Eat, drink and be merry

There are days, when all you want to do is procrastinate. Then there are days when you crave to just stuff your face with scrumptious food. If you are living in North Bengaluru, then the options are not much. But, one new destination sure does meet the above standards. Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru’s The Hebbal Cafe, on Nagavara Main Road (near Manyata Tech Park) offers a vast menu as part of its everyday lunch buffet and a la carte menu.

The restaurant is a contemporary 24x7 coffee shop with stylish interiors and an open kitchen with loads of food, luring you with bright colours and sleek stylish food counters. Right from starters – Indian, Oriental and continental — there is everything one can dream of eating. If you start off with soups and garlic bread, and in the middle change your mind to bite into a perfectly roasted tandoori chicken, all you have to is just spoon it onto your plate from the lavish buffet.

Right from the perfectly baked corn kernels (seasoned with raw onions, tomatoes and green chillies), baked bacon to the tandoori paneer, the place pampers your tummy to the core. The motto here must be if you can eat it, then just plate it and let the calories take the back seat for a while. The buffet and the menu, spearheaded by executive chef, Gaurav Anand, does not disappoint when it comes to presentation and taste.

To down our starters, we opt for a few cocktails and mocktails, created by Murali Appaji. We try the pink margarita, made with tequila with a splash of aperol, fresh lime juice and some housemade syrups. Next is the Indian mojo, a blend of white rum with fresh strawberries, lime and mint along with an in-house rose syrup. Finally, it is the mango colada, made from fresh mango puree, with a hint of passion fruit, coconut cream and pineapple juice. As our drinks arrive in pretty glasses, we can’t help but grin excitedly, waiting to have a go at them.

As we sip our drinks, we try almost everything — hot and cold salads, soups, breads and main course. While the Indian dishes have that distinct authentic flavour, one salad, named the Hebbal salad, stands out. With freshly-sliced vegetables, mixed with micro greens like beetroot, peas, coriander for that extra crunch, melt-in-the-mouth fresh feta cheese and a slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, it is a complete meal in itself.

But the foodies can dig into the main course. There is the bhuna gosht (mutton curry) — a spicy lamb dish from North India, specially hand-crafted by the chefs. This is gorged with buttered naans. Then there is the typical Punjabi dal and biriyani, loaded with spices and tender meat and finally we give the paneer gravy and steamed rice a shot too.

The buffet also spoils you for choice when it comes to the desserts. From ice creams with various toppings to jalebis, gulab jamuns, chocolate mud cake and pastries – the buffet offers it all.