Barbeque Nation, Andheri West

2100 hours, December 27, Tuesday, Lokhandwala

The Prelude:

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Barbeque Nation, the pioneers in introducing the international concept of a personal live grill in India, is a mecca for the most divine of palate-pleasures in the country. The restaurant chain,  earlier a part of the Sayaji Group of Indore, is now a separate entity in itself and is headquartered in Bangalore. Miele Guide - the Bible for restaurants in Asia - has listed Barbeque Nation as one among the top 100 restaurants in Asia and among the top 20 restaurants in India. The first restaurant opened in Mumbai in as late as January 2006. Shortly after its start in Mumbai, it opened in other cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. The restaurant has sixty outlets in India as of today, including fourteen in Mumbai. Applause.

The Personality:

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We got to meet our host, Supriyo Mondal, the Restaurant Manager of the location. In the late twenties, affable, enthusiastic, and very well-informed. Supriyo has been associated with the brand since the last nine years (Whoa!), having worked with the chain of restaurants across cities. He took personal care of us and took pains to inform about the currently running theme as a part of new year celebrations.

The Program:

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Barbeque Nation has brought in some lights, camera & action to celebrate the festive season going on. The theme was titled “Blockbuster Barbeques”, a celebration of popular Bollywood flicks. The food items (Two kinds of soup, fifteen starters, twelve main course items, live wok, six desserts and a Kulfi station) were titled along the lines of recently released blockbusters and styled accordingly too. The entire ambience was given a Bollywood night twist, right from the specially carved out entrance where the figurines of Big B and Rajnikant greeted you. There was even an Awards Night style photo booth where patrons could click memorable pics.

 

The Platter:

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Sultan Murgh Soup (3 / 5): Ginger chicken and coconut broth. Way too light for comfort. The force of ginger was just about there, I would’ve preferred a wee bit more pungency.

 

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Bahubali Murgh ( 4 / 5): Murgh Baluchi Tikka. Surprisingly and pleasantly, of course, buttery soft and twangy. The marinade was an ace here.

Tain Tain Fish (3 / 5): The ubiquitous Basa with a Haryali touch to it. The marinade was dull, and the uber soft Basa, by virtue of its inherent character, simply broke off the fork on the plate, and had to be scooped up with a spoon. Lacklustre.

 

Special 26 Prawn (4.5 / 5): Large sized gobs, brushed with fiery tangy chile vinegar (Sambal Oelek) sauce. Like you could visit the place only to have this fare. Served more or less appropriately grilled, so the live grill is just to add the bonus crunch.

Gulab Gang Mutton (3.5 / 5): Mutton seekhs. Chewy. A tad dry. And mildly spicy. Oh, how I wish they were the Galawati types!

Ek Tha Murga (4.5 / 5): Again absolutely succulent. Easily peeling off the bone. Richly marinated to the core. Well done.

Khatta Meetha (4.5 / 5): Grilled Pineapple cubes served on seekhs. Each pair sandwiching within a spicy delight. The grilling and the margination robbed them of their rawness and their vicious bite, making them mellow, and taming them enough to ensure a smooth sailing on the palate.

 

Chicken Quesadilla (4.5 / 5): Loaded with cream and chicken bits, Indianised to a little extent and toasted to perfection. Overall the place scored extremely high in their poultry fare.

 

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Blue – Seafood Melody (3 / 5): Nothing blue about this, the Blue is a misnomer here. This was a light coconutty gravy of seafood. But woefully, there was a leaning towards the non-premium molluscs – the squids and snails types.

 

Anarkali Machi (4 / 5): Thick reddish spicy gravy and loads of fish cubes.

 

Udta Punjab te saag (4.5 / 5): Lamb meat in spinach gravy. A rocker of a dish. The mutton was largely boneless and easy to bite into, and the fare went well as a side with the Biryani.

 

Dum Maro Dum Biryani (4.5 / 5): Extremely fragrant layer cooked and simmer treated biryani. The chicken seemed to be cooked within the biryani itself as the aroma had seeped into the long grained rice too. Had with yellow dal with mutton as a companion, the affair was complete.

The Pleasure:

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It's here that I do have a bone to pick with the brand. The desserts seemed more commonplace than premium as compared to my earlier visits. Only the ubiquitous vanilla and strawberry ice cream (pray, why have you done away with the butterscotch and the chocolate ones?). The decent angoori rabdi gulab jamun minus the mawa content. The okayish phirni and the cake. The conspicuous unavailability of the kesar pista, chocolate or anjeer varieties in kulfi. The only thing that stood out was the Fudge Brownie. It was like the Rocky Road, the brownie crumbly, and the chocolate cream was an utter delight.

The Postlude:

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Barring a couple of misses, this turned out to be a grand affair. The location seemed sold full house, there took place as many as three birthday celebrations during our hour-long stay, and there was also a massive party thrown for around thirty-five people. The place is known to be brimming with patrons, and as I was informed, the New Year’s eve has also been sold out completely. The bottom line being that these people ARE doing something right to have reached such glorious heights. The food is great, the periodic themes and festivals well thought of, and most important, the team impeccable. Way to go on that.

The Parameters:

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The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4 / 5, Food Choices 3.5 / 5, Food Portion ---, Food Presentation ---

The Other Determinants: Location 4.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4 / 5, Warmth 5 / 5

The Hygiene Factors : Ambience 4 / 5, Space quotient 4 / 5, Delivery time 4 / 5

The Conclusives : Food Price 5 / 5, Overall Experience 4 / 5, Will I Visit again 5 / 5

The Ps:

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