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Restaurant in Ulsoor
Rated: Good
based on 4 reviews
Zaman
@ Hotel Ista, 1/1 Swami Vivekananda Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore
25558888
| Locality | Ulsoor |
|---|---|
| Place Type | Restaurant |
| Food Type | Awadhi |
| Timings | 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM |
| Price |
Expensive
|
- Additional Information
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Credit cards accepted
- Write a Review
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first reviewed by Meenakshi
- User Reviews (4)
Apr 26, 2008
Very elegant and great service
Zaman is a restaurant for the people who like an elegant setting, friendly warm service and of course outstanding food which is very well balanced. Don't expect over the top decor, loud obtrusive music and food that needs to go down with Digene at this place.
I have been to Zaman 7-8 times and it has become my favourite Indian restaurant. It is a 5 star hotel so it doesn't come cheap for sure but then one has to pay for the ambiance and great service. To enjoy the flavours of Zaman one has to appreciate the finer aspects of food - good quality meats or vegetables, fresh spices (probably the hotel mixes its own spices), cooked the right way, eg. their Zaman Daal is outstanding and is obviously cooked over a fire for a while unlike the "express" pressure cooker versions elsewhere. Fine dining indeed.
Also thank you Zaman for going easy on the butter and ghee!! Nothing is more putting off than oil floating on top of your curry.
I was there at Chenab two nights ago. It was wonderful as usual. Nice compact menu of popular Punjabi dishes, fabulous band which thankfully stuck to old punjabi music and not the Daler Mehdi variety. Wine paired with the food would have been a good idea as most of us new wine drinkers really do not know how to do this, but the manager was very helpful in this matter and recommended a great wine. Oh! and good you guys didn't have bhangra happening between the tables....... I noticed that one of the reviewers suggested this, please, please don't listen to him/her!!
For a great classy food experience with Indian food.... stick to Zaman guys. Kudos!
Apr 25, 2008
I think its great for Indian food
The food, ambience and service is excellent at Zaman. Very high class and fine dining quality, not the roadside type.
They have a special menu running till Saturday with some Punjabi food. Fortunately they have not gone over the top with the decor and music and it is very elegant and understated, unlike the garishness of some of the Church Street restaurants.
Ask for the sarson ka saag and makki ki roti, they are outstanding. Remember to mention to the waiter if you like your food hot and spicy so he tells the chef to add extra chillies.
Even if you miss the Punjabi food, you can go and try the north Indian food in any case.
Apr 25, 2008
Chenaab:The scam festival @ Zaman
The fancy north Indian restuarant Zaman, in Ista, Bangalore - recently announced a "Punjabi Food Festival" called Chenaab. This has been running since 18th or 19th of April to 26th April '08.
It has been one of the heavily publicised food festivals in recent times. Notice that I say - publicised and not advertised. I can't recall seeing even one advertisement for the event. But Times Of India has been carrying news and listing of the food festival every single day - starting 2 days prior to the start of the festival.
There have been nice page 3 news items on how the Bangalore Page 3 regulars met there and danced to Punjabi tunes and really enjoyed a great Punjabi meal and so on. There was even a write up with quotes from a manager of the hotel on how they had quite a cool thing going on.
Well, I bit the bait.
And went there yesterday - April 24 2008. For dinner.
And boy, if there ever was a scam of a food festival - this was one. It was an expensive, stupid and anonymous north Indian meal. Thats it. No flavours of Punjab anywhere.
They had a measly food menu with not more that 6 starters listed - including all categories - vegetarian, red meat, chicken and fish! It was the same for the rest of the menu. The special Punjabi menu of Zaman did NOT have tandoori rotis in their menu.
Food Festival - so where was the food? Where was the introduction these festivals normally make to a whole exciting world of flavours and tastes of a cuisine? The food menu was so small and boring that the average Punjabi restuarant around town would have come out a winner in a comparison!
The food preparation, serving style was all boring and same old same old. And of course, no new gastronomic experience to be had - so sublime or exciting trip to the taste buds here.
No attempt to create any mood of the festival - that was so heavily talked about to the press.
OK - the lilting Punjabi music? The zesty bhangra tunes? Nopes.. no such luck! There was a bad bad speaker sound system - which was set so that the songs sung would sound like they were coming from the next building! And there was some singers - local no doubt - who sang some really bad ghazals. And they tried their hand at a couple of Punjabi songs and quickly gave up!
Decor? Nothing - it was the same old same old Zaman.
So where was the festival? It was not there in the food, sound, sights or smells! Least of all in the service. Such good looking waiters - all hiding boredom and robotic in their movements.
What a scam Chenaab was! Why did Ista even bother with this?
Get a lot of press and not live up to the built expectation? Where do they think their money will come from? The Page 3 regulars and the Times Of India - or the greater numbers of Bangalore Janata which is willing to pay a lot for a paisa vasool dining experience?
Don't they realize they have more custom to lose than gain with such half hearted attempts? Bangalore - has so much of food choices - how many will come back to get fleeced at a place like that - which can't deliver what it promises?
I have been to so many food festivals in Bangalore for the past 10 years and this festival "Chenaab" in Zaman, Ista has been by far the worst.
One of the best in the business of fine dining is F&B's Bouquet. Their food selection is amazing, fantastic service. Zaman is not even half as classy as Bouquet. Bouquet right now has undergone a subtle makeover in sync with the season - summer colors, different menu and generally a lighter and more fun atmosphere.. without missing a step and losing a drop of their class. Zaman could pick a lesson from them!
Apr 03, 2007
For that classic and elegant dinner
Located near Trinity Circle where Lido theater once stood, Ista is a four star hotel which has two restaurants – Lido, a 24 hour coffee shop serving multicuisine food and Zaman, a formal dining restaurant that serves Awadhi cuisine; and a bar, Liquid.
Zaman is a fine dining restaurant – at the entrance are huge temperature controlled wine shelves stacking about 300 wines. Sparkling wine and water glasses catch the flicker of innumerable candles, huge vases filled with fresh white flowers add to the classic and elegant dinner ambiance and gorgeous chandeliers glitter from the ceilings. On one corner is a glass partition through which you can view the kebab display which extends to allow a view of the open kitchen where the chefs dish out exotic rotis and naans. By one side are chairs and tables arranged like private booths – separators are muslin curtains hanging from the ceiling, a nice touch.
The menu is extensive – and I must say, has excellent vegetarian options, which surprised me, since we usually associate Awadhi cuisine with kebabs and mutton biryani. The dahi ke kebab which is basically a yogurt flavoured vegetable patty is superb. The shama bahar, green chillies stuffed with cottage cheese, was a bit too spicy. The sunhari kannez or chicken kebab was ok. Main courses, especially the vegetarian ones, were fantastic. The tawa ka parantha, subtly flavoured with saffron, is a complete winner. Rich, sweetish flavoured kajur kofta was superb and so was the robust channa masala. The makai phalli, mixed vegetables with corn, was delicious. The murg dum and the dum biryanis, both chicken and vegetable, were good. For dessert, try the malpua rabdi – it is guaranteed to melt in your mouth.
The restaurant is a good, if somewhat pricey option, to celebrate a special occasion. A meal for two without alcohol is approximately Rs.1400. Parking is available inside the hotel.