Spiga is back! Almost opposite the older location, above the Giovanni showroom at the corner of St Mark's Road and Vittal Mallya Road, Spiga seems to be drawing all its old faithful back into its realm, and also seems to be pulling in new recruits.
VP and I reached Spiga around 1:15 and had to wait until 1:55 to get a table. P called and said he'd join us a little late. Once we were seated, our waiter got a basket of 3 slices of garlic bread, and here's the kicker - all three were of varying sizes, like the three bears in the Goldilocks story. There was a papa garlic bread (long), a mama garlic bread (medium), and a baby garlic bread (short). We waited for a few minutes, hoping that we'd be given plates, but that didn't seem to be the case. Hungry, we dug into the bread. Finally, we motioned to the waiter to get us some plates, and he got us plates.
When the starter arrived, it did seem a little disappointing, given the standards we'd come to expect form Spiga. The oregano chicken skewers didn't come with the skewers (OK, I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I thought at least wooden skewers!). Instead, although you could make out the holes in the chicken where the skewers passed through, they came with tooth-picks! Now that, for some reason, was very putting off.
Oregano Chicken Skewers
And what's the deal with the naan-like bread by the side? They sure as hell don't seem to be the kind you can scoop the chicken pieces with (the pieces are way too large, and there isn't any gravy to mop up). The chicken tasted nice, like any other malai kabab that I've had at any of the numerous tandoori food places in the city.
For the main course (by which time Mr P had joined us), I ordered a classic steak sandwich. My previous visit to Spiga at the old location saw me having something very common - some kind of pasta, while the persons seated at the table next to ours were having a very beautiful looking sandwich, so I was craving for something like that. My sandwich tasted good, with just the right amount of mayo added to it and although the lettuce was whole, cutting the sandwich helped combat the difficulty in eating a large leaf of lettuce. However, when they say steak sandwich and serve you a filling of shredded chicken slivers, to say it's kinda disappointing would be the understatement of the century.
Classic Steak Sandwich
VP ordered a bacon-wrapped fish, served with penne. He had a severe headache, and so that gave him an excellent excuse to eat slowly, but I guess he liked the dish coz he almost ate the entire thing on his own.
Bacon wrapped Fish with Penne
P ordered a simple Thai red curry (vegetarian) and all too quickly polished it off as neatly as the rice seemed to be polished.
Thai Red Curry
We were pretty full (VP and I had visited Egg Factory for a snack while waiting to get seats in Spiga, so we were full), and so settled for one blueberry cheesecake. The cake was nice, and was different from most other cheesecakes you get elsewhere (which are almost like a slightly more hardened mousse).
Blueberry Cheese Cake
I don't think I'm heading towards Spiga again in a hurry. The music was way too loud, and it being a Sunday, so were the people. the service was eh, and the only silver lining was that the food didn't disappoint. Thankfully, with me, that's the most important criteria, you know, kinda like why men go to watch an Anna Kournikova match...not for her tennis, or like when women go to watch a John Abraham movie...for his looks of course, not his acting skills (in his defense, have you ever seen a mannequin 'act' anywhere?), but the fact that there was this charm and aura around Spiga made me expect a lot more from it.
Food: Good
$$$: Around 400-500 per head; may reduce if group size is bigger
Service: Eh!
Verdict: I liked the old Spiga better - in terms of food, service, ambiance, and best of all, it didn't have mind-numbingly loud music playing all the time.
Extra Info: The music is very loud, and people speak at the top of their lungs and act as if they own the place, so if it's a pleasant environ you're looking for, certainly not on weekends.
Spiga, above Giovanni, Corner of St Mark's Road & Vittal Mallya Road, St Mark's Road, Bangalore. Phone: 42110469 , 42110470
VP and I reached Spiga around 1:15 and had to wait until 1:55 to get a table. P called and said he'd join us a little late. Once we were seated, our waiter got a basket of 3 slices of garlic bread, and here's the kicker - all three were of varying sizes, like the three bears in the Goldilocks story. There was a papa garlic bread (long), a mama garlic bread (medium), and a baby garlic bread (short). We waited for a few minutes, hoping that we'd be given plates, but that didn't seem to be the case. Hungry, we dug into the bread. Finally, we motioned to the waiter to get us some plates, and he got us plates.
When the starter arrived, it did seem a little disappointing, given the standards we'd come to expect form Spiga. The oregano chicken skewers didn't come with the skewers (OK, I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I thought at least wooden skewers!). Instead, although you could make out the holes in the chicken where the skewers passed through, they came with tooth-picks! Now that, for some reason, was very putting off.
Oregano Chicken SkewersAnd what's the deal with the naan-like bread by the side? They sure as hell don't seem to be the kind you can scoop the chicken pieces with (the pieces are way too large, and there isn't any gravy to mop up). The chicken tasted nice, like any other malai kabab that I've had at any of the numerous tandoori food places in the city.
For the main course (by which time Mr P had joined us), I ordered a classic steak sandwich. My previous visit to Spiga at the old location saw me having something very common - some kind of pasta, while the persons seated at the table next to ours were having a very beautiful looking sandwich, so I was craving for something like that. My sandwich tasted good, with just the right amount of mayo added to it and although the lettuce was whole, cutting the sandwich helped combat the difficulty in eating a large leaf of lettuce. However, when they say steak sandwich and serve you a filling of shredded chicken slivers, to say it's kinda disappointing would be the understatement of the century.
Classic Steak SandwichVP ordered a bacon-wrapped fish, served with penne. He had a severe headache, and so that gave him an excellent excuse to eat slowly, but I guess he liked the dish coz he almost ate the entire thing on his own.
Bacon wrapped Fish with PenneP ordered a simple Thai red curry (vegetarian) and all too quickly polished it off as neatly as the rice seemed to be polished.
Thai Red CurryWe were pretty full (VP and I had visited Egg Factory for a snack while waiting to get seats in Spiga, so we were full), and so settled for one blueberry cheesecake. The cake was nice, and was different from most other cheesecakes you get elsewhere (which are almost like a slightly more hardened mousse).
Blueberry Cheese CakeI don't think I'm heading towards Spiga again in a hurry. The music was way too loud, and it being a Sunday, so were the people. the service was eh, and the only silver lining was that the food didn't disappoint. Thankfully, with me, that's the most important criteria, you know, kinda like why men go to watch an Anna Kournikova match...not for her tennis, or like when women go to watch a John Abraham movie...for his looks of course, not his acting skills (in his defense, have you ever seen a mannequin 'act' anywhere?), but the fact that there was this charm and aura around Spiga made me expect a lot more from it.
Food: Good
$$$: Around 400-500 per head; may reduce if group size is bigger
Service: Eh!
Verdict: I liked the old Spiga better - in terms of food, service, ambiance, and best of all, it didn't have mind-numbingly loud music playing all the time.
Extra Info: The music is very loud, and people speak at the top of their lungs and act as if they own the place, so if it's a pleasant environ you're looking for, certainly not on weekends.
Spiga, above Giovanni, Corner of St Mark's Road & Vittal Mallya Road, St Mark's Road, Bangalore. Phone: 42110469 , 42110470
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