A hidden Italian gem in the backyard of New BEL Road : Scirocco

Scirocco, a well thought name for an Italian restaurant situated on a foreign soil. This is an absolute hidden gem in New BEL Road. If I hadn’t found it on Zomato, probably I wouldn’t have visited this place ever.

It is located on the first floor of the building which is opposite to Cafe Coffee Day in 80 Feet Road which connects to the MSR Junction. Due to trees and poor sign board it makes difficult to find this restaurant. You can depend on Google Map if you get confused.

AMBIENCE 

Elegant and cozy. They have branded their restaurant well right from the ground floor by mentioning appetizers name on stairs. It’s basically a cafe theme with an uniformity all around the place. Whether it is comfortable upholstery or the wall decals everything matches up to the theme. Especially the seating next to large window facing towards the road is enough to make your evening memorable.

SERVICE

I don’t know how long ago this restaurant opened, but the staff seems to be new and inexperienced. I’m not saying that they are rude, their hospitality is too good and I admire that. But when things come to handling the cutleries, right time to intervene the guests and prioritizing the order should be taught to the stewards. All staffs generally gang-up in a corner near service desk and when guests needs them, they should literally stand up or raise their hands to call the stewards. At least if one or two stewards present in dining area, service part can get better. 

FOOD

When you look at the menu it really surprises you by their huge collection of pizza, pasta, beverages, appetisers and desserts. I took around 15 minutes to order as I found it very difficult to choose from such great collection. However I narrowed down to 4 items and here is my experience with them;

Sparkling Strawberry: The fizz in this drink was just outstanding. And the pinching flavour of strawberry was really good. I just loved this drink and gave great start to my evening.

Garlic Bread Sticks: Compared contemporary pizza places of Bengaluru,  Garlic Bread was quite nice here. They have used very less cheese as per my request and the spices sprinkled on it gave a lovely texture and tasted good. It justifies the price tag.

Nawabi Pizza: Honestly I didn’t wanted to try any Indian version of Pizza in a restaurant which had true italian essence in it. But since my friend insisted on this, I had no other choice than ordering this. This was 10” thin crust pizza with the topping of juicy corn, well sliced capsicum, tomato and onions with the combination of spicy tomato sauce and  mozzarella cheese. The cheese over here had slightly superior taste compared to other pizza place.

Pizza Mellino: Since the foodie inside me was craving for true Italian pizza I order 6” Pizza Mellino and it tasted delicious. This was topped with some of the true Italian toppings like spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, green olives, pickled onions, roasted red & yellow capsicums and Jalapeno. The toppings were overwhelming and the taste of such great toppings with the fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese was just awesome. It felt like the pizza came directly from a kitchen in Paris. It’s just fantastico!

EVERYTHING ELSE: The whole floor is air conditioned and when it comes to hygiene factor, it’s spotless. Instead of sauce dispensers they keep sachets on the table which is more hygienic but gets messy when you try to tear it with cheesy hands. Parking wouldn’t be a problem as there is ample parking space opposite to the restaurants. As per my observation, it’s not too crowded and makes it a perfect place to have long conversation. The price on the menu are inclusive of tax and there is no additional charges. The entire menu was priced very moderately. 

FINAL VERDICT: Value for money and a lovely place for Italian food lovers. I strongly recommend this place for its ambience, quality and for pizza.

BAKASURA RATING

4.0 / 5

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AMBIENCE

FOOD

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Breakfast Ride to Explore the Taste of Masala Dosa at Vasu Hotel, Kanakapura

Whenever I discuss my plan to ride hundreds of Kilometers just to taste food, usually people react with phrases like “Are you Mad!??” , “This is insane dude” , “You gone crazy Man” , etc etc… But all these years, nothing has ever stopped me by adding adventure to my foodie tales. But this time it was little different as I planned a short road trip with like minded people who love food as much as I do! And getting into an adventure for the primary passion has excited many…

PC: Vinay Nagaraju

So… Here is how we planned; Creating an exclusive WhatsApp group for this plan was the first step, creating curiosity and temptation by posting pics and delicious discussions has backed up our plan very well and out of 25 Members 10 people turned up to the plan.

THE PLAN

PC : Naveen Suresh

Simple, just drive to Kanakapura - a small town situated just 6o KMs away from Bengaluru and visit the legendary Vasu Hotel to taste their famous Masala Dosa. This was our first ‘official’ plan with fellow foodies. And when we fixed the assembling time to early morning 7 AM on a cold Saturday, automatically some people choose comfy beds instead of riding with us. Without bothering much, we continued with our plan as 10 members assured about their attendance.

JOURNEY TOWARDS KANAKAPURA: We assembled at Metro - Cash and Carry near Banashankari between 7 to 8.30 AM. After a short introduction we started towards Kanakapura. When it’s a single lane road, bikers will always have advantage to save time by reaching the destination faster. Same thing happened with us, we bikers reached Kanakapura 30 Mins before and waited to welcome the luxury riders by sipping hot coffee.

VASU HOTEL

It's a legendary restaurant which is currently celebrating 75 Years of serving excellent Masala Dosa for the commuters of the infamous State Highway - 948 which use to connect Bangalore - Mysore - Coimbatore. This restaurant has served many generations and reserved the same charm till date. 

I have been on this route so many times during my road trips and solo bike trips. But I came to know about this restaurant very recently by my foodie friends. Since then I was planning to visit this. And finally when we visited this restaurant on last Saturday I felt that I have accomplished my goal.

AMBIENCE

A very small entrance will surely mislead you and this is how people miss this restaurant. Once you enter the restaurant you can feel the nostalgia of this place by its raw ambience. Way the serving bay has been designed with wood arches, long dining tables, cement sheet roofing and of course the gray kitchen, it all takes you back in time. It can easily accommodate 70 people at once with its huge dining area. Kitchen occupies 30% of the whole restaurant.

SERVICE

Straight and  forward. Many people who work here has more than a decade full of experience and it can be easily recognized by their organised working style. This restaurant offers only self service and the men at the service counter serve the dishes according the first come first serve priority. The amount of order each individual handles is a real amazing factor. They are quick and precise.

FOOD

To be honest, this place is good only for Masala Dosa. Rest of the things are just average or above average. We ordered Masala Dosa at first and when it arrived the size of the Dosa really surprised us. It was too big and the dark brown texture tempted us to attack and finish it in minutes. Taste!?? I won’t say it was extraordinary or out of the world… I can just say that it was perfect. Perfect in taste, crispiness and size. The chutney supplied with it blended well with the dosa. Palya (Subji) was too good. Potatoes were smashed well and cooked very precisely. It was overall a delicious package.

Chow-Chow Bath: Another south Indian delicacy which tasted good other than Masala Dosa. Khara Bath (Upma) was warm, moderately spicy and had perfect texture. Kesari Bath on the other hand had right amount of sweetness with few dry fruits being less oily at the same time.

Bisibelebath : It was more like a sambar rice. But a tasty sambar with a sweet twist. Though it was completely opposite to Bisibele taste, I liked it!

Menthya (Fenugreek) Rice: It was average as the flavour of Methi was too heavy which resulted in pungent kind of taste. 

Poori Sagu: This was above average. They won’t fry poori freshly which results in over crispiness. However, the taste is manageable with chutney but Saagu was poor.

Rava Idli: Not at all impressed. Firstly the sagu supplied with it disappointed me then the idli itself was hard and rubbery. Couldn’t able to eat more than two chunks.

Idli: It was kind of okay and you can get such Idlis in any normal restaurants. Yes, it was soft but there was no ‘wow’ factor in it.

Muruku: Our final trail of the day and this too failed to impress as it was too salty. We were not able to munch even half of its portion. 

AMAZING FACTS: 

• Hard work and consistency always pays. It’s absolutely holds true when we look at the history of Vasu Hotel. The man who joined this restaurant as a normal server 50 years has bought this place and continues the legend of serving Masala Dosa. It’s an inspiring story and tells us the moral that no service / work such as small or low. If you work hard you will come up in life eventually. 
• The pricing of the food is damn cheap and makes you think that you have entered the era of 90’s. They still follow the manual token system and the highest denomination token they have is of Rs.25 only. It costed just Rs.56 per head for such a lavish breakfast experience.
• They haven’t renovated the building for decades to preserve the old charm of this restaurant.

EVERYTHING ELSE: There are two Vasu Hotels in Kanakpura and both are claimed to be of single owner. However, the Vasu Hotel which is in the middle of Kanakapura is the oldest. You can depend on Google Maps to reach this place or you can seek local guidance once you enter Kanakapura.

Hygiene factor is quite low and parking would be a real problem as it is located on the narrow highway. 

FINAL VERDICT: In my experience riding all the way to Kanakapura just for the sake of this restaurant is not worthy. But if you are travelling in the same road it’s a must pit stop for breakfast.

I can guarantee that Masala Dosa won’t disappoint you but I’m not sure about other dishes. 

BAKASURA RATING

3.5 / 5

FOODIES JOINED OUR JOURNEY:

Sujay Krishna - Yamaha Fazer (Food Blogger, www.BeingBakasura.com)
Vinay Nagaraju - RE Bullet (Food Blogger, www.wompblr.wordpress.com)
      Navneeth Thimappa (Food Blogger, www.LifeOnPlates.com)

Harshavardhan Reddy (Foodie)
      Hari Camla (Food Photographer)
      Naveen Suresh (Food Blogger, www.BangaloreEpicure.com)
      Kiran Munipalle (Food Reviewer)

Jaideep Gaandhie (Food Blogger, www.thehungryjedi.com)
      Vinay Setty (Food Blogger, www.voiceofmytastebuds.wordpress.com)
      Manoj Kumar K (Food Reviewer, www.zomato.com/manojkumark)

In Action

Look at the reaction of people behind

       

GALLERY

NEARBY PLACES TO EXPLORE:

1. Shivanasamudra :

2. Talakadu:

3. Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills):

4. Male Mahadeshwara Betta (MM Hills):

KEYWORDS: Restaurant in Kanakapura, Legendary Dosa in Kanakapura, Masala Dosa in Kanakapura, Famous Dosa place in Kanakapura, Famous Restaurant in Kanakapura, Kanakapura Restaurant, Breakfast place in Kanakapura, Vasu Hotel in Kanakapura, Tasty Masala Dosa in Kanakapura, Journey Kanakapura, Being Bakasura in Kanakapura, Being Bakasura, Ride to Kanakapura, Vasu Hotel, Masala Dosa, Bike Ride, Breakfast Ride

Pocket Friendly Hangout Place for Buddies - 3B's (Buddies Bar Barbecue), BTM Layout

Bengaluru has many diversified food culture… Many restaurants wants to set themselves apart by creating unique ambiance and experiences to the customer. The newly opened 3Bs (Buddies-Bar-Barbecue) at BTM is all set to provide an awesome experience to the crowd with its unbelievable offers.

About 3Bs, BTM Layout:
This restaurant is located on the 5th Floor above Absolute Barbeque (ABs) near Jayadeva Flyover. Its bit difficult to recognize from the road as it doesn’t has a prominent signboard outside. So, look for ABs sign board instead of 3Bs.

Ambience

Though its a rooftop restaurant, you won’t get that open space feel as they have covered whole floor with permanent canopy. I wish they left some space for outdoor seating! Nevertheless, the whole ambience is crafted wonderfully. The theme of the whole floor is kind of discipline. Different areas of the restaurant has different intensity of lighting, there are various seating option available which can suit for almost all crowds. They also have a pool table and mini soccer table to keep you entertained! Overall it provides a cozy & comfortable atmosphere.

Service

It's just excellent! We were attended by 4 stewards during our visit, it usually gets difficult to serve precisely when you have both Veg & Non-veg customers in a same crowd. But, they managed it so well that we vegetarians had our dinner session worry free! Each and every staff is very professional and even friendly. I’m sure you will end up asking their name in order to appreciate their incredible hospitality.

Food & Drinks

They have a fixed lavish menu and they have concentrated to cover many cuisine in their menu. Though they state “Barbeque” in their name, there is no live barbeque counter or barbeque pit in your table. They serve barbeque to your plates directly from the kitchen. They have a good collection of liquor and the best part is they offer it in MRP. Yes! You heard it right, whether it's beer or champagne you can order it with more delight.

Our dining experience was amazing, they have given equal priority to both veg and non veg in their menu which makes this place an ideal one for the group outing. We were cordially welcomed with the beautiful mocktail. Starters had 5 vegetarian option they are perfect to start your evening;

Abadi Paneer Tikka: The first dish served to our table failed to make an impression. It was quite bland and the masala used on it was uneven. I can say it was just average.

Crispy Corn: Definitely star of the evening. I really don’t remember how many plates of crispy corn I consumed that evening. It was crafted so perfect with right amount of spice, tossed accurately for crispiness and it's tempting presentation! It was perfect combination for the drinks. If there is any reason that I want to visit this restaurant at least once in a month, it would be “Crispy Corn”

American Cheese Potato: I call it as mixture of temptation. Who doesn’t love Cheese and Potato…? When you serve both elements together with a perfect blend of spice it becomes an ultimate satisfactory tool. It was really great!

Spider Roll: Its name is so attractive that we eagerly waited for its arrival in order to see its presentation. And to our huge expectation it didn’t really disappointed. Its fried potato dipped in a spicy red sauce and served with crispy fried noodles. It tasted too good with those fried noodles.





They have 2 options for both non veg and veg main course. It might sound like insufficient, but believe me after going through such great starters you will have very little space in your tummy. Naan and Rotis they served with the main course were soft, good and blended well with the curries.

3B’s Special Dal : Yes! Its “special” indeed. It was the most loved dish by everyone and whynot, this dish has been cooked so perfectly that everyone didn’t bothered about looking for other main course dishes in the menu. The black dal used in it was thoroughly flamed and the spice level was just right. Overall taste was wonderful.

Lahori Paneer Tikka : After tasting 3B’s Special Dal, Lahori Paneer Tikka didn’t appealed much to our taste buds. However the ingredients used in it seemed to be of right but spice level was too low. Paneer used it was standard soft.

Veg Biriyani: When it comes to Veg Biriyani, they need to improve a lot. It appeared to be overcooked in some bites and lack of vegetables was another factor. In my views they need to approach entirely new way to prepare this dish. However, I would like to rate this dish above average.

Desserts

Climax of your dinner will be as good as the intro. Because they have a great array of desserts in the row. Some of them are innovative and some are just common. But I’m sure that desserts collection of 3B’s will give a great ending to your dining experience. I wanted to taste each and every desserts, but I was already full by starters and main course. But still I tried some of them,

Ice Creams: They have some unique flavours; Chilli Ice cream was mixture of both soft & extreme sides of the flavor and it offers a great exercise to your taste buds. You can also dare your friends to have this ice cream. I’m glad that I tried this flavour. Another Ice Cream which grabbed almost everyone's attention was Paan fusion Ice Cream. It was the mixture of Vanilla, Pista, Gulkhand and Pan flavours. It gave exact taste of Paan in a different fashion. You can also top your serving with the desired dry fruits and assorted toppings which will add more taste.

Gulab Jamun : Small in size but great in taste. Though it was not hot, it tasted great. Children will surely like this version of Jamun.

Other than above desserts they also had Phirni, Chocolate Pastry and Fresh Cut Fruits which tempted me more but couldn’t able to have. Will try them for sure on my next visit.


EVERYTHING ELSE: Beside being economic this restaurant offers a great experience. It has valet parking facility and moderate space for two wheeler parking. Hygiene has been maintained well all over the restaurant and in restrooms. Music is not that great, they switch between retro, intensive bollywood songs with some patho songs too which really disrupts the mood. While I was there I witnessed three birthday parties and it was celebrated by whole staffs. They make a great memories too.

FINAL VERDICT: I can say its an economic version of ABs. Wonderful service, comfortable ambience, good food and drinks at great price. There is no such a great combination in Bengaluru. You can reserve your seat here for this weekend.

BAKASURA RATING

4.0 / 5

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