Ice & Spice (Truffles) St Marks Road: Restaurant FoodReview

Ice & Spice Bangalore Restaurant Review:

Where is it: On St Marks Road near Bishop Cotton girl high school, look for the huddle of eateries on the opposite side of the road.


What kind of food: Burgers, Sandwiches, Pastas, Subs, Pastries & Dessert

Pricing: Cheap. Most food items average out at Rs 100 and drinks at Rs 60


Ambiance & Atmosphere: This is pretty bare-bones stuff we're talking about when it comes to decor and ambiance. There are two seating options. One is a couple of 4 seaters inside that will have you breaking out in a sweat if you are even mildly claustrophobic. The better option is the outside seating but its also quite cramped and the lack of personal space can get uncomfortable when the place gets full. Its worth mentioning the outside seating is literally on the footpath so inhaling tons of second-hand smoke from the adjacent cigarette shop would be a distinct possibility. The good news is that they will serve you in your car if you park nearby.


What we ordered: Ice & Spice has a variety of the usual burger, sub, pasta fare on offer. Most of it is reasonably priced. Before I go into our experience on this visit I will say that we've been here twice before and the Lamb Burgers have been consistently good (a 7/10 but not awesome like the Cafe Thulp 10/10 burger). This time, however I decided to try a pasta and my friend being a veggie, tried a veg burger. We also ordered two drinks to wash down all the food.


The pasta came in first. Now let me preface the following by saying, I understand the positioning of Ice & Spice is to target the school and college crowds who want a quick bite to eat and not haute cuisine but serving a dish that is neat and aesthetically pleasing still is mandatory. The pasta was sloppily splashed onto the sides of the dish and looked more like butter chicken than anything else. Taste-wise I'd say it was okay but far too much cornflour made the sauce overly heavy and again it ended up having the texture of a thick Indian curry. I'd rate it a 4/10.


The Veg burger came next. I must confess I was so surprised when my friend mentioned the patty was tasteless that despite being a strict carnivore I took a bite to taste. Indeed, the burger was quite insipid. The construction was all wrong as well. It should be bottom bun, hamburger patty, pickles, ketchup, onion rings, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, top bun. As you can see from the picture this wasn't even close. All could be forgiven if the taste was great but sadly that was far from being the case. Rating for the veg burger 4/10


I haven't talked about the Granitas we ordered because there is nothing much to say. Ice & Spice have never been too strong in the drinks department so that wasn't much of a surprise. They had way too much ice that wasn't crushed right and the syrup tasted like some cheap road-side fare. Rating 3/10


That is not to say that everything was bad. We ordered some Tiramisu which was really great. It tasted fresh and the texture and flavour was just right. The dessert ensured we did end this visit on a high note. Rating for Tiramisu: 9/10


Overall Rating:

The Lamb Burgers are good, The desserts and sandwiches are nice. Avoid the veg burger, the granitas and pastas. Okay for a quick bite if in the area but I wouldn't drive in specially for the food here.

Cafe Pascucci, MG Road: Restaurant Review

Where is it: Bang on MG road a little before Kaveri Emporium and the Brigade road signal

What kind of food: Italian pastas, bruschettas, parmigiana, salads and desserts... and yes they do offer coffee if that is your poison

Pricing: Moderate, Meal for two Rs 350



Ambiance & atmosphere: Cafe Pascucci is one of those conundrums - its right on MG Road in full view of anyone who has ever traveled to the Mecca of Bangalore coolest wannabes... ahem... I mean coolest and hippest crowd, Brigade Road. Strangely though surprisingly few people have stopped by at this joint seemingly drawn to the CCDs, KFCs and now Matteos that dot Brigadeland.

The cafe has comfortable couches and chairs done up in pristine white that give it a distinctive look compared to the popular cafe chains. Red, white and black are the thematic shades of choice, overall the decor and furniture lean towards stylish minimalism. The seating is well-spaced out and the area is well lit, so no crammed-in feelings of claustrophobia unlike some other similar establishments. The large floor-to-ceiling sound-proof glass entrance wall/door means you can idle away your time gazing at the crowds pass you by and still be spared the incessant noise and dust.


What we ordered: The menu has decently shot pictures of most of the fare on offer which helps. We went for a regular cappuccino, a veg pasta and baked chicken parmigiana. The menu has a sizable number of options to choose from ranging from salads, pastas, risotto, the compulsory assortment of coffees that has apparently become the norm, piadina (a kind of traditional Italian bread), lasagnes, sandwiches and of course pizzas.


The pasta was the first to arrive. Pascucci has a "create your own pasta" option where you basically choose what exactly you want to add in to your basic pasta mix. The pasta was cooked well, not over-cooked and soggy nor was it underdone and hard. The sauce was well flavoured and did not taste like they had dumped a bottle of "Ragu" or "Prego" into a bowl of pasta. The sun-dried tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables were fresh and had the right amount of crunch to them. The garlic bread was nothing special but the pasta itself importantly was very good.


Our second dish was the baked chicken parmigiana. Parmigiana consists of chicken slices layered with cheese and flavoured with marinara red sauce. The chicken breast slices should ideally be shallow fried after being dipped in egg and bread crumbs. However the Pascucci version seemed to has skipped the bread crumb step which took away from the texture of the dish. The chicken did however taste okay and was cooked well. It could have also been plated up in a more visually pleasing manner. I'd give this dish an overall average rating. They do have a range of quite nice desserts which we had sampled in the past however we decided to skip them on this particular visit.

Rating:



Excellent for pastas & spagetti. Good for desserts. The other items are hit and miss.

Pizzeria Romano, Koramangala : Restaurant food review

Where is it: Opposite Forum (McDonald's side of Forum) there is a big road that goes down towards NGV. On that road, VLCC is on the right hand side... about 50 meters of VLCC there is a right turn (there is a shop called New Meena Cotton Sales exactly at the right turn). Turn right at New Meena Cotton Sales, about 300 meters down the road on the right side you will find Pizzeria Romano

What's special: Wood-fire and stone-oven baked thin crust pizzas

Pricing: A little on the higher side. A 10" wood-fire pizza costs between Rs 400-600

Ambiance & atmosphere: Pizzeria Romano is on the 1ft floor on top of a clothing store.
The entrance is not too promising and unfortunately looks more like it leads into one of those highly questionable seedy-looking dingy bars.

However things improve as you begin to climb up a narrow flight of stairs and see the walls plastered literally from floor to ceiling with posters of music bands and popular hollywood films. Now it looks more like a Hard Rock Cafe wannabe - a step up the food chain nevertheless from the dismal first impression.

Once inside things take a turn decidedly for the better. The place is surprisingly spacious and comprises of four different seating spaces almost like separate rooms to themselves. The wallpapered walls and the decor lend the place a dated yet classy up-market feel.


The music tends to majorly sampled from the Country genre. We found that a little amsusing considering its supposed to be serving authentic pizzas and tries to play up the "Italian-ness" of the place with pictures of Venice and Florence decorating the walls. They have a selection of Italian, French, Chilean and Australian wines on offer. However nothing too fancy and we weren't really expecting more considering this wasn't haute cuisine and really a fancier fast food joint we were at after all.


What we ordered: So the whole purported USP of the place was apparently the fact that they used a wood fired oven unlike most of the other establishments in Bangalore including the Dominoes and Pizza Huts. The theory is that the oven reaches temperatures of upto 900 degrees in this case and the heat that is produced is very dry which is perfect for quickly sealing in the flavours and the juices. Obviously , with such a build-up we had to order pizzas. We also ordered iced teas since it was quite hot.


The first item to arrive was the lemon iced tea. It did look visually appealing compared to a lot of the tripe that gets palmed off as iced teas around the city but as far as the taste goes it was just par for the course. The Rogue Elephant, also in the same locality serves a much better iced tea where they leave the tea out in the sun for several hours and that lends the drink a very unique tasty flavour.


The Veggie Supreme pizza was the next to arrive. Now, there had been quite a lot of build-up in our minds as we sat waiting for these "superior" wood-fire cooked pizzas. I am happy to say that we weren't disappointed. Having tasted an assortment of pizzas ranging from the local mom n pop shop guy who decides to add "pissa" to his menu, to the Dominos, to the Tajs, all the way upto the real deal in Milan I am happy to say that I quite liked Romano's version of this almost iconic food item. Was it the most authentic pizza I'd tasted. No. Was it the most technically perfect presentation. Nope. However the bottom-line was it tasted as good as any pizza I had ever had outside of Europe. The thin-crust was cooked just right and the pizza did have stronger flavours and the "juiciness" promised to us was definitely present.



The non-veg Joyride pizza (they have an entire range of "Rock" pizzas, another facet of their schizophrenic positioning) with sausages, bacon, salami and other meatilicious delicacies was next and it also hit all the right spots. The meat tasted wonderful and had a hint of smokiness that just doesn't exist in the 30 minutes home delivered pizza variant. The base was thin crust again and had exceptional texture and thickness yet again proving that the last one wasn't a lucky fluke. We did not try any of the other items as we had filled ourselves to the brim with the pizzas and were rather more inclined to get back to indulge in afternoon siestas like any self-respecting Italians would after a satisfying lunch!

Rating:




Excellent although a tad pricey. The "wood-fired" bit proved to be worth it instead of being a gimmick as we feared initially

Cafe Thulp Koramangala: Restaurant Food Review

Where is it: Take the turn to the left (coming from Indiranagar) at Oasis Mall while on the intermediate ring road Koramangala onto 80ft road. Follow the map to reach Thulp.


Kind of food: Burgers (specialty), sandwiches, shakes, dessert

Pricing & Menu: Moderate. Rs300-500 meal for two. Click the Thulp logo to download the full menu with pricing


Ambiance & Atmosphere: Bold cartoony colours, casual attire, mid to loud music, tongue-in-cheek humour, un-cramped seating



Cafe Thulp is a relatively small but smartly done up eating joint in Koramangala 6th block. It has artwork on the walls, quirky comic box humour in almost every visual element and most importantly finger-licking food going for it. The first thing you notice when you enter is the bright bold red, yellow scheme, the red model car hanging at the cash counter and the large manga art pieces on the walls. There is a blackboard at the far end which lists out the specials for the day. Having visited several times I can vouch for the fact that the specials actually do change unlike some restaurants which seem to think the specials are just an extension of the standard menu.



They also have a corner where you can find plenty of books, magazines, comics and board games. Service is relatively quick but if you do feel like a quick bit of reading or a game of Pictionary or Taboo with your friends the option exists which is nice.

What we ordered: Thulp has an almost cult following of patrons who swear by their beef burger the aptly named "Moo Burger". We decided to try this along with a vegetarian pasta and another beef dish called "Bangkok Dangerous". We felt it was perhaps a warning to folks who shy away from spicy fare. "Great balls of fire", a lamb meatball sandwich," Bow wow wow", a hotdog are just some of the other items on offer. With names such as these its obvious isn't taking itself too seriously which is a good thing and adds to the quirky chilled-out atmosphere.



The food was quick to arrive and it was aesthetically plated up. The first item we tried was the ominously named "Bangkok Dangerous". It is a beef in brown sauce dish with a distinctly south east asian flavour. The beef pieces were of good quality and the vegetables complemented it adding a nice crunchy texture. Overall a good dish though surprisingly not very spicy in the end - which might be a good thing for some.




The pasta had fresh ingredients and the sauce was tasty despite being a tad on the spicy side. Again the dish was plated up nicely and it was not overly oily or heavy which seems to be quite a common characteristic of some of the pastas that we tasted in the recent past. The quantity is sufficient and does not leave one wishing for a bigger helping (unless out of gluttony, a vice that almost every foodie has had a tryst with!).


The star of the show undoubtedly though was the Moo Burger. The beef patty was succulent and cooked to perfection. The construction of the burger was right which is quite surprising for a Bangalore restaurant/cafe. The onions were nicely caramelized and the lettuce was shredded finely. I'm told that Thulp gets all of its beef exclusively from a butcher for the last several years.


All I have to say is they are definitely onto something great here! Although there are some other options for a good beef burger in Bangalore like Daddy's Deli and Peppa Zing, the Moo beats them hands down and emerges victorious without breaking a sweat. There are also chicken, mutton, pork and lamb options for those who do not eat beef which again is good news when going in a group.

They have something called the Moo Daddy which is a humongous two patty burger which is best attempted after fasting for a few days or if you happen to be huge behemoth of a person who thinks a tub of KFC chicken wings might just about be enough for one person. Heeding better sense and our bulging bellies we decided to call it a night.

Rating:





Good overall. Very good if burgers are your thing.