Cafe Thulp

This is a review long overdue, considering the fact it’s in my favorite list, and a place we frequently visit with friends and family. Café Thulp is nestled in the heart of koramangala, and considered ’The place’ for the best burgers in town. We have tried almost all of the burgers and none of them have ever been less than awesome. 

First up – come early, if you want good seating. It’s almost always crowded, and open through out the day which is a good thing .

The ambience is very lively and in case you turn up alone for a bite, there is a section with old books and even some (old) toys to occupy the little ones. There are board games as well, to be enjoyed wit a group of friends. The menu is a fun read, with innovative names.

In the starters- aptly named ‘Start me Up’, the ‘Buffalo Bill’,which are described as fiery buffalo chicken wings ,are to die for. 

Buffalo Bill

 It’s well marinated and succulent- everything you’re looking for in chicken wings and comes with a cream cheese dip.

The ‘Skin flicks’ are sinfully good- how can the combination of crispy potato skins slathered with cheese sauce, bacon and ham go wrong.

Skin Flicks

The ‘Gonzo Garbanzo’ had really soft and fresh pita bread and creamy hummus to dunk it in.

Gonzo Garbanzo

 Going to the all day brekker options, our favorite is the ‘Frogs in Heaven’.

Eggs Bangadicti(L) , Frogs in Heaven(R)

 Don’t be put off by the name – its just French toast with cinnamon and orange ,along with side of honey and butter– really filling  and baby A loved it.

The ‘Eggs Bangadicti’ consists of two perfectly poached eggs, just bursting with flavors of spicy cheese sauce, grilled onions and grilled ham on toasted buns.Yumm!

Do check out the corner blackboard with the days specials- the cheese omelets are amazingly fluffy  and for sides you can chose ‘Sideshow Bobs’ which are bacon rashers, fried ham or sausages.

Now the part which Thulp is known for – the burgers!

Usually we go for the Moo burger with bacon and cheese. All around meaty beef served with french fries and coleslaw. 

Moo Burger

 If you have the stomach for it , you can try the ‘Moos yo daddy’, but be warned ,its 400gm cheese burger , impossible for us to finish in one sitting .

Moos ya Daddy

Look at the size of that!

 The other special ‘Moosies’ (burgers ) here which we’ve tried are the ‘Ho Chi Minh’ ,which is a Vietnamese grilled pork burger with mint and chili . The combination of the oriental flavors and mint really shine through.

The ‘Ginza by Night’ is a teriyaki beef /chicken burger with grilled mushrooms. Nicely done and spiced, worth a try.

The ‘Gonzeshwara’ is a bacon wrapped fillet steak, cheese and egg burger with bbq sauce.

Gonzeshwara

 I somehow didn’t enjoy it as mush as the others, cause it was like having a steak inside the burger and it was not as tender as I expected , had to do a little extra chewing .But flavors are spot on.

My favorite is the ‘Singin Saudade’ which is beef burger topped with fiery goan sausage and grilled onions. 

Singin Saudade

 It’s incredible and spicy. Perfect for those cold nights, for your spicy meaty fill.

Each of these come with coleslaw and French fries – which are both really well done, it’s so difficult to get good coleslaw nowadays.

There’s also a variety of sandwiches and pastas .

We generally wash down our meal with ‘A Cardinal Sin ‘ , which is hot chocolate and a snickers bar- the snickers generally is our dessert . 

A Cardinal Sin

 There are a couple of desserts on display as well but I’ve never tried any of them.

I’m sure this is a place we would be coming to, again and again, as we feel its worth our money and never ever been a letdown. Perfect place to hang out with your friends for a nice meal to just talk or play some games. A must try !

Location – 1st Main, 1st Block, Koramangala, Bangalore

Price ( for 2) – Around 800 Rs

Yum-O-Meter – 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

Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain is a great place to hit if you feel a rumbling in your tummy – but not enough for a hearty meal.

The first time I went here, I was so impressed with the self service system and the items on display , this was at the outlet in Mantri Mall. We were so tired after walking around and dropped in for some juice .We also ordered a white forest cake for S's mom who was celebrating her birthday the same day . It was nice and moist .Unfortunately no pics of it.

The next time I went, was in the outlet in the Cradle hospital where I went for a scan while expecting baby A. I just had a croissant that day and it was really soft and buttery, you can make out its freshly baked.

An actual visit was when we were in Koramangala during one of those cooler mornings. Dropped in to have a snack.On entering we see some soups on offer and immediately change our mind .

We tried the oriental chicken soup , which was the nonveg soup of the day , the veg option was potato and leek soup.We decided to get it served in the bread bowl – it was a good decision cos the bread soaked up all the goodness of the soup and tasted so comforting and filling- just perfect when there is a slight nip in the air.

The soup was hot and garlicky with just enough spice in it.We teamed that with a chicken wonderwich .Now I expected 2 pieces of brown /white bread with some chicken filling inside but what came was a roll kinda bread with a chicken patty and some slices of tomato and lettuce inside( almost like a burger). Blame it on my poor observation.It was not that great.
The staff are really helpful and welcoming , and I particularly liked the self service part where you can choose whatever you want with the help of some tongs and little baskets . I highly recommend the soup particularly inside the bread bowl.

Location - Intersection Of 100 Feet Ring Road And 80 Feet Road, Sony Center Signal, Koramangala

Price ( for 2) - Inside 200 Rs

Yum-O-Meter - 3/5

Wow! Momo

We tried this place during one of our weekly window shopping excursions - which was at the Phoenix Market City mall this time.

 
Both of us were starving and decided to go for the Chicken Sizzler Momo  , which consisted of 6 pieces of steamed chicken momos on skewers with some veggies( 3 of which were dunked in a spicy schezuan sauce) and served with some veggie loaded noodles on one of those sizzling plates  :) , and a glass of coke.

Normally  I've never liked the noodles served in combos as they tend to be basic and pretty bland, but these were so yummy, and the momos were juicy and succulent - nicely filled with the chicken and flavorsome. You also get 2 dipping sauces - one was the spicy chilly one , and the other was a minty coriander one- both went nicely with the dish.It was a pretty filling meal and since it was a sizzler, it remained hot til the very last bite.
There was a variety of momos on offer - steamed, pan fried , chicken, prawn,fish, vegetable , mushroom,spring onions, and even dessert ones filled with chocolate. But we were pretty full so dint try anything else.The place is a little pricy , as all food-court outlets are - but its much better ( and filling) than most of the food court stuff we've tasted , so that makes it worth a try .

Location - 2nd Floor, Food Court, Phoenix Market City Mall, Whitefield, Bangalore 

Price ( for 2) - Around 400Rs - each combo is around 180 , but just a plate of momos is around 60-80 rs

Yum-O-Meter - 3.5/5 

Bistro Grill Express

During one of those aimless window shopping through Bangalore Central - Jayanagar , hunger pangs hit us and we decide - lets try the food court for a change. So up we went to the 4th floor and a wide variety greets us , 'so what do we have ? ' asks the better half. Hmm- chinese/ subway / indian / salads as usual? Thats when we spot the Bistro Grill almost at the end of the chain .Mmmm ! the smell of shawarma was heavenly and draw us to their counter. Arabic food has always been a weakness for both of us, since we have spent a good chunk of our childhood tucking into those delicacies in the Middle east. Unfortunately nothing on offer in Bangalore has come upto the mark we set with the authentic stuff but let me tell you Bistro Grill comes very very close!!

We order the chicken shawarma and the chicken lebanese sandwich. It came with pickled vegetables and a dip of garlic sauce. Both had us exclaiming in delight at the first bite - juicy and fresh vegetables and loaded with chicken and tahini sauce :). The bread was almost like the kubbus we grew up eating - not just a dry imitation of the pita bread.

Chicken shawarma(L) and Chicken Lebanese sandwich(R)

We savoured over every bite , it was fingerlicking. And dont let the size fool you - it was filling as well. Price is a little steep ( around 100 Rs for a shawarma but it was so yummy i would not think twice bout dishing out 100 bucks for this again ) . Definitely worth a second visit . And we did go a second time , this time ordering a hummus and kubbus - again yum - we were fighting over the last piece - no pictures unfortunately .

Location - 4th Floor, Bangalore Central Mall , Jayanagar
Price ( for 2 ) - Around 300Rs
Yum-O-Meter - 4/5