2802, 4th Floor, 27th Main, 80 Feet Road, HSR Layout
Meal for two: Rs 1,300 onwards
Must-haves: The sushi, sashimi and nigiri, like California maki and tuna, The chicken teriyaki.
Chef’s recommendation: The Hathodi kebab.
When it comes to restaurants in the city, the suburbs are slowly coming into the limelight with eclectic spaces. While we can thank the city’s chaotic traffic for that, the idea of not heading to the CBD but giving diners a space to unravel, is what KS Lokesh had in mind when he opened Broadway, the Gourmet Theatre.
The theatrics and presentation are key at this place named after the theatre of the world, endearing itself to the food-eratis in the area with its simplistic touch. Broadway in HSR Layout has added a showmanship angle with a flair of dishes that come in as leading ladies with interactive servings, card tricks, jugglers, etc… to make it an eat and visualise experience. While we are still not convinced about the theme itself, it’s cuisine of Japanese (very good), Indian and Italian and Chef Tanvi helming it is an interesting mix for all palates.
The other trend that has taken the city by storm is keeping it simple and tried and tested — multi cuisine so as to ensure that everyone goes home satisfied… and Lokesh of the Madhuloka fame who also ran Aranya has tried to do that with this new restaurant that has a terrace view that’s oh so old Bangalore, we wouldn’t mind going there (if in that part of the woods) for a drink and meal just for the army land of lush green it overlooks. Thank god the Cantonment has such breathable spaces.
“We were already into wine education and wanted our own signature space that offered global cuisine, wine pairings with some drama in presentation etc. For instance, we have a hathodi kebab that is cooked in banana leaves and comes in a tandoor that is hammered open in from of the guest,” explains Lokesh, and Chef Tanvi, who started as kitchen executive with the Oberoi in Udaipur. and later started catering and consultancy in the city, adds, “The idea is for well presented dishes and we are also looking at cooking workshops, pairings, malt evenings, wine, etc.”
We started the meal with the sushi, a Calfornia Maki and a tuna sashimi which was perfect… fresh, crunched up and delicious thanks to Chef Shiva. The wasabi and soy dunked sushi was wonderful. Do try it as Japanese is probably their signature cuisine. The tuna was fresh and with a nice avocado and crunch filled bite that we saw the chef preparing in an open kitchen, it was good.
For mains too, we decided to order the Japanese menu, with Udon and a chicken in teriyaki. The chicken was almost perfect, cooked just right, succulent with the teriyaki flavour caramelised on to it and the welcome nutty crunch of sesame. The udon was alright, though we thought that the noodles were more Vietnamese in nature than Udon per se… but the restaurant was yet to open, and the chef was extremely hospitable in serving us.
The fact that Lokesh already has a Delicatessen café in Marathahalli, and the team is coming up with a wine destination in Bidadi, a vineyard that is currently being spruced with new grape varietals, offering luxurious rooms and a complete wine journey, Chef Tanvi hopes to offer Jamie Oliver kind of food from their organic garden when it opens in a year or so.
The idea of theatrics like card games that Chef Shiva is undoubtedly quite adept at was interesting, we liked the food, presentation and general simplicity of offerings, the name might be a tad misleading — don’t know if people who come to eat are really looking for drama.
The dessert was sinful, and came in a chocolate globe and hot sauce, that when poured opened into a nice scoop of vanilla ice-cream on a moist delicious brownie… and it did it with flair and drama, and hit the spot. It’s a great place for diners in the area, and we hear the signature cocktails and events planned are quite interesting.
