I have been to Absolute Barbecue many a time in it's 1 year of operation in the city. But, I am going to place focus specifically on 2 of my visits - My first sojourn when AB's just started it out on Oct 2014 and my recent outing in Oct'15 as part of a team of bloggers for the 'Al Karamba' Caribbean festival where we were served some special offerings from the island nation.
After a being a thumping success in Bangalore & Hyderabad, the Chennai crowd has well and truly lapped up the brand of Absolute Barbecue's. It has been a runaway blockbuster hit and continues to attract the houseful board and if one has to attribute 2 reasons for its super success, one is the wide variety of food on offer and the second being the superlative service. AB's has always been a step up on the ladder and its clearly visible with all the extra efforts taken by them to enhance the customer experience.
T Nagar seems to be the preferred location for Barbecue restaurant's in the city and this one's located in GN Chetty road somewhat in the adjoining space between Accord Metropolitan and Residency. From the outset you just see a board and there is nothing spectacular about the building hosting this place but the real surprise is when you step into the 3rd floor to get inside the restaurant.
The place is cool,chic,stylish and really happening. The design is done up tastefully and feels like it can accommodate hordes of people. It is well lit up and glistens with an interesting palate of colors. Seems even quirkier seeing the waiters dressed up in bright yellow shirts normally and on festive occasions you witness a change according to the 'T'. There is loud old english music playing in the background giving a buzzing atmosphere overall.
To say that there are plentiful items in store to satiate your appetite is really an understatement. The spread is so gargantuan that even an ogre would not be able to do complete justice. In the veg buffet starter barbeque section there are usually versions of Grilled kababs, Panneer, Potato, Mushroom, American Cheesy Potato and Crispy corn. Behold these are just the items mentioned but apart from that they happen to be very magnanimous and also provide extra's such as Grilled Cauliflower , Barbeque / sliced Pineapple's and Barbeque Watermelon. The barbeque's are cooked to perfection and tempered with the right juice and punch giving a flavorful feel to the mouth. And for the Caribbean festival, they tweaked quite a bit of their signature starters to bring the flavors and taste of the West Indies.
If you thought this was all in the starter's part wait till you hear this. They have a unique concept called the 'Wish Grill' where you get to make and eat them ad-lib style. It is a 4 step process where you first get to pick your veggies or meat (Everything you name and more is there). Secondly you get to top your ingredients with rice or noodles and once this is done you get to check with the chef for the choice of sauces (You are allowed to taste sample's for your preference) and on top of the sauces (so many choices) you get to load them with condiments comprising of Chilli flakes, oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil etc. And voila you watch your taste wish get fulfilled. I really loved my wish grill which was nicely cooked and tender with the right blend and mix.
Once you are done with the Barbeque's and Wish Grill, you really wouldn't have the wherewithal to try anything else. However, the main course is in no way any lesser as you have a wide oeuvre here too. From the little I tasted found the AB's special Dal to be simmeringly delightful and the Paneer sheesh mahal with a coating of spinach inside oval shaped cottage cheese to be delectable. They also have a host of other gravies and curries to go along with their Veg Dum Biriyani, plain rice and Indian Bread. And you always have a soup which is decent and to boot some accompanying salads. Also you get a mocktail to choose from a span of several of which i chose the Black buck - a blackcurrent based drink on my first visit and a pineapple passion on my recent foray which came delightfully in a decorated real pineapple with a straw inserted at the side which tasted absolutely ravishing.
They also have a truckload of desserts with live counters of Indian sweets and a number of pastries to choose from. And on the ice-cream front they make you coldstone icecream of your choice of flavor and topping. It was really a sight watching them make it in front of you dashing them in the cold stoned rectangle and regardless to say i loved my ice-cream which was soft , mellow and meltilicious.
It turns out to be an absolute wow barbecue experience every time you come here. You have plethora of food erupting like a lava making you pack your stomach to the rafters. It feels as if you've had 3 meals in one go pampering and spoiling you like crazy. Go give your decadence a Hi-5. Such is the variety and quantity of food in store that if you start to explain each and every item it would very well end up being a dossier.
The waiters are very prompt and the chef is very sweet in personally coming and asking for feedback and taking suggestions of how to further give their best. It really feels like they value customer feedback seriously.
There is hardly a negative bone at AB's. Its heartwarming to see that they have continued to maintain their service and quality over the past year attracting more and more customers and building up a huge fan base. Here's wishing them well to assert their supremacy further as they head into their second year. Go Grilling!
P.S: Sharing below my second review to this place as and when it opened its doors in Velachery.
Absolute Barbecues entry to Chennai with their T-Nagar outlet hasn't been anything short of path breaking with record crowds thronging the outlet time and again like a deluge. It has seen phenomenal rise over the last 2 years and is one of the unprecedented success stories witnessed in the food scene of Chennai.
After regaling and enthralling the barbeque lovers, it was time to expand the radar and they have now opened their second outlet in the Taramani Link road en route to Velachery. Strategically this is a brilliant choice for location as the surrounding area is in close proximity to a glut of IT and business parks and a ginormous amount of folks work right round the corner. They have essentially placed themselves easily accessible to the Corporates and it's a given with AB's reputation already soaring high that this will be lapped up with open arms.
We were here on an invite on a Saturday evening and it was no surprise that it was completely packed to the rafters. There is an inherent buzz about the place and the atmosphere is electrifying. There is always some sort of action happening at AB's and the pulsating vibe here is pretty infectious. You will see the servers on their toes converging the area acceding to customers requests. The rumbling sound of the utensils, the constant chatter amongst groups of people, moving about in a helter skelter manner to refill your plate, the loud music playing at the background et al add to the experience of dining at AB's.
AB's is one restaurant which is designed to showcase your gluttony instincts to the fore. Their starters are a class apart tempered with the right texture and punch and it's hard not to gobble them up piece by piece and repeat the same again and again. You never really get bored of their grilled stuff and they also innovate by bringing newer things to the table adding to the excitement. In the veg category, you usually have your panneer, mushroom, babycorn, potatoes, pineapple etc. They also have special starters directly served and is amazing how willing they are to provide you with a largesse fest. On this occasion we got the delightfully soft beetroot cutlets and the honey pineapples pierced right in front of us from a giant sized pineapple fruit. The wish grill is another sphere which entices the customers as this is based on the ad-lib style of choosing your ingredients from a mass list and adding your sauces and sprucing up the masala to create something of your own.
These kind of grilled based restaurants work on the pareto analysis of roughly 80-20 portfolio with 80% occupying the barbeque starters and perhaps 20% making up the main course and desserts. However on quantity main course is pretty widespread standalone. But it's just that you won't be having the wherewithal to try your hand too much at these considering you're already detonated having stuffed yourself to the brim with the starters. From whatever little I tasted though, they seemed to be pretty good. The desserts section has a mix of western pastries and Indian sweets with ice cream to boot.
It's really hard to pinpoint issues at AB's because they happen to be so bloody good and they virtually ensure that all bases get covered. They have played it safe here and seem to follow the path of the former AB's in T Nagar to the 'T'. There isn't anything off the cuff or radically different and it makes sense because you don't try to fix something which is already running super smooth.
The service was exemplary as usual with the staff at your beck and call and taking all efforts to ensure we have a good time. Though our encounter was over an 'on the house', the pricing can be termed reasonable for the mind blowing feast on offer. Other factors like valet parking is rightfully available which is a plus one.
It's always a pleasure to dine in at Absolute Barbecues and our recent visit was no different. It was a fun evening of food and frolic. This new Absolute Barbecues at Velachery has already embarked on an earth shattering start and you have to be a brave man to bet against it soaking in record breaking crowds going forward.
