Indra Nagar is witnessing a sudden splurge of restaurant's in its suburbs and Cleo's Grill & Cafe happens to be one of the newbies in town. It is located in the 4th avenue and might be a little difficult to locate but shouldn't be much of a concern if you have done your homework with maps.
The name Cleo's derives itself from the popular character of Cleopatra and this restaurant specializes predominantly in grilled based food. There is an interesting twist to it as the management felt there isn't any real good grill food chain in the city prompting them to start one of their own.
The place is small but nicely compartmentalized into different enclosures and the ambiance gives a gloomy effect with a dim lit feel. The decor is very comfortable and the hanging lights across each table gives it a nice touch.
We were invited as a big group to try some of their offerings and were offered a set menu which comprised loads of stuff. The non vegetarians especially had much to relish with starters of all kinds in abundance. Listed below is my take on the vegetarian side of things. We started our sojourn in the form of welcome drinks and there were a couple of them - Crazy frog and the Pomogingy fizz. The former was refreshing and icy and made of a mix of Blue curacao and mango whereas the latter was punchy and mildly spicy in a combination of Bovonto and Pomogranate. After the drinks, it was time for soup which was a Grilled Bell pepper soup. It was appeasing especially with the subtle smoky flavor with a dash of cream and cheese. Then we were served a crunchy noodle salad which was akin to an Indian chaat based dish with the requisite spices getting us prepared for the bigger palate in store. Next it was time to target the starters and for veg we had 2 paneer based and a solitary mushroom. The cleos grilled paneer appeared first which was a charcoal based square of paneer smeared with a tangy tomato paste and went along jocularly well with their Orangish chilli mayo. It was a little on the spicier side but nevertheless really well made. The other cottage cheese one - Fiery paneer kabab was more along the traditional paneer tikka kind you get at most places and tasted decent. It had a slightly burnt feel to it and came with mint based mayo sauce. Contrary to the term fiery, the former paneer sans the fieriness felt spicier than the latter. The Cheese stuffed mushroon were in the form of cutlets with big button sized mushrooms within the layer and a coating of cheese on the sides. It was passable and not something to really rave about. I must make a mention of their mayo sauces for accompaniments which were thick and different from the usual add-ons and they played a key role in elevating and complementing the eating of the starters. After that was time for the main course - Indian bread, zafrani rice with Paneer tikka masala and Dal Makhani for company. We got to taste a special type of naan which was laced with herbs and spices which tasted wonderful. Also got myself a slice of Olive and Garlic Naan and the fact that it was well made and fluffy was well visible. The Paneer Tikka masala had succulent pieces of cottage cheese which were cooked in a tomato based gravy and the Dal Makhani was fair enough albeit a far way off from some of the better black dal's I have had. Didn't have the wherewithal to try the zafrani rice but from the spoonful I tasted, it had a nice aroma and flavoring to it. We also were given Bovonto with Ice cream which served as the perfect foil for having this kind of food. We rounded off with desserts - Chocolate mousse & Mango cheesecake in a glass and a Nutella Banana Pancake. The choco mousse was soggy and it was a delight to cream it across and put into your mouth. The mango cheesecake was soft and tasty and the Pancake was okayish. Also as a final dash we got a skosh of Gajar Halwa with ice cream which tasted a little different and not really suiting my taste buds.
Overall it was a very decent experience with most of the items bordering from the good to very good and some areas needing a bit of an improvement. Considering the relatively smaller spread of vegetarian items, it was surely more than passable. A non vegetarian eater should be able to give a better verdict considering the options galore.
The service was amiable. They catered into all our requests in a friendly manner, but however felt they could have been a wee bit quicker in bringing some of the items. The rates seem marginal and competitive. Being located in a quite street, there is ample space for bike and car parking.
At the end of it all, it was quite a satisfactory affair.
No comments:
Post a Comment