, pasta, salads and an all day breakfast menu.

We entered after a heavy meal and could only sample some of their desserts, so we looked at the display and the pavlova caught our eye first. It looked really inviting so we gave it a try.
They describe it as a light meringue based dessert with a crisp base and topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruits.
Oh, it was all that and more. In fact it can simply be described in one word - "Stunning".

The base was so light and airy, very biscuity crispness to it. And the cream was superb, topped with chocolate shavings and mangoes, it went down in a jiffy.

Everything else after this seemed menial, we had new york cheesecake which was also good, although less spectacularly so. It was smooth and creamy and not overly sweet.
The cappucino cake was a bit dry and ordinary for our liking.

And we also had a cafe latte which was outright bad unfortunately. So it would be better to stick to the desserts i guess.
They also give cakes for special ocassions, so plan a pavlova for your special one i'd say.
It's not very heavy on the wallet..

Rating - 4/5

Restaurant Review - Arbor Brewing Company, Opp Garuda mall

Drop in to Arbor to drink your ale,
The colour of the brew will tell the tale,
Black, copper, dark brown or pale,
No matter what you drink, a good time shall prevail.

An awesome place, truly!!
We dropped in on a friday night, to find the place jam packed, barring one table where we managed to squeeze in just in time.
They have large seating and very nicely done interiors. We played a bit of fusball, but mainly we were just sitting chatting away and having a good time while having some amazing beer.

"The beer"-
We tried the bangalore bliss, german beer and belgien tripel. All had their own unique taste, unfortunately we didn't drink much as we all had to drive back.

"The food"-
Spectacular mostly. We had the nachos, which were ok. The chicken sandwich and chicken pizza were quite tasty and had good chunks of chicken. The lamb burger was a standout, such a soft juicy patty of lamb is rather rare in India. The veg sizzler mainly comprising of mushroom could have been a bit better.

"The service"-
Very nice, very friendly staff, and despite the rush really surprisingly quick and prompt service. You will feel right at home.

"The crowd"-
Ok fine, i'll admit it, we are not really spring chicken on the party circuit anymore, but we do go out a lot, and the crowsd here is the best i've seen.
A good mix of foreigners, localites and people from all parts of the country and all walks of life.
Stags, keep your libido under control.

"Value for money"- Slightly expensive but every bit worth the experience for all senses.

We are going to keep going here repeatedly for sure, a must try for party aficionados.

Rating - 4.5/5

Restaurant Review - Coast II Coast, MG Road

I remember coming to Coast 2 Coast and eating the chicken ghee roast long ago. The thought of it still brings back good memories, but i didn't get a chance to come back here for last 3 years, until recently.
It was a fortunate co-incidence that only the hard core non vegetarians of our group happened to meet for dinner and we decided to devour sea food for the night.

Coast 2 coast has been in Shrungar complex between mg road and church street for quite some time now, and is quite popular among the regulars.
It's a decently laid out restaurant where you can relax, have a couple of drinks, watch a game on TV and have good food.
We had a few beers and ordered some starters to go along with it. They have chinese and north indian variants also apart from seafood.

We were in an experimental mood and ordered one dish from each, namely prawn chilly, chicken tikka and chicken sukka.
Prawn chilly was the worst dish of the evening without doubt. After finishing half the plate we realised it was our prawn dish and not chicken, cos it certainly didn't taste like prawn, too much masala in it.
The chicken sukka was very nice, good flavours and chicken was cooked just right. So we ended up ordering some neer dosa to have with the chicken.
The tandoori chicken was also a good choice with our beer.

We ordered fish curry for the main course and chose anjal from the fish varieties they had. It was a medium spiced curry and fish was fresh and tender. The chicken pulimanchu was our other dish, which had a different gravy than the fish and tasted good too. Appams and brown/white rice go along very well with these curries.

The service is fast and they even changed our appams within a minute when we felt they were not hot.
The options for vegetarians here are sparse, but the name should make it clear that it's not a paradise for the herbivores.
But it's a good dining option for the sea food and chicken lovers. Must recommend.

Rating - 4/5

Restaurant Review - Mahesh Lunch Home, Residency Road

The desire to feast on some pearls of the ocean landed us at Mahesh Lunch Home for a Sunday lunch. 
Though they have a large seating area we booked in advance to make sure we got a table.

Upon entering we were greeted by some live crabs snapping away on one side and some fishes on display too.

The seating is spread across 2 floors, and we were seated upstairs in the are with a low roofing. Decore is simple but interesting including starfish like projections on the ceiling.

They do serve alcohol as well as mocktails. We started by calling for some fresh lime soda, iced tea and another drink which was based on kokum, coconut milk and spices. Unfortunately the drink had a very intense taste of garlic which overpowered everything else, and we couldn't have any of it.

To the credit of the service staff, the captain came up to our table and asked if we didn't like the drink. And without a question the drink was picked up and not charged to us. That's great service i'd say, considering many restaurant staff have the audacity to tell clients this is how the stuff is supposed to taste and nothing can be done about it.

Infact throughout our meal, the service was good and quick. Staff was courteous and indeed very helpful in making the right selection from their very vast menu.

What I loved about the menu is the classifications like pomphret, crab, basa and rawas, sea specialities, chicken etc each of which have a couple of pages dedicated to them including starters, specialities and main course dishes.

We ordered 3 starters, namely the prawns butter pepper garlic, basa fish roasted and a pomphret tawa fry. The promphret was brought to our table to show the size and the price before it was cooked.

The prawns were dry and cooked with lots of garlic. The cooking was perfect and prawns had a nice crunch and freshness to them.

The pomphret tawa fry was good, lovely paste of spices on top and quite pungent. The basa fish roasted also had a good spice covering on it, and not just chillis, a good masala mixture.

After our happy starters and drinks we called for our main course.

Of course almost all the dishes use coconut in some form here. And we tried the basa Malabar curry and basa mallipuram. The reason we chose more of basa fish is because of our averseness and incompetencein eating fishes with thorns as we are not major fish eaters.

The basa fish curry was so-so as the thin and mild gravy was not much to our liking, but the mallipuram preparation was a winner all the way. The semi gravy dish had a brilliant masala on very soft fish. The masala was very flavourful and had a nice coarse texture to it. A deadly combination with the appams and rice.

They do have choice of rice, and I think the boiled rice will be a better accompaniment than the white or basmati rice.

Neer dosa should also be a good alternative.

The overall bill including an expensive and large pomphret came upto 4000 for 4 of us which was not bad at all considering the amount we ate.

They also have better options and offers on weekdays and that makes it a more cost effective option. It’s a good place for seafood in Bangalore.

Rating - 4/5

Restaurant Review - Leanin' Tree Art Cafe, Basavangudi

So this small little place is just next to southend circle, but such is the hustle- bustle of this busy street, i never even knew it existed here. It's easy to miss really.
It is something of a small house kinds converted into a cafe. The ground floor is the entrance and houses the kitchen. The first floor is where the seating is, very limited. 4-5 tables maybe.
There is a tree in the middle of the place, hello, obviously.. hence the name

The tree could have been decorated much better really. There is scope for creativity there but it was a bit dull.
The cafe has a small food and drinks menu, but we were very disappointed to know there is hardly any variety in hot tea and coffee.
More of smoothies, milkshakes and cold coffees which the younger college going crowd will appreciate more.



We ordered for a hot coffee and a hot chocolate. Both were only average at best. You'll get better in most decent cafes.
We also ordered for some Loaded potato skins, which are not baked but fried in this case.
Knowing the risk associated with that we still ordered it. Much to our dismay our fears were realised as we got a really oily plate of potatoes which was difficult to have as it was covered in oil literally. Still we had a piece each and the filling was not bad, could have been much better had it been baked instead.



They have also recently started waffles so the owners were kind enough to send us a sampler alongside 3 sauces, a chocolate one, a caramel sauce and another one which we couldn't figure out as it didn't really taste like anything.
The waffles were quite good i must add. The texture was very nice, not too soft, just enough of a bite in it.

Service is poor, i know its really difficult to get the right staff in Bangalore and this is something the management here also must be battling with. The communication and food knowledge of the staff was simply poor.

The major turn off also is the huge amount of noise from the busy street which percolates into this open place and really doesn't make for a quiet outing. Also if it rains, its likely to get pretty bad here.

Overall it can be visited if you stay nearby, not worth travelling specially.

Rating - 3/5

Restaurant Review - Meghana's Biryani, Jayanagar

My friend had been craving for Meghana's Biryani for a week before we met on a Sunday, so he really didn't give me an option to even consider another restaurant.
I didn't know what to expect so went there with a clear mind, this was for dinner on a Sunday.
And the moment we entered the premises, I was reminded of a song by Sepultura called Chaos B.C.

The place was jam packed, there was hardly room to stand, waiters running about everywhere.. their hands balancing filled or empty dishes.
Food everywhere, including on the floor. Loud and constant buzz of people clamouring away while their eyes are fixed on the plates, and their hands are busy grabbing whatever food is within reach.
I froze at the spot while my friend dared to ask for a table. I took a deep breath and said to myself - Aall izz well

To my surprise we were seated within 5 minutes, and the not so clean dishes were laid out in front of us.
We decided to try a couple of starters, the apollo fish and aloo 65.
Even the greek god Apollo could not have had this fish, it was that bad.. I had no more than 3 pieces before i decided losing money was better than losing your appetite. It was filled with batter and was very soggy and tasteless except for the chillies.
The aloo 65 though was merely bad, it was like samosa aloo covered in andhra spicy masala.

They are known for their Biryani and that's what we decided to have, a chicken and a veg version.They don't serve meals here by the way, so this is the only option really.
Now, we examined both bowls very closely and finally came to the conclusion that the rice used is the same.
They put in marinated chicken or mixed vegetables in the biryani depending on what is ordered.
The rice though was not bad, long grain rice and rather flavourful.
The chicken or veg masala was quite good. Chicken was cooked well and it must have been marinated for long time too cos the flavours had really penetrated.

The overwhelming tongue burning taste of chillis was a bit overpowering, but it was not a bad biryani.

Unhappy about the cleanliness, noise and the terrible and overpriced starters.
I would recommend this place for a biryani parcel maybe, no more.

Rating - 3/5

Restaurant Review - Plan B Loaded, Shantinagar

Here's another watering hole in the glorious pub driven Bengaluru. The location is a little odd, but there's nothing much nearby so it caters to a certain area of clientele.
A few friends decided to hang out here for a sunday evening booze plan.
The decore deliberately has an industrial sort of unfinished look. Brick walls, uncushioned chairs and tall stools. No fancy lighting or decore here. They have a large screen which plays your popular sports and music was more of the old popular english numbers, the hits of the 90s and 2000s..

We began our order with a pitcher of draught beer and some chicken wings to go with it.
Now chicken wings are known to be the specialty at Plan B and i know lots of people who drool over them too.
But its just something that i never like here. There is too much sauce on it for my liking making the wings completely soggy.
They do have some flavours for the sauce including ABS (ass burning spicy) and firecraker. So choose your heat wisely.
The poor veggie friend of ours opted for some sauteed mushrooms, which were pretty decent actually.

Another pitcher later we also tried the fried chicken strips and some loaded fries. The chicken was fried in a nice crispy batter and was not oily. The fries were topped with cheese and some chilli flakes. Both items were fine quality and helped the beer go down faster.

We had a burger each for the main which was a mistake cause we really didn't have the capacity to take down one full burger. I had the lamb one, and midway through it started getting this strange giddiness and couldn't carry on any further. Maybe it was the sauce or maybe the drinks and the creamy, cheese food together.
I didn't relish the burger anyway. The mushroom and veg burgers were nothing extra ordinary either.

Service is a tad slow but not a major cause for worry.
Pricing is competitive and it won't burn a hole in your pocket.

It's a regular bar with slightly better food i'd say, not bad to spend an evening of decadence with your buddies. Not too many pics in this one, cause it was just a chill out session with friends. Putting up a couple though.

Rating - 3.5/5

Restaurant Review - Punjabi By Nature, Koramangala

Punjabi by Nature is one of my favourite places for Punjabi food in Bangalore. Punjabi food, i hope you all know is rather heavy with inclusions of lots of butter, ghee and is very filling but yummy.

The standout here though is the ambiance. Large and spacious with lot of seating, but it is usually packed, even for a weekday dinner. They have 2-3 distinct dining areas and even a small waterfall facade.

The service is good and professional. There are lots of waiting staff to cater to you and the kitchen keeps up with the pace and doles out food in good time considering the numbers.

Now coming to the star of the show - the food

They serve fresh beer, so we tried a beer sampler which comes with 6 beers. I've noted them down to make your life easier. They have German pilsner lager, Wheat beer, Dark special roasted beer, American pale ale, Imperial stout and Citron wit beer. 

There is a host of veg and non veg starters to choose from, including rare specialties like dahi ke kabab and veg galauti. We tried the stuffed tandoori mushroom.                                                                                                                  Though the image looks like a piece of chicken but it was a really nice vegetarian kabab. Pieces of mushroom mixed with really tiny bits of paneer and rolled into a wonderful ball with some marination or sauce. Dipped in a batter and grilled in a tandoor, it was good stuff. 

Unfortunately the company I had didn't enable me to have any non-veg starters, but by my previous experiences i must say the chicken here is superb.

We knew the main course has large portions but still the 3 of us wanted to sample more things, i definitely wanted to have some chicken on my plate, so we generously ordered 3 main course dishes.  A dal makhani, some butter chicken and tawa vegetables it would be.                                                  Their breads are also quite huge and two is enough for 3 people.The dal makhani was a shade below expectation, not the creamy rich dal that i had expected. A slight letdown this. The tawa vegetables was good, mildly spiced and veggies were cooked well enough to be soft without disintegrating.  The butter chicken was super tasty, the gravy itself was so nice, i parceled the leftover and took it home to have it the next day. The chicken was tender and though it was not boneless, it made for a good meal. The lachha parathas were perfect and the aloo bharwan kulcha was amazing. My mouth is watering remembering the food again.

Though we were stuffed, we took the courageous step to order for some gulab jamuns with vanilla ice cream.

Fortune favours the brave they say, and so it did in our case too. 

This was anyway a safe bet as i had eaten it earlier even though my friend's hadn't.

The gulab jamuns are so delicate and come into your spoon with ease, immersing themselves in the mildly sweet sugar syrup sprinkled with pistachios. You dip the spoon in the glass of vanilla ice cream to blend the hot and the cold elements together before they all just melt in your mouth.

Silence gripped the table for the next 3 minutes as we relished the dessert, before we all fell back deep into our chairs realising how stuffed we all were. The 100 meter walk back to the car seemed endless after this filling meal.

It is priced steeply but it is definitely specialty dining and not a routine affair.

If there are official guests and you need to showcase punjabi food in Bangalore, this is one of the good options alongside few others.

I had a good meal and will definitely be back for more. 

Rating - 4/5 

Restaurant Review - Buff Buffet Buff, Koramangala

Firstly, i thought long and hard about the name - "Buff Buffet Buff", but i cant correlate it with anything really.
We happened to be here by chance while we had come to Blu Petal Hotel to try out Sultans of Spice.
Located on the ground floor, we decided to take a peek in as we had been hearing lots of radio advertisements of the huge menu on offer.
We were seated inside, and on a sunday afternoon the place was not too crowded.

They serve soups and starters on the table, and 20 starters at that.
Yup, the placard on the table had listed down 10 veg and 10 non veg starters.
I'm putting up a couple of images with the names of the dishes as well.

So the soup on this Sunday happened to be a chicken lemon corriander and a cream of mushroom soup.
We tried both, and both were just about average. This was the first time though that I had a spicy cream of mushroom soup.

The starters service began and soon our plates were laden with stuff coming in. We tried quite a few veg and non veg starters. Some were mediocre, some less so, but none were spectacular.
Besides, the service staff didn't seem to know what they were serving, many of the names were unknown to them.
We were also given some mocktails, there were 3 variants in fact. They were not bad, quite ok.
Half an hour into our starter service, we understood there were about a dozen starters doing the rounds repeatedly and others were missing. Not ready in the kitchen maybe, but it was disappointing.

We each took a bit of the maincourse dishes. Again spread was quite large, there were about 5-6 veg and 5-6 non veg dishes spread across asian and north indian. They had a decent spread of salads as well, although very few people tried them maybe due to the abundant options.



I tried the chicken biryani - run off the mill stuff.
The dal and rice was above average, and the noodles with kung pao chicken and diced fish were the saving grace for me.

So far i wasn't too impressed by the overall experience and was looking forward to the desserts and live ice cream counter to bring a smile back on my face.
Unfortunately though, the spread of desserts was not large enough and in fact most items didn't look too appetizing either.
I tried the gulab jamun which was good and soft and also the rasagulla, the kiwi mousse and some ice cream teppanyaki. It was sooo poor it almost broke my heart.
Why can't you bring in skilled labour in the kitchen and service staff if you are charging a premium.
The buffet at 700 per head is not bad considering the spread, but the service and food quality are a real letdown.




Felt very bad ruining my sunday lunch here, but anyway had to give it one try sometime.

Rating - 3/5

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