Eatery@Star Bazaar, Koramangala

The eatery is tucked in a small area under the escalators and serves a number of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, a salad bar and a host of bakes.

There is no place to sit and portions are weighed.  A little more than a dozen pax can stand and eat around this place.  The place is pretty warm as the open / live kitchen is also present there - not an inconvenience if you are doing a take-away.

For

+ Good food – the Methi chicken – a gravy dish is simply awesome.  Not very spicy (hot) and very flavorful.  The veg biriyani was also extremely flavorful and tasty.  Food is prepared fresh and is served / packed hot.

+ Convenience – The place is apt as a takeaway after you are done with your shopping to pack stuff for lunch or supper if you have not yet cooked at home.

+ Portions – as I had mentioned earlier, you are charged by weight and there are sufficient pieces of meat in non-veg dishes.

+ Reasonable pricing.

Against

- Slow billing – the staff are pretty slow, seem untrained and there is only one operational cash counter.

- Food can be better – the mushroom / peas curry – a red, spicy gravy was not tasty, although it was not bad.  The vegetables are not finely chopped in most cases – in order to save time and concentrate on volumes.

Quarter kg of the mushroom and the chicken dish and around 400 gms of veg biriyani cost around INR 190/-

Reco – Definitely a convenient place to pack tasty food if you have not prepared much @ home.

Rajdhani, Forum Value Mall, Whitefield

It is located in an air-conditioned and exclusive area within Transit that can seat around 100 pax.  Place serves vegetarian Rajasthani cuisine and no liquor.

For

+ Good / uncomplicated Rajasthani Thali – Almost all the items on offer are tasty.  The stand out item was the bitter gourd dry side dish and the rice dokla.

+ Good variety – You get

>3 chaat items, including rice doklas, served with mint and tamarind sauces and a veg salad

>3 varieties of bread (rotis)

>3 types of lentil (dal) including kadi

>3 other side dishes (2 gravies and 1 dry)

>butter and jaggery

>butter milk

>plain rice, ghee, kichidi and curd rice

>pickles, fried chili and onions

>a choice of 3 sweets – srikand, a milk sweet - basundi types and a halwa - moong dal halwa – of which one can be taken.

+ Good quantity – but for the sweets that is limited, all other items are served in unlimited quantities.  (1 ltr bottle of bisleri water is given free for each table)

+ Reasonable Pricing - @ INR 200 per plate, the pricing is reasonable

+ Excellent Service – You have a senior waiter attending to around 6 guests.  You just have to ask and any item reaches your table in an instant.  In many cases the items are refilled even without your asking for it.  When you are seated and finished, you can wash your hands in warm flowing water brought to you by a waiter in a jug and a container to collect the dirty water.

Against (nothing much)

- The kichdi had some sago in it making it a touch jelly like – not the best I’ve had.

- The food is predominantly bland – but that is how this type of food should be – actually not complaints on this front.

- The moong dal halwa was a bit dry.

Cost per plate is INR 200/-

Reco – If you like vegetarian fare, this place is a must visit.  The food is way better than most thalis (meal plates) and buffets available in town.  

Eden Park Restaurant, 1, Cunningham Road

This place is tucked beside the Indian Express and Hindu offices in the Cantonment Area - off Infantry road and not on the 'main' part of Cunningham Road.  This is a part garden restaurant and part indoors.  The place can seat easily seat around 200 pax between the indoor and outdoor areas.  There are both air conditioned and non air conditioned sections that can easily accommodate around 50 pax each. 

There is a play area for kids with some computer games.  They serve alcohol.  They serve Andhra cuisine.

For

+ Good Food – the meals was really tasty and so was the fish fry (seer fish slice marinated in chili, salt, ginger and garlic and fried).  There is lentil powder (parupu podi) and ghee (clarified butter) at the table which go very well with hot rice.

+ Pleasant service

Against

- Painful parking – you need to park in the busy infantry road, queens road area.

- More variety of curries and gravies could have been included in the meals.

- Expensive - @ INR 80/- per meals it is pretty expensive.

- The ghee was not of the best quality.

2 meals + 1 fish fry cost close to INR 300/-

Reco – I do not mind going there again.  Not the best of places for Andhra cuisine, but certainly a good place.