Kaayal, Jeevan Bhima Nagar (3/5)

Was craving mallu food and thought I would try this place out. It was around 9PM and this place had not a single customer. Might be the monday night blues. 

Ambience (3/5)

The restaurant is located on the second floor of the building and it has no elevator access. Climbing the stairs be a problem if you are taking senior members of the family. 

The interiors are simple yet themed in kerala style with a big lamp, chenda (a drum styled instrument) and wall hangings. 

Service (3/5)

Considering I was the only customer, the staff were engrossed in their own work. A little more attention to tables could help. 

Pricing (3.5/5)

The food is priced quite economically. My meal cost me INR. 185, 

Food (2.5/5)

Ordered a chicken roast. couple of parotas and an appam. 

- The appam was sub-ordinary and lacked the crispiness. 

- The chicken roast smelled a little pungent but the masala tasted decent. The portions were adequate, however the meat was a little stiff.

- Of the two parotas I ordered, the second order (reorder) was served hot and tasted good.

Mana Andhra, Nungambakkam (3.5/5)

Was visiting Chennai for a couple of days and after a heavy breakfast at home, I was looking for a light lunch. However, could not resist the temptation of trying this new Andhra restaurant which I happened to pass by. More so considering the dying scene of restaurants serving Andhra food in Nungambakkam and adjacent localities (Dakshin Spice closed down and Sankranthi moved to Anna Nagar). 

The restaurant is located in the basement of the corner building in the road connecting KNK and Wallace Garden roads. 

Service (3/5)

The staff were friendly and service was quick. However, their knowledge on some of the dishes was below par and this would be an essential considering their unique offering. 

Pricing (2.5/5)

The food is priced slightly on the expensive side. A veg meal cost us around INR. 350. Also, the chicken curry was over priced for what was served - it was an overload of bones in a spicy chicken gravy. 

Food (3.5/5)

Considering my limited appetite I was hoping to try out biryani or breads and curry combo. However, since they did not have either had to go with the meals. Not surprisingly, the meals had an extensive spread and was overbearing. The food was of good standard. 

1. The key items in the meals were:

Poori, kuruma, sambar, rasam, curd, dal, garlic gongura, aloo poriyal and variety rice. 

They had two powders (dal and dhaniya I assume). 

2. Chicken curry

The dish was from their side dishes cart. It was not served hot and had an overload of bones. 

Ambience (4/5)

The interiors are well planned of. Though simple, it brings out the theme of an Andhra restaurant. The seating is comfortable and they have andhra music and gemini tv playing to support the theme. 

Would recommend the place for its meals and I might revisit, with my family probably.

Kitchen of Joy, Indira Nagar (3.5/5)

I have travelled past KOJ a million times and almost always found this place packed. That explains something and this is what got me to visit them today. 

The kitchen of joy is a tribute to the 'City of Joy' and dishes out Kolkata and Bengali delicacies. The management was friendly and explained some of their speciality dishes. Very clearly they were proud of their Kolkata routes (appreciate that!) and this tiny outlet and its offerings is indicative of the same. 

As a Chennai kid, I was happy to see a small picture of Illayaraja - the music legend - on their walls. 

Ambience (3.5/5)

Space is never the limitation if one knows how to use it. This restaurant is a perfect example on how a small tiny outlet could be made to look attractive and vibrant. 

There was a guitar tucked in one corner, a small yet packed display counter, tiny backless cane chairs with cushions, wall posters and picture collages, etc

Service (3.5/5)

The restaurant operates on a self ordering but service on the tables concept. The food is served pretty quick however, except for the plastic water bottles kept on the tables there was no water glasses offered for the same. This fits the fast food culture - but personally I felt the place needs to do better than that. 

Also, since both my orders were served in paper plates- having a small waste bin could help dispose the same; specially considering they were flying away when seated below the fan. 

Pricing (4/5)

Very economical. A samosa, roll and a jamun cost me INR. 145. 

Food (3.5/5)

1. Chicken egg roll: the roll tasted good and had adequate stuffing of chicken. 

2. Shingara (Bengali samosa): looked rounder than the regular samosas and was stuffed with potato masala. The filling was slightly sweet (not spicy for sure). Would have tasted better if served hot. 

3. Langcha (gulab jamun's bengali brother): sized much bigger than gulab jamuns this sweet had a thicker outer layer and was less sweeter than gulab jamun. However, what impressed me was the sugar syrup that oozed out when I tried to cut it - that makes it a hybrid of jamuns and rasgullas. 

Would definitely recommend this place and would like to revisit them for the Kolkata styled biryanis.

Chili's, Indira Nagar (2/5)

Had a very poor food & drink experience at chili's. 

We ordered for a triple dipper with the following:

1. Original chicken crisper

2. chicken wings

3. Cheese poppers

All three dishes were excessively oily. I concede that they are fried items, but the oil content was extremely intoxicating. The dips were unique from each other and decent though. 

As for drinks, I ordered for a sea breeze which was diluted and did not quite live up to the description. My friend ordered for a texas tea; this was relatively better and quite a concentrated drink. 

Pricing (2/5)

These three orders cost us INR.1600 - definitely overpriced and not VFM. 

Ambience (3.5/5)

We sat on the first floor. The seating space was quite cramped here. The ground floor definitely looked more attractive. 

Service (2.5/5)

Service was quite good until we placed our order. Refills for water and tissues took its own sweet while though. Nonetheless, the staff were friendly and courteous.

Punjab Grill, Koramangala (4/5)

Visited this place on a weekday for a late yet heavy lunch. Despite my heavy craving for biryanis chose this restaurant because of its easy accessibility from where I was working that day.

Food (4.5/5)

Considering the mood of the day, I decided to order a chicken dum biryani and a kesar pisteywali lassi for drinks.

The dum biryani would definitely find place among the best north Indian biryani's I have tasted. It had a luxurious serving of rice and meat - with at least five medium sized pieces in the dish. The curd (not raita) served as accompaniment was quite ordinary though.

The lassi was equally sinful and had a small piece of peda in it. It was garnished with nuts and served in a large glass.

A special mention on the portions: if not for the monster appetite I had- it is unlikely that one person could finish a biryani by them-self.

Service (4/5)

The service was quite prompt and the staff were quick in finding me a table, taking my orders, serving and clearing the dishes.

The staffs were courteous in their service.

Pricing (3/5)

This is probably the only possible reason restricting me from planning frequent revisits. The biryani and lassi order costed me about INR.1100 - which I would say is very expensive. However, considering the ambience, location and quality of food, the experience could be partially considered as deserving for the price they charge.

Ambience (4.5/5)

The restaurant has a beautiful outdoor seating filled with plants and greenery (it ks also the corner property and has a road facing view), a comfortable and classic indoor seating, live kitchen counter, private family dining area and a well stocked bar counter.

Would love to revisit and try more of their food offering.

The Boozy Griffin, Koramangala (3/5)

Was here on a weekday night with a few colleagues. Incidentally the day happened to be a karaoke night and we were hoping it would be an interesting evening. Unfortunately for us, the person who was supposed to organise the karaoke session met with an accident and could not turn up.

Ambience & seating (3/5)

The pictures of the place looked really attractive in the pics but somehow I could not completely appreciate what this place had to offer. This might be personal because I have had similar views on several other restaurants- primarily on account of the dim lighting during late evening sessions.

For seating we had to choose between high rise stools and backless couches. Considering we were looking to spend a hour at least we went for the high rise chairs. The adjoining tables had metallic poles separating the sides - which I found quite pointless. Also, considering we had people sitting on either sides this was only making interaction difficult.

Pricing (3/5)

The pricing is slightly on the expensive side; especially their main-course.

Service (4/5)

Each of the tables had a tissue holder which has buttons to call the waiter, ask for bill, etc. Unlike some of the other places where I have seen similar technology being used, the staff responded instantly.

Food (1.5/5)

The food was a major letdown.

1. Veg Nachos was bland and flavourless.

2. Chicken peri peri - was served with burnt chicken pieces in an over-spiced peri peri sauce

3. Lebanese mezze platter was quite ordinary. The tiny falafels was sub-ordinary.

The devils chicken skewers looked similar to the chicken peri peri order, but had a less spicy sauce as base. This was the relatively better order of the day.

Drinks (3.5/5)

Some of their bar special cocktails were unavailable. Nonetheless, most of our drink orders were of good standard and was quite unlike their food.

Would recommend this place if you are looking for decent bar mixes.

Chai Point, M.G Road

In summary: a perfect place to order chai's for delivery- but killed by its terrible vada pav.

Long working Sunday and our team decided to order mid-day tea from Chai Point. Thanks to the neat tetra pack+cardboard flasks- the teas were of good quality and served pipping hot. The first experience was so satisfying that we decided to reorder evening tea from them and this time we ordered some vada pav's to accompany.

The vada's were cold and tasted poor. For flavouring the outlet used what looked like chilli flakes- a terrible order I must concede.

Food (1/5)

Tea's (4/5) - liked their ginger tea better than their masala tea.

Packing - (5/5)

Delivery time - was pretty quick (4/5)

Quantity - served in discardable flasks, one tea could easily serve two.

Pricing - slightly overpriced - but 100% VFM. (4.5/5)