burrp! Stats
- 5 Reviews
- 4 First to review
- 3 Places Added
- Been to 21 Places
- Burrping since Apr 03, 2008
- Burrping fromGurgaon
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- Service
Reviews by onlineraga
Apr 16, 2008
29, Near H M Towers, Opp. Sullivan Police Grounds, Off Brigade Road, Magrath Road, Bangalore
Poor
Arabian Nights
As soon as I move to a new city, I begin my tour of restaurants. (No, I don’t review restaurants for a living... I do have a different full time profession!) If only...
I wanted to meet up with an old friend over dinner and asked around at the office about good restaurants close by. Someone recommended this place strongly. It was just down the road, right next to the Garuda Mall, and it was exactly the kind of place I’d love... they serve fusion food, you see. This place was Cosmo Village. I asked my friend to meet me at Garuda and we walked down to this place.
The decor is really what caught my eye. On the whole, the place looks like something straight out of Arabian Nights. The lighting is soft, the seating comfortable... but from up close, I also found it a little cheap. But what the heck... it is different!
I was told that the Kerala parathas with Thai Green Curry are simply out of this world. My friend and I had both spent days at Puru’s (the shack like restaurant outside Pondicherry University) and I don’t think better parathas are made anywhere else in this world. So we decided to eat non fusion Thai food. We ordered some soup and starters. These were quite good but the time it took for the food to get to our table was killing... based on just that, I’d strongly recommend this place if you were to take your significant other and not be bothered by waiters.
When we came to the main course, we had a different waiter. Someone who couldn’t speak English... well, he probably thought he could speak English, but I am not about to believe that! I kept asking him for a certain dish and he kept on insisting that we eat something else. He finally brought what he decided we ’’wanted to eat’’. We specifically asked for something not too spicy and something that we could eat without a gravy on the side. He brought us something that caused me to gulp down water... something that was terribly dry and way too hot for my palate! My friend ordered Moussaka which was just about OK.
Much against my wishes, a few weeks later, I found myself visiting the same restaurant again with a group of friends. We sat down at a table and found that the air conditioner was leaking. Then we moved to a different table... this one a little too small to accommodate all of us, but we managed. We had some starters which were like cutlets around pieces of sugarcane. These were truly amazing. We also ordered some cheese filled chick pea balls... you’re better off not knowing about them. I ended up ordering Kerala parathas with Thai Green curry, hoping that this would be really good. I was in for a surprise. The parathas and curry were good, no doubt. But the parathas were made with a lot more wheat flour than flour. (Some of you may argue about the health benefits, but if I had to worry about the health aspect, I’d eat at home... or at least choose my food more carefully). These parathas tasted nothing like the parathas I was expecting and I would much rather have eaten the curry with plain rice.
The place wasn’t crowded on both occasions and it is easy to figure out why. The portions are rather small (compared to the price one has to pay), the service dismal, and the price - simply outrageous! A meal for five set me back by about Rs. 6000.
Apr 16, 2008
#6-3-249/A, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
Excellent
Let the good times roll
Hyderabad doesn't carry the tag of foodie’s paradise for nothing! If I’d picked a different restaurant each time I wanted to eat out (which I tried hard to do), I would still have been left with a long list of ’’to check out’’. That list didn’t get very much smaller with time because I made repeat appearances at some restaurants... Chutneys, Mainland China and the restaurant kind of across the street from it : Fusion 9.
Trendy, upmarket... call it what you like, F9 is all that and more. In a sense, a place where I felt very much at home. I’ve been there with friends, colleagues and family. The ambience is just great, the food sinfully good and the service decent. I’ve only been disappointed once: but I can never really tell if it was the preparation that I couldn’t digest or the company I had that evening.
The drinks served here are out of this world, some combinations very unusual. The Long Island Iced Tea served here is truly amazing as is their non alcoholic Lemon Iced Tea. I’ve had almost all the vegetarian starters listed on the menu at F9 and none has failed to impress. Be it the satay or hummus. In the main course section, I’ve tried Spaghetti, Gnocchi, Pizza... pretty much everything except the Biryani! I, of course, am not likely to remember stuff other than the Italian food.
F9 has 9 different cuisines on its menu, including Indian cuisine. But no meal is complete without dessert. One of F9’s specialties is the dessert menu... of yummy stuff prepared by none other than Anelise!! Each item better than the other... all of them just make you wish you’d left a little more space in your tummy. And since you can’t do justice to everything in one visit, you keep going back. I know I did.
The restaurant also has an excellent Sunday brunch spread. The one thing about F9 is that it is crowded... ALL THE TIME. So you’re better off making reservations before hand. A meal for two with drinks could set you back by 800-1000 bucks.
I’d heard about this restaurant much before I even moved to Hyderabad. And the impression it left on me is such that I will talk about it long after I’ve moved out. Out of Hyderabad I’ve come, but I’m holding on tight to the hope that F9 will spread to the rest of the country.
Apr 16, 2008
NH-8, Sector-15, Part- II, Sector 15, Gurgaon
Awful
Terro(i)rized
We eat out a lot. An awful lot actually. And the NCR in general offers great variety. You get practically every kind of cuisine that would fit almost every kind of budget. To top it all, there’s a new place coming up almost every day, which means that our list to “To Try” keeps getting longer.
A new place usually means impeccable service. It was with great anticipation that we landed up at Terroir, the modern European lounge restaurant cum bar at the Galaxy Hotel and Spa about two days before our visit. We were waiting for a table at the Monk (Galaxy’s healthy Chinese open restaurant) and decided to have a drink at Terroir to kill time. We entered the swanky restaurant. The lighting, the décor and the furniture were literally breath taking. The floor to ceiling, double storeyed wine cellar is perfect for wine connoisseurs. Since we were a couple of hours away from my husband’s 30th birthday, it seemed like the perfect venue.
There were five staff and the two of us. We were the only guests at that time. I really expected to be waited on hand and foot. Quite the contrary, we had to do stand up and yell if we wanted some attention. I told the usher that it was my husband’s birthday at midnight and it would be nice if they could do something special. She said she’d see what she could do. I didn’t see her again the rest of the evening. We were seated and handed the menu. The manager told us it was a Modern European restaurant but the starters were all Indian or Indo-Chinese. We settled for a plate of tikka and a plate of veg seekh kabab. I ordered a cocktail and my husband asked for a single malt. I wondered what was so European about the food. Of course, the main course did have stuff like chops and pasta.
I reminded the manager that I’d like something special at midnight for my husband and he asked me to speak to the DJ. I asked the DJ if he could play “Happy Birthday” at 12 and he promptly said, “No Ma’m, we only play house.” Our drinks came and so did the food. The tikkas were good, but not great. Saleem’s would make better tikkas. The seekh kababs were unable to hold together and we dropped most of the pieces. The taste wasn’t bad, but given their texture, we hardly got to eat any.
The clock struck 12 and I’d told every member of the staff that it was my husband’s birthday. I didn’t expect a discount on my bill or a free cake (I’d told them quite clearly that I was willing to pay for a cake if they could get one). All I wanted was for them to make my husband feel a little special. For them to play a song or at the very least, wish him. As it turned out, I had expected too much. I, for one, will never be going back.
The bill for two drinks and two starters came out to be a whopping Rs. 1950. As we paid the bill and walked out, no one bothered to even thank us for our visit. I realized that was because I hadn’t tipped them. Now, one doesn’t remember these things when one is completely terro(i)rized, does one?
Apr 03, 2008
Sco-10, 11, 12, Part-II, Sector 15, Gurgaon
Excellent
Heaven is a place on Earth
I try to visit as many restaurants as I can and, more often than not, never visit the same place twice. There have been some exceptions to this rule and Earth, an Italian lounge in Gurgaon is one such wonderful exception. It is probably the only place we visit at least once a month and it is THE place we take all our guests to.
Located in the Sector 15 Market of Gurgaon, with Fabindia for a neighbour, this lounge is probably Gurgaon’s best kept secrets. The warmth that you feel as soon as you step in is unparallelled.
The log cabin style interiors and the comfortable seating make for a relaxed evening. The place has a sort of rustic appeal. The bartender whips up some of the most amazing cocktails and mocktails.
The music is the soothing variety playing in the background. Most evenings, however, there is a live musician belting out popular English numbers. The service is very personalized and everyone from the chef to the manager stops by to say hello.
Coming to the most important aspect of Earth: FOOD. Food starts appearing on the table even before you’ve placed an order. From the foccacia bread to the dinner rolls and the lovely salsa and spreads, there’s a variety of stuff that comes while you pore over their menu.
The starters are lovely. The assorted mushroom platter is an absolute must for mushroom lovers. Stuffed potato skins is another must try. I have not had a chance to try their soups or salads. Their thin crust pizzas are simply out of this world. Their pastas are to die for. The portions are enough for one person and the food always reaches you at the right temperature. And the food is so artistically styled that it adds to the appeal. The staff also suggests the right wine to go with the food.
I have had a few cheesecakes at Earth, and while they are wonderful, it is their Tiramisu that you must try. Earth is an ideal place to have a celebration of any kind as the staff there makes you feel you are the most important people on the planet.
Do make reservations before you go. The place gets very crowded on weekends and you can expect to wait 30 minutes to an hour before you get a table. A meal for two without drinks would cost between Rs. 500 and 600.
All in all, a relaxing, romantic, cool getaway, all rolled into one. Guys, this is the place to take your girl if you're hoping to impress her, or maybe even pop the question.
Apr 03, 2008
32nd Milestone, National Highway 8, Gurgaon
Awful
This caravan ought to move on
After weeks of craving some good "roti sabji" and not finding a table at Pind Baluchi, a friend and I landed at Caravan Serai, the Indian restaurant at the 32nd Milestone. I always thought that getting good Punjabi food in and around the capital should not be a problem. I mean, when one gets great Punjabi food in other parts of the world, not to mention the country. But this one place proved me wrong.
To me, it is always as much about the experience as it is about the food. From the time we entered the 32nd Milestone complex, I had the feeling that I was in for a big disappointment. Nobody was willing/able to direct us to the Indian restaurant. We found it after walking around in the cold for a bit and then entered the restaurant. No usher. That’s a minor disappointment considering what happened next. Once we were inside, no one was willing to give us the time of day. I waved and did just about everything a self respecting individual can do at a restaurant, but no one cared to look. We should have left just then. We stayed on. We contemplated getting ourselves a table, but decided against it on account of decency. Another couple entered behind us, looked for a table and sat down. After about ten minutes someone who looked like a manager came to us and got us a table. Again, no restaurant manners were observed. We had to pull the heavy chairs by ourselves and sit ourselves down.
For another 15 minutes, we were ignored. After that, I raised my voice and asked for a menu. I got exactly one. I had to ask for a second menu. Again, nobody came to take our order. It took about 60-75 minutes, from the time we entered the restaurant, for us to be served. We ordered a kofta curry, dal makhani and rotis. The rotis were about average, the dal makhani was quite good. The less said about the kofta curry, the better. The meal cost us Rs. 600.
There is no way I will ever go to this place again. Even if someone else is treating. Their ambience is so-so, the place is extremely noisy, the service almost non existent, the food a shade better than just edible, and the price list – extravagant.