Address: 594, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Off 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Time: 9 AM to 10:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 800
Cuisines: Parsi, Healthy Food, Salad
Facilities: Wheelchair Accessible, Wine, Outdoor Seating, Wifi
Red Fork, Indiranagar, Bangalore: DECOR
This is a cozy cafe on Indiranagar’s premier restaurant street. It eschews though the frenetic activity of some of the restaurants and bars in the area and is ideal for a leisurely weekend breakfast or relaxed lunch. Red Fork has all the warmth of a family-run restaurant and they play very nice jazz at most hours.
Red Fork, Indiranagar, Bangalore: FOOD
The restaurant started life as a neighborhood cafe six years ago and was attached to the popular Parsi Restaurant Daddy’s Deli. Now, the two have merged and Red Fork offers some Parsi classics served in contemporary style. I’d eaten here in the early days and was impressed even then with Chef Xerxes’s skills and his drive to put out good food made with great ingredients. Over the years, Xerxes has evolved from wanting to wow his customer with presentation and style. Now, more mature, he’s content to just let the food speak, paring down the excesses and the frills. All of which makes Red Fork a dining destination in its own right.
Some of the restaurant’s standards – beverages, shakes, burgers and sandwiches appear on a printed menu designed to look like Scrabble tiles. The rest is scrawled on a blackboard, which allows the chef to remove and add dishes, based on seasonality and availability of ingredients. It’s a reassuring sign of Red Fork’s commitment to freshness.
I went here for Sunday lunch recently and thoroughly enjoyed the Ricotta Gnudl with mushrooms and greens. The gnudl was light and fluffy and the mushrooms, some of them served as crisps, were excellent. This is a hearty, deeply satisfying meal for vegetarians. My companion had the dish simply called Steak & Chips; it’s sous vide sirloin, served in perfectly cooked pink slices on a bed of garlic pota to puree with gorgeously thin vegetable chips. It makes a pretty picture, scattered with pea shoots and greens and is again evidence of the chef’s philosophy to not fuss with plating, but still send out food that looks beautiful and, more important, tastes delicious. For dessert, we ordered the Mascarpone Sorbet with berries – lots of them, lending their tart-sweetness to the creamy mascarpone – and a crowning of honeycomb.
On another occasion, I was recommended the Sous vide Pork Tenderloin with carrot puree, red beans and salsa verde. All the ingredients came together very well, but I couldn’t help thinking the meat could have been a little more tender. I indulged in dessert, too, a scrumptious, zesty Orange Cake with Chantilly Cream. The Classic Caramel Flan, made with thick, reduced milk, is for those who love seriously rich desserts.
Red Fork, Indiranagar, Bangalore: SERVICE
Service is efficient. Be prepared to wait a bit for your food, especially for the pre-plated mains.
Red Fork, Indiranagar, Bangalore: PLUS AND MINUS
You can’t go wrong with the food here. Some may feel prices are high for a small cafe, but the quality of the ingredients makes this necessary.