Area:- T – Nagar
Cost for two:- ₹2,000 for two people (approx.)
Cuisine:- North Indian, South Indian, Continental, Asian
I recently had the opportunity to check out Grand by GRT Hotels by staying there and using their facilities. Obviously food is something I wasn’t going to leave untouched. This property has two restaurants, one is the Bazaar – All Day Diner while the other is J. Hind. Apart from these two, they also have a pub called Steam & Whistles. This review will be about Bazaar.
Location
Grand by GRT Hotels is a landmark in T Nagar thanks to the fact that it has stood here for quite a while. It’s located at Sir Thyagaraya Road in T. Nagar, pretty close to the Teynampet signal. It’s right next to the Adidas showroom and its beautiful facade makes it hard to miss.
Considering it’s a star hotel, parking isn’t an issue. They’ve got valet parking service. They have parking space at the basement which is pretty spacious if you’re going to ride here on a two wheeler.
Ambience
Ambience is the strongest forte of the restaurants and pub at GRT. A single glance would tell us the countless man-hours that has gone into transforming this place. Bazaar, an all day dining restaurant, follows the buffet mode, so a good chunk of the space is used for displaying the food. Unlike most places, fortunately, the dishes aren’t cornered or grouped together as one whole bunch. They’ve been spread out neatly to give more space for people to move around freely and this also helps them in displaying their dishes in a better way. The open kitchen and the beautiful stone oven in the middle of the kitchen prominently stands proud at the centre. Gunny bags fun through the walls and wooden pallets have been converted to be used as false ceilings. A portion of the wall also contain an array of plants. Old school style tiles adorn the remaining walls.
The fashion in which they’ve laid out the spread needs a special mention as it’s probably the best I’ve seen in the city. The counter outside houses the fresh juice bar, salads and desserts in pull tray chillers. The fruits for juices are beautifully contained in crates. The arrangement inside is on a different level altogether. The canvas board styled panels that sit on wooden holders is a lovely touch. The theme also seeps into the furniture section too. While the chairs have a patterned seats and floral designed backrests, the tables are a contrast plain wood finish. The denim style table cloth with pockets that act as pouches for the cutlery is a brilliant idea.
Food & Beverages
Inside the restaurant, the first feature that caught my attention was the Idly Fondue. This beautiful arrangement had cubes of idly on skewers and right next to is almost all the possible veg combinations one can expect to have with idly. 4 podis’ such as Kara Podi, Ellu Podi and so on, 4 different chutneys and oils.
There was also a live Paani Poori counter because no North Indian buffet is complete without chaats and there isn’t going to be chaats without Paani Poori. The vegetarian side had a plethora of dishes with mushroom, paneer, tofu and veggie based dishes. The peas masala was good. Tofu is something that very few places nail and this one makes the cut. One dish in the veg section that surprised me for their creativity was their Maravali Kezhangu Seavai Podimas (Tapioca). There were also some all time classics such as Malai Subzi and Dal Curry. If one side of the display had the astonishing Idly Fondue, on the other end there was the Curd Rice Kit. Yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like. A brightly coloured ceramic pot with gorgeous looking Curd Rice with multitude options of pickles along with papad and molaga.
At the further end of the restaurant, right next to the kitchen is the Super Bowl. It’s more of a salad bar where we get to select the veggies and meat according to our preference and they’ll mix them up together with a sauce of our choice. As expected, the veg and non veg ingredients were kept on separate counters. Veg options includes Asparagus, Peppers, Sprouts, Olives, Broccoli, Tofu, Beetroot and other vegetables. Non veg had beauties such as Smoked Salmon, Sear Fish and Squid apart from the regular Chicken, Lamb, Prawns and Eggs. Not to forget, the base options, that were as healthy as it can get. Udon Noodles, Wheat Spaghetti, Brown Penne, Quinoa and interesting ones such as Soba Noodles and Basil Noodles. With three different categories of sauces based on the spice levels, options are plenty.
I obviously had to check out the non veg section as that’s where I knew I’d be spending most of my time. Sutta Kozhi Curry was delicious. Chilli Bean Fish was good too. Not to mention the clear Chicken Soup. I personally love how they incorporate their micro-greens in almost all the dishes. The Spicy Chicken starter was something I can have all day. The Mushrooms in South Indian style starter was another stunning dish. The Lamb Kebabs and Chicken Tikka were mind-blowing. Loved the quality of meat and the fact that they were cooked to perfection. The small sized chicken pizza looked fresh and tasted divine. The day’s best dish was something I didn’t expect to try at this restaurant. It was some splendid Brain Curry on a warm piece of Indian bread. It was exceptional.
Desserts were vast in numbers and the options were good too. Panacotta, Cream Brulee, Almond Lemon Punch, Chocolate Toffi, Jangri, Kheer, Cake Slices, Sandesh, Shahi Tukra and more were the varieties that were available. There were also some Kiwis and Dragon Fruit slices along with the regular Melons and Pineapples in the fruits section.
Salads were also plenty. Pak Choy and Lotus Stem in Sesame Dressing, Hart of Plum Cherry Tomatoes with Micro-greens, Artichoke and Zuchini with Sundried Tomatoes and Baby Carrot with Baby Corn were some of the cold salads that were present. Cold pressed juices are a must try here. Dragon Fruit juice was perfect.
Service was excellent and the restaurant manager was kind enough to explain the dishes in detail. The head chef also made it a point to check on customers to get their feedback and as always, it was always good to interact with them to know more about food. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I can easily say that Bazaar has one of the most recommended buffet spreads in town.
Address:- Grand by GRT Hotels, 120, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar, Chennai
Opening Hours:- 24 Hours a day across the week
Contact No.:- 044 – 30853679
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