In our – almost – ritualistic weekend family outings we decided to go to
Veranda for Sunday lunch.
We weren’t sure we had arrived but the map said we had. There was a sign
but it wasn’t immediately clear where the restaurant was. So, we looked around
and half way down the slope by the road side we saw a guard who confirmed that
this was indeed the place we were looking for and confirmed valet parking. We
were much relieved.
The moment I opened the door and crossed the threshold it felt as if I had
entered a home furnishing store with neat white racks on my left side stacked
with beautiful cushions and other saleable curios. The racks on the left and
the wall on the right created a passage and once you had walked through it you
could see that you had actually entered a restaurant.
I was bewitched by the décor. Loved the nature themed printed sheer
curtains on windows that looked out at the sloping road and all the greenery
that was planted across it. It gave the place a cosy warm feel as if you were
sitting in a hillside garden restaurant. The upholstery was a patch work of
fabrics like brocade, banarsi and others I can’t identify. But the effect was
beautiful. At the far end were two corner seating areas perfect for a large
group, placed in such a way that it was almost like a private dining space.
Then there was a beautifully decorated door. Quirky, yes, beautiful, most
definitely. Whoever did the interiors
had done a great job.
Now if only I had the power of premonition, I would have walked away
from that place with the beautiful memories of a very prettily done up
restaurant. Unfortunately I didn’t have that power and hence ended up staying
for lunch. Sunday lunches are buffet. They serve starters and desserts at the
table and the main course is laid out in the covered Veranda.
Very rarely (and personally this was a first for me) do you come across
a restaurant where after partaking 24 dishes you still cannot choose a single
dish that was good, forget very good, excellent or wow. All the dishes were
below average with only a couple of them being ok and I was not the only one
feeling this way, we were four adults in the group and all of us felt that way.
We had asked for one serving of all the dishes on the fixed menu. The
menu was extensive and made you look forward to the dishes. But unfortunately,
nothing stood out, though the presentation of the dishes was very good. The
rice cakes were completely bland, if I didn’t know what I was eating I wouldn’t
have known what it was that I was eating. The kulchas both veg and non-veg
missed their mark because they were under seasoned. There was no flavour of
coconut milk in malay mutton rendang. The flavour of laasoni palak paneer was
ok but the paneer was not soft. The problem continued in the dessert course
too. The gulkhand choco-bar, masala chai kulfi and flourless choco cake just
did not match up to the hype of their names. The traditional gulab jamun with
vanilla ice-cream was the only thing that was ok but you don’t have to go to
Veranda for it. The meal left us very unsatisfied in terms of our tongues, our stomachs
and our wallet. It was surreal to go through an entire meal without enjoying a
single dish. I strongly believe that we should always look at the good things
more than bad but unfortunately the only good thing here was the ambience.
