The Bangalore Pantry

cropped cover

The Bangalore Pantry is the latest bistro in the city. Located at 100 ft Road, Indiranagar, the bistro is right where the action is, just next to Toit. You walk up a flight of black stairs and enter a snug world where art meets chatter. The concept of the place is unique: it is a casual bistro where you eat unpretentious soul food that reminds you of your home town; while the walls serve as a gallery for upcoming artists who can showcase their own creations on them.

Casual and comfortable ‘canteen-style’ dining is what the founders fondly describe the place as. If it is ‘canteen-style,’ you can definitely expect a lot of chatter from the patrons.

The menu is a carefully selected melange of scrumptious items that are favorites in different parts of the country, but which are not readily available all at one place in Bangalore. For example, on one hand you get the famous Vegetable Chop from Bengal with a tangy mustard dip (Kasundi), and on the other hand you get delicious Paneer Akuri with Pav (spicy scrambled cottage cheese with buns). On one hand you get spicy Livers on Toast (chicken liver on toast), while on the other hand, you can order some nutty Khara Bun Congress (soft buns filled with spicy peanuts). Wash down these moreish delicacies with the aromatic Rose Soda or tea, and you will actually find yourself wanting for more.

DSC_0674

DSC_0672

The ambience is a mix of industrial and retro styles. The walls are definitely not to be missed. The slim dangling lamps defy their slimness to make the place warm and comfortable. Don’t forget to notice the black switches can which take you back to your canteen days.

The founders of the bistro are extremely passionate about food. A couple, Anirban and Roshu have travelled across the country and selected foods which reflect the essence of different places to be on their menu. They are also serial food entrepreneurs; their first venture Masala Chai is a favorite spot for people in Whitefield.

So, are you in the mood for some Cheese Bread Rolls or Bowring Kulfi with caramel? Head straight to The Bangalore Pantry for some lip-smacking goodies.

DSC_0695

DSC_0682

Note that The Bangalore Pantry is almost ready to be launched. Mayodip was invited for a food trial of the bistro, and the place will launch very soon, probably in the next few days. Watch out for the upcoming panoramic shots of the bistro here only on Mayodip.com.

JW Marriott – II

 

Click on the play button to see the 360 degree view.

Food review coming soon! Stay tuned.

 

 

JW Marriott – I

 

Click on the play button to see the 360 degree view.

Food review coming soon!

 

 

Zuri – II

 

Click on the play button to see the 360 degree view.

Watch out for the food review!

 

 

 

Zuri – I

Click on the play button to see the 360 degree view.

 


Complete Food & Ambience Review:

For the review, we decided to come in for brunch at the Karibu at The Zuri. It was a lazy Sunday, and we reached Zuri pretty early. Valet parking always makes life easy, and Zuri does provide that.

A warm bright interior with lovely music from a solo singer welcomed us. The lobby, bright and smiling, made us comfortable. The big dining area overlooks the lobby and the layout makes it possible to accommodate a lot of diners while providing ample space to shuttle to the buffet station. On one side of the dining area is the bar area of Zuri, called ‘The Bling.’

A quick glance of the buffet spread at Karibu told us that the fare was mostly Continental and North Indian with Oriental varieties too. In addition to the entire buffet table, what was striking were the different varieties of live food stations. There was one for drinks, another for Indian chat, one for Oriental cuisine, a live Italian section, a hot starters section, and a warm desserts counter. These individual islands were great to showcase the variety of food available, and it also made it easy for diners to choose what they want to eat.

We started off from the hot starters station followed by dim sums from the live Oriental section. The fish from the live section was soft and perfected with the right amount of spices. The dim sums were warm and coupled well with the accompanying dips. While the kid couldn’t just move from the salad counter because he loves crunchy salads and Zuri had a great variety of greens and mixed salads, I hopped from counter to counter and tried everything that I could. The plate of cold papdi chat (a yoghurt based melange of crispy flat fries, lentils, and sometimes potatoes) from the Indian Chat section had a great sweet and sour chutney (a liquid dip) generously dolloped on it. From the Italian live section, I tried an almost sampler quantity of the basic Alfredo pasta because it could make me feel full afterwards. Keeping in mind their expat clientele too, they had meat options as appetizers, which were delicious to say the least. We also noticed soup warmers cozily sitting at the soup counter with a host of breads to go alongside.

Before gorging on the main course, we wanted to cool off with some drinks. They have a set of mocktails tailored with the brunch. You could also choose to have alcohol instead that would not be part of the brunch.

For the main course, we had biryani coupled with cold raita and steamed rice with delicious rajma. They also offered a bread basket but we were in no mood for Indian bread varieties that day. There was a good variety of vegetarian curries, but we would have loved some more non-vegetarian varieties. The non-vegetarian main course option was Oriental chicken. However, we preferred it that way because we wanted to savor their dessert counter, which looked marvelous with the riot of colorful desserts arranged neatly to invite foodies to it. The cremè brulee had a lovely caramel top which cracked to reveal a delicious custard within. I must also recommend the soft and velvety tiramisu that lingered in our taste buds for a long time. While we would have loved to try more of the inviting cakes and the Indian ‘balushahi,'(a hard glazed flour based dessert), we were almost full.

What had, in the meanwhile, won the kid over was the chocolate fondue for skewered fruits. Succulent kiwis and muskmelons perched on top of long skewers waited to be twirled in the fondue and tossed into the mouth. Delicious!

If you would like to enjoy a lavish Sunday spread, do visit Karibu at The Zuri Whitefield one of these weekends. The approximate cost for two people would be INR 2200. Do make a reservation before you go.

I would love to rate this place at Mayodipping 4.5! *

Address and contact details:

The Zuri Whitefield
ITPL Main Rd, Maruthi Nagar,
KIADB Export Promotion Industrial Area, Whitefield,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560048

080-49653332

Google maps location here.

*On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest.