Cornucopia - Teynampet

Continental cruise needs some housekeeping

The ambiance is getting worse with each time i go. Its dusty and the AC never seems to work. You almost wanna go away but then the food arrives too quickly for you to change your mind. Fast and good service. The starters: Cajun fries (its wedges not fries) but has a nice Cajun flavor to it, the tofu and vegetable roll is average, the steamed veggie roll tastes too good in contrast to how it looks and the hummus is as bland as it should be. The garlic sauce that comes with the starters is great.

The place looks lonely and haunted but before you know there is a big crowd. The main course is not that attractive, very small menu. The only recommendable one is the mixed veg cutlets and the sauce that comes with it. Shashlik is just shashlik and the spinach crepes are inedible. Chuck the main course and go for the desserts as its a chocolate lovers treat (nutty brownies with icecream) and i personally loved the mudpie. By the way, the place is not really as expensive as it seems. Hope they do something about the ambiance soon so i can wholeheartedly recommend the place.

Ambiance - 2/5

Food - 4/5

Service 4/5

Price - Less than a grand for a couple.. with desserts..

Will i go back? - Hmm yea sure... will b happier and content if the ambiance is improved tho...

Cornucopia
30, Cenotaph Road,
Teynampet, Chennai - 600018
Phone: 42059495

Oh yea... meat-eaters will love the main course too i hear.. i mean ... i read :)

Opal Inn, Hotel Ranjith - Nungambakkam

A little more promotion will do the job!

The hotel ranjith has been there right in the centre of the city for years now but somehow it has never been the centre of attraction for the public. It maybe cos of the unattractive looks from the outside and the uninviting sidey look of the Opal Inn restaurant although its well accessible from outside the hotel through a small lane that goes from Nungambakkam high road. But for the real foodies at heart, this place is one of the best in the city...

As I entered, the restaurant did look a little dark and anyone but a patron wud hesitate a moment before they step in. The ambiance is fine-dining, very dim-lit, more for the silent diners. The menu is vast with stuff from regular cauliflower manchurian to veg au gratin. There is a lot for meat-eaters though vegetarians do have options too. The starters sound yummy. Though I was so tempted to order the egg fried rice and some tandoori gravy, the sizzlers caught my attention. There is also a section that says 'meal in itself' where there is shashlik and some continental stuff.

The veg classical steak sizzler was awesome, though it seemed like just aloo pattie in the inside. You mite wanna call it a cutlet except for the sauce on top of it n the sizzling hot tray in comes in with veggies and (soggy) fries. Its huge, yummy and very filling. My friend who had the fish sizzler also thought its awesome and filling. The dessert section is not very wide but the caramel custard managed to attract a person like me who doesnt have a sweet tooth. It was worth it. But the speed in which the food was delivered made me wonder if there is just a microwave in the kitchen, so much for fast service!

Last, the place is a bit expensive, say 200 to 300 for each dish, a meal for two mite reach upto 1000 bucks. But I guess its worth it considering the food and service.

Ambiance - 3/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 4/5

Price - around 800 bucks for a couple

Will i go back? - Definitely need to try everything in the menu, which cant be done in one visit.

Opal Inn
Hotel ranjit,
15 nungambkkam high road,
Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034
Phone - 28270521

The ambiance might need a makeover if they wanna grab customers, unless they intentionally want it this way.

Bombay Blue - Nungambakkam

You asked for it.. wannabe cream centre!

Upon invite to the Bombay Blue restaurant as they did on an effort to disprove my review on chennai.burrp.com, i went there for lunch with 2 of my friends. The food is on the house now that didnt make them think i ll come bak to review a 5 star here i hope. Before i forget to mention, the service has gone down already, the more the crowd the less they care about the customers, to the extent that they forget the invitees waiting for 30 mins (although reservation was made) and ask us politely if we need reservation! uh what? and yea the waiters stopped jumping at you (the rosy days were too short i guess) but now they start forgetting your drinks and compel you to order something else, wen u want something else! Some waiters dont even know the name of the dish they are serving, the guy brought us cheese amigos n said here are ur fish sticks! (we were 3 veggies at the table with a 'whaaaat?' on our face). Okay, lets taste the food now and try to forgive the service ...

Soup

Italian tomato - big white bowl - little soup in the bottom
we needed some croutons
'bread for the soup plz' - 'yes ma'm'
'excuse me we asked for some bread cubes' - 'sure ma'm'
'hello? our soup is getting cold' - we get nothing but a smile with a are-u-talking-to-me look!

Appetizers

Onion rings - no salt in tha batter compensated with chat masala on top! is that bombay isthyle????????
Nachos (a speciality here) - not available!
Mezze platter - soft pita bread, bad hummus, some tomato gravy indian style, good ranch
Cheese amigos - probably the only edible item in the menu we had to fill outselves with. (mozerrella-stick-looking jalepeno poppers)

Main course

Chenna Batura - No chenna 'shall we serve with paneer?' NO! plz! what do we look like, guinea pigs?
Veggie sizzler - not bad, but hmm personally i have lost my taste for and not gonna order sizzlers anymore anywhere (u mite wanna think its cos of this experience).
Chilli cheese baguette - soft bread but was it baguette?
Cottage cheese chimichanga - i don wnana decribe this particular dish, i might get brutal, wish i cud give less than one star to BB! It was so burnt and tasted of a yr old oil from some local tea shop bajji, oh well i jus said m not gonna talk about it! so shhh!
The penne pasta with red sauce - we were despertely looking fwd to this dish to bring life back to our dead tongues, but it was equally lifeless, flavorless and cold.

Drinks (That came very late since they forgot it the first time)

Lemon ice tea - pushed to a corner after the first sip
Lassi - passable
Cold coffee with icecream - who can make a mistake on this one? hmm.. ok lets say passable too ..
Orange sunshine - wowww!!! the savior of the day,, incredible drink not to miss .. did earn BB the one star!

Desserts

Apple crepe (or watever) - Not available
Peach melba - Not available
Brownie sizzler - typical cream centre material...good nuff
Hot Fudge Nut Sundae - more of vanilla but yea yummy
Malai Kulfi - was good but tooooooo sweet to handle..

If only i was asked to pay for this culinary torture! wouldnt put myself through this even if they pay me next time .. i hope there is not!

Ambiance - 5/5

Service - 2/5

Food - 1/5

Price - shud be around 500 for a couple

Will i ever go back? - Not even in my dreams!

Bombay Blue
College Road,
Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034
Phone: 044-43596633

Lets forget it as a one-time nightmare!

Cedars - Kotturpuram

A Connoisseur's Treat

A sunday brunch buffet.. sounds interesting for we dont get to hear the word 'brunch' in most chennai restaurants. Supposedly the place is meant for mediterranean food, I should say it was a mix of continental, Italian, american breakfast, pizza and mediterranean varieties ofcourse.

The ambiance is like a cozy fine dining breakfast house. The food for a change was nothin Indianised. Man, whata relief from all the places who tag 'international' cuisine but Indianise it. I was almost hoping to see panneer falafel, but this chef seems to know what he's doing.

The food tastes how it should, thats bland. The made-to-order egg is great, i was suggested the Ejjah Bil Jebn omelette which is filled with feta cheese and was perfectly made as in any American restaurant. The mushroom fritters were amazing, i ate it tho i hate mushroom. The pasta was so soft and creamy. The wheat bread with apricot jam was a good start. There was pita with hummus and a white chutney, which was the best. The nuts rice was ok, so was the Russian salad.

When you go back to your table, you've got a surprise there already, french toasts and the waffles - not bad, the pancakes - yummy maple-syrup dripping and falafel stuffed wrap - authentic. I didnt try the other salads, chocolate doughnut, croissant, etc. Too many choices though it doesnt look so at first sight. I guess you can even order pizza choosing your own toppings.

Now for the desserts, the tart, its the best i've ever had. There is chocolate mousse, icecream of the day and fruit salad. Not much of choice here. To drink there is ice tea and fruit juice. I have two complaints, one the juice glass is too small and two is the price of the buffet being 420 including tax. I guess the pricing helps attract the right crowd. Service is good too, considering its a buffet.

Ambiance - 5/5

Food- 5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - close to 1000 bucks for a couple

Will i go back again? - definitely when i got loads of cash to blow & deserve complete satisfaction

Cedars
29, Gandhi Mandapam Road,
Kotturpuram, Chennai
Phone 66855111, 24472323

Get your basics right before you explore different cuisines to enjoy the show better!