Sunset Grill - A surreal sky lit roof top dining encounter!

There is no better dining setup than a rooftop terrace with shrubs of palm trees placed evenly along with dim lit lights suffusing the oh so pleasant feel and to boot the zephyr from outside gently caressing the mind and soul. The sunset grills absolutely nails it on the ambiance front and this is one place where you will truly enjoy your dinner sojourn with peace and quietude surrounding the atmosphere. The mild music adds to the feel good factor and the passage passing across the swimming pool to get to the restaurant space of Sunset Grills makes it look all so exquisite.

Another rarity here is this is one restaurant in a star enclave specialising exclusively in middle eastern and Arabic based cuisine which places it in a different league from the rest. We were here as part of the celebrations of 'Mezze and Grill' festival where a sample few items from the Ala carte menu have been specially handpicked and re-designed as a set piece menu. The night lit ambient is just perfect to gorge barbeques and with drinks added to the fray, this becomes a superlative wine&dine option.

First up was the mezze side of things. We got inklings of fried pita bread with Maskatare - a yoghurt based dip and pickled vegetables. This was just an initial feeler as what arrived next included a platter of breads consisting of Zhatar, Iranian and soft pita breads and for able company were a delightful bunch of dips in the form of hummus, baba ganoush and burani spinach. I make no bones in saying that the hummus was one of the best I've ever had and it just made you thwack your bread with gregarious coating of it and it was quite a wonderful feeling slathering the dip jocularly over the breads. The Baba ganoush had a slight sweet tinge to it and the spinach one having hung curd was pleasantly good too but have to say it was the Hummus which stole the show on this front. We also got some very nice well made soft focaccia bread with olives inscribed on them.

And in the grill section was the main course comprising of veggie skewers and cottage cheese subzi kabab along with flavoured saffron rice and a pomegranate based veg dish. I found the skewers to be pretty routine stuff and they didn't really appease. The panneer pieces though were super succulent and melt in the mouth kinds. The rice though flavoured lacked the zing and the gravy didn't do much to help. There was romesco sauce spread out in the plate which was absolute wow stuff. We ordered a separate plate of cottage cheese and the repeat was even better than the first in terms of taste and presentation.

It would be a crime if I don't mention the intermediate and finishing stuff amidst the Mezze and Grills. The lentil soup was totally enticing with an esculent aroma of green vegetables and cumin. I was just bewitched by the soup. For drinks I was pretty content with my big glass of Hoegarrden which was quite a refresher in between consuming flavoured middle eastern cuisine. The AG47 wine from Argentina also played able foil. The little sip of the mock tails which I got to drink seemed pretty good as well. And in the dessert draw the Baklava and Omali both blew us away. The former is a specialty and they did great justice on it. The latter was an absolute revelation with the twang of sweetness prevailing long after the tongue being smacked with this delight. The service was really hospitable and it was a pleasure to enjoy a lovely dinner here. The rates don't come into equation as it was over an invite. It may seem a tad pricy but the experience will bowl you over.

On a holistic picture, Sunset Grills have pulled off this 'Mezze and Grill' festival with elan by showcasing their repertoire and playing to the gallery by bringing out a well suited set course menu going perfectly in sync with the wondrous ambiance.

Punjab Grill - Tantalising Tandoori!

Punjab Grill is a name to reckon with in the North Indian cuisine sector having it's footprint in most major cities of India. With the growing diaspora of up North eateries in Chennai, it was just a matter of time before the chain put it's foot forward into the city. The outlet here is located in the Phoenix Market City, Velachery having a separate spacious dining outlet all for itself.

Phoenix Mall has it's share of fine dining restaurant options and Punjab Grill surely is one of the crowning jewels if you're looking to indulge in a sumptuous North Indian fest. The place reeks of splendour and you can be assured of a rich, royal and regal experience. There is a certain grand feel about the place with the interiors glistening with bright lighting and the color palette done up pretty much with beaming orange and biege shades gives it a charming touch.

Punjabi cuisine is known to for it's creamy and sinful delicacies and Punjab Grill ensures the same in thumping style. We started our foray with the Kesar Pista Lassi and the 'Matta' which is a spiced up butter milk. Both were presented in a beautiful fashion being lined up in a holder with small glasses holding the traditional beverages. It was a perfect confluence with the kesar pista lassi having a sweet tinge to it and the Matta with herbs floating around and requisite masala giving it a salty twang. Going away from the traditional front, we had a twist in the form of a Paan Mocktail which was ravishing with heavy flavoring of Paan in an iced avatar. On the soupy side, we were served a Kumbh Pudina Shorba with a lovely essence of cardamom and Pudina with mushrooms as main ingredient.

The starters reigned supreme with the Veg Kurkure especially being the show stealer. Presented in an immaculate manner in a glass with a sweet chilli sauce at the bottom with the roll already dipped in, this one was a delight with cheese oozing out of the breaded portion and to boot variety of capsicums as condiments. The thorny crispy layer on the outside and the juicy cheesy texture on the inside proved a great combination complementing the taste buds. The Paneer Tikka Multani was another tandoor awaited with bated breath. They were buttery smooth in texture and were inviting to slice and dice the succulent piece of yellow chunk, dip them with sufficient green chutney and put them gently into your mouth. For vegetarians eating Punjabi food, getting the panneer right holds high importance and this one passed the test with flying colors. Another of the starters was the Dahi Kabab which was in the mode of a cutlet and had a creamy pasty mix inside it. It was pretty decent to taste but felt short of the former two starters.

On the main course, we had Indian breads in the form of Garlic Naan and Lacha Paratha which were well prepared. And to supplement them were the Panneer Lababdaar curry and the Punjabi Dal. The Panneer Lababdaar was extremely creamy and rich in taste although felt it could have been a wee bit on the spicier side. The Black Dal was breathtaking with the lentils simmering amidst an esculent aroma.

And to round it off was the assorted dessert platter consisting of Phirni, Chocolate Gulab Jamun and Litchi ki Tehri. The Phirni somehow didn't cut ice and felt a little off for my liking. The gulab jamun was pretty nice with chocolate squirting out of the big rotund dripping piece of Jamun. The Litchi ki Tehri was a Rabdi with juicy pieces of Litchi inset and was quite impressive. And in signature style, we finished a very satisfactory dinner with the Paan shot.

The service was warm and hospitable. They were ever ready to serve us to the best of their capacity and it felt really pleasing to dine here. As we were on an invite, it's hard to comment on the price point. But as a one liner would say it's par for the course for the culinary spread served.

On the whole, Punjab Grill really lived upto expectations and can definitely be recommended for an authentic true blue epicurean experience for the discerning Tandoori/Punjabi/North Indian cuisine loving cognoscente.

Barbecue Nation comes to KNK!

Barbeque Nation has been one of the shining stars of Chennai in the grilled sector over the past few years and it was only apt that they opened an outlet in the much cherished and posh Khadar Nawaz Khan road. It's located inside the opulent Bergamo Mall in the second floor.

The set up is very similar to every other Barbecue Nation outlet. Surrounded into multiple enclosures with brick walls all over and engulfed with a sea of brown it more or less typifies the barbecue culture. Brick, brown, barbecue and the buzz surely seems to be going hand in hand. The decor feels easy and comfortable. Normally you find barbecue outlets being crowded by big corporate crowds but somehow didn't witness that here as this one seemed relatively calmer and quieter.

And coming to the food it's the consistency which marvels. They seldom have an off day and just don't seem to miss the beat. The grills are tempered with the right texture and have the perfect amount of juiciness and punchiness in them. I have frequented barbecue restaurant's too often and hence already know pre empt what's in store. But having said that it's hard to pinpoint and lay out a criticism because they are so good at what they give you. The pannneer is most likely always top draw and the cajun sized potatoes makes me fall head over heels in love with it. This is the first place I got to taste that sinful delight and it has not lost it's charm one bit over the last so many years. It still retains the crunchy tangy linchpin taste. Most of the grills usually compete amongst themselves for top stakes. On this occsssion we also had a Live counter where we savoured Honey chilli pineapple and Gobi Manchurian. The former was a showstealer and was delightful. I expected the latter to be the usual suspect and run off the mill but it turned out being one of the best Manchurian's I have had a crack at.

After the overflow of starters, you hardly have the wherewithal to try anything on the main course side. These kind of restaurant's virtually make you follow the 80-20 rule when it comes to the ratio of starters:main course. From whatever little I had, the peppery lemon soup was passable and the garlic naan with Dal Bhukara for company was fairly good, however the lentils lacked a little on the creamy side. The skosh of desserts I had was fantastic and have to specifically single out the Kulfi which was masterclass. Made in the ad-libbing style, you get to choose your flavour from a sample of 6 and add the necessary toppings and voila you have a lipsmacking kulfi ready for you to drool into.

You need to skim through the gamut of options to find a negative nail and most likely you won't find it because the food is so good here. You just eat, eat and eat like an ogre until you're on the verge of detonating. The service is another high point in this restaurant. The waiters will make no stone unturned to ensure you have a fabulous experience. The rates are a little on the higher side and my only real complaint is that they could perhaps offer a complementary mocktail along with the meal.

Barbeque Nation scores big on most factors and with it's entry into the cornerstone of KNK road, it just got its level elevated a touch higher. It's almost like a confluence of brilliance seeing BBN and KNK coming together. In essence, a perfect place to hog as much as you can till the tummy blows the conch shells.

Barbecue brewing at Coal Barbecues

The craze for Barbecue based restaurant's never seem to be dwindling and you only find more and more of these sprouting up which doesn't seem one bit surprising. These restaurant's offering grill based food are especially a humongous hit with the corporate crowd and you will invariably find a big office set congregating this place. Come to think of it, being offered such a gargantuan wide variety of food spread at a fixed rate points towards the right direction

And Coal Barbecue happens to be the latest avatar bringing to the table the concept of grilled food. It is located on the 100 feet main road in Velachery and is housed in a big complex. The strategic location helps as not only a large residential population resides around this area but it also happens to be close to the OMR road which is home to a truckload of companies comprising an enormous stack of employees. This one sure shot will always be a marquee choice for corporate's and will be earmarked when planning for lunches/dinners.

The signature board with the wordings 'Coal Barbecues' with quirky little lighting welcomes you with extra focus on the 'C' for the Coal which ignites like fire and is strikingly bright. The restaurant is located in the second floor and the spacing is vast and the place is done up really well. There is a buzzing atmosphere about the place and the rousing fiery barbecues produced on the live charcoal grill never looks like losing it's sheen. Bricked wall settings, brownness and barbecues seem to be going hand in hand and that is largely prevalent. The area is polarized pretty well into different enclosures and the portraits with lovely little food quotes and captions adds a nice touch.

The food follows the trodden path to the 'T' and you know kind of what to expect. After the customary soup, all attention turns towards the bunch of starters being served on a live charcoal grill. For veg you are served your usual fare of Panneer, Potato, Mushroom, Grilled veg etc. And you also get to have sweetened pineapple, fried corn and creamy american style potatoes directly to your plate. They also gave us a Hara Bara Kabab which was in the form of a minced cutlet. The starters lived up to the billing and all of them were palatable and tasted fairly decent but nothing really blew you away. If you are the one looking for something unique or a dynamic taste on offer, then you will be left disappointed.

After getting done with the starters, it was time to head over to the Live Grill counter which follows the Ad Lib style where you choose your toppings and they make it up for you after adding the requisite ingredients.This one was quite a whimper as it was hardly cooked well and tasted bland. Surely expected better on this front.

The main course despite having options galore is one area you seldom end up doing justice as you become too full after gobbling up all the starters and it's just basically to add up the numbers. But from whatever little I had, kind of enjoyed it. The Palak Panneer, the Nariyal Aloo and a couple more of the gravies all stood out and the Black Dal especially was way better than i thought with the lentils nicely simmered in an aromatic creamy puree. Apart from your staple fare of Indian Bread, we also got some special ones in the form of Dry Fruit Naan infused with melted cheese and a chilly black olive naan which was really good.

And then on the dessert and drinks section, there were lots and lots of options to choose from but nothing was really mind blowing. They weren't bad by any stretch but a little far off from being exceptional. From the mix of mocktails we got to savor, nothing great to write home about. The cold stone ice cream was the saving grace of the lot and a positive way to polish off the meal

The service was very quick and the starters especially were re-filled in quick time. On the rate front such a gigantic spread for dinner at 700 pax makes it great value for money. However our particular meeting was on an 'On the House invite'. Parking space is sufficient for both two and four wheelers.

Overall the experience was relatively positive. It's early days and the restaurant is still finding its footing. I would personally like to see something newer and unique from them which should help to distinguish themselves. Right now it's a bit mainstream and too much on expected lines. Hoping they 'up the ante' in the days to come and create a signature which differentiates them from the rest. Here's wishing Coal Barbecues all the very best.