In a nutshell: A breakfast arranged for residents of the Hotel (and other guests) in the Banquet – Good service, Good food, way to go to catch up with even group hotels like ITC Sonar etc. Address & other details: ITC Grand Bharat Meal for 2: Part of stay package. Not aware of retail price of breakfast only. Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All … Continue reading Breakfast at itc grand Bharat (ITC Grand Bharat, P.O Hasanpur, Tauru,Mewat, Gurgaon, Haryana)
In a nutshell: A European cuisine restaurant that serves food from European nations that had engaged with India in the last thousand years – Outstanding food, brilliant ambience, great staff – in short, memorable. Address & other details: The India Room Meal for 2: Rs. Set menu is Rs. 4000 + taxes per person. Weekend special menu of European fast food is approx 4000 for 2. … Continue reading The India Room (ITC Grand Bharat, P.O Hasanpur, Tauru,Mewat, Gurgaon, Haryana)
This is a review of only breakfast at Blue Door cafe In a nutshell: Décor with an artistic touch, nice seasoned waiting staff who take care, serves really good ‘no shortcut’ Continental breakfast – Much better than the nearby famous breakfast place ‘all American diner’ Address & other details: Blue Door café facebook page: Blue Door cafe Meal for 2: Rs. 800 onwards Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian … Continue reading Blue door café (66, Middle Lane, Khan Market, New Delhi)
In a nutshell: NJOYed a super lunch in this cool bistro with excellent interiors that kept us engaged till the end of 3 hours that we spent here, good but not great service & some very good food. Address & other details: Olive Bistro Meal for 2: Rs. 1500 onwards Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were … Continue reading Olive bistro (First Floor, Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon)
This post is about Christmas brunch 2012 at Olive Beach…………………….
In a nutshell:
Today’s Christmas brunch got me back to Olive Beach after many years & filled me with some good foodie moments that I wud remember for some time to come.
Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards (usually). Special pricing for Christmas Brunch.
Grilled fish & Grilled Jumbo Prawns
Cuisine type: vegetarian & nonvegetarian
Short Description – in case u r in a hurry:
The advantage of having a huge spread is that people can choose what they like. This is what exactly the situation was like, at today’s Christmas brunch at Olive beach. However what is important is not just the width of the spread but also some winners & some ‘item numbers’/ show stoppers that people take home memories of. The good thing is Olive Beach had more than expected number of winners & of course they had ‘item numbers’ – Roasted suckling pig & Roasted Turkey.
Starters & cold cuts
The Restaurant specializes in Mediterranean cuisine & hence its interiors r done according to the theme. The guys serving us were quite efficient till the peak hours, after which they needed reminding on few occasions. The Chefs at the live counters were very interactive & I enjoyed little chats with few of them.
Roasted suckling pig
Music was obviously Christmas themed.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
The look & feel of the interiors of the restaurant is same as u wud come across in North America. The wooden sofa / chair seating, the beautiful red & white designed tabletops, the numerous funny & not so funny but smart posters on the wall & so on. For 4 – 6 diners there were sofas & there were plenty of table-chairs for couples. Loved the concept.
the red bright table-tops
One of the posters said ‘I want my baby back ribs’ but sadly those were not being served. I loved the buffalo wings wall post.
buffalo wings
However, unlike the Delhi & Gurgaon ones, most of the American ones are not in Malls but are standalone.
Trio filling for Fajitas – chicken, shrimps & tenderloin
The guys on service are very good, polite, warm & quite friendly as well.
The menu card was colorful & was full of excellent photographs of food.
the menu card
We decided to stick to ‘Mex’ (Mexican) & our friend & Guest Blogger Neha decided to try ‘Tex’ (Food from Texas, USA) as well.
Prawn Jambalaya
We liked the food & wud surely get back. Not at par with the stand-alone Tex Mex restaurants in Southern part of USA but quite good on its own – given that its a restaurant chain.
Huge 3D poster on the wall
Good alternate to TGIF which is quite good itself.
mixed grilled meats & shrimp
Pricing here is quite interesting – Food is quite cheap but drinks are just the opposite. e.g. A trio fajita (read details below)that can fill up 2 people for an evening snack is for Rs. 400 whereas a margarita is for Rs. 350. So u pay Rs. 700 for 2 drinks & only Rs. 400 for a meal that totally fills u up!!!!
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
I am not a big fan of Buffets coz in most places buffets aim at ‘eating a large variety at less than collective alacarte price’ & also ‘popular version that shud be liked by all’ kind of mindset. Among the buffets that have left a mark on my mind are – the brunch at 19 Oriental Avenue, Shangrila Hotel Delhi……………. & now Sen5es got added to that list.
Colorful decoration on the wall
The buffet here is of 5 kinds: Continental & Desserts, Oriental & Desserts, Italian & Desserts, Indian & Desserts – all for Rs. 900 per person (including taxes). The fifth option is all of the above sections – Rs 1700 per person (including taxes). Let me tell u that unless u have the appetite of Bhima (Mahabharata), u shud stick to any of the first four.
We chose the Italian option & at the end of 2 hrs we just managed to roll out of the restaurant – smiling.
Zooming in – Dining hall
As mentioned above, the setting is visually very nice – the three sections have their own visual merchandizing. The people are very warm, informed, helpful & nice. I just hope they continue to be the same in future once the crowds increase.
The food was excellent – what made a difference was the attention to detail & the passion to be perfect in each & every dish of that large spread.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
The innovative menu card bound with a nut & bolt!!!
Cuisine Type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
The interiors
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
Right from the time u enter the place to the time ur taste buds experience ecstasy, u feel that ‘someone’ has put some real brains into this place & a lot of effort post that. Really impressive – This place has a long way to go (provided they market themselves a bit better than they currently do (Currently 90% people in Gurgaon do not know about the building in which they r situated & I wud say 99% people do not know about their existence.).
writing on the wall 1
Music was peppy, not to loud, not to mellow. Very Enjoyable. We cud have a good chat with friends for the two hours that we were here.
Funny message – writing on the wall 2
The place had a very smiling & interactive staff & they exuded lot of warmth. They added value to the evening.
Funny message – writing on the wall 3
The walls had tons of funny messages – some of which cud induce u ROFL!!!!
Funny Message – Writing on the wall 4
We enjoyed some excellent Cheddar cheese & beer soup, Mindblowing Juicy Lucy burger – bigger than the biggest burger I was ever served, Ok Ok minced lamb pani puri & a super good prawn dish Gambas al Ajillo.
Funny poster – Writing on the wall 5
Saw in the menu ‘aphrodasiac smoothie’ – we did not try it though…ha ha.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
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.
I rate all the food items & then give 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
This was our first dinner in a restaurant ever since cities got locked down due to COVID. We were deliberating between different options & narrowed down to spectra. We were looking for European food. Very Glad that we came here – the experience was totally worth it.
The restaurant is situated inside leela ambience gurugram. As we alighted from our vehicle, a guy in uniform came for valet parking. I handed over the keys & the car. He asked my phone number (he said it was mandatory). I asked for the receipt. He said physical receipt will not be given & that I will receive an SMS in 10 minutes. The SMS however never came. After our dinner I walked out of the gate, told the security about my car. He asked me for SMS. I said I did not get. He got me the car & handed over the keys!!! So imagine someone can quote another person’s Bentley’s number & drive it away!!! Super wierd.
As we entered the hotel we were asked to put all our metal belongings in a tray and pass through the security so that there is no need for physical patting and checking. As we reached the lobby, we were asked to stand in front of a machine that could measure the temperature without physical contact.
After this,when we moved on to the restaurant, it was about 7:40 PM and the restaurant had about 4 to 5 tables occupied. it was as silent as it could be it. No chatter, no clattering of cutlery. It seemed like walking into a restaurant in a hotel at 7 AM in the morning for breakfast on Sunday, sharp at the opening time.
When we had called earlier, the guy did not tell us that the last order will be before 8 pm. We were lucky we walked in at 7.40. Else we would have to return.
Our server was extremely warm and constantly kept us engaged throughout our stay in the restaurant. We felt like being guests at his home.
As we sat, he got us a scanner. It had a QR code, which we had to scan from our camera of the phone. immediately as we scanned the code, a link appeared and it had the entire menu of all the restaurants in the hotel. The E-menu was Crisp and very very easy to navigate through. it was very user-friendly, I must say.
The final check however came in traditional printed paper. Thankfully, inside the restaurant we could takeoff our masks because the tables are apart anyway and due to low occupancy people were seated far from each other.
Few customers in the restaurant and imports not yet being normal, led to some ingredients being absent in the kitchen. so few of the dishes that we wanted to have , cud not be served to us. However, whatever we had was outstanding and by far made up for not getting the ones we were looking for.
Absolutely loved the food
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
As we waited for the food, we were served a complimentary Immunity booster – it had strong celery flavors, had a tinge of salt, it was not too sweet & overall it was a great refreshing drink. Rate it 4.25/5
We ordered grilled Norwegian salmon. It was just brilliant. It was so juicy that At times it felt like that I was having watermelon!!! The fish was flaky, full of flavors and perfectly cooked. the skin on top was Crisp & super enjoyable. Chef had made a marmalade Inhouse, that was spread on top of the fish. excellent. Loved it so much that our plate was polished white by the end of the meal. Rate it 4.5/5
Grilled lamb chops were perfectly cooked as well. The pieces of meat used in the lamb chops were also excellent. The meat pieces had a layer of fat in the corner. These had become Crisp outside. as we would bite into the meat, the Crisp thin layer of fat wud burst into a flavorful thick liquid. Outstanding is an understatement. rate it 4.75/5
For dessert we had banana walnut caramel tart. The tart base was very good. The filling was good, the caramel sauce excellent, the bananas were very ordinary, flat taste ones – not too sweet, a hint of salt. Overall the dish was very good. Rate it 4/5.
Overall rating of food & beverages average out to 4.25/5
Really happy we went there. Wud go for a Japanese dinner some day.
Below is the original post from 2011
In a nutshell:
Loved the experience & the food – a few ifs & buts though on the food. Will surely revisit to try out other cuisines.
Cool & colorful decor at Spectra Leela kempinsky gurgaon
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
As u walk into Leela & then into the Coffee shop Spectra, ur eyes r overwhelmed with the decor & the look. I wud not say that it is the most artistic place I have been to but it is a visual delight.
........... a visual delight
As u walk in the restaurant u realize that the staff is very warm. I have this funny habit of wearing the most ordinary of clothes to a 5 or a 7 star & then asking for non bottled filtered water – The reaction is very interesting to see coz a section of the staff in most of these places tend to judge u by these initial parameters. Here at Spectra the reaction was as warm & normal as it could get & they passed my funny test with flying colors.
The Coffee shop has a very very interesting Japanese counter where u can chat with the chef, tailor-make ur sushis & sashimis & sit & eat on the bar table. The Chef rolls the sushis in front of u from scratch &serves.
A little away from there is the Chinese counter. Here again u can sit on counter, chat with the chef , tailor-make ur food & eat soups, stir fries , soupy noodles like thukpas etc. All ingredients are kept there as well & the colors of them are a visual delight.
There are also a good representation of cuisines that u usually do find too many Top end Restaurants specializing in. e.g Arab cuisine, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean . They also have a large list of good unusual food (unusual when compared to menu cards of other delhi restaurants).
The menu card has a very large & wide selection vegetarian section.
Other interesting options are a breakfast spread Rs. 750 + taxes, a Lunch buffet of Rs. 1600 + taxes , a Sunday Brunch (with sparkling wine, house red & white wine, beer & vodka cocktails) & a Champagne Brunch for Rs. 3500 (Champagne in place of Sparkling wine + everything else) .
We liked the seafood soup, loved the Moroccan seafood grill & Freaked out on the outstanding tenderloin steak.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
Cool place to hang out with friends, rediscover ur sporty side or the absence of it, fairly good drinks, nothing extraordinary, overpriced ‘above average’ food ……………. In other words, they r the underdogs when it comes to good food.
If u ask me whether I will revisit, my answer is yes – to hang out with friends but surely not to eat out.
the bar
When it comes to food, the answer is no.
We tried the Tenderloin kabab – nice tasty juicy creamy slightly tough & chewy towards the end , something that we wud hate to have in an Indian kabab & something taht totally takes away the fun of a kabab.
Same for mutton kabab
the floor of the bar
I have surely have had much better versions of kababized meat in India & abroad where the meat is hand pounded & hence has some kind of a texture & retains the juiciness & taste of the meat, unlike what we had here.
