Hard Rock Cafe, St. Mary's Road

HRC Bangalore (or HRC Bengalooru as it is now called), is located off MG Road, off Church St., in a heritage building.

Food (&Drinks) - the Caiproska - a vodka based drink with lime, sugar and mint was quite good - a favorite of mine.  The Mojito (similar to caiproska but has white rum instead of vodka) was also quite good.  The chicken kebab did not seem to be a kebab - not a tandoori kebab..but was quite tasty and the mint chutney accompanying it was good.  The potato skins with beacon was also good, potato skins, with a bit of the body scooped out and stuffed with beacon and cheese and baked..however one potato was a bit under done and a tad raw.

Service - Its a pain getting a table around the bar section..however managed to get it...service is a bit laid back...there are a number of waiters..who display a lot of energy...but are mostly not around tables...however, they serve with a smile.

Ambiance - Has three sections, the bar, the restaurant and the outdoor - for smokers....the former two are typical HRC with a lot of music memorabilia displayed.  The music system seems to have been replaced - certainly sounded a lot better than last time.  They do have free valet parking.

Cost - A pint of KF draft was around ₹190/-, the cocktails come at around ₹360/-.  The kebab had six pieces and was around ₹350/- and the 4 pieces in the potato dish around ₹250/-.  A bit on the higher side..but in line with similar restaurants / pubs.  10% service charges are extra!

Summary - Food - Average, Drinks - Good, Ambiance - Good, Service - Can improve, Cost - Appropriate.

Reco - I'll go there again!

Terminology - ₹ - Symbol for Indian Rupee

Coconut Grove, Church Street

This is a semi alfresco restaurant serving Kerala cuisine.  Liquor is served.
Food - The crab fry a dry preparation with fresh grated coconut and red chili was spicy and tasted good.  There were three crab bodies on offer and a couple of claws.  A good starter.  The aapams were a bit sour...they usually add a pinch of sugar to compensate for the sourness..but this was missing...it was served hot and fresh nonetheless.  The fish molly a mildly spiced stew with fried fish pieces was awesome.  The fish curry was a let down....nothing to write home about - the gravy was predominantly chili chili and chili and turmeric..seemed a bit raw (the spices). (Both the fish dishes were prepared with Seer Fish.)
Service - Service was largely prompt but there is scope for improvement.
Ambiance - Basic furnishing, has an open air area and a covered non air-conditioned area as well.  I did not notice any valet...so you may have to try hard to park in and around Church St....especially during a busy evening or lunch time on week days.  However, it is very close to the MG Road Metro station.
Cost - Quite steep - probably a bit more than similar restaurants on Church St., They do not fleece you additionally towards service charges.  A bottle of KF beer is around ₹190/- and a 60ml bacardi comes at around ₹290/-.  A plate of aapam is around ₹80/- for two pieces.  The gravies cost close to ₹400/- each and the crab dish around ₹450/-.
Summary - Food - Good, Service - Acceptable, Ambiance - not bad, Cost - a bit expensive.
Reco - I'll go there again..not any time soon..and will avoid the fish curry.
Terminology - Aapam - 'hoppers' - a pancake made with fermented rice flour - a staple of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Angeethi, Museum Inn

The restaurant is attached to Museum Inn on Museum Road and is quite a popular one.  It is a roof top alfresco restaurant.  It serves predominantly North Indian cuisine and is part of the BJN group of restaurants.  I had gone there for a Friday lunch buffet.

Food - There were a host of items, including a chat counter - which I avoided as I was there for lunch.  There were a host of vegetarian and non-veg dishes.  The spinach soup was served at the table and was great a slightly creamy soup.  The veg biriyani and the mutton biriyani were really good.  The meat in the mutton biriyani was cooked to perfection.  It was the typical layered North Indian style of biriyani and not the South Indian or Hyderabadi style. 

The prawn gravy a curry type dish was not bad - but nothing to write home about.  There were a host of veg gravies that I did not end up tasting.  A veg sheek kebab and the chicken tikka were good. 

A variety of Indian breads (tandoor cooked) were served at the table. 

There were a host of salads - nothing great - and curd rice on offer at the buffet.

The carrot halwa was good and the rasa malai was awesome - fresh and not too sweet.

There was a counter that dished out gola (shaved ice with a choice of syrups) - something that you usually do not find in restaurants - I loved it.  There was also a choice of ice creams.

There is a paan counter - you could order your pan and pay for it.

Ambiance - The place was packed and additional tables seemed to have been added to make the most of the popularity of the place on a Friday afternoon.  There was hardly any place to walk.  The tandoor was spewing smoke on a third of the tables. 

Valet parking is available (its a short walk from the MG Road metro station).

Service - We were seated promptly since we had booked a table.  But service was unable to keep up with the crowd - serving the soups and bread at the tables and filling the fast emptying food counters.  It was slow.

Cost - @ 400 per person it seemed worth it for the food if not anything else....the paan in the paan counter are expensive.

Summary - Food - great; Ambiance - poor; Service - poor; Cost - acceptable.

Reco - I would like to go there, perhaps not on a Friday when I expect it to be a little less crowded.

Mainland China

I went for the lunch buffet on a Saturday.  I have been here over weekends and have found it difficult to find a place...now it was not that difficult..perhaps the quality had come down or there were more options or perhaps, people just were not spending.  Cuisine is, of course, Chinese.
Food - Starters and soup are served at the table.  The chicken clear soup had a funny smell and no taste.  There were two veg and two non veg starters.  There was veg dumplings and fried veg wontons and there was a stir fried veg and chicken and chicken dumplings. Both the dumplings were good, especially with the accompaniment of the spinach based sauce.  The stir fried veg and chicken was more veg than chicken and the dough was undercooked and raw.
The main course had a prawn fried rice which was good and a sichuan chicken noodles that hardly had chicken, but was tasty all the same.  The crab gravy was good but difficult to eat as it was only the halved bodies of the crabs without the proper implements to eat them with.  The prawn / basil gravy was good, though a tad salty.
I did not try the fish or chicken gravies on offer.  The veg fried rice was not bad but the veg hakka noodles was too bland.  The stir fried vegetables in a brown gravy was repulsive.  I did not try a couple of other veg dishes.
The salad counter had a five salads including a non-veg one and all were quite good.  The dessert counter had a mousse, a couple of cakes and a brownie (which was good) and a choice of cut fruits (good once again) and a choice of 4 ice creams with hot chocolate sauce, nuts and butter scotch to top.
You get a welcome drink or a pint of fosters with the buffet.
Chinese green tea is served at the table for no additional cost.
Service - Was prompt.
Ambiance - Pleasant, air conditioned, spacious.  They have valet parking.
Price - Rs.696.50/- per person.  Costly!!
Summary - Average food; satisfactory service; good ambiance; expensive!
Reco - May not go there in the near future.