Restaurant Review - Dugout Sportsbar, Koramangala

You would go to a place like this and wonder, what exactly is the definition of a sports bar?
Dugout for example has 2 giant screens displaying sports and one pool and one foosball table each. Apart from that they also have couple of small television screens and a horrible DJ who plays loud but rubbish music and has no clue about mixing tracks.

The service is slow and at times you have to wait 10 mins to find a waiter and place your order. Even then they manage to forget all about getting your food/drink.
The taste of everything we had also was pretty mediocre.
The crowd was few groups of abusing teenagers yelling at each other as their teams took the upperhand in a football game.
If this is a sports bar, then I'd rather watch my sport elsewhere. Not one to be repeated surely...

Rating - 2/5

Restaurant Review - Windmill Craftworks, Whitefield

Like each city has a culture of it's own, Bangalore has become synonymous with beer lovers and fine pubs. The latest rave these days is of brew pubs which serve fresh beer, good food and a fine ambiance. There are nearly a dozen brew pubs across city now.
After reading and hearing a lot about Windmill Craftworks at Whitefield, we decided to visit it on a sunday afternoon.

Though we went without reservation, we were able to get a table.
They have seating both inside and outdoors. The inside of the place is like a library with a lot of books stacked up on the walls.
On one end is a small stage for performances etc, and on the other is the bar.
Large glass windows on one end allow ample natural light to enter and give the place a lively feel.

They brew about 6-7 varieties of beer and we tried the sampler with 5 varieties.
The servings were not too small and the beer tasted nice and fresh.
Of course everyone will not like all the flavours but it was largely very good.


We also tried some of the cocktails, which were not bad either. Don't remember the names now though.

Each item on the ipad menu, both food and drink is explained in detail along with images which helps in selection.
The beers were good and fresh, and the starters we ordered namely crispy honey potatoes and corn spinach tikka were quite good, a bit bland though. The potatoes had a very nice flavour with a slightly                                                     sweetish glaze and the taste remains etched in my mind.



For the main course i tried the Salmon Verde but to my disappointment it was grossly undercooked and tasteless.

Service is good and value for money factor is not bad either.
The ambiance of the place is lovely, it is quiet and very decent, rather upmarket and classy.
If you are looking for good meal and conversation to go with your beer, this is a perfect place. Not noisy at all.

Though my main dish was a disappointment, i'll give them the benefit of doubt for making a poor dish and would love to visit it again sometime soon.

Rating - 4/5

Hotel Review - Thotadahalli Home Stay, Chikmagalur

The concept of a home stay is different from a hotel. The owner of the property is inviting you to their home as their guest. They will show you their style of living, give you food as per their cuisine and give you a cultural insight into the lives of the locals to some extent.
Having said that, a lot depends on the owners of the place. In many cases they are not even present there, but not at Thotadahalli Home stay.



Getting here might be a little confusing so read carefully-
Take the road from Chikmagalur to Shimoga till you reach Kaimara. From there the first left turn goes to Mullayangiri, don't turn onto this road. Instead continue further in Kaimara and ask someone for directions, a small turn to your left going down will drive down towards the Estate, about 3-4 kms on.

The Homestay is within a large estate and the moment you enter towards the main entrance, there is likely to be a smile on your face.
A beautifully maintained garden welcomes you, not to mention the extra ordinary collection of Bonsai that the owner Pallavi maintains. Her husband Prakash greets you like you are extended family, and takes time to get to know you better.
He is one of those pleasing personalities who will really go out of the way to make you comfortable and make sure you have a good time. He will guide you around town and suggest places to see, even pushing you on to try some more of their food, as enthusiastic as one can get.






The property itself is brilliant. I have no doubt this is one of the best home stays in Karnataka.
Very neatly maintained and each item in the house looks handpicked personally. As you can see in the images here, it leaves a lasting impression on you.
They have 6 rooms only, 2 of which are inside the house and they have 4 cottages near the dining area and kitchen. Each room is slightly different from the other, so you can speak to the owners and try selecting a room of your choice if available.

The other important factor about staying here is the fact that food is included as part of your stay, so there is no other option as Chikmagalur town will also be about 30 minutes drive and there's no great choice there either.
They serve authentic malnad cuisine and don't go out of the way to try and make exotic dishes. Sticking to their roots, they excel in their cooking and the food is delightful. Even my north Indian wife really enjoyed the food.
Meals are to be had in the dining area only, so all guests can gather up around a bonfire, have a few drinks and share some conversation along with the meal. It's a pleasant experience unless you are really keen on your privacy.


Another factor to note is it might not suit everyone's need. If you are looking at full privacy and service at your beck and call, you will be disappointed. There is also no A.C or T.V in the room for the urban couch potatoes.
It is a rustic and wholesome stay and ideal for those looking for complete relaxation and a change from the usual.

Value for money component is good enough as a room for a couple is charged at Rs. 5500 per night, but that includes all meals and tea/coffee etc. This also includes stay and food for your driver.
They will accommodate your requests wherever possible, but the thing to remember is they are not doing this for money and it's not a hotel, so respect your premises and the people there. All the staff are very friendly and helpful, which made this stay a memorable one.

Looking forward to visit this place again soon with family/friends.

Rating - 4.5/5

Restaurant Review - Season, Richmond Road

Now this is an unknown gem, even to the finest foodies in Bangalore.
I was no exception, until my friend recently took me here for dinner one night.
The place is located in a quiet lane, where one wouldn't normally enter unless going to the hotel.
When on richmond road, you need to go under the flyover on the left hand side, and take the first left turn which leads upto Adarsh Hamilton and season is the restaurant in this business hotel.

Its essentially a multi cuisine restaurant in a formally laid out setup and they offer buffet option too.
The seating was comfortable and we sat near the TV and requested to watch the football game, and since it wasn't crowded, our request was obliged.
We ordered couple of mojitos but it turned out to be a sour disappointment, our starters were far better though.

The stuffed mushrooms turned out to be a delight as the lightly fried coating was perfectly done and the mushrooms and other filling was soft and creamy. Masala papad was as it should be, crispy base and fresh tomatoes and onions on top.
The chicken hariyali was also good with a hint of palak and chicken was cooked just right.

For the main dish we ordered egg biryani, where the rice was flavourful, but the egg was slightly dry. it was not an extraordinary dish, but good. My friend's wife ordered the veg gnochhi, and we were a tad surprised and skeptical, but it turned out to be quite decent. It was soft and creamy and not excessively cheesy.
We felt overall it was a good experience, and the quietness around let us talk and have a leisurely meal.

The service is also good and staff took care to ensure the baby with us was comfortable and even took her for a short walk while we had our meal.

It was a bit pricey, but good for an ocassion, and i'd recommend it to my fellow foodies.

Rating - 4/5

Restaurant Review - Republic of Noodles, Ulsoor

My wife and I visited this restaurant last night, as part of the citibank restaurant week happening across 3 cities in India.
They had a pre fixed menu where some of the items are not part of their regular menu.

The first thing that caught our attention was the lovely decore of this place. It has an ethnic oriental feel without being loud.
They have some terracota statues of chinese warriors on one side, and the black and red overtones create the right feel. The area is quite large with ample seating, and one side of the restaurant is entirely made up of glass and offers views outside.
Right next to it they have small water bodies with artificial lotus in it, which only adds to the ambiance.



Once seated we ordered for a cocktail, which turned out to be very ordinary, and then went on to order from our menu.
I tried the tom yum veg soup, while my wife had the raw mango salad and she fell in love with it instantly.
The salad had a very fresh taste and wasnt overly sour, it also had a good mix of nuts and cherry tomatoes to give a complete taste. The clear soup was not bad, it was slightly spicy and had very large pieces of mushroom in it, which i found difficult to eat and felt it must be chopped finer.
For starters i had the char grilled lamb with basil, and the lamb was sliced thin and had a good spicy flavour to it. I quite enjoyed the soft lamb which had soaked in the taste from the spices.
We also had the crispy babycorn which was a good dish again, not very crispy but the apricot glazing was a good addition.

The main course for both of us comprised of masamman curry vegetables and nyonya style chicken curry accompanied by jasmine rice and phad thai noodles. The nyonya chicken curry was not much to my liking as it was rather bland and was coconut milk based, which along with the jasmine rice was devoid of any flavours.
The noodles were wonderful though, and the veg curry was much better than the chicken one.

The portions of all the dishes were quite large and we were rather full by the time we finished, still we had to go for the desserts.
We chose the lemon tart with white passion mousse and a portion of orange lemongrass ice cream. And the desserts were the pick of the evening.
Both had such fantastic flavours and we finished them in no time. Each of the dish had a lemony flavour, but wasnt sour and not too sweet either. It was an absolute perfect balance of tastes which we really relished.

The service is also top notch, and seldom do you see waiters being attentive without being intrusive. The price is justified by the overall experience and i feel it's good value for money.
The sad part was to see the restaurant almost empty, maybe because most people don't know of the quality of RON. Two thumbs up to the entire team, and looking forward to my next visit.

Rating - 4.5/5

Restaurant Review - Karavalli, Residency Road

If you are looking for a stylish place to showcase south indian cuisine to some visiting guests, Karavalli will be a fine choice for it.
This coastal speciality restaurant located within the Gateway hotel greets you with a lovely ambience that would rival the best in Bangalore.


The outdoor seating is spaciously spread out, has a lot of greenery and a water body with water lilies and lotuses which looks so beautiful. The inside is more of a traditional decore with lantern shaped lights and tiled & wooden roof structures which add a traditional feel to the place.

The menu is smallish, and felt a little insufficient really. We felt the plantain leaf meal would be the ideal option to sample more dishes rather than ordering items off the menu individually.
So we opted for the veg and non-veg meals. The veg one had 2 dry vegetables and 3 curries apart from lemon rice, sambhar and masala vadas. The non-veg meal had interchanged one curry with a chicken curry and had fish fry instead of the vada.
Kerala parotas and appams are served along with the meal apart from rasam, curd, white rice and a cup of payasam.
The veggies tasted authentic south indian and each person's opinion on them differed according to individual tastes.
Though, i've eaten hundreds of thalis in my life, and i must say this about the food - it was not great, and just crossed the average mark in terms of taste for me.

Add to that the service was really poor and slow, it took almost 12-15 minutes to get our bill in the end, and by that time we were ready to blow our heads off on the waiters.
When you are paying a premium, you do expect good service, but it was not the case here surely. And at almost 1000 bucks per head, it also rated very poor on the value for money front for me.

So my overall analysis would rate:-
Food taste - 3/5
Service - 2.5/5
Ambience - 4/5
Value for money - 2.5/5

Though one of my buddies has been raving about this place when he went there for a specially organised meal by a visiting chef, I wouldn't recommend this place for a good south indian meal. period.

Restaurant Review - Chianti, Koramangala

This is a smallish italian restaurant in Koramangala 5th block which serves authentic italian cuisine.
The seating is rather small and closely laid out, about 40-45 people seating i guess.

They serve only wine apart from non-alcoholic drinks. We tried out the bruschetta and crostini along with some red and white wine to start off with.
Both were quite good and they also served us a basket of bread along with the minestrone soup we had ordered. The bread was really soft too.

We later had the veg gnochhi, canneloni, chicken pizza and also chicken parmigiana.
The taste of the food was good, not extraordinary. Can't say that it was bad, but it sure wasn't a standout.
The service was a bit of a let down and definitely it needs to go up a notch.

The waiter forgot to get one of our items and both our table as well as the one next to us were given wrong bills, with a higher billing amount. Co-incidence?
Well i'll let you decide that for yourself.

Rating - 3.5/5