Located in a not so good locale (chuck out he Brigade Apartments nearby) Massala is some kind of nice retreat for people of Padmanabha Nagar. The ambiance is quite normal, nothing bashy or loud about it, infact everything looks like a huge hall from your home. At night the seating arrangement outside looks good with some nice lighting arrangement. Things which stand out at Massala are the lighting at night, the guard on entrance(amazing moustache), great paan shop (makes good magahi paan) and a good pub alongside the restaurant.
About the main things the food is quite good. I am quite a regular visitor to the place and have tasted most of the starters, vegetarians and some of the non vegetarians items on offer. From the starters the Tandoori Platter , both veg and non-veg are worth trying. Both are quite similar in flavour but you get a choice of Paneer vs. Chicken. Also other Paneer and chicken starters are quite nice. In the main course I cherished Veg-Do-Rangi quite a lot, a Veg gravy dish with two gravies served as one, along with that the Paneer items are quite regular. I like Kacchi Mirch ka Saalan but here its not upto the mark, could have been better.
For Non-Veggies Chicken gravies are quite good, with regular dishes like Butter chicken quite consistent in their taste. For me the favourite is Dal Makhani, which at Massala is quite good to go along with all the Tandoori Rotis and naans.
The thing which stands out at Massala are the prices which quite not so in Bangalore mode. The prices are quite OK when compared to other restaurants in the city, without any setbacks in the taste of the food and time spent while eating it. That makes it a good enough hangout for people who want to have a nice full meal.
abhishek
