BM Review: Bangalore Bistro

This visit to Bangalore Bistro was official - it was part of me doing a review of the restaurant for the tabloid Bangalore Mirror. Pretty snazzy huh? :) Mr P and Mr VP accompanied me on the 10th of April, on a warm Good Friday night. We were joined there by Dr V, the photographer from Bangalore Mirror - Ph.D in English, and as Mr P said, "He looks too happy to be married!".

I was informed that I won't be able to put up the same content on my blog, but there no restriction on me giving a link here to the review, so click here. However, I am allowed to put up the pics of the food we ate (the ones I clicked), so those are here.

Once in a blue moon (Orange juice and blue Curacao)

Virign Mary

Once in a blue moon with someone's bust as the backdrop

Res Sea (Strawberry crush, lime juice and 7 Up)

Corn and cheese fritters

Caroza (sandwich with pesto and buffalo mozzarella)

Spoony beef

Cream of mushroom soup

Mozzarella and jalapeno balls

Citrus pepper fish

Veg gnocchi with mushrooms

Lebanese veg shawarma rolls with hummus

BaPeTo Chicken (Basil pesto tomoato) with polenta

Lava Java

Sizzling Brownie

Mango Cheesecake

Food: Very good.
$$$: Moderately expensive, around 400-600 per head depending on what you have.
Service: Very good.
Verdict: Must visit if you like continental and Mediterranean food.

Bangalore Bistro, #74 Brigade Road, Opposite St. Patrick's Church, Bangalore. Phone: 41131616, 25571616

At the risk of losing the review, since I can't expect the website to host the link for years, after a period in time I'm posting the review here:

The dictionary defines bistro as a small, modest, European-style restaurant or café. Bangalore Bistro is anything but small or modest, and one look at the place will dispel any notions of a small street-side café you may have conjured up. The restaurant has three sections — open air, a fine dining area and a lounge area. Chef Junaid Rafiuddin, formerly with the Taj Residency, started Bistro in 1999 on Cunningham Road, dishing out Italian and Continental fare. Around two-and-a-half years ago, a change in location to Brigade road seems to have also brought about a change in the ambiance and
cuisine, with a Mediterranean touch added to the place.

My guests were Pranav and Prashanth, both techies who’ve travelled around the globe on work and have sampled the wares of lands beyond our shores. Dressed in shorts and Ts on a warm Friday night, we stepped into Bistro to warm, comforting lights and light music, and sheeshas in the open air section – belly dancers would have completed the Mediterranean feel! Sigh. The menu starts off with Chef Rafiuddin extolling the chefs for the use of “...prized ingredients that makes all the difference...” In the menu, under soups, there aren’t any options given, only this line: “We would be glad to cook up anything for you.” This place scores for originality for sure.

A rule of thumb that I use at fancy restaurants to judge how good the food will be is by ordering a cream of mushroom soup and a Virgin Mary (if on the menu). If these two can be made to perfection, you can be assured that the food to follow would be good. The soup and Virgin Mary turned out to be fantastic, so were the other drinks — Red Sea (strawberry based) and Once in a Blue Moon (orange juice and blue Curacao).

Unlike several other places, veggies won’t have to worry for choice (Pranav being a veggie will testify), simply
because there’s plenty. The corn and cheese fritters were tasty, although the cheese inside could have been cooked a little more. The coroza (sandwich with pesto and buffalo mozzarella) was delightful, the mozzarella and jalapeno balls felt a little doughy (probably the only disappointment of the night), and the spoony beef was subtle and light on the flavours.

Onto the entrées, and although Pranav thought the gnocchi was a mixed bag, with the sauce having the right blend of herbs and spices while the gnocchi itself being a little bland, the Lebanese shawarma rolls (which had a zing to them), the citrus pepper fish and the basil pesto chicken were all executed to perfection. Prashanth has a sensitive stomach that usually acts up if the oil used is bad or stale, but he pointed out that the oil didn’t seem to have been reused – a definite plus. The desserts we had were superb — sizzling brownie, mango cheesecake and a Java lava, which was molten chocolate in a coffee cup served with ice cream.

The staff is extremely patient and helpful when it comes to helping you decide what to have, and what’s more, they know what’s on their menu. Their patience was demonstrated that evening when they put up with the tantrums and the ruckus created by a group of 20 or so high school/college kids celebrating a birthday there. My guests and I were amazed at the decibel levels the kids touched and by the way birthdays are celebrated today — I guess it’s a generational thing, meaning I’m getting old!

Bangalore Bistro is one of those places that delivers on its promises. The quality and finesse of the dishes match up to the ambience, and unless you are the type who’s used to the overwhelming power of spices and masalas in Indian cuisine, you would have to make an effort to not like this place.