The Only Place

A few years ago, when there weren’t as many restaurants, this place was a favourite for all special occasions. It was THE ONLY PLACE. There’s something about the place that draws you time and again. Be it the food that tastes like home or the warm interiors.

We made our way to OP this weekend and made it right on time for the last free table. There was a sense of quietness despite the crowd. The ambience reminds me of Goa with the tiled roof, a centre sun-lit area and homely lampshades. The sunlight through the Bamboo and over the pebbles, take you to a different time and place altogether. OK, I might be exaggerating a bit!

The food is European and OP luckily has not succumbed to Indo-European additions like most other places. No Chettinad Chicken steak here! So here is this menu where everything sounds good. I went there to relish the steak but I think I ordered everything but the steak.

First on order was the Chilly Beef. Tender meat, tossed with loads of green and ground pepper. This tasted just like the authentic Beef Chilli in a good Kerala restaurant or like the one that the neighboring Ammachi prepares. This one was ‘unputdownable’ until the last bite. I didn’t spare even the leftover-almost-nonexistent gravy.

Chilli Beef

 For a change we went for a soup. With a rigorous dance workout that was to follow, the hungry instincts suggested a Chicken Chowder Soup. Very few restaurants still have this on their menu. A thick broth of cornstarch and shredded chicken tasted so homemade that I wanted to call mom.

Chicken Chowder Soup

We had to eat ‘light’ and for main course ordered a Chicken Tetrazini out of the steaks and a OP Special Sheperd’s pie. The Chicken Tetrazini featured in both the bakes’ and the steak sections. Though we asked for a steak, I am sure we were served a bake. But there was so much cheese on it that we loved this happy mistake. Though this was Vinod’s lunch, I managed to dig in until the cheese was gone.

OP Special Shepherd's Pie

Chicken Tetrazini

The Sheperd’s pie in front of me was above average. The minced meat with spiced baked in a loaf and hiding under creamed potatoes was very filling. For Bangaloreans who have tried the spice sausages from The Ham Shop, this was like a loaf made of the sausage filling. Why wouldn’t I like it?

To wrap up our ‘light’ lunch we ordered for an Apple Pie that many people recommend at OP. Of course with a heavy heart I had to say no to the other interesting cheesecakes, mousse cakes and pies. Chunks of crunchy apples in a gooey sweet mix resting on a pastry bed made a good ending. Be warned that this dish is extremely sweet and might be an overdose sometimes.

Apple Pie

 I would not bet my money on the food here because there are a lot of great choices in the city. But The Only Place never disappoints if you are looking for a quaint restaurant for a small birthday treat or a date. What also struck me was that they never played any music as long as we were there giving us more time to talk to each other.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Card

Restroom : Outside the restaurant but decent.

Average meal for two : Rs 1200

Mel’s overall rating :3.5 out of 5

Location: No 13, Museum Road, Bangalore 560001. Ph : 080 32718989

Pepper Cafe

As a group, this place forever has been on our list but somehow it never happened. And finally on Saturday, we made it to Pepper Café. I had heard a lot of good things about this place from various sources, making it all the more important for us to visit.

Pepper Café is situated on St John’s road and is easy to locate and with a little eyebrow twitching on the parking front, we were all set to indulge in some good Euro food. The restaurant has two levels of seating and is well lit giving it a bright ambience. We settled on the first floor and soon were engrossed reading the menu and their detailed fancy descriptions. Soups, salads, steaks, risottos and pizzas…there’s lots to pick from.

We chose to begin with soups. We were 6 of us and decided to share. Robin and Neha ordered the Chicken Corn and Chilly Soup. A variation of the usual sweet corn, except that it had more pepper and spices. The minced chicken in the thick soup tasted great as the warmth travelled down the throat.

Chicken Corn and Chilly Soup

Saritha and me picked the Rock Crab Soup which is a Pepper Café special. It tasted very similar to the chicken soup but yes, it was substituted by crab.

Rock Crab Soup

Lakshmi and Vinod ordered a great sounding sun kissed plum tomato, parmesan and basil soup. It was served with garlic croutons. The closest cousin to this dish would be a homemade tomato soup. Not too tangy and mildly spiced. The portions were just right considering you need place to try starters, main course and dessert.



Sun kissed plum tomato, parmesan and basil soup



For starters, we had Italian Chicken Bites with Vatican Salad and a Thousand Island Dip. Small tikkis of minced chicken were delicately spiced and very well presented. I had heard of Vatican salad for the first time, it predominantly had juliennes of radish in it.

Italian Chicken Bites

We also ordered Thai Fish Cakes which came along with a chick pea salad and some sweet chilli friache. While we were expecting the aroma of the famous Thai fish sauce, this dish fortunately didn’t have any. But overall, it resembled the chicken bites. Both disappeared as soon as they appeared. A sign of good food, I must say!

Thai Fish Cakes

As a veggie starter, we picked the Pizza Florence. This thin crust pizza was richly decorated with roast garlic, egg plant, buffalo mozzarella, tomato and fresh basil. Absolutely didn’t miss the meat in this one!

Pizza Florence

For main course, I had Grilled Lamb Chops with red wine pepper mushroom sauce. I usually never pick lamb, but this time I did. I didn’t regret the taste but wished the meat was cubed. Easier to eat! The chops came with assorted veggies and cheese mash. It’s just like what you are imagining right now- mashed potato with a hint of cheese.

Grilled Lamb Chops

Neha ordered a colourful Dual Pepper and Chicken Pizza which had a delightful mix of chicken and bell peppers, olives, basil and sundried tomatoes all resting on a  thin crust. The base was crispy and tasted absolutely fantastic. I would not be able to single out the different tastes of the pizza but it didn’t have the Indian flavors that most pizzas boast of elsewhere.  

Dual Pepper and Chicken Pizza

Grilled Vietnamese Chicken

Saritha helped herself with Grilled Vietnamese Chicken which was served with a generous portion of Asian sauce and a peanut noodle salad. The chicken was spiced with herbs and was cooked well. The sauce on the other hand was tangy but the glass noodles blended well with the dish and evened out the flavours.

Vinod enjoyed his main course which was Thyme scented Grilled Chicken Breast with a wild mushroom sauce accompanied with a cheese mash. The sauce was creamy and suits all taste buds.

Thyme scented Grilled Chicken

Lakshmi opted for a Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. There is something about pumpkin and spinach together. It made for an amazing soft filling in the cannelloni. What’s more? The cannelloni was almost drowned in a mature cheddar sauce. 

Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

Robin always gets to order the best. He picked Shepherds’ Delight from the pizza section and a Dual Flavored Hummus with Paper Pizza Bread. The pizza, again a thin crust had a generous spread of lamb pepperoni and veggies with cheese of course. The flavours just came alive with every bite. He asked for the beetroot flavour in the Hummus and it was heavenly to say the least. The paper bread also was a great break from the usual pita. 

Shepherds’ Delight

Dual Flavored Hummus with Paper Pizza Bread

Apart from all the food, we also helped ourselves to iced teas, lemonades and other drinks. My inputs on all of them:

Peach iced tea – Fantastic

Fresh lime soda – Great if not the ‘bestest’

Lemon iced tea – Lemon was missing. It was just iced mild tea

Greenapple lemonade – Good if you like the flavor of the fruit

Watermelon lemonade – Stay away!

Lemonades

Iced Teas

As much as we wanted to bite into dessert, we had to skip it as we had a movie waiting for us. But the Oreo Cheese cake on the menu surely sounded inviting. May be next time! Pepper Café was a great experience. It was a treat to some great food after a very long time. This place is good for everyone- be it family, friends, colleagues. However the portions are best to be shared by couples. At Pepper café, it is clear that food is an art. It shows in the ambience, menu, taste and presentation carefully put together by the owners Rohan D’Souza, Ritesh Khandelwal and Atul Khandelwal. And yes, art does not come cheap!

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Average meal for two Rs 1000 (for 6 of us, it was about Rs 3700)

Mel’s overall rating : 4 out of 5

Location: Near Lavanya Theatre, St John’s Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore

Pizzeria Romano

When we intended to go out on dinner that weekend, we had a place serving coastal food in mind. As we were travelling, all of a sudden we decided to try a different place. We had seen Pizzeria Romano many times before but never really ventured inside. Vinod and me had lots to “discuss” and decided we could give ourselves a luxury meal that evening.

The restaurant is situated amongst many other restaurants in Koramangala 6th block. As we entered the gate, a waitress ushered us to the first floor. Posters covering every inch of the wall is what welcomes you as you take the flight of stairs. As you enter the restaurant, the décor screams out the theme of music and movies. Every rock star you can think of has found a place on the wall here. We took a while just to look around. Though at first everything looked crowded and cluttered, it didn’t take time for us to slip into nostalgia. The place sure reminds you of your favourite singers and movies through your growing years.

The contemporary, plush interiors offer different sections of seating depending on the kind of privacy you expect. The lighting of the place gives it a very warm look. We forgot we had to “discuss” something and took the seats right opposite the band. Yes, there was a band playing that night. The three member band sang some fabulous cover versions.  A perfect way to start the evening I must say.

Now the objective of this review- the food! Pizzeria Romano believes in serving superb Italian and continental food. The menu runs into pages and offers a wide variety of pizzas and a vast choice of pastas, risottos, chargrilled, meats, exotic salads and desserts. This is no average priced place. Be ready to cough up a good amount if you want to enjoy a meal.

For starters, we ordered a Tex Max Buffalo Wings. This was the first time I actually ordered wings at a restaurant other than KFC. The dish was fiery red and rested on white plate. The sharp tangy and spicy smell of it had my mouth watering. With no delay, I dug my knife and fork into grilled chicken wings marinated in Indian spices served with sun dried tomato chilly pesto. The so called marinade looks like the Indian masala and tastes fantastic. The hot spice of the chilli as against the tangy taste of the sundried tomatoes created a superb blend of flavours. The wings though grilled were easy to bite into. The meat was absolutely tender and delectable.

Tex Max Buffalo Wings

To beat the heat, we ordered some mocktails. We decided to skip alcohol this time. I was brave to try a mocktail called Crazy Knockers. I specifically asked for a spicy drink. This one had a spicy syrup mixed with a ginger syrup and topped with soda and Sprite. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It tasted crazy too, but in the good sense. It shook my senses thoroughly. Don’t try this if you are not in for some adventure.

Crazy Knockers

Vinod orders safe and chose a Virgin Pina Colada. The usual concoction of pineapple juice staright out of the can, thick coconut milk, cream and sugar to sweeten it. It was filling to say the least considering the tall glass it was served in.

Virgin Pina Colada

At Pizzeria Romano don’t skip the pizzas. There are a zillion options to choose from. Ask the staff there to help you choose. I am meat lover. The more I can get my hands on, the happier I am. After giving a lot of thought I opted for a Joyride pizza. Perfectly baked pepperoni, hot Italian sausage, pepper bacon made sure the meats absolutely pleased the senses. Not just this, the pizza was also topped with caramelized onions, garlic, oregano and hot chilli peppers all laid on a thin crust. I am fan of the deep dish crust at Dominos and usually avoid thin crusts but given the toppings of this one, the crust didn’t matter at all.  Spicy is an understatement for this pizza.

Joyride

I went a step ahead and ate it with some red chilli pepper saucy. Super hot! The waitress suggested we try a wood fired pizza. The cooking surface of these ovens is apparently between 500-600 degrees, the upper chamber of the oven can reach over 900 degrees. The heat produced is very dry, which is perfect for quickly sealing in flavors. We’ll buy that explanation anyways since the pizza was like a mouthful of heaven in every bite.

Vinod wanted something from the steak section and chose a Chicken Pepperonata. Exotic as the name sounds, this dish came like a mountain on a plate as against a steak in a sauce that we were expecting. The long pieces of chicken were very visible amongst the bell peppers and was a delight to the eyes. The meat was exceptionally tender and was marinated with mild spices and herbs. The bell peppers were of all colours the market had to offer. After two pieces of chicken, we were left with a heap of peppers. The tomato sauce in it made it palatable but it was definitely a rip off. For the rest of the meal, Vinod and me kept finishing the peppers.

Chicken Pepperonata

Pizzeria Romano is great place to take your special someone on a nice dinner or lunch. A little overpriced, I cannot really say that it is value for money. The prices on the menu are without taxes and amount to a good sum on the bill. The cocktails are priced way too high to leave your throat dry. Will I go there again? Sure I will! But only when I feel rich.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Did not explore

Average meal for two : approx Rs 1500 (including mocktails)

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: 55, 5th Cross, 6th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Ph: 080 40953751 / 52,