Food:
The only option here is the buffet and there is no ala carte fare here. But the buffet is just enough to shut any person about missing dishes. The items on the buffet remains same for the most part with a slight alterations here and there along the week.  Food service starts off with a mix of on-table grilling and a few starters served on plate. There is no discrimination between veg and non-veg foodies here. The same number of dishes for both, so one does not feel left out.



Usually I am stuffed by the time I am done with the starters and I just head over to the desserts. I did just the same this time as well. As this is a compilation, I thought I would list some of the dishes which were worthy of mention.



Firstly the Pineapple Strawberry Shaker drink served inside a pineapple is absolutely Bindaass!!!! Both the drink and the way it is served is top notch. BBQ Chicken wings part of the recently concluded Ay Caramba food festival was fantastic. Mind you I had atleast 4 to 5 pieces of the lovely succulent wings.



Then there was the tender, well marinated Jamaican style Mutton grill which was superb. Then there was this interesting looking chicken lollipop kind of dish which turned out to be a Corn-pop, was really good. Also they had a nice pepper grilled steak served with mustard sauce.


At this point I just move over to the desserts and pick my favourites Pan Ice Cream and the Saffron Phirni which was simply brilliant. I would just return for the Pan Ice Cream which is fit for Kings.

Ambiance:
Very, very noisy! It could be a turn off if you want a quite dine. If not, you would love the experience.

Service:
Simply fantastic, very attentive. The chef personally talks to the diners and is always willing to change the type of preparation according to the customers tastes.

Price:
The buffet here is priced on a average of Rs 699 - 899 depending on the day and time you dine in.

Leaving all this aside which sound interesting, getting a seat here is a big pain. I have been disappointed 'n' number of times trying to make a reservation. So if you could get a seat then you are in luck and make the best of the meal.

Disclaimer : Invited Review.

Absolute BBQ is next to the Hotel Residency, T-Nagar.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

Main course on the other hand was mixed bunch. The Biryani with Butter Chicken Combo was something which all Indians should give a miss. The Biryani was more like a tomato rice and the Butter Chicken was more like water with red colour and chicken pieces. We had to order an Indian dish because of my niece. This was followed by Shish Taouk which was mild and highly westernised, but no matter it was quite decent. The Herbed Grilled Chicken was really good. Very very mild and very very tender.

Food:
This was the second and final stop for the evening. After the first restaurant we went to that night, not being able to hit the mark, we walked in a bit hungry to Tovo and also in the mood experiment. We decided to start the meal with Rice Crepes with Chilli Garlic. I think they need to highlight the term CHILLI! It was unbelievably spicy.


We then decided to split a Smooth and Soft Chicken with Original Buttery infusion sauce, Hyderabadi Spice as regional topping and finally top notch seasonal topping. Also a Gourmet Buns chicken with Tangy Cheese and Herbs infusion sauce, Mogul Laces as regional topping and high seasonal topping. Smooth and soft chicken was too good. But I could barely feel the heat in the dish after the rice crepes aka chilli dosa. Nevertheless the chicken was too good.


Finally enter the Gourmet Bun that is, Burger!!!!!! - Best burger in town - Hands down! To put things to perspective, I have a sufficient mouth opening to take a bite out of Bili bunter burger at Gallopin Gooseberries. This burger with 2 hands working I could hardly make one bite. This burger is so big it will give other burgers a complex. I think that enough description about the burgers size. Taste was on a whole different level. Perfect Buns, Cheese, Egg and finally the winner the fantastic lip smacking chicken. I would sure love to see a burger which would challenge this burger. For now I am head over heels with this burger.


After the sensational burger we had a Butterscotch with Praline shake just to have small dessert kind of finish to the meal.

Ambiance:
Again this was classy. Black ceiling mated to contemporary furniture, where less is more.

Service:
Top - Notch.... By the way I loved the chap who served us - Karthi. He was really cool in explaining how Tovo works for us 1st timers.

Price:
The price of the meal was Rs 880/- Superb pricing for a fantastic meal.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Price - 8/10

Tovo infusion is located in R.K. Salai opposite to Hotel Savera.

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Finally got a chance to take a break and get back to what I love doing. Clicking food!! Location - Madras Sqaure. Subjects - irresistible food. We, a group of three, moseyed into the cafe a little past 7pm on a lovely Saturday evening. Thanks to the pleasant weather, it was great dining outdoors, soaking up the lovely ambiance the restaurant nestled in.





Food:
We started off with a Smoked Salmon on Toast followed by a Mezze. The Smoked Salmon on Toast was a beauty. The dash of orange peel was a fantastic touch. The mixture of flavours was an absolute symphony on the taste buds. I would strongly recommend the dish. The Mezze had a quartet of dips to go with the pita. The dips were great. Each unique in its own right, but the pita was a let down, to  an otherwise a great dish. The pita was soft but had a slight doughy feel to it. To quench our thirst I had picked the Peach Ice Tea, while my friend had the fresh Orange Juice. The orange juice was like a regular orange juice, nothing really special about it, while my peach ice tea seemed like a concentrate of peach and tea, which was great.


Gobbling down the starters we ordered our mains. I picked a Tenderloin steak, while my friend picked the days special Grilled Pomfret Fish in Sri Lankan Masala and finally a Gnocchi. Gnocchi being vegetarian, was not the pick among the two carnivores. Nevertheless, the mouthful which I had, enough to say, it was good. The Grilled Pomfret Fish was definitely the star dish, in my books. Made of Sri Lankan spices which gave it a unique identity. An upmarket cafe serving a fish which was almost similar in taste to what one would get at Moonrakers is a big thumbs up! Of course the pricing  is higher than at Moonrakers, but then the ambiance does come at a cost. Finally the Tenderloin steak - medium was perfect. I was not a big fan of medium cooked steaks, but then I have slowly began to love em. This steak was no exception. Small cut through revealed the slight pink tint on the meat and juice made of pepper base was perfect. Served on a bed of grilled onions with grilled veggies on the side took the dish to whole new level. The Veggie sides served on a bed of cheese was totally different from what I have had. All in all the food was great.

Ambiance:
Set in a remote road off the East Coast Road in Neelankarai, with a mix of contemporary architecture and traditional South Indian furniture, and mesmerising live rock band, on a day were the weather Gods were kind on Chennai. There can't be a better day to experience this superb ambiance.

Service:
Service was quite all right. The only problem was the person who took our order was not really clear about  the menu and he had to walk back and forth to a senior to verify if we raised any doubts about the menu.

Price:
This meal for 3 cost us Rs 2500/-. The dishes are priced on a slightly  higher side, but then they charge only 2% VAT and there is no service charge on the bill which is a big bonus.

Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Price - 7.5/10

Madras Square is located in a road off ECR in Neelangarai. You definitely need google maps to locate this place.

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There are very few quality roof-top restaurants in Chennai. Of the lot, one of the most romantic places to dine is Kefi at Taj Club House. I have been here a couple of times and the food here, has never disappointed me. It is one of the best Mediterranean restaurants which the city is blessed with. I was invited here to sample the dishes which are a part of the Sun cuisine.


Sun cuisine serves food native to Tunisia. Tunisia is a region is which is located on the northern most tip of Africa which is part of the Mediterranean belt. Food wise, it is very similar to the other Mediterranean countries but a little spicier The executive chef, Siddiq has taken the right ingredients to produce a food experience which is second to none.

The proceedings for the evening began with a Amouse Bouch (Palate cleanser) which is a delicate paper thin beet root, wrapping a small piece of cheese. It was a sharp contrast of flavours with sweet beet root and sour cheese. In the gap between our starters and palate cleanser, we were served with lovely soft bread which tasted yummy, with both garlic yoghurt and Harissa.




Following the lovely starter we were served with Lablabi, which is a chickpea and garlic soup with a nice piece of chicken. The soup was thick, rich, aromatic and delicious. This was one of the times I had actually enjoyed a soup. Gulping down the soup, we were served with our main course. The sole veggie guy of the party, was served Marqa which is a Tomato stew with Broccoli, bell peppers and zucchini. While I was served with Phoenician Spicy Grilled Chicken. I really don't know to explain it. The chef is a genius, he had stuffed Cous Cous in a grilled chicken. The dish as such lacked a bit of bite. The chicken was delicious, the Cous Cous was great, the sauce was fantastic. But this did not turn the entire dish into a plus. I did wish it was served with a increased amount of sauce, but then would it have affected the taste of the grilled chicken?  I wonder...

Finally the delicious meal ended with Makroudh Baklava. Which is the traditional Baklava with a spin. Served in a roll form filled with nuts, dates flavoured with rose syrup and garnished with a hard orange candy. It was a big bite into heaven. 

While my Berrilicious was nice, (more like a tonic) I just loved the Wildbery Smoothie which was rich mix of banana and pina coloda. This was all we had, but it gave me a picture of the great food here.

I have always felt that the food scene in Bangalore is better than Chennai. Loads happening, new concepts tried out and people are ready to aceept the new concepts. Chennai is far conservative but is slowly beginning to open its doors to new culinary ideas. On one of my visits to Bangalore I got to dine at the Alila Tiffin Bar for a lovely live BBQ dinner.






I just could not decide which spread I liked the most. My favorite of the lot was the Lamb Ribs and Beef Grilled from the Western section. From the Arabic board, the pita bread was just divine. Add it with a little of the grilled chicken and Hummus it was a an absolute decadance. The Indian delicacies had the usual subjects such as the Chicken Tikka, Hariyali Kebab....