Team-BHP - A Guide: Eating out in Bangalore

The weekend was quite busy, had been to the following places:

1. Incanto - Friday lunch at this Italian restaurant in Zuri. Food was good, and service was also attentive (probably coz ours was the only table occupied?). Had Bruchetta for appetizer, Penne in white sauce & Spaghetti is red for the main course. Along with a beverage each, the bill came up to INR 3500.

Rating 8/10

2. Take 5 - Went to Toit Saturday evening, only to be told that their bookings for the weekend had closed on Thursday itself!! :Shockked: Anyways did not like the seat we were offered and went to Take 5. Very very good food, like always. The bill for 5 Starters and 3 beverages came up to INR 2250.

Rating 9/10 (would be 10/10 if not for the Jazz music)

3. Shitakke - Sunday evening was family time, dinner with parents to celebrate mothers day. They have recently opened in ITPL Park Square mall. Very nice oriental fare, with numerous options for vegetarians too. Manchow soup, Fried baby corn with plum sauce, pan fried dim sums, hakka noodles & Thai red curry with steam rice was what we ordered. Total damages 1400 INR. Ambiance is nice, especially with the huge Buddha statue right in the center.

Rating 8/10

4. Swensens - Given that oriental restaurants do not offer much for desserts, we decided against ordering for it at Shitakke. Swensens also has opened in the ITPL mall, and we've never been to this place before. The pictures in the menu look really nice, and portions look large. However, the actual ice creams when arrived look tiny :uncontrol. Anyways, we had a couple of Sundaes that cost us approx 200 each including VAT.

Rating 6/10. Nothing great really.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Oops, forgot to get his card! What else does he get normally?

:eek:

I always thought one doesn't go to Koshy's to eat - only to gawk and chat. Especially if one is the khadi kurta + jhola type.

He gets all sorts of fish whatever bengalis eat as in hilsa chitol golda chingri et al.

Quote:

Originally Posted by woof

.....

Koshy's and many other restaurants in Bangalore are overhyped by the papers and reviewers. You should try coffee house breakfast meals in the early morning. Thats one joint with consistent quality.
Do checkout tripadvisor reviews regarding restaurants. So far they have been correct for me.
Cheers!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by woof (Post 2776710)

Where is coffee house?

The last I checked it had been on Church street. Ask anybody there and they'll point you in the right direction. Im not sure if its closed down. If not, do try the omlette, bread and coffee or even a full meal. Its too good :)

Please do find out beforehand if its closed down or not.

Cheers!

Went to Samarkhand last Sunday with wife and son. Wifey didn't want to cook since it was Mother's day! We had Sabuta Chooza (still very tasty), also had Chandni Kabab (nice), Kheema Naan (was okay), Rotis (a bit overdone), Murgh Peshawri (good) and finished off with Bakhlava (yummy).

My son had filled his stomach with bread sticks and chicken. :) Needless to say we ended up packing most of the stuff. The bill came up to 2100 (incl of 10% service charge). Expensive, but we ordered too much anyway. I felt the service was below par, probably because it was a late Sunday afternoon.

Everyone seems to include a 5-10% service charge nowadays. Not sure if this has been discussed before, but is a TIP expected over and above the service charge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBlazer (Post 2780103)

Everyone seems to include a 5-10% service charge nowadays. Not sure if this has been discussed before, but is a TIP expected over and above the service charge?

I seem to have this doubt too, but the waiter gets the benefit of the doubt :D. I tip regardless of the service charge, because I am not sure whether the restaurant authorities actually give the right waiter the tip or whether they pocket it themselves.

Barbeque nation seems to have a rule for this in place - they bill service charge but on the table mats, they mention that no customer should be tipping the waiters (since it is already charged), and any staff member accepting tips will be fired on the spot! :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarthikK (Post 2780117)

I went to "Punjabi By Nature" Koramangala and found that they add VAT ( 12.5%) , Service Tax ( around 12%) and a service charge (7.5%) .. So my food bill was exactly 4000 but ended up paying around 5300 :deadhorse

I did not leave any Tip ... Looked little awkward but as there was a service charge I preferred not to pay .

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam_boy (Post 2780278)

How did they charge you both VAT & Service tax in the same bill ?
:confused: Am i missing something here !?

And the final amount was for how many people ? :)

Of course the service tax is nothing but the tip. Many restaurants do this so that they collect the takings and share it equally among the staff. To what extent this is happening is anyones guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit (Post 2780318)

IMHO...

Service Tax is that 10% thingy which, when added with Edu cess'es, becomes 12.x %
Service Charge is optionally added by Restaurants. (And I don't pay a separate tip)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBlazer (Post 2780103)

Everyone seems to include a 5-10% service charge nowadays. Not sure if this has been discussed before, but is a TIP expected over and above the service charge?

I went to Indijoe's on Old Madras Road today, for their lunch buffet. Although it did not make any sense to me, as absolutely nothing but water was "served" to us, they added a 10% service "charge" on top of the standard VAT and service "tax"! I have made peace with the compulsory "tip" when I go to these places, but asking for it with a buffet is being a little too greedy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD (Post 2780898)

I had chicken Dum biryani for lunch yesterday @ Fanoos Cafe, Johnson's Market and found it to be good.

Priced at Rs 100,this does not hurt your wallet as well.

Fanoos is quite an institution in its own right. If you eat beef, dont omit to try the Mambo, jumbo, Shambo and Rambo sheek rolls (make your choice depending on how hungry you are)! Brilliant stuff.

Buttt- dont even think about evaluating the hygiene conditions there :D Just enjoy the food, preferably take away:D

Fanoos used to be very good once upon a time, 10 ~ yrs ago. I used to be a regular too. From the last few years there is a drastic reduction in the quality and taste.

The beef rolls were tasting like some paste roasted on coals :eek:

There is a place called Taj on Mosque rd which sells some very nice beef rolls. Its opposite the Sangeetha mobile outlet , just next to Casio department store. He makes very limited quantity of rolls, best to go there before 9 pm.

The beef biriyani is nice too. Light and fragrant without much spices.