Gormoh - Ahmedabad

I’ve heard of its existence since the day I arrived in Ahmedabad years ago. Back then it was a very popular restaurant and given its locale, it did not come as a surprise to me. I had visited this restaurant several times in the past and the service and staff had always been good. The food however failed to impress me. Not that it was bad but it just lacked the wow factor. So when I heard that the place had been revamped, I thought wow, about time it moved with the times. So when we were invited for a tasting, I leaped forward.

They have redone both, the interiors as well as the exterior of the restaurant and it looks really suave now. The modern art on the walls of the restaurant provide it with the much needed appeal. The tiny windows with intricate frames and wooden shutters look really nice. All in all, they set the mood for you as you enter the new place with new expectations. The menu too has been given a makeover and that was what I was more interested in, since I wanted to know what dishes have been dropped and what new cuisine has replaced the old one.

Coming to the seating, it is quite comfortable if you adjust the distance of the table to your chair on your own. Its quite doable sine the furniture is quite light and so that should not be an issue. Different people like the distance in different way so you cannot really blame the restaurant.

I’ll start by giving the ratings to the food first and then explain the reason for the same.

è Cucumber mint mojito - 2/5

è Berry San Francisco - 2/5

è Burmese Khow Suey Bowl – 4.5/5

è San Marino Cappuccino – 2.5/5

è Lebanese Platter – 4/5

è Leon Style Cottage cheese – 4/5

è Fauladi Paneer Tikka – 2.5/5

è Fattoush Salad – 4/5

è Lasagna – 1.5/5

è Mexican Twist Blast – 2.5/5

è Massaman Curry – 3.5/5

è Chiang Mai Noodles – 2/5

è The Avengers – 3/5    

è Paneer Shaan-E-Nawabi – 2.5/5

è Paneer Dhaniya Korma – 3.5/5

è Laziz Kofta – 3.5/5

è Subz Begum Bahar – 3/5

è Bread Basket – 4.5/5

è Nawabi Biryani – 2.5/5

è Brownie Fruit cake Fudge Sundae – 3.5/5

è Orange Flavoured Darsan – 2/5

è Faluda – 3.5/5

è Gulkand Gulab Jamun – 2/5

To begin with, both the drinks felt very syrup-y. you could taste the cucumber in the cucumber mint mojito but it was the syrup and not the fresh flavor that you’d expect of a drink. Also, there was no mint flavor whatsoever because the cucumber syrup had masked all the other flavours in the drink. The same was the case with the berry san Francisco. It was more like a strawberry-colada. Strawberry syrup in coconut milk. None of the drinks felt refreshing, which is what they are supposed to feel like especially at the start of the meal. On the contrary the berry drink was quite heavy. You don’t want to order that before your dinner.

We loved the Burmese Khow Suey bowl. It came with an array of ingredients, some fresh, some fried that you could add as toppings to your soup and the quantity too was humongous. The flavours were fresh and subtle and nothing was overly done. So that is a dish that I recommend, i.e. if they are consistent with the taste, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. The second soup, san marino cappuccino, had no flavor of coffee or espresso whatsoever. It tasted more like a coconut rasam, so I don’t know the basis behind this nomenclature.

The Lebanese platter was a delight to look at. They had served sliced of pita along with crispy flat bread which was accompanied by labneh and hummus and some sort of a tomato dip of theirs. The dips went well with the breads. We also liked the leon style cottage cheese which was a stick of paneer with some sort of spinach filling encrusted in bread crumbs and deep fried to a golden perfection. The mayo sauce however, that was served alongside, did not do the dish any justice. It went perfectly well with the green chutney. The fauladi paneer tikka was good to look at but too dry to swallow on its own. The best of all was the fattoush salad. Fresh and aromatic. Loved the combination of the ingredients. It would have been a 5/5 if they had an appropriate amount of dressing for the same.

The main course was kind of a disaster. The world cuisine i.e., not the indian main course. The lasagna had a very Punjabi taste to it which was weird. The sauce felt like a Punjabi gravy and it had ingredients in it that weren’t supposed to be there. The pasta was al Dante but that did not really matter since the sauce wasn’t what we expected. The Mexican twist blast again belonged to the category of visual delights but unfortunately, it had very few Mexican ingredients and did not taste Mexican at all. Also it was more of a Hodge podgy kind of a dish where you could not taste the individual flavor of any ingredient. A bad dish that had a wonderful presentation. We were given the masssaman curry which again was a coconut overkill and I don’t know why that was given as there was nothing to which we could add the curry to. The chiang mai noodles were cooked perfectly but again had the distinct coconut flavor to it, which isn’t an issue the whole dish in itself lacked flavor and felt very bland. The avengers is their version of a sizzler sans the hot plate. It did taste good. It had patties that were covered in different sauces which went well with the other accompaniments.

The indian main course was way better than it’s other counterpart. However, we could not feel any major difference in the gravies of any of the subzis. The taste was good, a typical Punjabi gravy with different attractions, some had koftas while others had paneer but the base, even if it had a different colour, felt the same in taste. The breads were amazing however. Be it the naan or the paratha or the roti, it was all very good. The nawabi biryani was a miss however. It was plain old pulao that needed more punch and regulated flavor. Better avoided. There was a dal darbari on the menu but that never arrived so I cannot comment on that.

The desserts were a mixed scene of both indian and western and also a mixed scene of deliciousness and blunders. The faluda and the fudge sundae would be the ones that I can place under the category of delicious where as the orange flavoured darsan and the gulkand gulab jamun were a disaster. The darsan did not have any distinct orange flavor to it and the quantity of the fried ice cream was too meagre compared to the chips they had provided with it. the gulab jamun was huge to look at but I guess that is the reason for it not getting soaked to its core with the sugar syrup making it hard and dry at the center instead of how it should have been, soft and gooey.

If you want to have an indian main course with good soups and salads, this is the place for you. But if you are a fan of the vivid varieties of the world cuisine, it could be a complete hit or miss for you.

Bon Appetit!

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Lollo Rosso - Ahmedabad

So I had seen a lot of amazing pictures of their food on their insta page recently, and I wanted to taste those delicacies for myself. So I asked my friend if he was free this sunday, he said yes and we had a plan! Oh by the way, if you’re wondering what the name means, it is a variety of crinkled lettuce that has red-edged leaves. Now the interesting part is, I called them around 11 to reserve a table for us and they took the details. So that was that. But when we reached there at 2, the restaurant was completely full so I went ahead and asked for our table and they said it would take atleast 20 minutes for them to give us a table, I said I had a reservation. So the guy said they don’t usually take reservations because it is a very small restaurant and if they do, they prioritize them. Now we had an event to attend to at 3:30 so we were in a fix. They should have said the same over the call and saved us the worrying thinking we might not make it to the other event because going to eat someplace else wasn’t an option, given the time constraint. Also, the insta page only had pictures of their food and not the place. It is an actually tiny place with just 4 tables that could seat 3 or 4 people at a time. I am not saying it was deceiving but that was wrongful assumption on my part, thinking it would be a regular sized restaurant. So the start was quite bumpy.

We were given a table after 20 minutes and meanwhile we had placed an order so it would be done by the time we get the seats. What we loved about the menu was it was precise but packed so much variety that it was unbelievable. The ingredients for each dish were explained beneath the name of the dish so that was quite helpful. Plus almost all the items were available in veg, poultry and sea food. Just take a look at their men and you’ll see what I am talking about.

We ordered one greek bowl and one shawarma bowl for each of us. The quantity of one bowl is enough for one person. The looks of the bowl would amaze you. It had so much variety and so much colour that it was very refreshing to just look at it. so I quickly took some pictures and we got to business. There were two or three different vinaigrettes and sauces in the shawarma bowl and all of them complimented the remaining ingredients very well. Be it the chicken or the rice or the salad, it tasted very well with the sauces. The greek bowl too was spectacular to look at with all the grilled chicken and the fresh cucumbers and pomegranate and the labneh. They also provided a double glass distiller that had olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My friend added some olive oil to his bowl and it tasted very good. The only thing we disapproved of were the raw tomatoes in the shawarma bowl. We also ordered one slice of their famed spinach, feta and pine nut pie. It was a delight to look at and the taste was absolutely divine. The crust was perfectly crisp and seasoned perfectly. The filling was a perfect combination of spinach, feta and tomatoes. However I would have liked a bit more of those delicious tomatoes as they even provided with a fresh tang to bite through the heaviness of the cheese. Also, pine nuts. Not that I could find one in my part of the slice, so even a bit more of that would be a plus! But it definitely is a must have!    

The next thing that we wanted were some drinks but given the limited menu, they only had a few cold drinks. So that was that. The next thing was dessert since my friend is a big sucker for them. We went ahead with the espresso cannoli. Now it is a crisp and hollow pastry tube that is filled with an espresso and cream filling with a little bit of chocolate sauce at the ends. They had sprinkled a little cinnamon on top and the entire ensemble was quite exquisite. It was so good we even ordered a second cannoli that had a chocolate filling in it. Even that turned out to be splendid.

All in all, we loved the food. The wait for 20 minutes and the initial hiccup was almost worth it all. We also loved the preciseness of the menu and the wide variety provided by it. But if you are a large party, you might have to wait an extremely long time depending on the day of the week that you’re visiting them as they only have 4 tables. The service however was quick, the staff efficient and well mannered. Décor is minimalistic and yet done in a very classy way. Lovely place. 

Bon Appetit!

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Bogarosa - Ahmedabad

After a splendid Sunday lunch at Lollo Rosso and a splendid event with friends, we decided to have the last meal of the day at Bogarosa, and before I say anything else, it was a wonderful ending to a wonderful day! It wasn’t absolutely delightful but it was great!

So if you’re a first timer there, you’ll easily be able to locate the place if you put that up in google maps. Also, parking isn’t that big an issue since it has ample space around the place. Now the first thing that you notice when you arrive is the sheer size of the restaurant. It is huge! An entire building is dedicated to just being a restaurant. So there’s a lot of space everywhere. They have old style heavy iron patio furniture on the outside. When you enter the façade through their pink door, you’ll find the huge 60’s style sofa chairs and mirrors in the passage way which by the way is a very nice spot to get your pictures clicked. The indoors too has handsome furniture which is comfortable and the décor is done very tastefully. For those who are looking for some good Instagram photos, this is the place for you. As I have said earlier, they’re huge so even a party of 10 could be accommodated easily. Now we went there for dinner on a Sunday and from what we had heard, we were expecting to wait for atleast 20 minutes before we could get in but surprisingly, there was no wait. We went straight in. It was around 9:45 and the restaurant was half full. So it really depends on your luck as to how long you might have to wait.

Coming to the staff and the setting. The décor is quite calming and soothing to look at. The shelves are full of trendy kitchen utensils and servery. The tables have these cool table cloths beneath the glass tops that go perfectly well with the whole setting. The chairs are a combination of large and small and it is sort of a mix and match there but then again it is all comfy and trendy so that’s that. They even have a raised counter and high chairs for those who would prefer to work on their laptops there, however I am not sure if they provide you with a free wifi. But if you carry your own internet, it shouldn’t be an issue. The staff seems well trained and they are quick between the courses to clear up your plates and provide you with new ones. The only drawback is that you constantly need to remind them to refill your water. That is something they tend to overlook or forget.

The menu is quite extensive and they have tried to give you a huge array of dishes but that did not work for us because they did not have quite a few dishes mentioned therein. On enquiring, they said that they haven’t yet started serving those dishes. The waiter said and I quote, “Sir, we haven’t had these dishes since the first day.” So my natural question was, why they are still there in the menu, to which he had no response. I guess they’re still finalizing on the menu and maybe they’ll come up with a solution to that. We were fascinated by the names of some dishes like the pizza samosas or the molecular puchkas but they weren’t available so went with what they had in store for us. Same was the case with a few of the drinks and tbh, it sort of gives you a disappointing feeling when you don’t get what you want but then that’s life! Can’t always get what you want. ;)

So we ordered three drinks, the Angoori Soda, the Caiprioska, and the Pomegranate Sangria. All three of them looked amazing and tasted very good. In fact they went very well with the food that we had ordered so no complaints there. The next was the soup. We had ordered their Pink Root Consommé with Crisp Bread, Nutmeg and Citron. It a 5/5. We were absolutely in love with the colour the consistency, the round croutons and the taste of the soup. It was so good that we kind of wanted to cancel the rest of the order and just have more soup. (And the soup kind of raised our expectations from the rest of the order.) So we loved the soup.

Next came in the Margarita bursts. They are their version of a cheese ball. I think it was the soft pizza dough which had a cheese filling in them. It looked very well, the presentation was spot on but they were almost like a miser when it came to the quantity. Five tiny balls for 225 bucks + taxes felt like a pocket pincher. It did taste good but the quantity was almost too negligent. Given we were three people dining there, we couldn’t even distribute it evenly! Sad.

For the main course we went for the Roman Sensation, Kolkata style street biryani and Afghani spiced paneer with Garlic Naan. Now before I begin I would like to say one thing. The restaurant believes in European Portion sizes, meaning thereby, if you order one dish, it is only for you and not meant to be shared by 2 or 3 people, as is the case in India. The quantity in most cases is enough for one person but in some cases it is too less even for a single person. So I suggest you order as many dishes ass many people you have on the table if you have a decent appetite. Otherwise you might be disappointed with the quantity if you’re not accustomed to having European Portions.

The Roman Sensation was a disaster. There was nothing roman about the taste. It was a sizzler basically and we all know how that works, they put up three to four components together on a hot plate and these components compliment each other. Far from that, some of them were undercooked. To begin with, the hot plate wasn’t lined with enough cabbage leaves so the pasta stuck to the plate and gave it a burnt flavor, not to mention, it went dry and felt chewy because of the overcooking by the excess heat of the hot plate. The mac n cheese had a béchamel sauce that was raw. We could taste the flour in that and the spaghetti was given in a red tomato that was too sweet for our preference. The only good thing on that platter was probably the French fries. So that, we did not like.

After that, we had the Kolkata biryani. Again, dinghy portion sizes. It wasn’t enough even if a single person had it alone. Served in a tiny tuna can it looked very pretty. The taste was good and we loved the chef’s special curry that they served along with the biryani. But that’s that. And when you say Kolkata style biryani, one expects potatoes in the biryani because that is the only major distinction between a biryani from any other part of India and a biryani from Kolkata. But the potatoes were missing too. Also, it is really pulao if you don’t have any meat or poultry in the rice but to each his own!

We had only ordered the above to dishes to begin with as we thought that would be sufficient but given the serving portions, we had to order a third dish and that was the Afghani spiced paneer. Before the waiter could serve us, we tasted the dish and asked them to make it extremely spicy. They took it back and brought it out again with all the three chilies, red, green and black! And we liked that. The subzi tasted very good and the naan was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. So the end was good and that was their saving grace, I suppose.

So the place is definitely worth a visit and the food does taste good but it can be a hit and miss for a few dishes. The drinks are definitely good unless you have a really bad day. The staff and the service as great so I suppose that should do it for them.

Bon Appetite!  

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