Comfortably Happi

And like any classic diner, the decor has traces of nostalgia —  comics, kitschy artwork and a cash counter disguised as a quirky kitchenette. A standing blackboard at the entrance lists the day’s specials. Adding to the decor is a black wall that will be used for chalk art by a local artist. Every three months, it will display a new art. The menu too is a combination of sandwiches, burgers, smoothies and other dishes that can be easily classified as comfort food. For instance, there is a hearty noodle bowl, pastas and even the South African delicacy, Bunny Chow, which is a hollowed out loaf of bread. The work-in-progress kind of menu also has a “releasing today” section, which will see newer dishes every day.

Since this fortnight-old restaurant is yet to acquire an alcohol licence, we settled for Kokum Bounty (Rs 150), a mocktail made of kokum syrup, lime and rock salt, and California Smoothie (Rs 175), a thick concoction of yogurt, avocado, pear, honey and vanilla extract. Though, we were sightly skeptical of avocado, the result was far from disappointing and, of course, healthy. For nibblers, we got a Quinoa, beet and smoked cheese salad with OJ dressing (Rs 495) and an interesting-sounding Spicy spinach + crazy Bhindi sandwich served with banana chips (Rs 270). The salad got its flavours right in spite of the imposing bits of beetroot. However, the sandwich seemed like an experiment gone wrong. Not that we are doubting its freshness, but the combination of spinach, a dry ‘bhindi sabzi’ stuffed together with french fries inside a sandwich seemed like a meal put together by a lazy bachelor.

The mains mostly comprise an array of dishes such as Chicken cordon bleu, Curried mushroom lentil crepes and Gnocchi with influences ranging from Italian, European and American. We stuck to burgers and starters. Next up was the Big Bad Meanie (Rs 425) — like the name suggests devouring this lamb burger is not an easy task. Filled with succulent lamb patties, crunchy bacon and smoked cheese with mushrooms, the burger can be easily shared between two people. If we have to pick one dish on the menu, it would be this burger.

The desserts are made in-house and consist of Walnut brownie (Rs 110) and Creme Brule (Rs 150), among others. We liked its version of the Philadelphia Cheesecake (Rs 140), which was mildly sweet but the star of the dessert section was the Fudge Pecan Nut Pie (Rs 175). This earthy dessert won us over with its abundant crunch from pecan nuts and the perfect marriage of chocolate, with a scoop of ice-cream. That was a good end to a happy meal.
meenakshi.iyer@expressindia.com