Food

Dice N Dine – European Cafe @Koramangala, Bangalore

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This is one of the restaurants that is present in Koramangala which does not just sell food but also lets the customer enjoy some of the wonderful board games.  I know that the sentence would have given you a shock coz we don’t hear of anything apart from the standard scrabble, Ludo, Pictionary at any of the coffee shops.  But here the entire business revolved around good food and playing games.  The more you stay and play, the more got to buy food and pay for it.  Sounds like a very interesting concept.

 

Concept
I went there casually one of the evening, looking to take away something for my dinner as my family was not in town.  When I went there I saw lots of people sitting and playing some games.  Initially I was under impression that it was a one of case when friends were just hanging out doing something.
Then I got a chance to speak to the person who started this one, who happens to be an X IIMB student.  He told me that the place has got nearly 250 odd board games that are quite popular abroad.  Most of it are not known to us in India.
If you are not aware of the rule pertaining to any of the games, the restaurant folks would help you understand and get started.
Here the idea is to let the customers to start playing the games which can have 2-10 players or may be more.  And every 1 hr you need to at least buy something for INR100 bucks.  That way you can get to continue to sit in the restaurant and enjoy the game.
This for sure is something quite different and the youngster would just love it.
Location
It is located on the same road as the JNC College at Koramangala.  Another reference would be that Indigo Live; Stone is in the same spot.
Ambiance
The place has unique ambiance which enabled people to play while they eat.
  • Long tables which is meant for more people to sit across while games are being played and food is also kept on the tables.
  • There are plenty of board games stacked up all around the restaurant which you can see and start playing.
  • Tables have pockets in the corners where you can actually place water.  This is again made with the thought of more people playing.  And the gap can be used to place water bottles.
  • Colourful surrounding comes from the game cardboard and the paints used.
  • One section of the wall has many of the menu items.  So, you can look at it and place order.

 

The ambiance good and one really good point is that it surely isn’t cramped.  They had made sure enough gap is there between tables.
Food
It is quite critical that food served is good coz people might like the game but then if they don’t like the food, they will not order.  They may just end up taking something quite simple like a juice.  But I think the food is pretty good there and I tasted few of the items.
Hummus (Veg)
A classic chick pea puree with tahina served with warm pitta
The food came in a contained that had various section – 4 to be precise.

Pita was in the bigger section and the hummus & other items in different.  Hummus was pretty good and the next section seems to had oil, may be olive oil, I am not sure on that.  Pita bread was pretty good but just that it seemed a bit hard.

Would have expected a little softer.  But the taste was pretty good.

Pizza – Verdure Miste
Grilled Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion, Broccoli, Mushroom, with olive and tomatoes
This pizza was pretty good and there was loads of toppings on it.  Cheese was added in plenty and the pizza looked yummy from outside.

The taste was pretty decent when I took the first bit.  I thought the packaging of the pizza could have been better and also the topping could have been limited and presented well.

It seems like there was too much happening on top of the pizza.

DND Shake – Oreo Shake
The milkshake was pretty good, I quite enjoyed drinking it.

I wanted 1 more after finishing off the drink.

I guess it is easier to order a drink while you are inside so you can keep sipping on it for longer time.

Overall Experience
A very new concept in the city and I am sure it will grab everyone’s attention and start getting more crowds.  I am not very sure on the food which I feel need to , so I would keep the rating at 3.5/5 and would just may be try 1-2 times more and get taste of more food.  Then the rating can go up for sure.
My rating in other departments are as follows.
Food – 3.5/5
Drinks – 3.5/5
Service – 3.5/5
Ambiance – 4/5 (Board game setup)
Food for 2 will cost anywhere between INR400-600.  But if you end up playing, it would be depending on how more hrs you stay on.