New Menu Introductions 2017 - Smoke House Deli

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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.

Many More Reasons to Visit Smoke House Deli, Bangalore

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It's been raining new menu introductions and this time it is none other that my favourite restaurants in Bangalore - Smoke House Deli. Smoke House Deli is a national brand and what's special about this newly introduced menu is that the new introductions are driven, crafted, and integrated completely based on the needs of the Bangalore market. It might be for the first time at Smoke House Deli that a menu is introduced in Bangalore and will be taken to the other cities and adapted there on.

The new menu has over 40 new dishes in categories like appetisers, soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers, pastas and risotto, mains, desserts and beverages. Phew! Without much ado we started with Wine Cosmopolitan in the company of a magnificent bread basket and an overload of assorted cheeses that came as a part of the SHD cheese platter.

Giving cheese platter a break, we moved on to the next round of drinks and it was SHD's twist to the classic mojito. In it's new avatar, the rum is replaced with bourbon whiskey which exudes a nice fruity and smokey taste and aroma . I enjoyed a couple of rounds of Jimi's mojito in the company of some starters which went well and kept good company for the drinks coming my way. Of the starters that arrived on our table, my pick was the 'Cheesy Chicken Triangles', 'Prawn Fritters with Mustard Aioli'.

The goodness of food only kept increasing from here with the arrival of two soups - a vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The vegetarian one was 'Full of Goodness Minestrone + Barley Soup' which was think and dense in texture and the flavors stood out beautifully. The non-vegetarian one was SHD's take on the Asian 'High Street Chicken + Noodle Soup' light and thin in texture with an equally good and aromatic broth. Dependant on weather I want a light or dense soup on my next visit, I'll pick one off the menu but on that day; I enjoyed the vegetarian one.

In the burgers, for the lamb lovers there is a South-West style lamb burger with sautéed onions, beans and chili as the works. This introduction is a testament of love from fans who enjoyed this burger during the burger festival a few months ago. Another burger that reads goodness is the Pulled Roast Chicken burger that come topped with Béarnaise sauce and a double cheddar melt. Mildly flavoured, this burger is for the ones who are limited to meat options.

From the salads and sandwiches what also well received were the 'Salad of Pear and Mango Chili Emulsion with Flax Seeds' and a 'Popcorn Shrimp & Chipotle Mayo Sandwich'.

From the very start, my brother and I knew we wanted to try the 'Coriander Crusted Basa with Saffron Coconut Rice' and the 'Chicken Schnitzel with Caper Sauce'. When it was time, we did exactly as planned. Each dish was wonderfully plated and was portioned generously for a person.

The fish had a lovely crisp and light crust, came topped with Veloute sauce (a french tomato based sauce) all placed on a saffron coconut rice base. It was indeed a medley of wonderful flavors and texture.

'Chicken Schnitzel with Caper Sauce' was crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. Served in a cylindrical form like a bread roll, the chicken schnitzel was served on a bed of slides and roasted veggies. A nice wholesome meal in a plate it was.

Another main that we did sample from a friend was the slow cooked Brazilian pork belly that came with kimchi apples. What a fat chunk of belly it was! I'm not a big pork eater and to me this cut of pork belly was the biggest and the thickest I've ever seen. Loved it and if you love pork belly, this mean plate of pork can really mean a lot. What am I saying? I don't know.. Just get it on your table.

Now to the last course of our lunch; many await this and claim to have an additional stomach dedicated for the required sugar rush - Desserts. We tried 4 of them, each was better than the other but the top of the lot for me was the 'Oats and Caramel Tart' which was a real surprise package. This was followed closely by the 'Warm Apple Cake with the Vanilla Cardamom sauce' and 'Bitter Chocolate & Hazelnut Feuilletine'.

An average meal for two without alcohol will cost about Rs. 1500 plus taxes and charges. The new menu at Smoke House Deli is exhaustive and comprehensive in terms of offering to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians and also the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage drinkers. For me, it's many more (new) reasons why I must keep visiting Smoke House Deli and so I believe will be the case with you once you've given their new menu a try.

Address: 1029, 100 FT Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 2520 0899