BARBEQUE NATION, RAJAJINAGAR, BANGALORE: Bappi Lahiri Nights

Bollywood disco king, Bappi Lahiri inaugurated the 61^st Barbeque Nation in India and the 8^th in Bangalore, as his signature song for Barbeque Nation – ‘Disco Barbeque’, adapted from the 1979, D.I.S.C.O. number by Ottawan, blared over the speakers. As an apt deviation from tradition, Bappi Da inaugurated the restaurant by lighting a grill.

Fanfare apart, let’s talk about the mainstay – the food! Having so many restaurants across India and a successful DIY (Do it Yourself) grill concept, Barbeque Nation has its food down pat. They know their chops or kababs as in this case.

I ordered a virgin mojito – twice – both times the mojitos were a blended very well, right amount of soda, lime and sweet. Good job on the recipe standardizing !

The prawns, Luft –e Dariya, were grilled to perfection but the star of the day was the Chicken Boti Kabab – tender, well marinated and seasoned, melt in the mouth bite size pieces of chicken left me asking for more a la Oliver Twist. I have had this in three Barbeque Nation restaurants in three different cities and the taste has consistently been the same. Again, well done, the recipe standardizer – excellent job!

Mutton GilafiSeekh – soft, smokey, kabab counter foiled by crunchy rings of onions were good. Tangdi kabab was just a wee bit overdone, but the fact that my daughter ate my share as well proves that it was mildly flavoured, yet not bland and looked very appealing.

Another gem was the coastal barbecue fish – beautifully browned on the outside and flaking off from the fork to touch and so moist!! The vegetarians had their share as well, but my favourites were the chargrilled spicy pineapple – sweet and spicy, crispy corn with a tempura style batter and garnished with chopped red chillis and onions – perfect balance of crunchy, sweet, hot and fresh.

The Cajun spiced potatoes were parboiled baby potatoes, roasted and then served with a cream based sauce. The best in the vegetarian section. Peshwari paneer tikka – grilled to perfection, still soft and well marinated.

Main course – needless to say I barely had space but still I labored along – what one does for a food review! The range was there, vegetarian, non vegetarian, salads, accompaniments, live pasta counter.

I chose to taste taste the Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani – long grained Basamati rice, all separate, well flavoured and mild went well with the Goan fish curry. The fish curry had a coconut, coriander and poppy seed base, the only dish, surprisingly with a little bit of bite. The fish pieces were soft and perfectly cooked. The crab in holy basil sauce was the best looking dish and my dish of the day! A Chinese dish with schezuwan sauce and basil. Disappointed I could not use my fingers to eat that.

Amongst the desserts, my pick was the Barbeque Nation Cheese cake – was superb, the cheese was light and not overpowering and enough of sweetness.

Overall, a very good opening. Just a tad bit more training for the F&B Service staff, but considering it was opening meal and the restaurant was packed including people from the media and a celebrity, all’s well with the Barbeque Nation ,Rajajinagar, Bangalore.