Reviewed: Summer Fiesta At Barbeque Nation

Barbeque Nation, as a restaurant, has established itself as the go-to place for a good Indian food. The concept of grills on the table was made famous by the restaurant and, for me, it always meant value for money.

When I got the invite to try out the summer special menu, naturally I was thrilled. And since one of the outlets was right next to my office, it was a definite cherry on the top. Yup, will be happy about anything and everything that will not make me face the pathetic Mumbai traffic.

 

 

First Impressions

My friend and I reached the Kurla outlet of the restaurant and were surprised to find out that our names were not on the list. After the confusion was resolved, we were led to our table that was good enough to seat 6 people. When we asked for a smaller one, we were informed that there was none available.

With our excitement slowly dissipating, we only hoped that the food would save the night, because even the music was blazing at levels way higher than the normal decibel intake.

 

Drinks

We placed our drinks order that included a cocktail (whose name neither of us can remember) and a Long Island Iced Tea. But soon enough, the manager showed up telling us that we would have to pay extra for alcoholic drinks. Highly disappointed, we settled for mocktails.

One of them was a mango flavoured one, while the other a little gingery. Nice and refreshing, they were a good fit in the menu and were enough to make us excited to start the Summer Fiesta.

Oh, that reminds me, we never got offered the welcome drink of Jal Jeera or Chaas as promised. Hmmm.

 

Food

Now, Barbeque Nation is all about their lip-smacking food, especially the starters. On the grill was coconut fish, Angara tangdi, pineapple chicken, tangy mushrooms, paneer tikka, pineapple on the skewer, mutton seekh kebab, and aloo kebab, to name a few.

And thank God they were yum. The drumsticks were juicy and perfectly spiced, the fish was soft and easily melted in the mouth, and the aloo kebab was creamy to perfection.

 

 

My friend surprisingly loved the charred pineapple and kept asking for more, while my heart was set on the mushrooms that just oozed of flavour. And I am a hardcore non-vegetarian, so it was that good.

Already full, we moved on to the main course that had yellow thai curry, chicken kashmiri pulao, dal makhani, laal maas curry, palak chicken, and more.

I tried the laal maas curry and it was a little bland as compared to how it should be. You know, a great one should make you tear up, get you so red and sweaty that you have to drink tonnes of water! But nothing of that sort happened.

Something that stood out was the watermelon mint gazpacho, which was a cold soup and a plesant surprise. It could well have been a summer drink and if you go there, then please do try it.

 

 

By this time, we couldn’t eat anymore nor could we move an inch, but dessert is dessert, so we dragged ourselves to the sweet counter. And frankly, I cannot remember one thing that we ate and that is not because my memory is weak, but because nothing made the cut for us.

 

In A Nutshell

Barbeque Nation is a well-known brand and they have a reputation to sustain. The food was as remarkable as always, but the service was frankly abysmal.

It was slow, the manager was rude, and they took way too long to clear our bill. Maybe, it was just because we were in Kurla or maybe, it was just that particular individual who was irritating AF.

Will I go back? Yes. Will I go back to the Kurla outlet? No.