In a nutshell:
A really nice 6 month old cafe where the team is focussed on serving good food & beverages, indoor & outdoor seating. Warm staff & really good food & beverages.
Address & other details: Bonita
Facebook : Bonita
Instagram : Bonita
Meal for 2: ₹1000 onwards
Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian
Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.
YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives a final overall rating, which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster
Short description- in case u r in a hurry
We are the type of travellers who always eat local food when we go to a different city. So when we planned to come to lucknow, we did not imagine we will go to Bonita.
Our friend Nishant who lives in lucknow said this is a good cafe. We heard him. He understood the lack of initiative at our end & insisted, we heard him again. The then almost forced us to go. Since we like Nishant, we agreed to go.
Well in hindsight, I. Must say THANK YOU Nishant, got forcefully sending us to Bonita. We not only had a meal but went back a second time, the next day.
The owners started the cafe only 6 months back but they started an artisanal bakery a year before that. They have really gone deep into the baking & that is evident after eating their breads & buns.
Raw materials & water make a huge difference to breads & they seem to have done a good job.
The kitchen is air conditioned & a part of it is visible from the guest seating area.
The owner spends considerable time in the kitchen & the result showed in the final product.
The cafe has outdoor & indoor seating.
The staff members are well trained. They knew the menu well.
The menu card was descriptive, without any pictures
Food & beverages were really enjoyable. The food felt artisanal, small batch. After eating here, once again I thought – there is a considerable difference in a chef led eatery vs an investor led eatery.
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
Day 1
Eggs Benedict
Holloaindaise sauce had the distinct flavour & feel of clarified butter
The in-house baked bread was super soft yet firm enough to hold the rest of the benedict on its shoulders
The ham was excellent. Most places in delhi also don’t serve This level of ham
The egg had been over cooked – is it a lucknow need? I don’t know. Did I like the tweak? No. A runny delicate egg would have made this dish a gem.
Rate the hollandaise 4.95/5, the bread 4.5/5, the ham 4.75/5 & the egg 1/5.
Overall rating averages out to 3.8/5
Cilbir was again a fab dish & like the first item. I would break down the experience into parts. Two poached eggs were placed on top of a garlicky hung curd base. The base was mind blowing good. We finished it off till the last drop. The garlic flavour, the thick creamy texture, the perfect balance of salt & sour, the flavours & the oil drizzle on top – everything was magic. Rate the base 4.95/5
The eggs were again hard cooked & we did not enjoy them at all. Rate the eggs 1/5
The breads that came with the cilbir were again outstanding. Warm, flavourful, Smokey & just the right amount of softness. Rate them 4.75/5
Overall rating of the the averages out to 3.3/5
Brioche French toast in chocolate was just outstanding. The dish came with a scoop of chocolate & a scoop of caramel. I guess the chocolate & caramel were made inhouse. Really intense flavours & taste. Loved the textures. However these were besides the point as the French toast itself was fabulous, made with chocolate babka.
We had the French toast just like that – super soft, mildly sweet, hint of salt, just right edges & a filling of dark chocolate at places. Serious good food. Not fancy. Not a fad.
Rate it 4.75/5
We also had some excellent double shot espresso – robust dark roast. Rate it 4.5/5
The cranberry coffee cold drink was very interesting. It managed to retain the flavours of both cranberry & good coffee. It was a thin drink with a punch. Nowhere close to oversweet, the drink had a good balance of sweet, sour & bitter. Rate it 4.5/5
Day 2
Mutton burger was simply outstanding. What we loved was an outstanding in-house baked bun, caramelised onions, the right amount of sauce & a perfectly cooked juicy minced mutton patty.
Potato wedges that came with this was just right in every way
Loved the tart tomato sauce that came along with – I am sure this was made in-house.
The burger felt hand made & artisanal. It reminded us of initial days of AKU’s gurgaon.
Rate the dish 4.75/5
Cinnamon ice latte was very good. Cinnamon flavour & coffee complimented each other instead of trying to dominate each other. Rate it 4/5
Overall rating averages out to 4.25/5
Loved the overall experience at this 6 month old cafe.
Look forward to revisiting on our next trip to lucknow.