B Cafe - Shangri La, Bangalore (4/5)

Was invited to shangri la try out the 'mighty lunch' and was really looking forward to it considering the hype the hotel's been generating since its launch. 

Ambience (4/5)

Mighty was the chosen prefix and the grandeur of the hotel and the restaurant set just the right theme for the meal. The restaurant has a well laid out buffet setup and a wide seating area. 

The restaurant has a capacity to accommodate a few hundreds - which seems fair considering the hotel's room capacity and B Cafe being the hotel's coffee shop and breakfast destination.

The seating is comfortable and there is nothing one could complain about their ambience. 

Service (4.5/5)

Their fully energised service team does a great job in ensuring top notch hospitality. Encompassing efficiency of table service, timely clearance of cutlery and crockery, explanation and knowledge of dishes and the promptness of dish delivery at live counters - they had it all going for them. 

The power packed flash mob by the staff was the highlight and brought in fresh life to those who had the pleasure of witnessing and being part of it. 

Pricing (3.5/5)

On a standalone note one might feel they are over priced. But having experienced the 'mighty lunch' and its lavishness - I would have to mention that this is the cost one needs to spend for enjoying a lovely meal with a special one. 

Go there early and stay till then end, have a paced-out meal and that would be the best way to enjoy your experience here. 

Food (3.5/5)

With a wide range of cuisines on offer they have a lavish spread. Some of the cuisines I saw/tried were : North Indian, Arabian, Japanese, Parsi, Pan Asian (Including Thai, Malaysian, etc). 

While there were a few dishes that failed to live up, the ones that were good set the benchmark. The cocktails (especially whiskey sour) was quite good and the huge spread of desserts and home made ice creams is not to miss. Their baklava and arabian desserts needs a special mention as it was easily among the best I have had till date. 

On a summary note, reserve this experience for a special occasion and it is unlikely you would get disappointed.

Dunkin Donuts, Gopalan Mall (2.5/5)

Etc, Nungambakkam (3.5/5)

Etc is located off Rutland gate in Nungambakkand is easily accessible from Nungambakkam high road. I haven't got a chance to visit the restaurant but visited the cafe twice. 

Ambience & seating (3.5/5)

The cafe is themed in vibrant colours and their interiors are fun and welcoming. They have board games, tables with ludo board and snake and ladder patterned walls which might be a fun way to spend time with your friends and re-live those childhood days. 

Most of their seating options are however uncomfortable and not too comfortable if you are looking to sit around for a while. 

Service (4/5)

The staff are friendly and service is quick. 

Pricing (3/5)

The pricing is slightly expensive; however, some of their dishes are good VFM. 

Food & desserts (4/5)

Almost all of my orders have been of good standard Have tried the following items:

1. Ultimate cheesecake

2. Oreo Shake

3. Chocolate mousse

4. French fries

5. Chicken puff

6. Parfait 

Of the lot, the ultimate cheese cake, chicken puff and parfait and three order I would definitely recommend.

\

Amande Patisserie, Lavalle Road (3.5/5)

First visit - August 18, 2015 

My colleagues were all praise for the macaroons and desserts at Amande when we last visited UB city. Decided to try it out yesterday when I was in the mall for dinner. 

Ambience (3.5/5)

The dessert counters and the look and feel of the place is classy. However, the seating arrangements are inadequate. 

Service

Nothing boast-worthy or to complain about their service. 

Pricing (4/5)

You don't expect desserts to be cheap in a patisserie at the most up-scale mall in the city. However, they are priced reasonably considering the above premium factors. 

Macaroons were priced INR. 60 per piece. 

Desserts

1. Hazelnut macaroon - exquisite stuff! Loved the hazelnut flavours and would definitely rate it among the best macaroons I have tasted. 

2. Blueberry macaroon - relatively or otherwise- this flavour turned out to be disappointing. Did not enjoy it as much. 

3. Chocolate concord - a dessert with sweetened chocolate sticks and chocolate mousse filling. While I loved the filling - the overdose of sweetness in the chocolate sticks put me off a bit. 

Would like to revisit for other macaroon flavours.

Revisited this place on August 24, 2015

Tried a few more of their macaroon flavors. Must concede this place offers one of the best Macaroons in the city. 

D'hide Cafe, Koramangala (3.5/5)

After a less than satisfying experience at another cafe we decided dessert were the only thing that could possibly neutralise the impact  Chose D'hide cafe based on its inviting interiors, which was almost irresistible when I was passing by.  

Our orders (3.5/5)

1. Blueberry cheesecake

A good crust/base and a decent cheesecake. The only complaint was it was a tad too sweet and did not quite contain the bitterness you expect from a cheesecake. 

2. Belgian chocolate truffle

The warmed and melted belgian chocolate truffle was absolutely sinful. The cake was soft and was supported by a gooey chocolate layer. 

Service (3.5/5)

The staff were friendly and prompt with in their service.

Ambience (4/5)

The interiors have been done up pretty well and the seating was comfortable. 

Pricing 

Our desserts cost us INR. 360 odd. Thats a little too expensive. 

The place looks like a nice place for a brunch or cereal meal and I might wanna go back to try their food.

Chocolat Boulangerie Patisserie

Was in Koramangala for some work and thought I should explore the dessert offering in the neighbourhood. Zeroed down on this joint based on their high score in Zomato. 

Ambience (4/5)

This restaurant is located in the midst of residential properties and has an inviting glass-house look. However, large part of the patisserie stays hidden behind the trees and greenery on this road. 

The interiors are pretty classy and seating is comfortable. 

Pricing (3.5/5)

A pastry and a chicken tikka puff cost me INR. 160. Thats reasonable. 

Service (2/5)

The staff were friendly and was happy to guide me with choice making. However, two things that put me off were:

1. When asked for ketchup I got a 1 litre bottle - which didn't look appealing. It might make more sense to serve them in small fancy containers (or even have the squeeze version in each table). 

2. When asked for water- was served in a large plastic soda bottle. Thats definitely not how customers are to be served.

Both of these service elements killed the glamour that I would otherwise attribute to this place. 

Pastry (3/5)

The praline fudge pastry had an overdose of praline. This made it hard to taste the fudge flavour. 

On an overall note the cake lacked the flavour I expected it to have. A strong fudge flavour and praline to top with might have better suited my taste buds better. 

Chicken tikka puff (3.5/5)

Had very limited expectation from this dish but decided to try it considering there is little that you can judge from just one order. The puff was crisp and fresh and the crust was definitely beyond my expectation. However, the chicken filling was not the best tikka's I have had.

Yauatcha, MG Road (3.5/5)

Was heading out for dinner with my boys and zeroed down on Yauatcha based on one of their preferences. 

The restaurant is located in the top floor of 1MG mall and was largely empty when we stepped- I am assuming the scenario would be entirely different on a weekend. 

Ambience (4/5)

The modern themed restaurant has a simple yet impressive interiors. The place looked well maintained and the seating was comfortable. 

Pricing (3/5)

The restaurant is a fine dining joint and even by that standards could be considered 'expensive'. The food bill for 3 of us cost roughly INR. 6.5k (including liquor it was around INR. 11k) - haven't paid as much except at star hotels before. But yes, we ordered a lot of food! 

The portions were a mixed bag. While some dishes had adequate portions, items such as dumplings had just 3 or 4  smallpieces. 

To their credit, the prime property location and related costs partially justify the pricing. 

Service (3/5)

The staff was friendly and courteous at the beginning. However, two or three orders down we found them slightly interfering - didn't quite appreciate that.

While the suggestions for starters were top class, the main courses were below par. On service front, food was served within reasonable time and refills for sauces and water came easy. 

Food 

It might be injustice if I don't break the food down into starters, main course and desserts. Have rated each of these separately to help you decide on what to eat.

1. Starters (including dumpling) (5/5)

We ordered three sets of dumplings and two courses of prawn cheng fun. 

All of the dumplings tasted good and the sauces combined brilliantly with them. 

The stand-out dish would however be the prawn cheng fun. It had crispy fried prawns stuffed in a dumpling dough. It was cooked to perfection and being a non prawn lover- I could not resist indulging in it - definitely going back for more. 

2. Main course (2/5)

A very average fare. 

1. Penang style old town prawn noodle was excessively oily and tasted quite ordinary.  

2. Egg white chicken fried rice - ended up being a sort of sticky rice. Not really a fan of sticky rice! 

3. Stir fry chicken in home fry chilli sauce

This side dish order was good on a standalone basis. However, it failed to combine well with our rice order. 

Desserts (3.5/5)

The desserts score well on presentation and plating.

They tasted decent but are highly overpriced. I have to concede. they looked better than they tasted. 

1. Raspberry Delice - it is the house speciality and has been raved about by one and all who has visited this place. I found it a tad too bitter. 

2. Religieuse - a chocolate and hazelnut combination. 

The ice cream that came alone with the dessert was incredible. On an overall note, liked this order better than the raspberry Delice.