Different people have different ways of
showing affection and thus the answer to the above question differs in each
case. However, the most common answers are: a home cooked meal, candlelight
dinner, an especially reserved table in a posh restaurant with loads of flowers
and wine and many more.
We had a different kind of experience very
recently: a farm house away from the main road, a boutique by day and a
romantic restaurant by night (Sounds similar to the batman theory doesn’t it?
Billionaire by day, crime fighter by night :P)
Jokes apart, it was one of the most
romantic encounters we have had and the homely experience they provide made it
even better! The restaurant is in existence for the past 13 years and it is
none other than Grasshopper located in Bannerghata, Bangalore.
There is silence all around at Grasshopper
with 5 tables beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and a candle. They play
instrumental music and combined with the moonlight & candlelight it is
definitely something!
This is a reservation only restaurant and
we were there by invite. They have a 5 course and 7 course menu and we tried
the latter.
The food has restaurant & home-style
qualities: fresh ingredients, perfectly balanced but has a comforting touch
which makes it a lot better.
So, now moving on to what we tried:
The Grasshopper experience is only 40% food
and 60% environment/ambience. Out of the 7 courses, there are 3 appetizers, 1
salad, 2 main courses & a dessert.
We have no complaints with what we had as
it was a fully chef curated menu and there were no negatives at all.
The appetizers we tried are: Diced gel
& real cucumber with cream cheese & flying fish eggs, Crostini with
pine nuts & ricotta & Prawns with ginger, sesame & seaweed.
Prawns with Ginger, Sesame and Seaweed |
Crostini with Pine nuts and Ricotta |
Diced gel and real cucumber with cream cheese and flying fish eggs |
All 3 were spectacular in terms of flavor
and taste and were very simple. We would definitely recommend the first and the
third. The cucumber, cream cheese & eggs tasted great together. The prawns
were lip smacking. It was super appetizing and the creamy texture along with
the seaweed went really well.
We were served freshly baked bread on the
table. They were crunchy on the periphery and soft & fluffy on the inside.
We had loads of these!
The salad was amazing too: Oven roasted
tomatoes with the usual greens, walnuts, pine nuts & feta. It was well
balanced with the balsamic dressing but the tomatoes were the star of the
salad. Remarkable!
For mains, we tried the Sea Bass with a spicy
& tangy pepper sauce. The fish was fresh and perfectly done as expected.
The sauce tasted great and truly speaking, we wanted more. We also tried the
Braised Lamb Shanks in herbed red wine and shallot sauce. The sauce was
delicious and the lamb was cooked to perfection. This was served with herbed
potatoes.
Oven roasted tomato salad |
Sea Bass |
Braised lamb shanks in herbed red wine and shallot sauce |
Freshly made breads |
Lastly, time for the desserts: they have
quite a few options but we tried the Lemongrass ice cream & the orange
panna cotta with pomegranate.
The former had the characteristic flavor
but was not overpowering. The sweetness and creaminess of the ice cream was
perfect. The latter had the right wobble and mouth feel. The orange flavor was
also distinctly identifiable.
We also tried a chocolate preparation with
mustard ice cream. The salted chocolate went well with the spicy and bitter
mustard flavoured ice cream.
All of this tasted even better because of
the calm and mysterious surroundings. This is more of a couple place so couples
visit more because of the romantic and peaceful environment. They also have
semi-private and private seating arrangements.
There are many cute dogs (not stray) around
who crave attention so, if you love dogs, you’ll have more fun!
We had an amazing time and we would love to
revisit. If they manage to increase their portions a bit more, it would be even better.
Their 5 course meal is priced at INR 2k and
7 course at INR 2.5k.
Do let us know about your experience if you
visit. They are also open to special requests ;).
We’ll be back again soon with more news on
grub.
Till then—read on & bon apetit!
- 23:01
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