Monsoon is one of the fine dining restaurant in the famous, “The Park Hotel” on MG Road, Bangalore.  The restaurant is inside a hotel, that is one of the first boutique hotels in Bangalore that exudes luxury, sophistication and intimacy.  “The Park, Bangalore” history dates to 1999 which they started operations and since then it has gained the iconic status.  People travelling on business or holiday prefer staying at the property because of its central location in Bangalore.  It become an onus on this restaurant to serve good food every time.  I have personally visited this place plenty of times and would like to share my experience.

Ambiance

Monsoon is a 24-hours dining restaurant exudes warmth and freshness. The ambiance is very sheikh but at the same time it does not seem to be over the top.  There is some wonderful lighting around the restaurant which is one of the highlight.  Beautiful wallpapers adorn one side of the restaurant.  Every table is setup very well and each of them have a great finish on top.  The chairs are very comfortable, and the design is trendy.  There is a collection of wines across the live counter which look great.

The restaurant is located next to the main reception area and separated by curtains which act as the dividers.  This place is quite compact and can accommodate 25-40 people.  This seems to be conscious effort by hotel management, to make sure that the guests don’t feel cramped.  I love their false ceiling which has glass & special lighting which looks awesome.

Food

The restaurant serves North Indian and Italian food. During the afternoon and evening, apart from the Al-Carte, buffet is served.  The buffet spread is very elaborate, and guests have plenty of options to choose from.

Appetizers

There are plenty of options available for both Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians.  Though, it would be nicer to go through the menu & order, I would just ask the manager to give a suggestion.

Cottage Cheese & Pepper Shashik is one of my favourite starter that is served with tasty BBQ sauce.  It is served with little salad and presented very well.  After taking one bite, it is hard to resist.

Tandoor Khumb/Mushroom (in English), Palak Kaju Kebab & Aloo Angare are also some of the best pick among the starters.

For non-veg lovers, top picks would be the Amritsari Fish Finger, Gilafi Seekh Kebab are specially recommended by Chef.

Salads

There are some good salads part of the buffet spread & few as part of the menu.  I have loved – Garden Fresh Green & Vegetable Salad, Greek Country Salad, Egg Pepper Salad, Babycorn & Tomato Salad, Pasta Salad, Kimchi Salad and many more.  The taste of every salad part is very good as fresh veggies are put in them.  This is a perfect counter for anyone looking to eat healthy meal

The buffet spared also has freshly cut veggies like – Cucumber, Carrot, Lettuce, Tomato, Sprouts & more.  They also have cut Baby corn pieces, Mushroom, English Cucumber, Green Bell Pepper & few to veggies kept soaked in vinegar water.

Main Course

One of my favourite dishes at this restaurant that is prepared by Chef is the Paneer Lababdhar.  I feel that this is the best place for eating dish which is prepared with so much of love.  The gravy is very yummy, and it goes along with any bread.  I take this dish every time I visit the Monsoon restaurant.

Some of my other top picks for vegetarians would be – Aloo Jeera Capsicum, Karnataka home style vegetable curry and Dal Makhani.

Non-Veg lovers can enjoy some of the items like – Dakshin Kannada Prawn Masala, Mutton rogan josh, Dhanival Korma and other fish curries along with bread.

Desserts

Monsoon Signature Mud Cake is one of the speciality at this restaurant.  It is made of Belgian Callebaut chocolate surprise served with Vanilla Icecream.  The person serving bring the dessert and just pierces with spoon which lets the chocolate ooze out of the mud-cake.  It looks very spectacular and tempting.  I take this dish everytime I visit the restaurant.

There are other dessert served in the buffet which are good – White Forest Pastry, Banoffee Tar, Raspberry Square, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Cake, Champakali and few other prepared inhouse.  The taste was good and special care has been taken in making them.

Drinks

The first choice among the drinks at this place should be the wine.  I have tired the Sauvignon Blanc white wine and enjoyed it along with the meal.  Some of the other drinks I tried are – cocktails (Mojito, Cosmopolitan) and mocktail (chocolate milkshake).

History of The Park

The Park Hotels is a collection of contemporary luxury five-star boutique hotels in India belonging to the Apeejay Surrendra Group, headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.  Their hotels are present in various cities across the country – Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Visakhapatnam and Goa.

The first hotel to become operational was “The Park, Kolkata” which was established in 1967.  Since then they have setup nearly 10 properties across the country and new ones are coming up.

Overall Experience

This is cosy restaurant situated in 4/5-star hotel across the city.   The interiors have been well setup making it look exquisite.  The serving staff are very courteous and always looking to help.  The food served in the restaurant, gives a taste of the Indian spices from North.  Specially loved the Paneer Lababdhar & Mud cake among the main-course & dessert.  I would specially recommend guests to spend 2-3 hours in the comfort of relaxing ambiance.  My rating for the restaurant is 4.5/5.

Rating in other departments.
Food – 4.5/5
Drinks – 4.25/5
Service – 4.5/5
Ambiance – 4.5/5

Food for 2 at this restaurant will come up to anywhere between INR 2500-3000.

References

The Park, Bangalore
http://www.theparkhotels.com/bangalore.html