Fattoush, Bangalore
Back in the days (college days), I remember the standard conversation we used to have whenever we end up having a pleasant food experience at a restaurant. It might sound irrelevant but we start going over aspects like how much the restaurateur must have invested in this venture, how much we thought he paid the head chef etc etc? But, what was more compelling was that all of us had an insatiable dream to one day, own a restaurant; although, however remote it might have sounded back then.
Fast forward to present day- most of us got hooked to the arduous IT industry but then again there were some of us who continued to pursue the dream of being a restaurateur. Fattoush is the result of such a dream- one that belongs to my college friend Abdullah. Fattoush is a fine-dine multi-cuisine restaurant located on Bannerghatta Road, an area that is potentially a blessing for an aspiring restaurateur. My review is based on two separate accounts- one, a personal tasting session that happened a few weeks back and second, a tasting session organized by myself for a group of prominent bloggers in Bangalore.In both instances the overall experience was good (nothing changed, which implies consistency) yet, there were a few suggestions made in terms of the food. The ambiance at Fattoush is definitely uncommon and visually arresting. If you were ready to shell out a decent amount of money to stand apart from other fine-dine restaurants, this is what it should look like- loved it.
The service throughout our stint at Fattoush was prompt and the servers themselves were courteous. Let me get down to the gulp and munch experience. Fattoush serves a decent array of energizing mocktails and some of them, I haven’t tried elsewhere (when there are cocktails who wants mocktails). But my recommendation would be to try,
Green Fire- a passion fruit drink with a hit of heat from the Kandhari chilli.
Blue Orange & The Fattoush special, which is a very unique concoction made from Mango.
Among the starters, must-try
Shish taouk- features on the menu of every restaurant that serves Middle-Eastern cuisine. An outcome from a well-balanced combination of simple spices, cooked beautifully.
Mutton Yogurt- we all know that when it comes to red meat, the taste lies with the produce you are able to procure. It is the reason why during my first visit the meat was soft and well-cooked whereas the second time it didn’t match the first- nonetheless I would recommend it.Each of the starters were served with a side of Hummus and Garlic-Mayo, with Pita Bread. Hummus is something that I can proudly say I am a better judge of and these guys nailed it. Did I mention that Fattoush has a vast menu? You will literally feel spoilt for choices, in fact at times confused as what to order.
But I’ll make it simple, order the Lal Maas and the Pahadi Murgh with your choice of bread (Tandoor Roti, Butter Nan…). These two dishes will make your craving for more- brilliantly cooked, perfectly spiced and guess what, it is their signature dish! Lal Maas is a Rajasthani dish cooked in a sauce made from curd and a paste of Red Chilies- not to mention there other spices involved too. Long story short, Do not miss out on these. The rice dishes served were Chicken Mandi and Fattoush’s special chicken Biriyani. The Mandi Rice was flavorful and along with the daqqūs- a home-made salsa- it was just about right. As I have tasted better versions of this dish in Hyderabad and in the Gulf, my expectations were more. The Fattoush special biriyani was something different- I kind of liked it, this could be because I was soo used to the Hyderabadi Biriyani and the Kerala/Malabar Chicken Biriyani- this was something in-between.
That pretty much brings the curtain down on my experience at Fattoush. Overall, Fattoush is a place I would recommend that you can visit with your family for the ambiance and food, for their lunch buffet if you are to visit with your office colleagues and for food that you don’t necessarily find everywhere, for one, Mandi and some of the Middle-Eastern delights. I wish Abdullah and his team the very best and hope they turn out be a benchmark for a fine-dine multi-cuisine restaurant in the not so distant future.
