Surf Turf - Ambiance Plus Food Minus

This was our second back to back venture at a sea side restaurant across the side of ECR. After having experienced Bay6 just about a fortnight ago, we decided to try Surf Turf located at Kovalam. This is a restaurant elevated to a nice degree and beautifully overlooking the sea. It seems like an apt place to visit especially in this summer heat.

The ambiance is definitely a plus point going for this place. It gives a laidback feel and the breeze blowing across certainly adds a positive touch. The place is spacious with the center portion dealing with smirking up drinks and giving a buzzing atmosphere on the whole.

Beach side ambiance apart, the experience was pretty pedestrian on the food side. The vegetarian options were almost devoid and had absolutely nothing really noteworthy to order. There were just a couple of starters and every item took it's own sweet time to arrive at our table.

The Nachos were very plain and just run of the mill stuff. It was neither appetizing to look at nor really had anything interesting to hit the taste buds. The center portion was drizzled with melted cheese and chopped tomatoes. That was all there was to it and lacked the bite. Thankfully at least the nachos were crispy and not soggy avoiding it from being a complete whimper.

The cheesy fries also left a lot to be desired. It was again just plain fries with a tomato puree and layer of cheese sprayed over it. It didn't really go along well and it also made the fries appear drenched and not giving it the punch that it required. Certainly it could have been decorated much better and some spices and seasoning could have definitely helped.

The Cheese Garlic bread again was garden variety.  It seemed like a home made substitute of bread coated with cheese. It wasn't bad by any stretch but you surely expect better quality in a restaurant.

On the main course, tried the Malabar Parotta with the Paneer Butter Masala for company. There were just 2 side dishes available on the veg side and had no other option but to choose this. It was pretty decent overall in taste with just the only blip being the Panneer could have been a tad softer. 

Surf Turf is clearly a case of ambiance going all right but lacking on the foremost front which is food. One ultimately comes to a restaurant for having flavourful food and experiencing variety. This was sorely missing and they certainly need to up the ante by first enhancing the menu with surely a bit more vegetarian options and secondly working on the taste factor which goes without saying. As of it's current state, it purely looks like it's only the ambience which is keeping this place stay afloat.

Kipling - The evergreen perennial favorite from ECR

I have been residing in Chennai for over 2 decades but somehow never got a chance to go to this popular eatery close to the seaside at ECR called Kipling Cafe. A Sunday plan was made and finally I got heading there. First up, the ambiance is lovely and though it isn't the most ideal during lunch hours, they have lovely cottage kind of set ups for families to come and have a laid back meal. The presence of a fan underneath definitely helps.

Their menu is largely continental and there are also options on Thai. This is one place which also shouts of a good liquor spread and if you want to have something to gulp down along with your food, you do have options aplenty.

We started off with appetisers in the form of cheese garlic bread and ricotta cheese fritters. The former was a good way to start proceedings. Nothing exceptional but the bread was buttery soft and possessed a dollop of cheese on top. The ricotta cheese fritters were very good. They were breaded rolls comprising inset a mixture of ricotta, mashed potato, cheddar and chives with a wonderful mustard parsley sauce for company.

On to the main course, we tried the Mediterranean Pizza which was loaded with different veggies such as olives, broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini and spinach over a pesto base. The flavouring was very good and it was nice to have a bite of this pizza. We also had a penne pasta made up of pink sauce which was fairly nice and creamy possessing of the rightful ingredients. I just also had a shot at the Thai basil fried rice which was packed with abundant of flavours.

For desserts, we just had a Tiramisu. This was the usual kinds and mushy on the mouth. A good ender to the meal after all the savoury stuffs taking predominance all the way till the end.

The service was fairly quick and our food arrived at regular intervals. The re filling of water and clearing plates however could have been a little prompter.

The prices are definitely a bit on the higher side. This happens to be one of the elite outlets down this alley and it's really not a surprise.

If you want a lovely little place to chill and relax over a getaway weekend with good food and refreshing drinks for company, Kipling should certainly be within your plan radar.

Godka - Class and Finesse!

Godka impresses immensely with its ambiance and that's one of the sterling factors giving it a major head start. The interiors are intricately weaved and the vibe suggested a beautiful subtle confluence between a vintage olden style diaspora and a relatively modern quirky avatar. I found the whole place reeking of splendor and the artisan touch was pretty prevalent with the surroundings being quite artistic. Combination of music, movies and sports as themes was another well played part giving it a theatrical influence. The portraits of superstars from respective fields along with few fancy motivational quotes and places of importance definitely helped in hefting up the atmosphere of the place. Also the inherent middle eastern touch was evident with the Arabian Jewel boxes, rich flowy curtains, chandeliers, miniatures and antiques. The dim lit lighting played to the gallery and the color palette comprising hues of asparagus green with predominantly brown wooden based decor gave quite a fine imprint about the aura of the place.

We were here on an invite to savor some of the signature specialties dished up by this restaurant. The sabzi shorba soup had a lovely essence to it with the veggies being very finely grated. This one wasn't usually as light as a shorba and felt riveting to taste. On the mocktail front, we got to sample quite a few varieties and the one which stole the show was the Litchi based one having a flavorful punch to it. The orange + vanilla medley mix was fairly decent but the pineapple drink with several cut pieces inset seemed a dampener. The other drink was more like a mirinda fizz with thin shredded mangoes and felt a little extra sweet.

For starters, we were initially served a platter comprising of Sheekh kababs, mushrooms, panneer tikkas and cutlets. They weren't too impressive except for the minced cutlets. The Panneer Tikka and Sheekh Kababs also came as standalone starters and felt much better separately. There were also some cheesy rolls served which were breaded on the outside comprising oodles of cheese inside with french fries for accompaniments. It was lovely, just that would have loved a nice mayo to dip in those delectable rolls. In the main course side, we began our foray with Thai food in the form of rice with both green and red curry. The green curry lacked that authentic Thai flavor but the red one more than made up for it having a nice pleasing coconuty aroma with exotic veggies to boot. The veg biryani was one of the best I've tasted anywhere. It was wonderfully well curried and flavored and it was a delight consuming those colorful morsels. The Pizza comprising of a bunch of exquisite toppings was another crowd pleaser. The Roti's were soft and well prepared and the Panneer gravy which came along was passable although felt a bit too pureed and artificial. The white sauce spaghetti intermingled with olives, corn and rosemary felt slurpy and creamy. Didn't have much of a shot at the desserts, but they were really good from whatever little I could conjure up. There was a strawberry panacota, brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and strawberry ice creams.

Overall, the food seemed to have passed the test with more hits than misses. The service seemed a little extra slow and there was a really long waiting time between items. However the staff seemed really courteous and more than willing to help us by whatever means. I'll skip commenting on the pricing as it was over an on the house invite. Other facilities like valet parking is very much available which is a boost.

'Godka' seems a nice little place to chill out and for those looking for an insouciant easy paced dining option, this seems such an apt and perfect place to relax over a comfortable and relaxed meal. It can also be considered a good stop over point for those heading on the ECR stretch.

Drive down to East Coast at Madras Square!

There aren't many things more comforting than a good ol drive to ECR and whiling away time with a set of interesting people and most importantly great food for company. And East coast is exactly that. Mushroomed near the beach side this is a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

This place has witnessed changes from initially being christened as Ode to Gallery Cafe to the erstwhile Madras Square to now being called The East Coast. But whatever change has taken place has been for the better as witnessed from our recent experience of visiting this cafe.

The place is done up really well. Apart from the restaurant, they also have a gallery, a furniture store and a floral boutique called 'Botanical'. And from the looks of it there are also plans to have a in-house bakery specializing on different kind of bread and bun products. The restaurant is polarized three fold - with a nice open lawn setting, a laid back seating space underneath the thatched roofs and an inside bigger air-conditioned spacing.

The cafe has a nice airy feel about it and scores heavily on the feel good factor. The hanging antiques and the wall paintings adds value and it has a quaint old world vintage feel to it which I'm really fond of.

We were invited for an 'On the house event' and got to try a significant number of their offerings. And most of what we tried ticked the right boxes. We started our sojourn with the mushroom soup which was different in the sense it was sans creamy and instead blended and minced well to give the invigorating fungi aroma. For starters we were given a creole style french fries mixed with veggies and they were fairly good. We also got a shot of the Falafels which somehow didn't set the tongues rolling. In the form of smudged cutlets, they failed to appease the taste buds. But this was a minor blip in an otherwise wholesome meal. We also had 3 varieties of Bruschetta comprising of tomatoes, mushroom&feta cheese and olive&hummus toppings. Extra pointers especially to the latter which had a strong flavoring of the black oval delicacy. And then arrived what I was waiting for eagerly - the pizza's. Both the Original Margherita with buffalo mozzarella cheese and the 4 cheese pizza made up with Mozzarella,Edam,Smoked cheese and Cheddar set the tongues craving with excitement. They were thin crust and I absolutely loved the base of the Margherita pizza covered with a smattering of tomato paste garnished with basil and a dollop of cheese. We were also served the same sans the cheese and replaced with cherry tomatoes and it tasted equally good. The 4 cheese pizza was tempting and brought out the fine essence of the lipsmackingly lingering triangular delight. Then it was time for the pasta's where we got to have a crack at the Agleo e olio Spaghetti having a heavy dosage of olive oil which was passable and a pesto based penne pasta with cherry tomatoes which I kind of enjoyed. We rounded up with desserts in the form of a Theobrama and a Banofee pie both which won the brownie points. They were sinful, rich and creamy and a perfect way to end a very satisfactory meal.

The service was prompt and I felt it was very nice of the managing partner to personally come to us and make us feel at ease. We were given a little brief about the history of the cafe and also on the methods that go behind in enhancing the flavoring of the food. The feedback was well received and the minor criticism's were taken constructively.

Overall, a very pleasant dine out experience. And oh yes, highly recommended.