The Chennai Foodie!

Rangis - Nungambakkam

2012-01-31T16:45:00.000+05:30

Who the hell decided to start one here?

I cant believe someone decided to start a restaurant in here, a space as big as the opening below a staircase! but whoever it is has started it pretty long back, enough to call it a legend int his area. Dark and dusty and worst is the power went off more than once wen i was there! Some 3 or 4 tables put together next next to each other in such a way that u almost feel like ur the same table as the other guests!

The food is good tho, no complains. The egg fried rice was yumm and the crispy veg starters were a bit more of indian pakoda than chinese.. yummy nevertheless.. and they even offered some kinda manchurian gravy wen asked for, i cos i din wanna order an entire side dish for myself. Good service, the waiter/managers takes care of it himself. The price is almost the same as any chinese restaurant, but i think for sucha place they can atleast serve it cheaper! I think its typical Chennai-style Indo-Chinese served at its best. They should definitely do something bout the ambiance at least after so many years!

Ambiance - 0/5

Service - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Price - Around 400 to 500 for a couple

Rangis

Continental Chamber

142, Nungambakkam High Road

Chennai - 600034

Phone: 42144933

But never again am i steppin into this scary junk yard...

French Loaf - Royapettah

2012-01-30T12:38:00.002+05:30

Very much a Chennai Loaf

I had a BIG expectation from French Loaf wen i heard bout it and it was there only in Harrington road...its from the Oriental Group and supposed to serve something French i presumed it be a really sophisticated cafe... A bakery by name is still just a bakery...lets call it Adyar Bakery or McRennett..something in that line.. i realized it wen i went to the Velachery outlet itself and didnt expect much from here either...they don have make-ur-own-sandwich thing which was the only saving grace in the other outlet...so lets say we ll find typical bakery stuff like veg puffs and so-called pizzas...but it does look like a distant cousin of Barista .. a wanna be cafe types...but the service and the food served don really come up to it!

Otherwise, the cakes are great here. I loved the Lady Eggless cake was yummy and fresh! That is the only reason i cudnt bring myself to give a poor review to this place. But the drink i had was horrible, infact i have a feeling that it was a cocktail and not an orange smoothie..it was that sour!

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Price - around 200 bucks for a quick snack
Will i go back again? - only if am left with no other option

French Loaf
9/4, Thir Vi Ka Road, Royapettah, Chennai
Opposite Sathyam Cinemas
Phone: 42637226

Not very impressive, can do a lot better!

Azulia, GRT Grand - T Nagar

2012-01-22T08:16:00.002+05:30

No disappointments whatsoever

Mediterranean restaurants are springing up here and there in the city. Azulia has been there for a quite a while and has good reviews too and so that was the place of choice when we wanted to have some Mediterranean desperately for dinner. Now GRT Grand is never a let down and an all-time favorite so no questions asked anyways. The place was surprisingly small accommodating just a few tables and an open kitchen. There is also a small stage of sorts where a (Russian blode?) lady was dancing for the joy of a few guests who were appreciating her. The crowd was a mixed sort, mostly international. The decor is nothing unique but the ambiance is dim-lit, calm and romantic to start with. An awesome place to have a quiet dinner with your partner.

Coming to the menu, it wasn't disappointing either. It was small and sufficient just like the place. The vegetarian options were shockingly less for a Mediterranean place even though it was more Greek/ Italian less Turkish/Lebanese. The Pita and Hummus for starters were a delight. Absolutely authentic and refilled until main course arrived. The Moussaka is one of the best I have add in any restaurant in the world. They do have a lot of Italian-ish options on the menu for those who are not accustomed to Med food. And the dessert choice is Baklava of course. There is also Tiramisu. Absolute delight, as always.

The service is very polite and sweet. The chef himself makes sure he talks to the guests once or twice to explain the dishes on the menu or to know if they liked it. There is a bar menu that's exhaustive with domestic and imported wines being available.

Ambiance - 4/5

Service - 4/5
Food - 4/5
Price - 1500 for a couple
Will i goback - yes, its recommendable for any special dinner night!

Of course, its a lil bit expensive but totally worth the price.

Hot Breads - Anna Nagar

2012-01-10T13:09:00.002+05:30

Yikees!!

The place looks like a restaurant in itself unlike other hot breads. They do have a Cafe Picasso inside with a proper menu that serves Mexican food. I ordered just the iced tea from the menu and it was good. But since i didn't have time enough for the elaborate menu, had to try something from the hot breads bakery. The 'thing' named veg float is the yuckiest thing i ve had in my life.. i don even know if it was veg in the first place, i called the manager and confirmed since it tasted like chicken and an old stinking stale one at that.. but he confirmed to be that its veg .. its probably paneer or tofu.. ahh but i just cudnt eat anything after that one bite.. had to skip my dinner too..!

As badly as i want to try out the Mexican stuff on the menu.,.due to the dearth of good Mexican restaurants around in the city.. i have to think twice before i step into this place again after this experience.. beware!

Ambiance - 3/5
Food - 1/5
Service - 2/5
Price - who cares?
Will i go back again - are u kidding me?

Hot Breads
C Block, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar East,
Anna Nagar, Chennai
Phone: 26284363

That contact was unnecessary anyways :P

Mainstreet, Residency Towers - T. Nagar

2012-01-09T14:02:00.002+05:30

Gosh!

One word to describe the experience every time ur in Mainstreet - Ecstasy! If am allowed to use more than one word 'Death by Food' would be the tagline i would give them, in the most positive way it can mean! its a foodie's paradise! The multi-cuisine spread is just beyond description in both variety and quality. Starting from soup to desserts (oh don't remind of it! check out the pic to know why!). The place inspired me and everyone who dined with me so much that i could not be without writing a review right away.

The ambiance is that of a street in England (assume they were trying to give an Al Fresco feel in the European style with roads laid out and street names on the corners plus balconies over us!). The buffet counter is arranged in such a way that it triggers your appetite instantly. Presentation gets 10 on 10 here!

I guess this whole page will be used just to jot down the names of the items served in the buffet. To start, the soup (tomato rasam) was yumm, starters served at the table - gobi 65 and babycorn fry was awesomeee beyond words, we had it reordered some 3 times, which might not have been a great idea in a buffet spread thats this huge but i should confess it was irresistibly yummy. Then there were salads of every vegetable you can possibly think of making a salad with, the sweet dry channa is worth a special mention, something i wanna try at home soon. There was bread and cheese platter, falafel and pappadums too. The main course (vegetarian) was Jeera Pulao, Chef's Rice (kind of a Biryani), Dal fry, Spicy Potatoes, Noodles, Carrot-bean Stir-fry, Chinese Vegetables, Vegetables in White Sauce (yummy), White rice with Podalanga gravy (i loved this most!), Roti and Naan (served at the table), Paneer gravy, Brinjal gravy, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Curd Rice with at least 5 varieties of pickles/chutneys, Curd Vada and am sure I missed something :). Other than this there is a live Chaat counter where you can get your dose of Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Pani Puri, Papdi Chaat or/and Pav Bhaji.

Alright now if you are sane enough after (even having one spoon) of all that, there comes the dessert part and the best part of the entire dinner! Now I guess the pic explains it better i can try best in words (but pic hasn't covered the entire dessert section and lighting not that great either), and since i cant remember so many names, I would like to sum it up as a huge selection of fruits (cut and whole), orange juice, icecream (6 flavors in cup or cone and some 10 toppings/sauces), at least 10 varieties of cakes and puddings (fluffy and yummy!) in various flavors and forms, Indian sweets like Jelebi (the best!), Gulab Jamun, Bengali sweets, Payasam and so!

The best part is they gave a complimentary birthday cake over and above these!! Pretty good service with a smile for such a crowded place and good enough for a buffet, could have been faster, but who wants to complain when concentrating on such a huge spread? Am so tired just typing these out of my fresh memory!

Ambiance - 5/5
Food - 5/5
Service - 4/5
Price - 675 per person
Will i go back here - as often as i can spend so much and hungry / greedy enough!

Now I have written only on the vegetarian dishes, just imagine the variety for people who access the non-vegetarian section too!

Hotel Saravana Bhavan - Anna Nagar

2012-01-07T13:58:00.000+05:30

Is it?

I ve always wondered how saravana bhavan can maintain consistency across branches including ones that are overseas, but this one proved me wrong! i still cant believe i ate in sarvana bhavan and walked out unhappy about the quality of food. I have seen the chief usually taste the food before it goes out to public ensuring consistency, maybe he was on leave the day i went or mayb they don have one for anna nagar!

We were really hungry and after going to saravana bhavan and looking at the menu, anyone would get hungry. The menu is the same as in any other outlet, an extensive one with huge variety. We ordered kashmiri pulao, paneer biryani and gobi 65. They were all below average, nothing close to HSB quality. Kinda stale too. The appam - pal was ok types and the fried idli was too spicy. The service was reluctant as typically them.

Ambiance - 3/5
Food - 2.5/5

Service - 2.5/5
Price - around 400 bucks for two
Will i go back here - dont think so

Hotel Saravana Bhavan
'Y' Block, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar East,
Anna Nagar, Chennai -
Phone: 26269722, 26269721

First time regretting eating in HSB and i ve taken it as a warning to not blindly trust any place.

Marrybrown - Nungambakkam

2012-01-06T16:22:00.000+05:30

Kids will love this place!

This is a saving grace in Ispahani Centre after the glory of CCD has faded out in here and Sweet Chariot has gone now for good and we are used to it by now. I guess their USP is the place has always and is still consistent in the cheerful atmosphere they provide and yummy food they serve, always bright and colorful anybody would agree. Its a fast food with self ordering, yet the service is pretty good enough and you even get your food to your table sometimes. Haven't been to the top floor until now, it always seems like there is a party going on in there.

The burgers are really yumm with crispy patties. I love the smileys, they can delight you instantly when ur down, like candy to a kid. and yes the best part is u get iced tea here, any place that serves good iced tea is my favorite by default. They have a good menu with nice combos too. Of course, there is a kids menu. The smileys are a must-try here. They have quite a few vegetarian options, not the converted vegetarian food like you get in a KFC or McD's, this is a truly Indian American fast food, well mimicked in fact without the pseudo-authentic feel to it.

They have a student burger than comes really cheap. Although the prices aren't very expensive even otherwise. A place to go when ur longing for some sinful burgers and fries not worrying about calories, it definitely used to be a sub for the lack of Mcdonalds in Chennai and m sure serves better burgers than the Indian McD even now!

Ambiance - 5/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - Can do anywhere from 100 to 200 bucks easily
Will i go back again - yes definitely the first choice when i go to Ispahani Center!

It is also one of the best places in the city to throw your kid's birthday party!

Zaica, Le Waterina - Thiruvanmiyur

2012-01-05T20:47:00.000+05:30

Complete regret!

Starting this NY i wanted to start posting here as my previous post clearly establishes. And i really wanted to start with an awesome post on a lovely NYE dinner place. The Le Waterina boutique hotel in Kottivakam (Thiruvanmayur Beach) has been a place of target since few months now. There is a rooftop place with a beach view called Zaica in here. Usually there is no buffet here is what the waitress told me. They do not serve alcohol either. The hotel has a pub called Turf bar and a lounge called Karma which is a popular hang out now among the young Chennai crowd. The rooftop restaurant Zaica is a small and sufficient place, peaceful, non-intrusive with awesome breeze from the ocean side i must say. With a candle-lit table and all, I was all hyper to give full marks to this place already. There is a sad pool by the side which looks dull with no lighting at night, they better keep lights soon. lest someone should trip into it by mistake! The beach is a far off view though you can definitely feel the wind and the water in it!

Now i guess the build-up i gave clearly proves that i have been unsatisfied with something here. Yes it is both the food and the service i should say, though food wins hands down, horrible and unappetizing i must say. Well, it was buffet for NYE and they served just KF beers (although a lot of people brought bottles to the table I have no idea from where). The buffet that costs 1800 for a couple without the alcohol i thought is a steal for NYE, but understood why pretty soon. The starters were chaat (Dahi Papdi Chaat and Samosas) that were served in a so-called live counter where the waiter for not cooperative at all. He in fact gave the samosa when asked for with a look on his face that said 'get outta here! don gimme work, be happy with the papdi chat'. Well, the rest of the starters were cold too, there was some kinda paratha (which was also cold btw) and some salads, cold potato fry? or something like it and some kebab of sorts. I kept it aside hoping main course might be yummy. But that was a grave mistake, this was actually the yummiest part of the buffet it seemed. The main course was beyond description, the Dum aloo tasted stale, Paneer Zaica (I have no idea who decided to make it the signature dish), there was some Jackfruit dish that looked scary in first place and when asked what it is the waiter gave a blank face enough for u to be scared to even touch it (especially after the Potatoes' taste!). The Biryani was the worst of all, couldn't swallow a bit, cant exactly say what was overdosed, I guess everything was.The only two things i liked in the food was, the Tomato Shorba and the Dal Makhani, both were yummy, especially the soup that totally set a very high expectation in the beginning!

Now I was really looking forward to desserts after not being able to eat much of the main course. Very limited spread i should say, one ice-cream (simple Vanilla), Gulab Jamun and Jelebi with Rabri. The last one being my favorite usually, took a few extra pieces of it with greed not knowing someone could even go wrong with Jelabi! It was sour and burnt and thick!! The best part is the waiters and the managers cared the less if we liked the experience or not, and we obviously didn't care to thank them either and left asap, so much for a romantic candle-lit dinner by the sea, the lovely breeze and a sexy view of the city.

Ambiance - 3.5/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 2/5
Price - Around 2000 bucks for a couple

Would i go back? - Never again! Bella Ciao is right next door!

Le Waterina - The Boutique Hotel
Kaveri Enclave - Waterland Drive, Kottivakkam Beach
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai
Phone - 044 - 24515435, 8825088980

Lesson learnt - never judge a restaurant by its location!!

Happy New Year 2012 Chennai!

2011-12-30T21:23:00.000+05:30

Right when am wondering how to make a come back on this blog and start afresh for the New Year on my reviews... my dear friend Rums asked me to guest post on her blog for NYE parties... since I had readymade knowledge on this topic... I din need to research much on.... so here we go....

http://metraasnallamadras.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/toast-it-up-in-m-town/

I have also been writing reviews and city guides at Chennai City Reviews And Guides in Metromela!

Happy New Year everybody!

And watch this space for more reviews in 2012!!

Express Avenue - Royapettah

2010-09-30T22:56:00.000+05:30

Yay! Guess who's back in chennai? and what better way to bring this blog back to life than to begin with the most recent and larger-than-life (for us chennaites atleast) Express Avenue! Well folks from Delhi and Bangalore, yes i ve lived there and i know this aint nothing new... but for Chennai i think we are all set to enter the mall-culture lifestyle properly after the opening of EA. Not to forget, our Spencer Plaza was a masssive thingie in the past when ppl had no clue about malls and shopping plazas. Yes we are late but we are up here with the latest :P Every international brand from fashion to food to what not is here already and the crowd i think right now is all 'sight-seers', so its really busy. But m sure the right crowd will be pulled in soon and the mall will be a superhit if its already not! Ampa Mall - gotta learn from EA.. both the speed and the splendor!!

How can i not talk about Escape? Hats Off to Sathyam Cinemas, the place looks surreal and lavish. And it has everything you can think from 8 awesome cinema screens to dining and snacks bars, smoking rooms and gaming. Everything looks ultra modern with the ticket (seat selection) kiosks and so on. Am yet to explore the entire place, will come up with separate reviews in here as much and as soon as i can (from escape as well as food court and other outlets) but should say the original Sathyam Cinemas has gone down and given second hand treatment now, although it broke my heart initially, i think Escape deserves it once i saw it with my own eyes! I hope more stuff like this comes up in the city and people grow up with it pretty soon.. well i guess u already know by now.. am sure delighted to be back!

PS: Pics Uploaded on Sansmerci.in Page in Facebook!!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/sansmerciin/111055918934076?ref=ts

Kleio - T. Nagar

2010-06-21T13:50:00.001+05:30

Pretty Average

First off, its a horrible location to have a coffee shop, amidst traffic and everything and its too small a place to actually feel comfy. The seating is one thing that turned me off, i donno why they ve to be stingy with the couches, there is just one or two, the rest are restaurant style seating which is not so apt for a cafe of this nature where u go to have ur leisure time. For the record, even the couches are not that comfy, the tables are too high for u to relax and sip on ur coffee...

Coming to the food, its not bad. Not many options though, very small menu. The hazelnut iced latte was good and so was the Oreo and Cream Shake, they claim their specialty, its pretty heavy and filling, nothing exotic about it tho, cream overdose! The food part is not that impressive as the drinks. We had a quiche and some roll i guess which was ok, nothing to write home about or even remember.

Service is the worst part, the waitress looks bored and uninterested, noone ever smiles at you. You almost feel unwelcome. Overall, 2.5/5 is a good rating for this one since its very average for a dessert place that's supposed to be exotic and take your taste buds for a trip.

Ambiance - 3/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Price - Around 200 bucks for an evening snack for a couple
Will i go back? - hmmm

Not a place i wud die to go bak to, wont consider it unless i run out of options completely.

Crimson Chakra - Adyar

2010-06-21T13:44:00.000+05:30

Disappointment

After reading many reviews and the hype about fusion south-indian cuisine, set menu and all the jazz, we went in search of this place, hidden find, pretty tuff to tell its a restaurant from the outside. I usually love such places that do not give an average restaurant feel like cedars. Once inside, place looked cool, posh and lovely decor. Its of course a huge house converted into a restaurant, dimly-lit tho, lovely.

Unfortunately, from the day we went onwards, there was no set menu it seems. And the South-Indian and continental were separated, The fusion menu did appear to be present but mostly unavailable. Continental dishes were unavailable too. The menu was presented in a very intriguing way. The dishes spelled out in Tamil (written in english) as in aloo paneer roll wud b termed as Urulai Palkatti Urundai types, making u feel interested in the new dish!

Although we ordered the same, we received only a Paneer roll, which the waiter argued had aloo too, we had to make him take it bak to the kitchen and prove to us. And then came the proper aloo-paneer roll tho it was too late. Main course were nothin different, just the usual Indian stuff. The Panchamirdham or Cotton Seed Souffle that i badly wanted to try (main reason i wanted to try this place!) were not available. period.

Not a very pleasant service. Oh i almost forgot, pretty expensive!

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Price - over 500 for a couple or even more
Will i go back - contemplating!

Crimson Chakra
13 1st Cresecent, Gandhi Nagar,
Adyar, Chennai - 600020
Phone 24450849, 43504104

Maybe they really were having a bad day, Would like to try again, if i see more positive reviews coming up in future.

Delhi 6 - Thousand Lights, Anna Salai

2010-06-21T13:36:00.001+05:30

Yummy Sandwiches

Although the stall in placed in a weird location on anna salai, rite at an important junction where you cant really park even ur bike or stand comfortably, the sandwiches are worth it. Yummy well-grilled sandwich u wudnt expect from a road-side shop.

The stall also has some chaats, havent tried the pani puris yet. The gulab jamun is yumm and is a must try.

Ambiance - NA
Food - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - close to 100 bucks for a couple of sandwiches and sweets
Will i go again - yes for the sandwich!

Delhi 6
In front of Raj Video Vision
Anna Salai, Thousand Lights
Chennai - 600006

Sandwich prices are as good as a small cafe, not too inexpensive for a road-side stall.

Burgerman - Ashok Nagar

2010-06-21T13:30:00.000+05:30

Soggy So-called Burgers

Always been tempted to try the Burgerman stalls found in many places in the city. This one came up right near my house and they even do a delivery, so tried it out hoping to order delivery whenever hungry strikes and there's nothing at home.

They dont have anything much than burgers, not even fries. There are hotdogs but no veggie versions. There are 3 or 4 variety of burgers which don't have much of a difference in them. The classic one is simple mayo based, Indian sauce is just a spicier version of the Mexican sauce. No matter what you order, everything will have a mayo overdose with no fresh and crunchy lettuce, as u would expect any burger worth a penny to be!

Ambiance - NA
Food - 2/5
Service - 2/5
Price - 50 bucks max probably
Will i go again? - if i really have no choice

Burgerman
10th Avenue, Ashok Nagar
Near Saravana Medicals
Chennai - 600084

Have it then and there if u sure have to, do not even attempt a take-away, unless you like your burgers really soggy!

Shree Mithai - Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar

2010-06-21T13:19:00.000+05:30

It's like Christmas, errr i mean Diwali!

A building full of goodies...a floor full of sweets and another full of chaat and other snacks, yay! i felt like a kid inside a candy store.. oh well sweet store... even for a person like me who's not much into the sweet part of it, its a bit overwhelming and overjoying to see so much sweet at one floor..its like its diwali all thro the year here!

I ve felt this celebration urge at Bikarnervala in Delhi, altho this place aint that happening yet, it sure is a good try and such places shud catch up in Chennai a lot more..so you walk into the mouth-watering building and there is so much crowd that you almost know that u cant have it as soon as u see it, just keep droolin until ur turn arrives, its self-service and thats bugging, but i guess theres no other choice in such places.

So the food court type of arrangement is a given, tho a 'good' service would ve added up to the show and made one give it all 5 stars. The sweets are authentic North Indian, all Kaju and Ghee high and expensive too, but totally worth it. They have gift packs which sure will tempt you to gift yourself with one of 'em!

Coming to the food, its usually a let down when there is so much hype, but this was good enough, they ve lotsa chaat and snacks, they even have pizzas, but of course, we tried the bhel/pani puri, chole batura, badam milk, etc. It wasnt anything out of the world to remember anything distinct other than the experience itself, but definitely worth it.

Ambiance - 5/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 3/5
Price - anywhere from 200 to 500 (a box of assorted sweets cost around that) depending on ur sweet tooth!
Will i go there again - sure why not??

Shree Mithai
New # 189, Old No 99, AI Block,
Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar,
Chennai - 600040
Opposite Creamy Inn
Phone 26289999, 43539999

i think its much better than the overrated Gangothri and they shud soon open such a place in the heart of the city!

The Soup and Salad Cafe - Alwarpet

2010-05-07T20:29:00.000+05:30

Inspiring Venture

The entire concept and their yummy-looking website caught my attention when this place opened up. With the number of innovative cafes opening up in chennai, its almost getting monotonous to say ur different from the rest. But somehow the colors and the healthy outlook to the place made it irresistible to try it out once at least.

The cafe looks small, simple and neat, very attractive to my taste. It is not that easy to find tho its right on ttk road. The menu looked really interesting with weird names for regular dishes made with a twist and more importantly sounded very healthy to me. Zoupe as in unique soups were good, we tried the beetroot soup, was awesome, but the quantity was very less and they were served in cup and saucer! Zollids are salads in a wrap or sandwich, the Jalmudi Kolkata style salad in a wrap was pretty good and innovative, tasted like bhel puri stuffed in a wrap! But what stole the show was the protein-rich beans combo in a sandwich (it had channa, rajma and peanuts with chips!)!

There was not much choice for desserts, but the cold soups (nothing but fruit juice :P) were nice. I mean there was this mango smoothie and shy mango smoothie which was pink :) The whole idea seemed very simple to create at same time different. Almost inspired me to work on something like this someday in the future! Although i am totally impressed, i need to make a mention of the poor service, it was really pathetic to have un-informed waiters who cant speak well to customers, not well trained on the menu and worst of all would say something like 'oh that's just juice!' and let down their own concept! :)

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 3/5
Price - Around 300 bucks for a couple including drinks
Will i go back again? - Yes am waiting to!

The Soup and Salad Cafe
New #49 Old #26,
TTK Road, Alwarpet,
Chennai - 600018
Phone 42607662

I heard the Adyar outlet is much better, would love to try it out!

Kefi, Taj Mount Road - Mount Road

2010-04-12T19:40:00.000+05:30

Officially the Most Romantic Place in Town!

Well i used think bella ciao is the most romantic place in chennai, then tried our Aqua which was good and then pergola was ok but nothin romantic bout it, then there is the crown which is also good, but after this V Day at Kefi, i think officially Kefi is the most romantic place i been to in chennai!

The pool side arm chairs are amazing to rest on and the band playing ur requests while u drench in unlimited drinks (their offer for vday) its priceless! Though they just fill half ur glass u can ask for unlimited refills, plus the offer was only on Indian liquors, but they were ready to give us imported wine since they ran out of indian wine. That was enough to make me like the service!

The waiters were friendly and smiling, left us at peace without intruding much. Coming to the food part, there were cold starters and live skewers counter, authentic Mediterranean and a veggie delight esp the pita and hummus were mouth-watering. The main course was not a let down either, baba ganoush is worth a special mention. Desserts were amazing and extensive, baklava was my favorite pastry in there.

Overall, food service plus ambiance made it a perfect romantic evening for a VDay!

Ambiance - 5/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - Around 3k for a couple pretty inexpensive for a Taj
Will i go again? - Would love to

Kefi, Taj Mount Road
#2, Club House Road,
Mount Road, Chennai - 600002
Phone 66313131

A sure dont miss for the chennai romantics at heart..try it out before it fades out like every place does (i truly hope not)!

Dawn & Dusk - Nungambakkam

2010-03-04T18:20:00.000+05:30

I wouldn't feed 'em to a street dog!

The latest thing goin on in chennai is the mid night delivery thingie, twilight came out and then dawn & dusk is gettin really popular, they serve from 7 pm to 7 am weird timing and i was jus waiting on a chance to order someday, being a nocturnal creature, i just fell for the idea immediately.

It was just 9 30 but we still decided to order from Dawn & Dusk, although many other places wouldve been open at that time. The menu online looks really tempting and it was a bday treat and we in fact even wanted to order cake from them (thank god plans changed)! From what we ordered, Dynobytes was cold and not so cheesy (i lost all my love for dynabytes ever), Veg pulao (cardamom overdose, i felt bad for the dogs when i threw it tthe next day, most pathetic thing i ve ever tasted!) Veg biryani (masala overdose and inedible, but since we had to eat something we decided on this over the pulao!) and the worst part was the Schzewan Cauliflower, twas so spicy you could drink an ocean after a bite, red chilly overdose!

Either the chef had a really bad day and took it out on us or the outlet is closing out soon, The worst part is they are not very reasonably priced, this small order took us around 400 bucks, and delivery time also was not very quick. Beware!

Ambiance - NA
Food - 0/5
Service - 3/5
Price - Around 400 bucks for a couple
Will get back again - not even in my dreams!

Dawn & Dusk
Khader Nawaz Khan Road,
Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034
Phone 9786655845

If they can stay in catering business, m sure any tom dick and harry can open up a kitchen, cook absolute crap and sell at nite!

Chit Chat - Teynampet

2010-02-07T11:26:00.000+05:30

The Waiter With ADD!

This legendary place on anna salai has always been on my list of must-trys and i finally got to go here for lunch. Pretty impressed with the ambiance for a place this old, its completely refreshing and Americanized in its looks, with a blackboard menu like a typical countryside eat-out with class. I was half expecting a dirty old chaat shop as the name suggests.

The menu is mostly typical American-Italian fare with a bit of the mandatory Indo-Chinese required in any restaurant in the city. I so loved the place at first site. But seeing the north-eastern looking waiters (don get me wrong, its jus my experience with many many restaurants having such ppl for service tht has made me stereotype) scared me a bit cos i know conversing and comprehending will be a problem in the first place. I dono why, they dont even smile in most places.

Bingo! i was so right, same problem here too. We ordered for a vegetable clear soup, spicy curls (or something like it), burger and a corn on chilli cheese toast. The soup had a big plastic bit inside it (microwaved from package?) and when we showed it to the waiter, he gave a surprised smile (looked excited to me) and said something like 'yay its plastic!' well...huh? and he asked me if i like anything else in the soup :P i hope he meant if i need another soup..

Again, the corn was missing on the toast and he brought it after asking for it. The spicy curly thing he said was vegetable fries which sounded innovative but what came was usual potato curly fries, never mind, its still a vegetable rite? We laughed it off too. But when he brought a watermelon juice instead of my orange juice and said 'oh i forgot!' it really got on my nerves, since watermelon was the last thing my health needed now and i had to have it cos of him! The burger brought out mixed reactions, the pattie was crispy and yummy reminding me of marrybrown burgers, but the bun was old and stale, bad combo, in the end ur confused if u want to take another bite or not...

The worst part of the entire dining experience was the bill. Around 700 bucks is almost star hotel rates and the food really isnt something out of the world or anything. The watermelon juice costed 70 bucks! For god sake, we are in chennai where we can get it for 10 bucks in the juice shop outside. I kept wondering what can be the reason for this expensive rates and really couldnt figure it out, neither the location nor the food or a high-class ambiance or even brand value, it felt like they just priced the dishes as per their random wishes and we dont have a choice but to pay it! Unreasonably and ridiculously expensive is my verdict.

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 1/5
Price - At least 500 bucks for a couple
Will i go back again? - Considering the pricing, not very often, unless if its too late at night, when not many eat-outs are open. (guess they are open till 1 or something)

Chit Chat
No 532 Ground Floor,
Opposite AGS Office, Anna Salai,
Teynampet, Chennai - 600018
Phone 24349880, 9380033300

Considering the ambiance and food, it ll be great if they can improve on service and pricing, to make it totally worth it!

New Tandoori Tadakka - T. Nagar

2010-01-31T15:01:00.000+05:30

Where is the 'lounge'?

Another new restaurant thats been on my hit-list due to its promotions saying a 'NEW PUNJABI LOUNGE', now what could that be? they dont serve alcohol, so i was hoping the place has a classy ambiance with booths and couches to laze around. And was soo badly hoping to hog on some exotic, authentic, rich and mouth watering Punjabi food like never before, trust me awesome marketing guys, u almost got me!

First came the disappointment when i had a look at the ambiance. Typical restaurant seating, typical menu items and a typical buffet for lunch. Its nothing more than an average North Indian restaurant in the city. I would've definitely been less disappointed and more impressed with the place if not for the too much hype and false picture depicted. So when u build up expectations, its easier to go down on the scale if ur not planning to meet them.

The buffet is a total waste for 300 bucks if ur a vegetarian. They should start charging differently for the veg and non-veg sections so the customers don feel cheated. It had a tomato shorba (very average), starters - 2 or 3 types of kebabs (best part of the buffet), few gravies (loved the mughlai one, the dal and paneer butter masala were very average), safron rice and naan or roti served on the table. The aloo-gobi fry needs a special mention., yumm. Desserts were gulab jamun, kheer and a fruit-in-cream salad. Ice-cream was served after we were done with desserts, wud've been better if served along with the gulab jamun.

Waiters are a bit rude, i asked for coffee and he had to say 'no coffee! that will be charged separately!" like i didn't know? A bit expensive for sure (each menu item costs minimum of 160 bucks or so). The food is pretty good and definitely worth giving a try. The kebabs are a must-have here. Hope they maintain this.

Ambiance - 2.5/5 (a -.5 for disappointing)
Food - 3.5/5
Service - 3/5
Price - Around 600 bucks for a couple.
Will i go back again? - Maybe when i run out of choices, only to try a la carte

New Tandoori Tadakka
No.5 North Usman Road ,
T.Nagar, Chennai - 600017
Phone 9790707600, 42123961, 42125162

Bur otherwise there is nothing 'new' or 'lounge-y' about the 'New Tandoori Tadakka - Punjabi Lounge!"

Grand Sweets & Snacks - Ashok Nagar

2010-01-17T14:14:00.000+05:30

Nothing Can Beat It!

Warning: if ur watchin ur weight, don even go anywhere near this place, its sinfully addictive! Anything u buy here, makes u wanna give up any thoughts of eating healthy, ur attitude goes something like 'wat else am i living for if m not gonna eat this!' Seriously try it once and u ll know wat m talkin bout!

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) grand sweets opened up near my house and its now impossible to have any meal without their impossibly awesome potato chips or go to anyones house without buying their mini-jangri!

Other must trys are the vethakozhambu thokku -makes u eat anything and everything jus for the sake of havin the thokku along side! One bottle which is supposed to be used over a year, disappears in a week or two! simply irrestible!

I heard the Wheat Halwa and Kaju Katli are also very good, tho m not a big fan of sweets (mini jaangri is an exception). But obove anything else, try their mixture, u wud never ever buy mixture anywhere else after this, it is the best one i ve ever had in my life!

Ambiance - 4/5 (its a store, well kept and displayed tho!)
Food - 5/5 for sure!
Service - 3/5 (Dont expect a smiling sales guy)
Price - It too reasonable but very much worth it!
Will i go back again? - Almost every other day!

Grand Sweets and Snacks
Jeevan Super Market,
No 52, 10th Avenue,
Ashok Nagar, Chennai

Yumm is the only word i can think of!

Rhapsody, Courtyard by Marriott - Teynampet

2010-01-04T09:26:00.000+05:30

Where Beer is Cheaper than Water!

Rhapsody inside Courtyard Marriott, always wanted to check this place out since its considered the best Italian lounge in the city and more than anything i wanted to try the food! First impression was a real let down, the place really didnt seem as happening as i imagined it to be. Most of all, the decor and ambiance was very very ordinary to our disappointment. Unfortunately when we went there it was almost 11 30 and only the bar menu was available and most of it was unavailable too.

At first sight, the place seemed really inexpensive for a lounge inside a star hotel. We were all overexcited! Even the cocktails seemed to be cheaper than 'The Park'. Thankfully one of us saw the 60 percent tax thingie written in small print in the end of the menu, which made a lot of sense then!!! What a way to market, shud appreciate, wud ve been heartachin if we had noticed this at the end of the nite.

The shooters were named very funnily, enough to make us feel embarrassed to spell it out to the waiter. But i shud agree 'lick' which is white chocolate based was yumm! Otherwise the rest were typical, no complains. Tequila was available only in a bottle, no shots! The worst part is the waiter had a problem communicating this to us, wonder how they handle firangis!

The service is very biased, the non-indian group near us received more and faster attention than we did, we had to actually get up and bring the waiter to our table everytime, quite pathetic for a star hotel. Bar snacks was brought only after request. Also, around 11 45 they switched on the lites indirectly askin us to get out.. cant blame them for it tho..they had to show subtle signs..sad that even star hotels need to close their pubs at 12!

Ambiance - 3/5
Food/drinks - 4/5
Service - 2/5
Price - as much as u can drink + 60 percent tax for imported liquor (an average of 300 bucks per drink excluding tax) beer costs around 150 bucks only.
Will i go back again? - not with as much enthusiasm as the first time!

Rhapsody
Courtyard Marriott,
564, Anna Salai,
Teynampet, Chennai
Phone 66764000, 66764499

Beer seemed the best option since Kingfisher was priced much lower than Evian mineral water to our delight!

Murugan Idli Shop - T. Nagar

2009-12-17T23:55:00.000+05:30

All Hype No Stuff!

I was taken aback having eaten here after years! Seeing the popularity of it on burrp! and even otherwise everyone wantin to try it out more than HSB now wen they come to chennai! I mean HSB deserves the name this place sure doesnt!

At 8 30 in the morning, the Vadas were not hot and fresh, seemed from yday. Big and bulky, not crisp at all. And 15 bucks for it is day-light robbery just for the brand name! The Idlis were half-cooked, it was jus batter in fact! Seirously disappointed to the core with IDLI on their name, that the first thing they shud learn to make! The Pongal was ok, nothin great. Coffee for 16.50 was jus 3 sips and was fulla sugar!

Overall horrible experience, the guy at the bill-counter wasnt very friendly and it took them 20 mins to parcel the already made and displayed dishes. Worst is the bill was around 125 bucks for just this, which i wouldnt have mind paying in ID where the vada and pongal are awesome!

Ambiance - 3/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 3/5
Price - Close to 150 bucks for a couple
Will i go back again? - Phew! Never!

Murugan Idli Shop
77/1 A, GN Chetty Road,
T.Nagar, Chennai - 600017
Phone 42025076

Wanna try out their first branch in Usman Road once before i write em off completely!

Flamingo - Besant Nagar

2009-12-04T09:46:00.000+05:30

This is worse than death sentence!

By far, the worst restaurant i have ever been in the city of chennai until date. The min we entered the restaurant, there was a stale smell that hit us. I begged my group that we shud return, smelling trouble already, but they din act wise and take a true foodies advice! who can save them? The buffet table looked pathetic, like a dirty kitchen after a lot of cooking is done by an clumsy chef. The booth we took was full of sand from the beach and when asked to clean up everyone frowned and did a reluctant job at cleaning. We decided to go a la carte but the menu seemed to have almost the same dishes as in the buffet priced more than 100 bucks each and the buffet seemed a better option at 200 bucks.

Very bad idea! Once the plates were taken, we realized none of the items were refilled, everything looked like leftovers, mayb they were jus refilling and we came at the wrong time. Soup and starters served at the table, we had to call out for it a million times. By the time starters came, we almost finished our main course. The starter mentioned in the buffet was cauliflower but we received a babycorn fry, nobody told us why it was changed or if it is our starters or not. We were quite doubtful if they served us instead of the next table wrongly. Nevertheless, we din bother to call and ask cos it was the only edible item on the menu and by the time the waiters respond we know it will go cold. We also ordered crumb fried idli which was nothin but normal idlis with a chilli powder overdose. Chutney was stale.

The buffet still seemed empty when we went back. Every single dish was cold and dry including mushroom fried rice and kothu paratta, we couldnt eat more than one spoonful. The Paneer gravy din have any paneer in it. neither did it have any gravy, leftovers again. The buffet table looked so dirty with rice and gravy spilt all over that we lost appetite jus lookin at it. The spatulas that we had to use to serve ourselves - the lesser said the better. I wud just say i din feel like touchin it, it had food all over!

The breads that were supposed to be served on the table never arrived. When asked the manager and he said "i thought u mite not be interested in having rotis!!!" what the hell man! They brought it wen we went for desserts and we left it rite there. The appam counter was the only saving grace. Although the stew was like maida water! Desserts were horrible to say the least, the spatula was inside the milk in the pal paniyaram which was almost never refilled even after asking. So we ordered it on the table and what we got was nothin close to pal paniyaram and was very much puke worthy.

The ada pradaman was over but we din kno it cos anyways all the other counters also looked the same way. They brought us payasam instead to the table, after all the pain u put us thro, this din impress at all. Finally, the curd rice was yummy and was filling for our growling stomachs dying in hunger and frustration. i had 2 servings of it and felt happy. 200 bucks plus tax for curd rice isn't really my idea of a happy sunday dinner.

Worst was yet to come, a waiter leaned over our table and poured a glass of water into my brothers plate when he was eating, din even apologise! There were so many waiters around arranging chairs around tables and none of them came to us for anything we wanted, even the appam was served so late, that we had to sit n stare at our plates for a long time.

Seriously, what do they think they are doing? I felt like suing them for treating customers with reluctance and giving us food like we are prisoners. I asked for the feedback form and the waiter smiled and brought it after 10 mins. Am sure they wouldn even read the feedback. They seemed to be happy with what they are doin, more like they are doin it on purpose. Are they planning a mass murder of sorts? i hated their gutts and their attitude!

i ve been to horrible restaurants that deserve less than 1 star. But this one i felt is a disgrace to even have a star even in negative. even a minus 5 wouldnt suffice. i feel helpless i cant do anything about such places! I felt the foodie in me boiling, disrespected and offended badly!

Flamingo
No 35/3 1st Floor Ramaniyam Arcade,
2nd Avenue 16th Cross,
Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090
Above Spencer
Phone 45587221

For god sake, these ppl shud b punished for doing this to the society, inhumane is the word!

Wonderland -The Coffee Experience - Anna Nagar

2009-12-02T22:44:00.000+05:30

Wonder Where the Wonderland is

oh well, m not used to being in anna nagar much so wen i knew m goin there, i had to search all over burrp for a nice cafe to spend the evening in. And this place with a 4 star sounded pleasing enough and i called the place to make sure they are open until late. The person who picked then phone was more than inviting, sounded desperate! should ve known right then :)

After we reached shanthi colony, the creamy inn did seem more bright, attractive n crowded. But since we decided on an open-air cafe and were imagining to have a relaxed conversation, we went up to wonderland crossing a half-constructed shady building.

The place was long and huge with absolutely noone but the owner sitting in a corner and 3 waiters sitting at the counter watching something on the computer and having a laugh among themselves. They had a bored attitude seeing us. We sat in the outside area, where use-and-throw cups of water with cigarette buds in it appeared in the form of ash trays on tables. Looked sick enough to make us want to walk out immediately.

None of the cold beverages were available, seems the fridge wasn't working. So we had to order plain water, which was cold i donno how. We decided to just make one order and rush outa this hellava place asap. So ordered a burger so that it ll be filling for two, now that we don have anything to drink other than water.

The waiter looked north-eastern and din understand a word of english and sure didnt understand tamil either. He gave a blank look for everything we asked and to make a conversation with him and make him bring a burger and some water was a pain in itself. There were two other local looking waiters who didnt bother to even walk out and ask us what we need, they were too busy watching something with mouth-wide-open in the comp on their counter.

And finally this guy ends up bringing us a spicy chilli wrap, while all the time we were waiting with a desire to munch on some yummy burger and when asked he said plainly that we ordered wrap only. He didnt make an attempt to apologize leave alone change the order for us. He very rudely dismissed our argument, twas like if u want eat this or get out attitude.

Worst to come, the wrap was made with red chilli powder overdose and mouth was burning for something sweet and cold to drink. What a way to torture ourselves going all the way to Anna Nagar. Thank you wonderland, for the wonderful experience.

Wonderland -The Coffee Experience
No.139, Shanthi Colony Main Road,
Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar,
Chennai - 600040
Phone 42170629, 9944008080

No wonder this place is empty at peak hours with a sleeping owner at the corner, time to close down folks!

Vote for Me!

2009-11-28T00:28:00.000+05:30

This came as a surprise to myself! I ve been nominated at the indibloggies award for the best food blog of the year!

You can vote for me here - voting is on until December 10th!

http://multivote.sparklit.com/web_poll.spark/21900

Thanks a ton!! :)

Mocha Mojo - Adyar

2009-11-10T21:22:00.000+05:30

Just another place to hang out

Expecting something like Mocha in Nungambakkam we went to this relatively new cafe in Adyar, Mocha Mojo! After reading the reviews on burrp! i was really looking fwd to having some great food in here unlike the other Mocha. The place looks like a delight from the outside, really surprising first impression. Its more colorful and bright, has a top floor for hookah-smokers and the non-smoking zone is downstairs. Smoking is not allowed anywhere.

The service is typical of any Mocha, slowest in the history of any cafe. But this place gave an expectation to have better service. Yet the service is equally slow and if anything else is even pathetic. The hookahs were much better though. We tried the green apple sheesha and it was good enough. The food was a big disappointment after a long wait, more than half an hour for a deconstructed pie (thanks to the weird naming skills they have, u can be really disappointed wen the actual stuff arrives). The pie was almost inedible and depressing. So we decided to just order wedges and some drinks. The drinks, being watermelon juice, iced tea and some mocktails, were nothin spl expect they came in better quantities.

Overall, the experience was dragging due to the slow service and insufficient portions of food. Its more of a place to hang out than to go for dinner, which obviously is what its meant for.

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Price - More than 500 bucks, if u want to have food, drinks and the hookah
Will i go back again - Maybe yes just one more time to check out the rest of the menu

Mocha Mojo
72. 1st Avenue,
Indra Nagar, Adyar
Chennai - 600020
Phone 42337024, 42337025

The only good thing bout the place is the decor and the wide menu options which stirs u the moment u walk in.

Swayam - Saravana Bhavan - Royapettah

2009-11-06T19:44:00.000+05:30

Let's Do the Favor Back to HSB!

Yes this buffet is a steal considering the prices HSB has been charging us thro these yrs, takin advantage of their legendary south indian food which we cant get enough of, irrespective of how much we are asked to pay! Its time for pay back! Eat as much as u want and pay only 225 here!

This buffet specialty restaurant of HSB has been around for a long long time and has been well-known for its buffet. I always thought its just another day-lite robbery by HSB by making a combo of north and south indian thali in their usual restaurants into a buffet here. But the standard of food is so good here that its so worth the money u pay and to my surprise, there were a lot more items that you think u can get in a thali.. tho the south indian stuff are the best as anyone with common sense wud opt to eat in a saravana bhavan.

The service is professional and the ambiance is awesome for a south-indian restaurant. Very neat fine-dining with a touch of class. You can also order Idli and Dosa other than the dishes displayed on the buffet. Considering the fact that a dosa in any saravana bhavan in chennai almost costs as much as it wud in the Saravana Bhavan in Atlanta (doing a dollar to rs convertion!),. this buffet is probably the most inexpensive thing ever offered by the group.

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 4/5
Price - 450 to 500 bucks per couple including taxes
Will i go back again - of course!

Swayam - Saravana Bhavan
133 & 134, Peters Road,
Gopalapuram, Chennai
Phone 28256952, 28226973

It is still totally affordable and the food is without any doubt, worth the price!

Bombay Talkies - Mylapore

2009-10-26T23:32:00.000+05:30

Well something must be good about a place?

Bombay Talkies inaugurated with a lotsa hype sometime bak and wen i went to this place, i was totally disappointed at first site. Its a small room with 4 or 5 tables (ppl sharing it) and almost always crowded with no space to wait but in between two tables (of course watchin other ppl eat with so much frustration makes them leave sooner). The service is very immature i shud say, even in road-side joints we can find more courtesy. The ONLY and trust me the only waiter there... is the manager (owner?) himself, who gets irritated at customers who open the door for too long or ppl who are not ready to wait. He repeats ur order in such a manner that u almost feel guilty for ordering so much!

The menu is a mix of north and south indian quick eats, everything from aloo paratta and puri bhaji to thenga sevai and masala dosa are there. But absolutely nothign tastes good! The dosa, seva, etc are available only in the evening so don have high hopes seein the long extensive menu (of which most are repeated twice under two headings, whatta cheaappo!).

I tried the quick lunch once and it had a good set of roti n dal. But other than which the so-called pulao that came with it had so much cardamom overdose that they cud ve called it elatchi rice or something, inedible it was. The butter milk is good but they also serve the same instead of good curd along with aloo parattas, which again wasnt authentic, it kinda reminded me of my pathetic attempts at makin aloo paratta at home :D

So i had to give them a second chance and try out other items on the menu, went again (yea i am very strong hearted!). Since i already knew the tone and manner of the waiter, who acts like doin us a favor, this time concentrated on food completely, most of the menu was unavailable including many fruit juices. The gobi paratta was much better than the aloo paratta, only a lil burnt :P and so was the pav bhaji. This is possibly the worst pav bhaji i ve had in my lifetime! It tasted cheap to be precise. Nothing rich about the bhaji tht came with the burnt pav. Can someone even go wrong with this?

Ambiance - 2/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 2/5
Price - 150 to 200 bucks for a couple
Will i go back again - only if i have absolutely no other choice!

Bombay Talkies
Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai,
Mylapore, Chennai - 600004

Must agree there is something feel-good bout the place tho!

Roasts & Grills, Green Park - Vadapalani

2009-10-18T12:27:00.000+05:30

Expensive Party!

Roasts & Grills? Never heard of it ever before, even the Green Park website doesnt show it as a restaurant they have to offer..and then i heard its a poolside barbeque place.. wow..must try. twas an office dinner and there were like 15 to 20 of us, the place is quite huge to accommadate large groups, unlike Aqua in The Park. But the so-called pool here is pretty sad i shud say..it looked.. well Sad! thats the exact word that came to my mind when i saw it.

The service is prompt and good. The waiters are helpful. There is a small bar area which has only selected indian liquors and they don serve cocktails. But they do bring u imported stuff from the pub below on special request. The place wud ve been better off being a pub or a open-air dance club..the music was good..but the buffet that was placed in one sad corner (barbeque is supposed to be rite in front of u like an entertainment in itself).. sucked big time. Twas totally not worth the 450 bucks spent on. The starters served on the table were supposed to be barbequed, but were nothin close it.. we had to nibble on burnt corn and unboiled unpeeled un-barbequed baby potatoes. The buffet was typical and nothin specially worth mentioning or remembering except the Thai fried rice and egg curry. Not a big spread anyway and so were the desserts. For the same price, Mainstreet in Residency Towers offers a huge selection of food as well as desserts. No value for money here.

Overall, paying a cheque close to 22k and walkin out unsatisfied after sitting in the hottest October ever in Chennai's history with absolutely no breeze on a supposedly poolside restaurant at 11 30 in the nite...isnt really something we can afford or rather choose to do again. Only pluses that gave an average to this place - not many restaurants in the city that offers u a party feel, huge, great service and yes more than that they serve pretty stiff drinks i shud say!

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 4/5
Price - 1000 bucks per couple without drinks
Will i go back? - unless i really run outa places to have fun!

Roasts & Grills
Hotel Green Park, N.S.K. Salai, Arcot Road,
Vadapalani, Chennai - 600026
Phone 66515151

Go there if u wanna have a good time with friends leisurely, but if ur lookin for good food..definitely a big NO!

Beanstock Cafe - Greams Road

2009-09-28T23:05:00.000+05:30

Great food and a nice place to relax

I am big fan of such open-air cafes and this one din really gimme much expectations from the way it looks and the location it is in. Wonder how many ppl will find a cafe hidden somewhere in the small lanes of greams road, but surprising i did see a little crowd here on a sunday. The service is good and fast unlike many other cafes.. The pricing is ok for a cafe of this type, not too expensive when compared to places like amethyst and anokhi.

Coming to the food, thats where they stand out. The sandwiches are yummy and filling. Try the chilli cheese and the egg mayo, perfect i shud say. But the best dish i ve had here is the Dynabites, so yummy u can never have enuff, u sure will order another plate! There is no iced tea on the menu surprisingly, but they do make it on request and its quite good. The milk shakes, fresh juices and the ice-cream adds on to the merriment. But the menu does seem a lil small, yet to try out their pastas and salads. Will def keep going back!

Ambiance - 3.5/5

Food - 4.5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - At least 200 bucks for a couple

Will i go back? - check my last line!

Beanstock Cafe

31, Anderson Road, '

Near British High Commission,

Greams Road, Chennai - 600006

Phone 42188181

Yay! found one more hide out.. now y did i reveal this already?

Tasty Jones - Besant Nagar

2009-09-10T17:20:00.000+05:30

A Good Evening Spent

After searching for NEW places in Bessie.. tasty jones which is a sub of Pupil (which is supposed to sell the best burgers in Chennai)..was found.. the seating outside is nice and the atmosphere is great.. the waiters are very friendly and that is the biggest plus of this place am sure.

The food is a bit expensive considering the portions served. We felt a bit greedy and ordered lots and felt like there is going to be lots to take back home... unfortunately the amount served wasnt enough to even fill us for dinner.. so had to order somemore actually... even the drinks had to be re-ordered twice or even thrice.. the lemon soda served was nuff for 3 sips each!

Coming to the food, it wasnt actually very impressive, but the ambiance and service makes up for everything i guess (and of course the evening breeze from the beach!). The menu is very extensive, has everything from american fast food to indian breads.,.but like any wise person wud, we ordered the burgers and lasagne here... the veg steak burger was nothin but paneer tikka inside the burger bun (wat a BIG disappointment for a place opened by PUPIL!) and the lasagne was ok, no complains, not that we expected anything authentic. The turn around time was fast, the starters were yummy, veg fritters, pepper cheese fries and cheese balls, cudnt have nuff of them, mayb cos they were served in very less quantities! i think they count the number of fries and balls they keep on the plate!

Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 4/5
Price - Around 500 bucks for fast-food dinner!
Will i go back again? - Yes definitely

Tasty jones
#1 & 2, TNHB Complex,
Elliots Beach 4th Main Road,
Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090
Phone 9841586500, 45587848

Overall, money not so worth the food, but an evening worth spent! Will definitely go here again, and if ur here make sure u order lots and have ur wallet full :)

Rasam - Mylapore

2009-09-01T10:56:00.000+05:30

Simply Sad

I ve been wanting to go to Rasam in Puraswalkam since a long time now but really cudnt get to tht part of the city for some reason.. i was more than delighted to know that Rasam has opened up in Mylapore, and was dying to go there asap, but the bad reviews here on burrp! made me think twice. But this time around, i decided that i do need to try the kongunadu delicacies for sure and i don have a choice but to go to the mylapore outlet.

Usually wen my expectations are very low, even a little good will surprise me and i was hopin to be surprised this time. The ambiance was not as dingy as the Nilgiris Nest that used to be here. I am not at all superstious but coincidences such as this makes me think this place is so unlucky, the food at the Nilgiris Nest was horrible and it has done enough damage to a restaurant like Rasam that has always received a good review on its other outlet.

The menu is extensive and very flowery i shud say, tempts u into tryin out everything possible, dishes like banana dosa and corn vada and elaneer payasam sure does get foodies like us ultra-hungry for something unique. That's exctly when u start expecting too much and get disappointed to order a special thali and get nothing but a normal meals at sub-standard quality at a price u wud pay at saravana bhavan!

We ordered a thali for two of us, and they let us share it with a warning that rice will b limited! The variety described on the menu was imposisble for one person to eat, but wen the thali arrived, the soup was a con-fusion between rasam and tomato soup (but with onions?), the dosa was in the size of an idli and was inedible too. The banana dosa was ok types. The rest were usuual sambar, rasam, vegs, etc. The payasam was good, nothing exotic as claimed. The only thing good on the thali was the buttermilk, it was yummy.

The Cauliflower Kothu Idiappam and the Arisi Parupu Sadam did sound intruging to me, but i din bother to try them cos m sure thts also another fancy name for some tasteless run-of-the-mill item. Mayb i ll try these wen i and if i ever get to go to the Puraswalkam branch. But a Rasam bowl costing 85 bucks is a bit too exp for a restaurant that cant even maintain a standard consistency between 2 of its outlets.

Ambiance - 3/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 3/5
Price - Atleast 400 bucks for a couple
Will i go again? - I don think so!

Rasam
Sabari Nest,
# 105, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai,
Mylapore, Chennai - 600004
Phone 9789062857, 9789062859

Will definitely try out the Puraswlakam outlet soon and get back here!

Apoorva's Sangeetha - Greams Road

2009-08-16T23:03:00.000+05:30

Where the Swines Flu...

Sangeetha can do the best and the worst! I cant believe the same management who have such high standards of quality and cleanliness in sangeetha adyar and citi centre can have such a bad place as dirty and as horrible as a tea shop in the same street and let it carry their brand name!

The place is ultra dirty and m sure with the swine flu threat going around this is the last place u wanna dine in. The waiter almost has his entire hand into the water glass. The table is dirty and its cleaned rite in front of u partially and u have to share ur table with strangers as its a given in any south indian fast food place, but here the crowd is so cheap (obv who else will come bak to such an ill maintained place?) that u won feel like eating sittin next to someone who is eating like a swine himself..with food spilt all over the place... and flies blowing kisses on ur plate!

I dont even wanna bother to tell u bout the food, it makes no sense. Next time wen i think of Sangeetha, my picture of the Desi Destinaiton in Adyar or the Desi Mane in Mylapore is going to disappear... Well, what can i say, sometimes, pop institutions get too proud to manage their older outlets, then shut them down than to let them spoil ur image!

Ambiance - 0/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 1/5
Price - Max of 100 bux or a little more for a couple.. but y bother knowing this?
Will i go bak here again? - NEVER!

Apoorva's Sangeetha
152 A, Greams Road,
Chennai - 600007
Phone 28294081, 28294082

I hope the Apoorva Sangeetha management is different from the other ones, even then there are so many Apoorva Sangeetha outlets that are so good that this place still makes me wonder!

Hotel Sennthur - Greams Road

2009-08-14T23:22:00.000+05:30

The Perfect Place to Test Your Patience

Hmm.. i read the reviews on the other Sennthur in Chennai and assumed this one shud be good too. The ambiance is infact not bad and the menu looks impressive. A so-called fusion restaurant. They have innovative stuff like beetal leaf dosa and drumstick juice, yea only on the menu! it is not available in actual. In fact half the menu is missing in real, but u get to know it only if u manage to get the waiter's attention.

The entire disappointment sinks in slowly. The place actually rises ur hopes to the max and lets u down gradually. I was hoping to atleast give the place an average on burrp! when i entered and as time passed by, and there was literally no service at all, my patience was being tested to the core.

The moment i entered a waiter gave me a look like wat-do-want-now! Feelin unwelcomed i tried to catch a couplea waiters/managers in the crowded restaurant (there are as many waiters as the number of guests in the restaurant) to get me a place to sit. FInally decided to sit sharing my table with 3 other ppl.

Noone took the order, literally noone and the seemingly busy waiters tried their best to avoid eye contact with anyone who looks at them. They just don even look at their customers when you need them, leave alone smile. The person sittin next to me had her hand sunk in the rice of a thali and was waiting for the gravy for almost 15 mins and gave up finally. I was getting too furious with noone even lookin at me, then two ppl took m order and didnt even note it down, rushed away. Finally had to get up from my chair, walk to a manager and shout for my order to be delivered.

After all this tiring tries to get the attention of the waiters for a seemingly innovative menu of food, there came the biggest disappointment of the day, a pizza dosa - which was just uncooked batter covered with capsicum, literally inedible, i wudnt even accept it as an utthapam. The sunset juice (sweetlime with thulasi), was the only saving grace here, i wanted to order one more so i can fill my tummy after this long wait, but thinkin twice of the trouble i need to go thro to get another juice to my table, i walked out! Sigh!!!!

Ambiance - 3.5/5
Food - 2/5
Service - 0/5
Price - Around 250 to 300 bucks for a couple
Will i ever go back - Even if i am literally dying of hunger, i wudnt go here!

Hotel Sennthur
70 & 71, Greams Road,
Chennai - 600007
Phone 64506023

This is by far the worst service i have ever seen in any restaurant in the world!