Outback Restaurant

It was one of those days when we got bored of the mundane lunch in office and decided to eat out. Now where is always the question? Our usual craving would be for andhra meals or biriyani at the nearby Nandhini, but this time we wanted something different. Quick search on Zomato and Outback restaurant in the Ascendas mall nearby was zeroed in.

We were amongst the very few customers there, probably it being a weekday.The ambiance looked cozy and rustic, great for a gang of friends to unwind.

We were offered a drinks menu but turned it down – it being a weekday and all ;) .

We were stumped by the menu, and kept changing our minds on what to order – which is a good sign isn’t it.

We skipped the starters and went straight for the mains.

We ordered a grilled chicken sizzler, chicken burger and a chicken risotto.

Let’s start with the grilled chicken sizzler – it was a nice portion of chicken breast served with mushroom sauce and veggies. 

Grilled Chicken - sizzling away!

You have a choice of having it with rice, fries or mash. We tried the potato mash. The chicken was heavenly – absolutely right – none of that stringiness associated with overcooking the chicken. The mash was fabulous as well, no lumps and nicely flavored. It remained hot and steaming till the last bite – it was a sizzler after all.

The chicken burger was the unexpected star of the day.

Chicken Burger

Perfect and juicy, with all the right amount of fillings, which doesn’t overwhelm the burger patty. The fries it came with were awesome. We just couldn’t stop taking huge bites of this burger.
The chicken risotto was a let down – not bad but not great either. 

Chicken Risotto

I felt it was a little too dry for me although I can’t complain about the quantity.

We were really full at this point but couldn’t leave without having a bite of dessert. We ordered a sizzling walnut brownie to share amongst the three of us.

Sizzling Walnut Brownie

A combination of walnut butter brownie and vanilla ice-cream topped with hot chocolate sauce just can’t go wrong can it.

Overall we all were very satisfied with the meal. The service was quite friendly and I would love to come back and try the other options on the menu.

Location – Ascendas Park Square, Ground Floor, ITPB, Whitefield, Bangalore

Price (for 3) – Rs 1400

Yum-O-Meter – 3.5 / 5

Coco Grove Beer Cafe

Cocogrove Beer Café is nestled in one of the hot spots, Church street in Brigade road. Not to be confused with the Coconut Grove restaurant ( right next to it ) (which is a Malayali restaurant) ,Cocogrove is a place which is open through the afternoons and once you are done with all your shopping , drop in for a quick bite to eat and maybe a beer to refresh you .

The food is mainly continental with sandwiches , burgers ,finger food and sizzlers on the list .You also have your pick of milkshakes, beer , cocktail and mocktails.

I dropped in here one day , famished after spending a hot afternoon in brigade road with my friend. We didn't have the patience for starters so immediately ordered a soft drink and lamb burgers for both of us.

Lamb Burger

Here, you can see the lamb burger – which is basically a mutton cutlet (reminded me of those cutlets you get in bakeries in Kerala) , served in a bun with lettuce , onions, tomatoes and mayo . It has a side of potato chips- out of a packet( not French fries) .

I tried the special lamb burger which is the same as above ,with an addition of an egg (omelet) and cheese. Not mind-blowing stuff but satisfies your hunger and not bad for the price. The place was filled up when we went there on a Sunday afternoon .Seems to be a nice place to hang out for a couple of hours with your buddies without creating a dent in your bank balance .

Location –Spencers Building, Church Street, MG Road Area, Bangalore

Price ( for 2) – Rs 350

Yum-O-Meter – 2/5

Manchester United Restaurant

This place has been on my list to visit when my football crazy brother comes to town. He is a big fan of the Man-U team so he was pretty excited bout checking it out as well. its bang opposite forum mall in Koramanagala so nearly impossible to miss with its bright red neon sign  .

 

 The interiors are pretty cool - blue red lights and Man-U team memorabilia and pictures around.

 

 On one corner there's a big Tv screen with one of the matches playing .

 And on the other corner a live DJ with some nice mixes .

 The bar with the high chairs are to a side and  some comfy lounging couches as well.

Pretty impressive stuff! You can even buy their jerseys and other sports gear directly from there.
The menu is a mix - more of continental with some Indian ,Chinese added to it. The menus are literally a handful as you can see below :)

The food menu

The drinks menu - some of the cocktail have pictorial representation of the quantity of mixes in them- helpful

 We were just in to check out the place, so we just went for a drink each and a starter.
S and bro had the special Ice tea - a mix of vodka along with ice tea and lemon - pretty good , especially if your not in the mood for heavy liquor.

Special Iced Tea

 I had a drink called Glory Glory! It was a mix of vodka, lemon juice, and cranberry juice .

Glory ! Glory!

It was really refreshing - perfect drink for ladies - cos its got a hint of alcohol but not too overwhelming as well.
We ordered a side of beer battered fish fingers and chips .

Beer Battered fish fingers, tartar sauce and fries

The fish fingers were perfect - crispy outer coating and melt in the mouth inside.We loved it - and it was way good quantity for 3 people .The fries were yummy as well . I would have loved to try more stuff but we thought we ll come back with a bigger appetite to do complete justice to the food. It is on the expensive side - so go when there s a really exciting match to watch and with some good company .

Location -1, Kira Layout, Hosur Main Road, Opposite Forum Mall,Koramangala, Bangalore 

Price ( For 3) - 1400 ( Just drinks and starter) 

Yum-O-Meter -  3.5/5

Turquoise

It was a special occasion - our 5th anniversary - and the occasion of course called for a celebration . For us any celebration is equal to amazing food . So off we headed to Turquoise .
Interior is pretty swanky - my favorite was the big turquoise chandelier at a corner - and we got to sit right next to it .

Our table had a (turquoise again) glass candle holder and the setup was pretty romantic .
Great place to bring your dates *wink * !
The menu is pretty extensive and we were spoilt for choice - almost everything sounded tempting and we really had a hard time deciding what to try. 
For starters, we ordered Chicken Vol Au Vents and chicken Caesar salad.

Chicken Vol Au Vent

 Chicken vol au vents are little pastry cases stuffed with minced chicken , mushrooms and herbs in a creamy sauce. The pastry was light and crunchy and the filling was simply delicious.

Chicken Caesar Salad

 The Caesar salad had lots of lettuce with grilled chicken and bacon in a mayonnaise dressing. The presentation was lovely .
For mains , I had the Risotto with smoked ham and sage.

Risotto with sage and smoked ham , look behind to see actual portion of lamb dish

 It was creamy but surprisingly not as heavy as i thought it would be .
S had grilled lamb chops with crushed rosemary and garlic, herbed potato wedges and ratatouille.

Grilled lamb , wedges and ratatouille - after most of it was demolished by us

 The lamb was really tender and the flavors were subtle but amazing.The wedges were baked perfectly and the ratatouille was a good side of grilled vegetables.
Of course we couldn't leave without having dessert and we ordered the turquoise trio - mini versions of 3 of their best desserts - the chocolate fudge pate with passion fruit cream,vanilla creme brulee and mille feuille - seasonal fruits with vanilla creme on top of a meringue.

(From left to right) Chocolate Fudge Pate , Vanilla Creme brulee and mille feuille

 I'm not a huge fruit lover but the mille feuille with the crunchy base, cream and fruits was just divine. The best of the 3 was the chocolate fudge pate - it is dark , intense and seriously chocolatey .
The service was good , and the place is not too crowded so you can enjoy a nice meal with conversation.
I read a couple of negative review online which complained that they dint serve Indian food and the food was bland - well really - I think you should know what kind of cuisine is served  before complaining bout any place , it really doesn't make any sense to go to a continental setup and order curd rice. We really enjoyed ourselves and the meal was memorable.They do Sunday brunch as well- so maybe one day we will try that .

Location - 2nd Floor, 9, Above Mom & Me, 1st A Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 

Price ( for 2 ) - Around 2000 ( Not including drinks) 

Yum-O-Meter - 4.5/5

La Casa

After an evening at the park , watching baby A play with twigs and run around wild, we were ravenous and felt like digging into something meaty and delicious. On a whim , we decided to try La Casa which is quite near home. We've heard good things about this place and so, decided to give it a try - and boy were we glad we did.

First impressions on entering , you can either sit in the normal AC spot, or else you can sit in the open air rooftop ,and on this particular day they had a DJ playing as well.

Turn to your left for the AC spot and go straight upstairs for the rooftop experience.

We decided to go for the rooftop and it was awesome- the music is loud but not loud enough to burst your eardrums - and they had a good mix of music playing- club,hip hop,house mixes. It was spacious as well with good ventilation, really nice ambiance. In fact it was almost like a family style pub - good music , good food and most importantly good drinks ;) but we'll come to that shortly !
The staff was very courteous and friendly . We took our seats and the menu was bought to us, we decided on some cocktails - a kiwi margarita for S and a passion-fruit daiquiri for me .

Passion fruit daiquiri(L) and Kiwi Margarita(R)

 A margarita has the base as tequila with some citrus liqueur and daiquiri has the base as rum , lime and sweeteners. Both were chilled and just perfect with the music and the ambiance. Along with that we ordered chicken satay as a starter to the meal.

Mildly spiced grilled pieces of chicken with a peanut dip, was tasty and baby A enjoyed the chicken more than us.

Next it was time for the main course . S ordered Spaghetti Carbonara .

The spaghetti carbonara had the pasta drenched in creamy cheesy white sauce with bits of bacon and eggs. Was good, though it would be better with a little more of bacon thrown in , cos bacon always makes everything yummm... ;)

I ordered the Chicken Lasagne, and let me tell you - it was heavenly. Each bite was bursting with the flavours of absolutely creamy and sinful cheese , tangy tomatoes , chicken , pasta , we just could not get enough of it . Suffice to say our plates were wiped clean with the garlic bread so that not even a speck of the creamy sauce was left behind.
 By now,we were bursting to the seams but just couldn't leave without tasting one of the desserts and decided to try the New York baked cheesecake .

It was just the perfect end to the meal , warm and soft cheesecake , with blueberry topping - light and not too sweet.

Overall the food was absolutely divine, I would definitely recommend this place to people who want to relax after a long day at work. and those mommies and daddies who want to  kick off their shoes and relax with a drink and good music. Avoid the rooftop if you want to have a serious discussion with quieter surroundings. I' ve heard on Saturdays they have live bands as well .

Location -Kasavanahalli, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore

Price  ( for 2 ) - around 2000 Rs ( including drinks - all dishes are an average of 300 Rs) 

Yum-O-Meter - 4.5/5