Ritz Classic Restaurant and Bar

We had heard about Ritz Classic Restaurant and Bar from afew friends. And since it had to do with Goan cuisine, we had to be there. ThinkGoa, think seafood, think Ritz. Locating the place can be quite a challenge butits popularity helps you find the way.

We did a smart thing by reaching there early promptly to beushered to our seats. We were told that most people have to wait to be seatedduring the lunch hours. The seating is basic and does not promise a fine diningexperience. But the AC provides a respite from the scorching heat outside.

The humble interiors of Ritz

 This restaurant has been around for ages and boasts of avast seafood menu among others. Of course with it, come thousands of loyalcustomers. Hubby and me usually pick chicken or pork over seafood most often. Quitestrange for a Mangalorean but true. But this time it was going to be a good helping of seafood at Ritz.

We started our meal with a plate of Mussels Rawa Fry.  A local favourite here, the bites are crispy and the quantity is good if not great. If you like to pick your fish, the waiters bring a large tray of fresh fish for you to choose from. King fish, shark, snappers, tiger prawns, lobsters, pomfrets, mackerels….there’s lots to offer. We picked a large whitepomfret to be fried in the traditional recheido masala. The fish was at its fresh best and the masala was great. I missed the tanginess that most Goan dishes have but I am sure the taste has been neutralized to suit all tastebuds.

Mussels Rawa Fry

White pomfret in recheido masala

Beer and port wine go without saying. Vinod and me helped ourselves with two rounds each. Ritz is famous for its fish plate meals or ‘thali’.Having seen it on all tables, we could hardly resist it for main course. For a100 bucks, this was a complete steal. The meal came with a prawn curry and rice, shell fish sukka, a large piece of fried king fish, dry prawn chutney, a ‘parra’of sardines and a veggie. Belt on these meals and you wouldn’t needstarters too. Vinod settled for the meal while I had some other choices.

Fish meals

I feasted on a Sea Food Fried Rice. In Goa I prefer theirpulaos but with the spice overdose, I decided to stick to the slightly bland fried rice. Squids, prawns, fish and crab meat found their way into the riceand was yummy to say the least. To go with it, I ordered for my favourite –the Prawn Balchao. The gravy was spicy with large prawns and went well with therice. Having tasted the Balchao at various places, I would well put my money on the one sold at Martin’s Corner. Good try nonetheless if you have not tried the former. Plain rice or bread (pao) too is a great accompaniment for balchao.

Sea Food Fried Rice

Prawn Balchao

Vinod was particularly happy with this meal and I too had myfill of seafood. We are definitely going back there.

Payby : Cash and cards

Restroom: Basic and pray that it doesn’t stink

Averagemeal for two : Rs 1000 (with drinks); ours worked up to Rs 1400. Just keep a watch on the taxes on the bill though.

Mel’soverall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location:First Flor, Wagle Vision, 18 June Road, Panjim, Goa. Ph : 0832 6644796

Rogue Elephant

Great ambience with great food is what sums up Rogue Elephant in one sentence. But then what the objective of this blog, if all ends there?

So we decided to stop by at Rogue Elephant on a Saturday afternoon. Situated in a not-so-crowded area in Koramangala, RE offers some space to breathe with soothing close-to-nature ambience and semi outdoor seating.

The menu here has a wide choice for non vegetarians and a little vegetarian here and there. With no delay, for starters we asked for a non-veg platter which was not on the menu. Good choice for four. There were sheek kebabs, malai kebabs, tikkas and some fish too. I would not say that the quantity was great for the price because with a large appetite like ours, this could be finished by two. But on serious note, the meat was juicy and there was variety.

Non-Veg Platter

For drinks we ordered a non-alcoholic mojito, Caribbean fruit punch and some Chilean red wine.  

Carribean Fruit Punch

Mojito

Red wine

For a second starter, we picked the Paneer kebab. Juicy paneer is a spicy tangy marinade tickled the taste buds thoroughly. The flavor somehow reminded me about the Goan Rechaedo masala. I could go back for that flavor.

Paneer Kabab

With one round of Hummus and Pita bread, we moved on for main course. Sorry guys, but after tasting the Hummus and Pita at Pepper café, nothing matches to that superior taste.

Hummus and Pita Bread

For main course, I ordered for a Chicken Escalope Milanese. Robin called it a chicken roti and the dish lived up to it. The texture, the hardness and even the flavor to some extent made it like a roti. It required a lot of effort and half way through the dish, I was waiting to finish it. The taste was just OK.

Chicken Escalope Milanese

Herb Roast Chicken

 Robin picked a Herb Roast Chicken which came with veggies and mash. The sauce was similar to the usual brown sauce but tasty nonetheless.

Chicken Quiche

Neha ordered for a Chicken Quiche which came with a potato salad. The quiche was good with generous amounts of chicken but I felt the quantity was poor for the price.

The best choice of the day was the Baked Fish Mornay taken by Saritha. Cheese lovers, look no further! Firm pieces of fish delicately baked and placed on a bed of mash potatoes drowned in a cheesy white sauce…how does that sound? When this dish arrived, we had kept aside our dishes and polished this plate clean. Awesomeness! Again another dish to swear by!

Baked Fish Mornay

Since the kitchen had closed, we missed dessert L. I would surely recommend this place if you want to go out with your special someone or a friend you really need to catch up with. However you might want to reach there early as their kitchen closes at 2.30pm and you’ll end up hurrying with your food.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Clean

Average meal for two Rs 1500 (for 4of us, it worked up Rs 4000 including the wine)

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: No 444, 18^th main, 6^th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560095. Ph : 080-40922037.

Yana - Sizzlers & More!

It was a special day and after a boring movie and some delayed shopping, we decided to settle with some place closer to home. That’s when we decided we’d stop by at Yana Sizzlers N More.

Colourful interiors with soft lighting created a cozy yet not so mushy ambience for our special dinner.

As the name suggests Yana is all about sizzlers – veg, chicken, lamb and seafood. The menu offers a wide choice along with some sides too.

Each time we head to a sizzler joint we tend to overestimate our capacity and order more than what we can down. To start with we picked a simple Chicken Chilly. The meat was tender and had very little coating over it making it a good start. The taste was good if not extraordinary. The quantity too was good for two to share.



Chicken Chilli



Yana serves a variety of non-alcoholic beverages and mocktails. I picked the Boo Boo Special which was a thick blend of orange juice, pineapple juice, litchi and fresh cream. Vinod’s choice was ‘Mad About Town’ – orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine and soda. Both were great to taste. Mine was heavy and lasted till the end of my meal.

Boo Boo Special

Mad About Town

To order our main course we were spoilt for choice and the lack of detail in the menu made it harder for us to decide. Finally after a lot of deliberation, Vinod settled for a Chicken Sausage sizzler while I opted for a Chicken Special.

Chichken Sausage Sizzler

Chicken Special Sizzler

Four sausages in barbeque sauce on a bed of rice with buttered veggies with corn and peas salad and mashed potato made for a content dinner for the man. I slowly nibbled at my sizzler which had a soft roasted chicken breast with almost the same accompaniments and added fries and grated cheese.

Needless to say I could not finish my share and had to skip dessert too. Overall Yana was a good choice and we’ll surely go back there to try more sizzlers.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Card

Restroom : Unisex and clean

Average meal for two : Rs 1200

Mel’s overall rating : 3 out of 5

Location: Near Anand Sweets, Koramangala, Bangalore 560095

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

Guthu

There are some places in Mangalore which I visit every time I make a trip to the city. Guthu is one such place. I stumbled upon this place almost two years ago and it has been one of my favourites every since.  Situated in Falnir, Guthu is a great place to taste good local cuisine.

For those who like a plush ambience, Guthu offers a fine dining ambience as well. But we chose to sit on the terrace which has a traditional village atmosphere to it.  The red stone walls, a boat, a bullock cart, a make-believe well and various other utensils and farm items bring alive the life in a village. The seating is mainly that of cane chairs. To go with the ambience, the food here is served in copper bottom utensils. 

Each time I have visited Guthu, I have gone back happy with the good food. The menu here is multi cuisine but I strongly recommend the local Mangalorean/ Tulunad cuisine. Not the others are not good, but this is definitely worth a try.  My favourite here has always been the Chicken Ghee Roast. The order was placed even before I perused through the menu. And it was as always, Perfect! The meat was tender and had absorbed the masala well to make it juicy. The masala was thick and fried with a lot of ghee. Fiery red and full of spices. Keep a tissue handy while enjoying this dish. 

Chicken Ghee Roast

This time around we also picked our salad to compliment our food. Chicken Tikka salad it was! Cubes of chicken grilled in a tandoor and served with an assortment of peppers and other cold veggies tossed together with a Vinaigrette like dressing. The vegetables were crunchy and fresh while the chunks of chicken were soft. The quantity on this was good too. 

Chicken Tikka Salad

Cosmopolitan

Magic Drinks

For a drink, I chose a Cosmopolitan which is Vodka, Cranberry Juice, Cointreu and lime juice. Vinod ordered a mocktail called Magic Drinks – a unique blend of Strawberry crush, orange juice, 7up and blue curacao. 

For main course Vinod suggested we try various items in small portions. Going by the suggestion we asked for Gattis, Pundis and Neer dosa. Gattis are rice stripes steamed wrapped in banana leaves. Pundis are rice dumplings while Neer Dosas are very thin dosa made of a watery rice batter. 

Gatti

Pundi

Neer Dosa

Chicken Puli Munchi

To go with it, we ordered a Chicken Puli Munchi, a very well known delicacy of the Malnad region. This a gravy with a red chilli base but has a dominant tangy flavour to it lent by tamarind. This goes well with rice too.  Guthu scores high on the spice meter so be watchful when you order. In case you are here for lunch, you could also opt for their non-veg thali options which are well worth the money. These along with an additional side dish make a complete meal. Not too crowded, this place is great for team outings, family dinners and even impromptu ‘treat’ sessions. 

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Clean but basic, unisex

Average meal for two : Rs 800 with a cocktail and mocktail

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: Pailand Plaza, Falnir Road, Mangalore. Ph: 0824 2420224/ 2420225.

Mangala Bar & Restaurant

If you an old timer in Mangalore, you’re definitely familiar with Mangala. For years, this restaurant has dished out several delicacies for the Mangalorean palate. Situated near Fathima Retreat House in Jeppu, this place has come a long way from being just a bar and restaurant to a hip and happening hang-out. Thanks to the next generation that took over the management, Mangala has become a much sought after place for great food.

I had been to this place a few years ago with my uncle who has to pay his customary visit each time he comes down to India. Such was the restaurant’s reputation. But somehow having seen fancy restaurants around, a dark and dingy place didn’t go well with me.

Vinod convinced me that the place has changed and I decided to try it. I am sssoooo glad I did it. To begin with, the place has been strategically divided into various sections- pub, family seating area, smoking zone and the old dark section. These are not the names given by the owner, but that’s what I figured by looking around at the seating.

We seated ourselves in the family area, which was filled with a lot of youngsters intrestingly. I am guessing it was the spill-over crowd as the pub was jam packed on that Saturday night. Some things never change- like the old waiters who are right now going through a culture shock watching babes in short skirts as against middle aged aunties walking around in saris.

As the place was packed, we had to wait to place an order as well as to receive it. Mangala has long been famous for its bar and now in their new avatar, they serve some amazing cocktails too at throw-away prices. Vinod ordered a cocktail (missed writing the name) and me a Bloody Mary - classic cocktails that never fail to impress.

Bloody Mary

The menu offers a multi cuisine fare. The famous Freddies (burgers) are a recent super-hit addition amongst other great choices. To go with the drinks, We ordered a Fried Chicken which were diced chicken fried in Indian spices.

Fried Chicken

We also ordered Roast Pork Chops. What a  delight! Succulent, juicy pork chops in a dark sauce which tasted like a Teriyaki sauce. The meat was so soft, it came off the bone with absolutely no effort. Because of the long wait, the waiter himself suggested that we go onto the main course. So, we skipped our second round of cocktails and took Breezers instead.

Roast Pork Chops

For main course, Vinod ordered a Kori Rotti for himself. This is a Mangalorean delicacy of red-chili based chicken curry and crisp dry wafers (the thickness of a Khakra or even thinner) made from boiled rice. The wafers (rotti) are broken to pieces and soaked in the gravy. The gravy was truly delectable and was soon swept clean off the dish.

I was told never to miss the Freddie and chose a Phat Freddie. The look of this burger can add on a 1000 calories to your weight. The posters around the place make it absolutely irresistible. My Phat Freddie had a beef patty with bacon, sour cream, lettuce and cheese. This had heaven in every bite. The patty was done to perfection and gave  KFC and McD a run for their money. Phat Freddie comes in choices of chicken, beef and pork. 

Phat Freddie

We would have loved to eat more, but for the rush. Mangala is surely going to be added to my list must-visit places in Mangalore. 

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Did not try

Average meal for two : Rs 800 with cocktails

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: Silva Cross, Jeppu, Mangalore. Ph: 0824 2436726.

Kismis

Of the many eating joints that have sprung up in Mangalore, Kismis is a decent addition. Situated in Bijai Hills near Circuit house, this place offers south Indian, north Indian, International, Oriental and Arabic cuisines.

Walking in what strikes you first are the pink interiors hinting that this place must have hired a woman to do up the interiors. I am not biased but yes, we do love our ‘Pinks’.  The custom-made tall back chairs are a genuine attempt to give the place a modern chic look. From the extensive menu, we wanted to begin with a soup and ordered a Beijing Thong. Not a great name for a soup, but tasty nonetheless.

Beijing Thong Soup

A thick soup with shredded chicken and lots of red chilli paste, this awakened all my senses. With a dash of vinegar, I enjoyed (read slurped) it all the way. For starters we asked for the Al – Faham chicken. This dish was made of chicken breasts flattened out flavoured with ginger garlic paste and tomato and barbequed in Arabian style. The spices and the masala have the meat the needed zing. 

Al-Faham Chicken

Kismis offered choices in salads as well and we chose the Kismis special seafood salad. Salad veggies and chunks of assorted seafood tossed together in a cocktail dressing formed a meal in itself. But it was not much to my liking since I did not find the shrimps fresh. 

Kismis Special Seafood Salad

For main course, we picked Dijai Mandi from the Arabian food section. This was nothing but Arabian white rice with chicken. the rice was flavoured well with many spices but the chicken was extremely bland. The dish was accompanied by a sauce of tomato, ginger and garlic which did not  go well with the rice.

Dijai Mandi



Caramel Custard



To end our meal, we ordered for a Caramel Custard. A thin slice is what we got. Since I enjoy eating custard, the portion at Kismis was too little.  In all, our meal cost us a little over Rs 400. The service was good, ambience was decent and the food was just average. They would definitely have to work on their food to retain their customers.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Did not visit

Average meal for two : Rs 450

Mel’s overall rating : 1 out of 5

Location: Bejai Hills, Circuit House Down Road, Bejai, Mangalore 575004. Ph: 0824 4279438