Basil with a Twist

When a restaurant is named like that, I don't need to think of a title! Having been there when they first opened, this visit after many years didn't evoke any special memories. I guess, if I had really liked it then, I would have gone back a lot more. While looking for a quick dinner with two other hungry souls, we settled here as it was very close to where we were.

Our orders were relatively quick. A portion of cheese balls, that was very predictable, the second dish that read very interestingly on the menu, Crispy fried broccoli on a bed of creamy spinach, but not so enticing when it arrived. A Turkish pizza that read very plainly, but looked stunning when it arrived, were our three orders.

Our vegetarian-for-the-day friend was as hungry as ever, but even he couldn't go beyond one spoonful of the creamy spinach with broccoli. For a dish that, according to the waitstaff, was a favourite among many patrons, it was either a bad day for them or we have terrible taste buds. We dipped the breads in it, the cheeseballs in it and even the pizza in it, besides trying to eat it by itself, but nothing could save that dish. While I'm finding it hard to pick what was wrong with it, the dish might be a superstar somewhere, but it felt incomplete in every sense. The oily broccoli was neither pretty looking, nor great tasting. The cheese balls were okay, but the two dips they serve it with completely transform it into a nice dish.

The lamb pizza, much to the dismay of the vegetarian-for-the-day friend, was fantastic. The two of us who happily devoured it had different adjectives to describe it for our poor hungry friend. On a spicy thin crust, the base was a mini superstar itself, but with the meaty lamb loaded with cheese (that was perfectly baked) but balanced with some olives and rosemary on it, the pizza was a stunner.  While it didn't look very big, it certainly was hearty. Without one hungry soul to help, the two of us were barely able to knock down 5 of the 8 slices. After (as usual borrowing space from elsewhere), we shared one more piece and took 2 slices to keep the party going at home.

The almost untouched plate of creamy spinach with crispy broccoli didn't go unnoticed by the wait staff. As we asked for the bill, they served us a complementary dessert. I'm not sure what it was, but the banana cake drenched with a nice sauce with some honey, disappeared in no time and left us wanting for more.

The meal cost us Rs. 1870 with a complementary dessert! I'm intrigued enough to go back and try a few more dishes sometime!