Bricklane Grill invitation from Spiritz and More

Bricklane Grill is a restaurant located at the junction of Indiranagar’s 100 Feet Road and 12th Main Road, in the same building that houses Sunny’s, but on the 12th Main side. The restaurant opened up in a low key manner earlier in the year, and is quite popular with the expats in the city, and is yet to hit the mark with most other foodies and gourmands in town. I was asked to review the restaurant along with some of the alcohol brands that are served at the restaurant by Spiritz and More. The restaurant is high above all the hustle and bustle that takes place below. Awash with white walls, white furniture, and even white exposed bricks, the restaurant takes its name from a lane in London, that coincidentally also houses a large number of restaurants that serve curry.

While the restaurant does boast of a very romantic setup in one section, weekends are lively with DJ events, so that special meal with a special someone would have to be done on a weekday. While my photograph of the table in the romantic section doesn't to any justice, the night time view is spectacular. The night we visited the restaurant, there space was arranged for a party of 6, and I unfortunately was carrying only my 50mm lens, so couldn't get a wider shot.

The restaurant can be broadly divided into the following areas: few seats around the bar and the grill area, some tables under the covered area and some in the open, a table for 12 inside which is a chef’s table, primarily to be used for wine pairing events, and lastly, the upstairs area that has a lounge-y feel to it, with the balcony area having a three 2-seater tables – ideal for a romantic dinner with that special someone. The cool breeze in the night meant that the open air seating area was a brilliant location, and for those who tend to catch the chills easily, there are heaters nearby.

I started off with a cocktail – a green apple Martini, while my friend opted for a Whyte and Mackay Glasgow whisky. While the Martini was quite good, with the sour flavour of the green apple giving an additional ‘spike’ in the taste, the whisky, according to my friend was lovely, and he’s taken a liking to it over other Scotch whiskies like the Black Dog 12 year because of the slightly sweeter taste. Both of us enjoyed the drinks and while we were getting warmed up with the alcohol, a plate with toast arrived. I assumed it was the standard garlic bread, but it wasn’t. It was bread alright, but it was green with envy – basil oil. Very novel and quite a ‘refreshing’ change I might add. Before I get into what we ate and how the food turned out, I must say that Bricklane Grill serves Parsi food, which is their signature of sorts, along with a fusion of select Indian dishes and European favourites. While to some this could be seen as being a little ‘confused’, a closer inspection can present a different picture.

Green apple martini

Toast with basil oil - superb!

The first of the starters was a Chettinad chicken tikka, one of the examples of a slight fusion of the north Indian tikka, marinated in Chettinad spices. While a couple of pieces did feel a little dry, the rest were fine and the heat from the chicken was perfect with both the vodka martini as well as the whisky. Before the spices from this ebbed away, we were served with another special – the mango infused paneer with pomegranate. Superb! The paneer was of good quality (and even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t fault a Bangalore restaurant for not having good paneer), and the flavours blended perfectly – the sweet and the sour coming together beautifully.

Chettinad chicken tikka

Mango infused paneer with pomegranate 

The crispy yellow chilli prawns were a beautiful golden brown, but there wasn’t much chilli, and the plump prawns felt a little chewy, but that’s probably because of the size, and not over cooking, although some experts may say it could’ve been cooked for about 20 seconds less. I didn’t have any complaints. The ajwain fish tikka was also quite superb – well cooked, and thankfully not overcooked in spite of being cooked in the tandoor.

 Crispy yellow chilli prawns

The Parsi starters, the boti soti, cubes of mutton cooked and skewered on a toothpick with a cube of potato, and the batter coated and fried, lived up to expectations in taste and texture, although the outer coat was quite oily. The bheja na cutlets (brain cutlets) would certainly take getting used to due to the soft texture, but if you’re a fan, then the ones served here would give most places a run for their money. In between all these, I ordered another cocktail, a Moscow Mule – vodka, wine and ginger ale – and while it tasted good, it could have done a little more to make sure I felt the mule ‘kick’ me. My friend was in love with the Whyte and Mackay, and smooth whisky was working wonderfully with the starters.

Moscow Mule

Boti soti

 Brain cutlets

We then moved on to the main course, and here we were spoilt for choice. I mean, there are the Parsi favourites of course, and then there were some very interesting combinations that married flavours from Indian dishes to European favourites. The lamb chops with rogan josh masla and red wine reduction was a perfect example of flavours from two regions coming together beautifully. Ditto with the Jack Daniel’s pork chops – the JD sauce going brilliantly with the pork chops, but the whiskey corn salsa was a bit of a mystery as I wasn’t able to understand the reason for that, although texturally it was quite pleasing. The peppercorn crusted beef tenderloin was cooked very nicely, but I found the amount of pepper a touch overpowering as I wasn’t able to concentrate on the taste of the meat. Whisky or no whisky, the pepper was a bit too much.

Jack Daniel's pork chops

Rogan josh flavoured lamb chop with red wine reduction, and Whyte and Mackay in the background

 Peppercorn crusted beef tenderloin

The Parsi mains – sali boti, mutton dhansak, and the biryani with meatballs was quite a delight, although we were quite full by now, and couldn’t do full justice by polishing off the dishes as we did with the previous dishes. The dhansak was good and the sali boti was quite lip smacking – the sweet and mild sour flavours doing well to give the palate a good exercise. The lone veg dish that we had - the tamarind glazed eggplant and tomato - we had them serve us only a fraction of the portion. The tangy tamarind flavour combined well with the smokiness of the eggplant, but unless you're the kind who doesn't mind a light main course, you may want to stock up on something else.

Biryani and dhansak

Sali boti

Tamarind glazed eggplant and tomato

By the time we got to desserts, we were actually about to pop a few buttons on our shirts. Loosening our belts didn’t help, and so we could only take a couple of bites from both desserts. The ice cream sandwich – warm jalebis with home-made ice cream – was a little disappointing. The sweet, crisp jalebi was superb, but the vanilla flavour from the ice cream just didn’t come through. I mean, if you can’t taste vanilla, then that’ll certainly get you wondering, won’t it? If wasn’t sure if it was the sweetness from the jalebi, or the fact that the ice cream being home-made didn’t have enough vanilla flavouring from the pods, or a combination of both. The South Indian coffee brûlée was a nice idea and the coffee flavour wasn’t overpowering, but the custard below the caramelized sugar could’ve been a little more velvety. Also, while some would argue that the almond biscotti served with the brûlée could be used to spoon out every last bit, I don't know if I'm from that school of thought. We really had stuffed ourselves silly by now, and even getting off the chair was a bit of an issue.

South Indian coffee brûlée

 Ice cream sandwich with jalebis

Overall, it was a very nice meal that we had, clubbed with the alcohol. Both the cocktails I had were good on the whole, and the Whyte and Mackay my friend had was something he was quite pleased about. Given that Bricklane Grill has such a vast array of dishes and some that are obviously something new (marriage of flavours from different cuisines), I think they need to iron out a few creases and be spot on with the every dish, or people would automatically blame them for having their fingers in too many pies. Perhaps cutting down on the number of dishes on the menu is one way to go, but that’s for the restaurant to decide.

Touché Diner

Technology has touched our lived in so many ways that a majority of the technology and the advances that let us get through a day with relative comfort is taken for granted. With the coming of touch screens, it was only a matter of time before this was incorporated into a restaurant's menu/ordering system. The idea was mooted by several people a long time ago, and I guess it wasn't a surprise that we actually are seeing this being implemented. Bengaluru got its first touch screen restaurant, rather appropriately (and obvious) named, Touché Diner.

Located on 100 Feet Road Indiranagar near the 12^th main signal, the restaurant is mysteriously shrouded in black and dark shades inside - to enable the almost unearthly glow from the touch screens to 'light up your world'. The tables are large, as one would expect, and depending on the seating capacity per table, there are suitable number of touch screens on the table. Once you place your order, the order is sent to waiters who carry Samsung Galaxy tablets and they confirm the order before transmitting it to the kitchen.

The food, sadly (well, sadly for me), is a hodge podge of dishes from multiple cuisines as diverse as chalk and cheese. My fear with places that are 'multi-cuisine' is that there isn't much consistency and so far my fear has been well founded. 6 of us visited Touché diner for lunch, and while they did have the option of an executive buffet, we chose to go a la carte, for again, I'm of the opinion that the a la carte food is always better than the buffet food. You'll have to excuse the quality of hte pictures - hadn't carried my camera, and the camera on my phone is normally quite bad, and lousy under poor lighting conditions.

The Manchow soup, apart from being spicy, didn't have anything else and was just pathetic, while the roasted tomato & zucchini soup was tangy but quite insipid. The potato-leek soup was an absolute winner for us all - creamy, well flavoured, and smooth. It reminded us of a favourite - the cream of mushroom.

Manchow soup
Potato & leek soup
With the soups out of the way, it was time to munch on some of the starters. The spare ribs in a Tex-Mex sauce were quite a revelation - well cooked, succulent (could've been a bit spicier though), but my only grouse was that we were given only 3-4 ribs...for Rs 365.

Ribs
Another angle of the ribs
The fish skewers were also quite decent and thankfully the fish was cooked just right. The flavours used here were quite delectable, and Mr. VP actually ate everything on his plate.

Fish skewers
The Waldorf salad didn't seem very exciting (poor lighting in the restaurant results in uninspiring looking dishes), and when it came to the palate, either it was genuine mistake, or common error usually committed, but where was the basic seasoning??? You don't have to marinate the salad in salt & pepper, but PLEASE SPRINKLE SOME. Yes, for the salad. For any salad. Especially if you're primary dressing consists of mayonnaise. The Insalata de flowers - a mixture of red and yellow peppers with corn was quite nice to look at on the plate and pretty decent on the palate.

Waldorf salad
Insalata de flowers
The best veg starter we had was a dish whose name eludes me now (and I can't seem to find it in the menu here). It consisted of buffalo mozzarella cheese along with tomatoes and basil, and a drizzle of a dressing with balsamic vinegar, and it was quite divine.

For the main course, I went ahead and had the lasagna Bolognese, and although this was a spin on the classic spaghetti Bolognese, it was quite simply superb. The ground beef was fresh, and the lasagna was cooked just right with the right amount of cheese - loads of it! Also, in my opinion, this was a healthy spin on a classic dish, the kind of experiments that should be tried out in restaurants so that gourmands can get to experience something refreshingly different. Why limit experimentation only to the bedroom?

Lasagna Bolognese
On a previous visit, I had indulged in the pork chops on a bed of mashed potato along with an onion and sage sauce. The chops were succulent and the sauce was quite brilliant - excellent use of flavours that complimented the potato's bland taste.

Pork chops with onion & sage sauce
The fish sizzler we had was OK, but I am a purist and hate sizzlers, so perhaps the dish was actually good, but I'll still go with 'just OK'. The mushroom risotto was nice if you like cheesy risottos. Although bland (it's one of those dishes you have for 'subtle flavour'), this risotto was done quite nicely.

The veg shaslik, like all veg shasliks I've had all my life is small restaurants, was nothing great, with a few veggies and paneer skewered on sticks and served with herbed rice.
Veg shaslik
Another angle of the veg shaslik
The penne Arrabbiata was nice, but nothing to write home about - a dish if skipped, well, let's just say you wouldn't be missing much. The presentation of all dishes served here is given special attention. Very nicely done.


We didn't opt for dessert as we were quite full, and so left it at that. Given what we'd eaten, the portions, the taste, and the overall experience, I think Touché is a touch, or several touches too expensive. It's all very well to enthrall the guests with gizmos and technology, but this is a restaurant, and you can't shy away from the primary responsibility of serving good food. For 6 of us, the meal came up to a almost Rs 5400 (all inclusive, with a 10% tip). For this kind of money, I think any guest should get to eat absolutely authentic food, which sadly, isn't the case here. Not only was the meal not a 100% authentic to the cuisines served, some of the food is good, some OK, some plain bad, so they'd do well to improve on the kitchen front. 3 stars is a bit of a stretch actually, but what the heck, nobody's perfect right?

Food: OK. Pork and fish dishes good. Rest are average or poor (for the money charged)
$$$: Very expensive. Almost 700-800 per head for a full meal.
Service: Decent
Verdict: Can visit once, but for the money charged, the food needs to be a lot better.
Extra info: Presentation of dishes is very nice.

Touché Diner, 3^rd Floor, #762, Above Reid & Taylor Showroom, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 30412940 ext:107

BM Review: Plan B

So when I heard about this place from Ruth and Sudhakar, especially the fact that they served beef and pork, I knew I absolutely had to visit it, review or no review. But in fact I did end up reviewing the place, and here's where it is. A couple of mistakes, and so my apologies to my guests, coz the labeling of their names seems to have gone a bit awry in what's ended up in the papers.

So my guests were a former quizzing team-mate of mine from college, Srusti, and a couple of his ex-colleagues from Thought Works (Judy & Tejas), P and VP, and also HPDude. And little did I know that the opinions would be as diverse as they were at the end of the meal. Judy and Tejas thought the chilli fried pork wasn't cooked well enough, while on the other hand, VP and I loved it. There were no complaints about the pandi curry though; all meat eaters dug into it. The wings could have done with some more 'meat' on them, but tasted good otherwise.

Spicy wings

Cheesy fries

Since Srushti wasn't too fond of red meat, he ordered the chicken satay, which turned out to be decent.

Satay

Pandi curry

Chilli fried pork

For the main course, VP immediately pointed out to the black board and said he's having the smoked pork chops. Straight away, let me say that those were the best chops I've had. E.V.E.R. Truly fabulous.

Smoked pork chops

Judy settled for the chicken lasagna, which turned out to be quite nice, with a good amount of cheese mixed in it.

Chicken lasagna

Srushti's jerk chicken steak was good, but not 'jerky' enough if you ask me. The jerk spices weren't very prominent and I thought it could have done with a bit more, but Srushti liked it the way it was.

Jerk chicken steak

P had the stir fried vegetables, which turned out to be just ok. 'Passable', he said, 'but nothing special'.

Stir fried vegetables with herbed rice

The burgers here are truly amazing. Tejas had the Juicy Lucy, a huge beef patty (probably the biggest in Bangalore) while HPDude had the Don't be a chicken burger. Both were great, with the Juicy Lucy living up to its name. I had a pulled pork sandwich, having spicy cured pork, and I couldn't have enough of it. If I hadn't filled myself up with the starters, I'd have had another one for sure.

Don't be a chicken burger

Pulled pork sandwich

Juicy Lucy

The desserts need some work done on them (at the time of writing this, one of the co-owners assured me that the desserts section has had a complete overhaul). The chocolate truffle seemed a little old, and had a 'stale' taste to it, while the oreo cheesecake tasted good, but seemed to a have a little more gelatin added to it, making it a lot stiffer that it should have been. The apple pie though, was quite good, with a liberal dose of cinnamon (who wouldn't like cinnamon I ask!).

Chocolate truffle with ice cream

Oreo cheesecake

Apple pie

Food: Apart from the desserts, the rest of the food was superb.
$$$: I guess this is what I'd call standard Bangalore rates - a bill of close to 3500, with 5% service charge for 7 people, with a couple of alcoholic drinks.
Service: Decent
Verdict: Can give Windsor Pub some serious run for its money. Must visit.

Plan B, #20, Ground Floor, Castle Street, Off Brigade Road, Bangalore. Phone: 41119225.