New Menu Introductions 2017 - Smoke House Deli

Twitter: @nkandhari     Facebook: Review Of Restaurants     Instagram: Review Of Restaurants 

It's a new year, it's a new menu.. lots of interesting flavors, textures and ingredients. It's not just food but also some interesting cocktails and infusions. Experiencing this menu was joyous yet a task and believe me when I say that for the sheer count of Nee dishes we tried on this lunch table specially curated for media. 

Without much ado, let's get started with as it's aptly called 'Starters' / 'Appetizers'. We had 4 of them on the table with each very distinct from the other. My pick of them all was the prawn fritters tossed in spiced mayo and the Kashmiri Chili and cottage cheese flatbread from the vegetarian menu.

Drinks flowed in with each course. To start was a concoction of whiskey, angostura and orange bitters, Cherry liquor and a dash of lime. 

The roasted corn soup arrived with a dollop of sour cream and drizzle of truffle oil. I missed the flavor of truffle oil, and the sour cream missed marring well with soup which was otherwise good in both taste and consistency. Salad was refreshing with an assortment of lettuce, tomato, boconcini and dressed in a pesto vinaigrette. Like always I've always enjoyed salads at SHD and this time was no different; unfortunately, don't have a picture to share.

Cocktails on the new menu are concocted from house infused liquors like rum and gin. I tried the SHD Collin contained gin infused with kaffir lime leaves, lime wedges and peel; SHD spiced Apple daiquiri was concocted with both rum and Apple juice infused with cloves, star anise and cinnamon and finally SHD Cosmo which was made with gin infused with dill leaves. 

SHD Spiced Apple Daiquiri

Coming back to food, I loved the slow roasted cauliflower and mascarpone risotto in comparison to its counterpart Black pepper crusted chicken risotto. The former opens up in flavors as you chew it and progress with eating this dish. Another one from the menu I really enjoyed was the potato gnocchi stirred in a 3 cheese sauce with roasted vegetables. 

Rissotto

Gnocchi

As if this was not enough, next arrived the mains followed by dessert. For the mains, my top picks were the rosemary roast chicken which leads the way from an erstwhile menu signature I loved - half roast chicken and the perfectly pan grilled bhetki fish fillet, generously portioned with a crispy skin to crack through. One was a hearty portion of chicken, mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms with a poached egg drizzled with a jus flavored with rosemary while the other came served with a subtle jalapeño corn sauce creating just the required flavor profile. Between the chicken and the fish, it's just the need of the palate that can define the better one. 

The slow braised Belgian pork spare ribs lost out on 2 counts - the ribs could have been chunkier and fall off the bone and the bacon around the accompanying pork meat parcel should have been crispy. flavor wise, no misses here. 

Desserts were fantastic, be it the white chocolate cake with a lemon molten cake, prune crumble tart with dark chocolate mousse or milk cake dressed with toasted hazelnuts. They were rich, decadent, came with distinct flavor profiles. 

It was an enjoyable afternoon over good food from the kitchen of Chef Saurabh Arora and catching up with friends and I do look forward to getting back to Smoke House Deli for these new introductions and some classics; available at both their outlets in Bangalore - Lavelle road and Indiranagar. I urge you to do so too. An average meal for two will be Rs. 1500++; additional for cocktails.

Cheers!

Address: 
Ground Floor, No. 52 & 53, Lavelle Road, Bangalore 560011
and
No. 1209, Ward No. 72, Hal IInd Stage, 100ft Road, Indiranagar, Bengaluru 560038

Phone Number: +91 80 4051 5151 



Note: This visit to Smoke House Deli was on invitation but the opinions expressed are solely mine and are absolutely unbiased nor influenced by the brand in any way.