Hola, by the beach side!

Woke up on a Monday morning to find a surprise mail from Zomato inviting me for their year end celebrations at this restaurant named 'Hola'. The excitement turned into disappointment as my wavering mind started to think that surely such a restaurant doesn't exist in Chennai only to find out how wrong I was. It was very much in Namma Ooru and somewhat even closer to home. Coming to know that it was a roof top restaurant and looking at the scenic beauty in the pictures made me palpably excited and that very moment I decided that come what may , I am surely not going to let go of this opportunity :).

The cornerstone of this restaurant is the ambiance which wins hands down. Strategically located close to the beach , this is an ideal place to have a peaceful , laidback lunch/dinner amidst the gentle zephyr blowing across serenely. It is located in a 2 storied building called Malgaadi adjacent to the age old Dhabba Express and looks like the only real upscale restaurant in that area especially since its surrounded by a cluster of smaller restaurants closer to the beach.

On the food side , they primarily focus on Italian and Mexican. On this starry evening managed to lay my hands and mouth on the following :
Drink - Curry Leaves Mojito
Starter - Italian Cheese Baked Nachos
Main Course - 4 summers Pizza , 4 cheese Pasta
Dessert - Chilled Cheese Cake

The Mojito was decent however the big sized curry leaves were quite a dampener disturbing the flow in relishing the drink.The Italian Cheese Baked Nachos were copious in quantity but wasn't as luxuriating and decorated as I expected. The tortilla chips were kind of dry and the spread of the topping was not judicious with some of the pieces being alienated with nothing on them. As condiment they had the Cheese\Salsa\Cream sauce and Kidney beans to toss up but being the lazy kind would have ideally liked them to have been already prevalent in the standalone dish. The Main course was the best on the day with both the 4 summers Pizza and 4 cheese Pasta living close to expectation. The Pizza was thin crust spruced up with Mushroom , Brocolli , Zucchini , Bell Peppers etc and gave a nice crunchy feel. The four cheese pasta again like the Pizza were loaded with similar ingredients and gave an aromatic lingering taste. The Cheese cake was a complete hoodwink , it wasn't one by any stretch of the imagination and was just a normal pastry which tasted decent.

Overall the food was a mixed bag with the Main course taking the prize and the others occupying a distant subaltern position. Must be said that they still have quite a lot of ground to cover. The rates seem to be extremely exorbitant which almost relegates it to being a restaurant apt to be visited only on a special occasion. The service was amiable and would expect the same irrespective of this being an invite only event.

I would like to Thank Team Zomato for taking the efforts and arranging this Eatles meetup. It surely was a memorable evening visiting this new resplendent restaurant, confabulating in food talk with like minded foodies and receiving all those wonderful presents.
Truly, an experience to remember!.

Old is Gold - Maneka, Palmgrove

They say Old is Gold and God only knows how many years this restaurant has been in existence. It still continues to get a sizeable crowd every now and then. You get an old world charm here. It feels so 90s, nothing about the place has changed but taste of food remains the same.

The ambiance is plain jane but perhaps that's what makes it appealing. Unlike the new age restaurants which harps on colored lighting and radiant designs , this one still uses the traditional good old tube lighting. Even the waiters are clad in full white.

They really don't feel the need to ape any of their contemporaries. They know well their strengths and play to the cards. It doesn't try to be fancy by any stretch of the imagination and prides itself in its old age methods.

The food here is a delight and their Thali's seem to be the most preferred. I mostly tend to have the Palmgrove Special Thali which comprises of a Naan/Roti , Paneer Butter Masala , Dal Tadka (Really enjoy their Dal!), Chole, Pulav, Plain Rice, Rasam, Raita, Curd rice, soup and to boot Gulab Jamun and an Ice cream sundae. Its quite a wholesome meal, only grouse is they could make it unlimited. The other meals are also nice and if you like spicy you should try the Andhra Special meals which comes with Podi and Gongura Chutney which is unbeatable. Their tiffin items also muster up some weight.

The service is usually pretty fast. The rates have gotten high over the years, but still wouldn't consider it being too expensive. Would always perenially be a good choice restaurant especially for the family audience.