Restaurant Review - The Ants Cafe & Store

I always prefer Sunday mornings when I can wake up a little earlier than usual and without a hangover and I especially enjoy them when we can go out for some nice breakfast! The day seems so much longer to pack in a few activities and still have time to chill and relax. Last Sunday was one such when I woke up early (10.30 a.m. is early by my standards :P), quickly researched for a good breakfast joint and left with my husband in 30 mins for Ants Cafe.

The place is a house turned into a cafe and store tucked in on 14th Main off Indiranagar 100 ft road. Our phone GPS unfailingly guided us to Ants Cafe & Store which is hidden amidst some houses and a lot of trees. We had to wait for some 20-25 mins and the restaurant manager did a good job in managing customers and allocating tables. It wasn't a big deal whiling away time in the store on the ground floor of the building selling North Eastern (especially Assamese) handicraft. There were a variety of items from clothes and jewelry to accessories and decorative items. I also bought a wallet for my mom (the idea given by another Zomato reviewer of this place :P) !

After 20-25 mins we were called upstairs to the cafe. We were really impressed by the setting which is quite spacious and breezy. We were given a table next to a big window which was soothing to the eyes with a lot of greenery outside. It is a perfect place to hang out with friends or to spend a long lazy afternoon all alone with just your favorite book for company!

We ordered an English breakfast (which comes with coffee/ tea), an Italian omelette and a Darjeeling tea.The staff was good and my request of not adding onion to the Italian omelette was taken care of. The steward also came back to check if we got everything that we ordered. The food was tasty and sinfully "cheesy". I would have preferred buttered toasts but with all the cheese that was being consumed, I didn't mind the toasts without butter. The bill came to a decent Rs. 600 (including tips) for two.

I would love to go back to this place again and again because of everything that's on offer - the ambience, the food and the store below!

P.S. - My husband commented that with the kind of atmosphere Ants Cafe had, it should not have a "No smoking" restriction!

Restaurant review - Esplanade Kitchen and Bar, Indiranagar

Day before yesterday we went to Esplanade since my husband wanted to savour some authentic Bengali cuisine on his birthday. In Bangalore, it is difficult to decide on a Bengali restaurant because you are quite spoilt for choices. However it was easy for me since I had to try out a new place and it also had to be in Indiranagar.

Esplanade is conveniently located on 100 Ft Road in Indiranagar and there are multiple restaurants on different floors. This restaurant is on the first floor and the ambience is that of a beautiful Zamindar's house of Bengal. The old world charm is portrayed by the warm colorful lightings and lamps, the cozy wooden decor and the sketches of Kolkata of days gone-by. There was some nice instrumental music also of modern day Bengali songs. Though you might say that it does not suit the old Kolkata theme, it was a nice digression from the oh-so-commonly-heard instrumentals. The restaurant offers a variety of cuisines from Continental, Mughlai and Chinese to Bengali, and as the name suggests, it also serves liquor. But all of them (except the liquor :P) predominantly cater to the taste buds of Kolkatans. 

The waiters took orders promptly and served with a smiling face. We ordered some Luchi and Choto alur dom to start with. Then for the main course we ordered some steamed rice with Pabda Shorshe and finally ended with Bhetki Paturi. We did not order any sweet dish since I had already prepared Payesh for my husband at home. :) All the dishes made us happy and we were struggling to finish all of it because of the huge quantity. In fact, we were expecting one Pabda in one plate but were surprised to get two! We also packed some Posto bora, but it was not as good because of the meagre posto stuffing in it.

The food was very decently priced which came to Rs. 800 for the two of us. We have decided to make this our preferred choice for Bengali cuisine in Bangalore going forward!