Cafe Thulp

It was the first “Girlies” Outing and we decided that it was going to be Café Thulp. I had passed by this place a couple of times and wanted to visit it for long. Finally the day had come.

We decided to meet for lunch and I happened to reach the place ‘early’. I had checked their site for timings and they were to open their doors at 11am. However at 11.45, just when I thought I’d make myself comfortable at one of the tables, I was ushered out and was not-so-politely told that the restaurant opens at 12pm. That was probably a not-so-good start.

 Once the entire group had arrived we entered the place. The interiors are chic and a lot of thought has gone into the art work on the walls. Looking around, I was convinced that this was the place for a relaxed meal. There was a bookshelf at one corner and some board games. Random photographs found their place on the walls. Also the main wall had a black and red Manga art work and looked very neat. Each wall wore a different look and didn’t quite match the other.  A pastry counter with a display of mouth-watering cheese cakes and pies was indicative of the good things in store for us. 

Café Thulp can seat about 40-50 people. We were six of us (incidentally two boys too). We asked for a 4 and a 2 seater to be joined, obviously because there were no large tables. And again the waiter refused to oblige. Instead he brought in two more chairs and asked us to adjust. Rubbing our elbows against each other and touching shoulders, we didn’t have a choice, did we? This was somehow not going too well.

 With no options for us to whine about the pitiful service, we went through the menu given to us. Interesting is the word! The wacky names and their descriptions can keep you entertained for at least 10 minutes. Not many places would call their French fries The Heart Attack or their prawn cocktail Prawnic Healing. The options are vast and are a promise of a feast for lovers of meat. For the veggies, you might as well drive past this place.

 

The engaging menu



To begin our eating spree, we started with the Buffalo Bill. The first dish to arrive at the table and the first to disappear too. Fiery, red buffalo chicken wings served with a cream cheese dip. Crispy on the outside, tangy and absolutely hot, the tender chicken burns the tongue. A generous dash of vinegar and lots of red chilli pepper sauce along with some soy had surely made its way into the marinade.  Saritha and me love bacon and zeroed in on the Shot Through The Heart. Chunks of beef wrapped in bacon, braised with Teriyaki sauce and pierced on satay sticks. How does that sound for a starter? The beef in steak language was medium done, a little tough to eat but was tasty nonetheless. The bacon was crispy fried and the sauce had its soy with a tinge of honey /sugar flavour but was not very sweet as in some places.

Buffallo Bill



Shot Through The Heart

A closer look

Next in line was the Spuds Papunzie. The decoded version is spicy potato salad dressed with mayo, English mustard and red chilli sauce, laid on a bed of lettuce. Yummy would be an understatement. The succulent pieces of potato married to perfection with the dressing.  Abhi chose the Koli Dosa which was nothing but a masala omelet.

Spuds Papunzie

Koli Dosa

 Café Thulp offers a great choice of smoothies and shakes as well. From the Shiekh Yerbooty’s Old Fashioned Milkshakes, Neha and me ordered the Oreo Cookie shake and the Snickers Blizzard. The cookie shake was out of this world even if you were not a fan of the cookies. Thick and creamy, you can actually enjoy crushed cookies in every sip.

Oreo Cookie Shake

Snickers Blizzard

The Snickers Blizzard was a bar of snickers blended with milk of course. Nothing to write home about but I wished it were a little thicker. Saritha chose to take the diet track and ordered a Sour Puss – the basic home style lizzy lemonade with mint.

Sour Puss

For main course, Preeti selected the Veg Alphonso Hankypants. The dish was penne pasta with Alfredo sauce, mushrooms and red peppers. Bland to every bite, the pasta did not even contain salt. The white cream sauce was too little to even remotely coat the pasta. Preeti did her bit by adding chilli flakes, salt, pepper, ketchup and everything she could find and put together something palatable. The revamped pasta got over faster than expected. 

Veg Alphonso Hankypants

Karthik and Neha ordered the El Pollo Loco. This dish was a big wow, at least for me. Fried chicken strips with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.  The quantity was impressive with about 7 large strips, dipped in a light batter and fried to perfection. The enormous helping of mashed potatoes with herbs was a mini meal in itself.

El Pollo Loco

Moo burger with bacon and cheese

My choice from the menu was Moo with Bacon and Cheese from the burger section. The best beef burger patty I have tasted, topped with pieces of bacon and cheese. This couldn’t get any better. Absolutely soft, this patty melts in the mouth. What’s more! It comes with fries and coleslaw. A must-try while at CT. 

Abhi carefully selected the Wok with Me.  Stir fried vegetables in a watery sauce/ gravy with fried rice and Thai papaya salad. Nothing special in this one.  The stir fried veggies were almost bland but partnered well with the rice. The salad did not carry the original Thai taste but a good attempt nonetheless.

Wok with Me

Fried rice with papaya salad

Crispy Pork Pomegranate Orange Salad

Another superhit dish was the Crispy Pork Pomegranate Orange Salad that Saritha picked from the ‘specials’ of the day. Green was the first impression. Shredded spinach stir fried in olive oil, the leaves were softened yet retained their freshness. This was tossed with white sesame seeds, garlic, peeled oranges, pomegranate and bits of red chillies. But the star of the dish was the roast pork and lots of it.  What a fusion of flavours! This salad thoroughly seduces the taste buds. The sweetness of the pomegranate and orange, mixed with the light taste of spinach, the saltiness of the pork and the olive oil dressing comes together to form an absolutely scrumptious salad.

Needless to say, after eating so much we did not have space for desserts. Café Thulp definitely knows how to strike the right chord with its customers. Though the service was not good, the food almost made up for it. Most dishes can be shared by two and hence watch out and don’t over order. The pricing cannot be termed cheap but considering the quantity and quality it is completely worth it. For six of us, the meal cost close to Rs 2000.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Card

Restroom : Didn’t try

Average meal for two : Rs 600 (including drinks).

Mel’s overall rating : 4 out of 5

Location: Near Wipro Park, Koramangala 1st block.