Aqua, The Park - Anna Salai

Luxury and comfort neednt mean the same!

I heard this place is too damn romantic and so fixed my very special date here.. i wudnt say i was disappointed mayb i jus expected too much .. watever said n done there's nothin romantic like Italian.. n this place isnt ...

We made a reservation for the poolside well i shudnt call them tables.. the bed by the poolside? its completely dark and it was rock music n bbq buffet since it was a Wednesday. Unfortunately we sat rite next to the bbq and dwelled in the heavenly smoke and smell all thro the eve. The music was awesome.. really perfect on the ears tho it was live in such a small place.. the pool was dull and boring.. too much darkness with a not so beautiful candle lite didn't really help.. the promised city view was a disappointment.. sitting in the beds twas not only tuff to eat from the small table (sharing the lamp) but also to watch the city...but yea was nice and cozy to lie down and yap!

Comin to the food, the guy who took our reservation on fone said that u cannot access the buffet inside if u reserve the poolside..huh! Now for veggies, the bbq had only 6 items exactly!..n i was wonderin if thts all my dinner is goin to be :( but fortunately the main course n desserts inside were allowed to be accessed.. not that there was any variety anyway.. jus one choice of rice, noodles, side dish and a couple or more of the usual desserts.. the bbq was good tho.. the lentil cutlet was awesome and a must try.. other than which was the usual paneer tikka, aloo skewer, etc. and of course the raw banana was quite a different attempt..

The service is ok .. its 5 star so u don have to worry about that.. the sunset margarita which aqua is known for was horrible! The other drinks were not any good either.. the chek is ofcourse too huge for the tiny place and tiny buffet..

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 3/5

Service - 4/5

Price - Well I paid around 4000 bucks including drinks, the buffet is aorund 1000 bucks i guess.

Will i go back again? - Ahem if i have the dough, sure why not? But i ve 601 and Lotus to try yet!

Aqua
The Park
601 Anna Salai,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai - 600034
Phone 42144000

Can try once for being in chennai n enjoyin luxury.. but not comfort.. and obviously nothing more..

Barbeque Nation - T.Nagar

RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE!

and this aint even a three star hotel! Nobody has ever heard of Shri Devi Park Hotel until BbqNation sprang up with this innovative concept which attracted the typical wannabe crowd of the city .. so its undeniably happening.. that explains the pricing and the careless service. I wish they bought the waiters a mic and some confidence before they start work.

The ambiance is quite different, of course the starters being grilled on the table is part of it! But seriously, the kebabs are already cooked and ur actual kidding urself tryin to burn it further on ur table! I felt like playing 'kitchen kitchen' when i was five! Vegetarians PLZ STAY AWAY, dont get carried away by reviews written by ppl who have probably ate in the Bangalore bbqnation! Theres nothing in the starters for veggies except for the usual paneer crap u can find anywhere and Thai baby potatoes which was not bad (a big let down afetr reading so much about it online).

Hence to do justice, i ve got the reviews from meat-eating friends too. The chicken (Singapore style) and the prawns were edible. The stuff that actually tasted good was the ones that were directly served on the plate, viz the crispy babycorn was sooooo yummy and the fish in oyster sauce was great too. Since we were advised to spend a lot of time with the starters, we were ready for more disappointment in the buffet.

The buffet was just the usual. The veg biryani which was recommended wasn't there to be seen. There was the usual gravies, Chinese stuff, noodles, curd rice, etc. naan was served on the table and the dal was actually really good, compared to the bland taste of the rest. The desserts were average, esp the mini-jamun with ice cream and the butterscotch 'something'. Nothing else was worth remembering. The bar menu was extensive and had everything from around the world, which is quite amazing for such a place. But be ready to spend a fortune if you want to have a good drink. They have some innovative cocktails, the masala margarita was good with chaat masala on the rim! NO! there is no complimentary drink with the buffet as falsely reviewed by many all over the internet!

As such, the buffet costs u around 450 including tax, if u planning to add anymore than that, carry ur mastercard! But if i had a lota money to blow, i wud choose much much better places in the city, than being blinded by mere hype!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 2/5

Service 2/5

Price - Close to 1000 bucks for a couple if you dont open the bar menu (else u can forget ur math)

Will i ever go back? - Are you kidding me?.. not even if ur payin!

Barbeque Nation
Shri Devi Park Hotel,
Near Soma Sunder Ground,
1, Hanumantha Street,
T.Nagar, Chennai - 600017
Phone 42694481, 42694482

Whatever said and done.. you can try it once for novelty sake... if you go back again.. not my fault nemore!