ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: 202, Indiranagar Double Road, Indira Nagar II Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038 India
Time: 12 Noon to 3:30 PM, 7 PM to 11 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 1,000
Cuisines: Bengali
Facilities: No Alcohol Available
Esplanade, Indiranagar, Bangalore: DECOR
For Nobo Barsho weekend, a Bengali restaurant it is. I’ve watched Esplanade grow from its tentative, modest beginnings to an assured operation, now serving the best Bengali fare in town. Having moved address a few times, it is now in a pleasant space in Indiranagar. Done up in pastel shades, it also has seating on a balcony lit by colored lamps. The entire mood is casual yet stylish.
Esplanade, Indiranagar, Bangalore: FOOD
This season, you can start with a tumbler of Aampora Sharbat, a perfect summer cooler. I also enjoy the Gandharaj Ghol here, which is lassi enlivened with a spritz of the fragrant lime. The Chingri Sahebi Kebab is the most extravagant thing on the list of appetizers. It’s a Bengali take on Lobster Thermidor and uses jumbo prawns scented with the complex kebab chini. It’s delicious and, be warned, very rich, too. For a lighter fish dish, it could be the Mourolo Machher Peyaji, a mound of crisp-fried silver fish and onion rings.
The menu is vast and for an unfussy meal, I like a basket of Luchi, the creamy white puris, with Chholar Dal and, perhaps, Beguni, which are plump slices of golden-fried brinjal that surprises with its deliciousness, given its simplicity. Another traditional pairing with Luchis is the Kasha Mangsho, a rich and spicy mutton curry that also goes nicely with plain rice.
Being a Bengali restaurant, fish is truly celebrated here and different varieties are listed followed by the preparation. Bhetki, for instance, can be had in shorshe (mustard), as a boneless kalia, steamed in a yogurt gravy or paturi, cooked in an envelope of banana leaf.
The star of the fish menu is the Elish. I keep going back for the Elish Paturi, boneless slices of the luxury fish, covered in a smooth paste of coconut and mustard, wrapped in a banana leaf and griddle-cooked. One taste and you know why the fish sends Bengalis into such rapture.
It may seem like it’s all about fish, but Esplanade has a lovely line-up of vegetarian dishes too — from Phulkopir Roast to homestyle Bati Charchari, a melange of vegetables cooked with panchphoron, and Aloo Jhinga Posto, with potatoes and ridgegourd simmered in a poppy seed paste.
It’s a Bengali meal and you must end with sweets. Opt for the traditional Mishti Doi or the very nice Nolen Gurer Ice Cream. There’s a special menu running here for the festive weekend and it’s a curated selection of several favourites from the regular menu.
Esplanade, Indiranagar, Bangalore: SERVICE
Service is smooth and the staff knows their way around the menu.
Esplanade, Indiranagar, Bangalore: PLUS AND MINUS
It’s authentic Kolkata cuisine here. Much of it is high-calorie, so not for weight-watchers.
