Saltwater

The missus and I decided to eat out on Valentine's day. A quick search over the internet (burrp.com in particular) pointed to this place called Saltwater that apparently served Mediterranean cuisine (among others)

So we went.

The missus had already reserved a table for two. True to our habits, we turned up well before the regular crowd turned up. At the entrance, once I had parked my car, the valet took over the keys and assured me that he would take care of the rest. Phew!

The place is a new and upcoming restaurant with huge space tastefully done in the mediterranean style. The mosaic tile work on the floor, the small water bodies, the roughly finished walls - all contribute towards giving a feel of a rustic mediterranean place. Nice.

The menu had quite a good selection of items with mediterranean, mexican, oriental and Indian items.

Our brocolli almandine soup was quite yummy. The Souvlaki left much to be desired. I thought I detected a hint of stale tomato. The stroganoff was also not what I thought it would be, although it did turn out to be quite delicious. (how could I expect a quintessential beef dish to be true to the original in the land of the veggies!)

The pasta was a welcome delight. The sauce was awesome, so were the chunks of veggies mixed with the penne.

The blueberry cheese cake at the end was an absolute wonder. While the cheese and cream topping was smooth, yummy and out of this world, the crust at the bottom was tasty too.

All in all, a good place to go on a date

Taste- 8/10 (would've been higher but for the souvlaki)

Ambience- 10/10

Service- 9/10 (perceptive waiters, wife liked the guy who seemed to be either the owner or the manager)

Value for money- 8/10 (a sizeable dent in my pocket but worth it :) )

Souq

This place serves Lebanese and Arabic food. They have tastefully done the interiors. The entire place has a feel of the middle east. So when you enter the place and settle down, your hopes have risen. But once you have ordered the food you have to be ready for a long wait. The taste was ok-okish, though some items were very good. Also you don’t find some to take your orders quickly, in spite of the fact that not many tables are to be waited upon. We also got a wrong dish, which we thankfully realized soon enough and sent it back. The place needs a better management as this is not one of those bad days. Some friends of mine had been there and even they came across such an experience.

Taste- 7/10

Ambience- 9/10

Service- 6/10

Value for money- 6/10

Wish the efforts put in for the interiors was also shown in the food and services.

Location-

Vijay Cross Roads, Next to Titan World

Dinner Bell

Dinner Bell has a very special place in my heart. I have always been there for some special occasion. The food is what you get at any Punjabi and Continental serving place. The interior is not very out of the world. I enjoy the kebab platter they serve which has an assortment of kebabs and saves you from selecting and ordering just one. Other than that what I very clearly remember is the Banana Boat Ice cream that they have. Yummy. Do order this if you happen to go there on a dinner date because you cannot finish this all alone and have to share it with your partner. And what better way to start a relationship than sharing some sweetness with each other. ;)

Taste- 8/10

Ambience- 8/10

Service7/10

Value for money- 7/10

Saasuji

My Saasuji had announced that she would take us for her birthday treat to Saasuji, a Gujarati Thali restaurant. As it is not exactly located on the CG Road, it is a little difficult for non-amdavadis to find it. I thankfully knew where exactly it was, thanks to my tea breaks in Axis bank for which we would come to a tea stall outside Saasuji. The place serves typical Gujju Thali food- 4 veggies, dal, kadhi, 2 sweets, 3 farsans(gujju snacks), chaas, roti, bakhari, puri, bajra rotla, rice, khichdi and papad. Now the reason this place would earn some brownie points from me would be the karele ka sabzi (bitter gourd) that they served. I would have never guessed it is karela unless they would have told. Full of dry fruits and coconut, it did not have any bitterness in it. Sadly though, they don’t serve the same menu every day of the week. So the next time we went, there was no karela sabzi. But this time they compensated by serving Khandvi, chick pea batter strips are steamed and rolled before seasoning, another favourite of mine.

Taste- 8/10

Ambience- 7/10

Service- 7/10

Value for money- 8/10

Sankalp

Idli-Dosa macha?

I haven't seen many places serving authentic south indian cuisine in Ahmedabad. However, Sankalp has a decent menu of items to offer for those who wish to have a gujarati-influenced south indian platter. The idlis-vadas and dosas are good. However, the best part of this place is the accompaniments. Sambar, rasam, chutney - excellent - atleast in terms of taste (not authentic, but tasty) and quantity. Sankalp has a number of branches across Ahmedabad...

Taste- 8/10
Ambience- 8/10
Service- 8/10
Value for money- 8/10

Rasna

Once upon a time, there was a small part of Ahmedabad called Maninagar. While the western end of the city had lots of restaurants serving good food, there was very little in terms of gastronomic experiences in Maninagar.

And then came Rasna.

Rasna is an excellent place to visit for Punjabi food. Their Punjabi menu is loaded with all the regular items that one would expect from any standard restaurant. However, what works in their favour is the fact that there is very little competition for them. Of late, new joints have definitely come up, however, Rasna still has its own charm. This restaurant constantly changes its decor and has an excellent selection of food items.

I particularly love their stuffed naan, veg jalfraezie and the mixed veggies.

Taste- 9/10
Ambience- 8/10
Service- 8/10
Value for money- 9/10

Honest Restaurant

Bhaji Pav and Pulao - Two things that are wholesome as a meal by themselves. Honest Chain of Restaurants have established themselves as the best in serving these dishes. The punjabi food served there is pretty good - not haute cuisine, but tasty and great value for money. The tandoori items (served as the branch at Panjrapol) tend to have a light after-taste of ashes (probably from the coal in the tandoor), but the veggies are spicy and come in pretty huge portions.

I love the Aloo Gobi and Kaju Curry here.

Taste- 8/10
Ambience- 5/10
Service- 5/10
Value for money- 9/10

All in all, a good place to grab a hearty meal

High Street Food

So street food is not just limited to Indian Cuisine. Try out a lot of street food from across different cuisines and you will enjoy them. High Street Food brings varied cuisines under one roof with wonderful decor. Cheese Fondue was good, momos are my all time favourite and it is difficult for a restaurant to fail in making good momos. HSF does have good ones. Spinach Tortilla Cones were fab.

Taste- 8/10

Ambience- 9/10

Service- 8/10

Value for money- 8/10

Not Just Grill

On a cool summer evening, we set out for a long ride on the bike. We had not decided where we would be going to have our dinner. We thought we would just stop by at any place that catches our fancy on the way. And that’s how we landed up at NOT JUST GRILL, a very swanky place near Prahaladnagar Garden. The board read that they served Teppanyaki.

The interior is very good, elegant yet comfortable. The food was very tasty, to say the least. Now let my ratings say the rest.

Taste- 10/10

Ambience- 9/10

Service- 9/10

Value for money- 9/10

Mainland China

We being only veg eaters, this place did not offer a great variety of food to us. The food they served did not exactly tickle my taste buds. Also I was looking forward to the famous fried ice cream that I have heard many Chinese restaurants serve, but was disappointed not to find it. May be the non veg served there is good which many of my friends have suggested. So you can take a risk with that if you want. AS per the veg food, I am much satisfied with my local street Chinese food.

Taste- 7/10

Ambience- 9/10

Service- 8/10

Value for money- 6/10

Pepperazzzi

Places like these make me realize that Ahmedabad is growing as a city and that the life style of the citizens is changing. Visit this place on a Sunday afternoon and you will find several groups coming out for a Sunday brunch, catching up on the gossips and showing of the latest trendy clothes and accessories. It is a nice and comfortable place, located in a not so crowded area. May be that is the reason why I have went back to this place several times (if you consider 3 visits in 3 months as several). They serve different international cuisines and all are worth trying.

Taste- 8/10

Ambience- 9/10

Service- 9/10

Value for money- 8/10

I have been partial to them while rating the service factor. The first time we went there for our birthday we bumped into some childhood friend of mine who wished me for my birthday. The staff noticed it and when we were through with our meal they brought a brownie with candle on it as a complimentary dessert for the day and played the birthday song. It was a total surprise for me and would never forget this incident. J

Rajdhani

Just about an year ago we had been to Rajdhani at Gulmohur Park.

Rajasthani Cuisine served with all the hospitality that you would expect from a culture that is associated with all Royal and Grandeur. Food was excellent. The experience was superb.

We also got a tour of the well maintained kitchen.

The best was reserved for the end. When you head out of the place you have to bang the gong placed near the door and the more you have enjoyed the harder you have to bang it. Now hearing the gong all the staff, wherever they maybe, would wish you good bye by shouting Aavjo(a gujarati phrase for bidding bye)

Taste- 9/10

Service- 10/10

Ambience- 9/10

Value for money- 9/10

Inspiration!

Having watched a lot of foodie shows on the various lifestyle channels, Anu and I are inspired to come up with our own critique of eating joints in Ahmedabad. And what better place than a blog, to write about the same?

So, come, join us in our gastronomic journey through the epicurean alleys of Ahmedabad.

- Sat