In my search for a unique place to have peaceful & memorable dinner, I came across the LAYLA Restaurant.  Located on the 21st floor of The Den Hotel at Whitefield-Bangalore, one gets a spectacular view of the city.  The hotel is surrounded by plenty of high-rise builds that are part of IT company or part of residential complex.  Since the restaurant is quite high-up, the view does not get blocked, and the air is much cooler.

The restaurant has this unique name LAYLA, reminding us of the legends of romantic lovers Layla & Manju.  Interiors of the place has been done with a lot of thought, giving attention to every detail.

Ambiance

The beautiful restaurant that has some amazing interiors. The color & texture on the wall, ceiling, floor make it look so elegant and sheikh.

I love the selection of cushion colors on the chairs as they look so bright and yet very soothing to look.  The lighting arrangements are unique and artistic.  Crockeries (plates, glasses) used on the table are unique and it’s a reflection of great taste.

There is a beautiful bar section, that’s a little away from the main dining area which looks perfect & enticing.

Three sides of the restaurant are covered by glass that gives an amazing view of the city. I had the opportunity to see it both during the day time and night time. Fabulous is the only word that comes to my mind.

Food

Apart from the mesmerizing view and the lovely interiors, the Mediterranean food served is also great. Chef Abhijit and his subordinate Chef from Israel bring out some tasty Mediterranean dishes.

Starters

Pita Breads

These are given complimentary to every guest along with some nice sauces.  The breads are so soft that I would love to have multiple portions of the same.

Meze Platter

Pita Bread, Mesabaha, Roasted eggplant salad, Cauliflower tabbouleh, Tzatzuki, Zucchini tahini, Char grilled bellpepper

This is probably the best Mezze Platter I have had in a long time. Among the items that were served, loved the Cauliflower Tabbouleh, which has the perfect combination of flavors and crunchiness.  The other accompaniments like Tahini, Roasted Eggland Salad and Mesaba also tasted amazing.

Main Course

Typically, we know only about the Mezze Platter from Mediterranean Cuisine.  But there are many more dishes that’s mostly unknown to many of us.

Other dishes that I tasted were Slow cooked vine leaf, Burkhas, Kreplach, Seniya & Mujadddara.

Loved the slow cooked vine leaves as they were soft and wrapped around a rice. The rice had Mediterranean spices mixed and tasted amazing both with/without with the vine leaves.

Burkhas are the stuffed pastries famous in Israel.  In this case, the flaky dough was filled with goat cheese and served with grated fresh tomatoes and spicy zakuk with olive oil.  The dish had vivid colors and very rich in flavors.  Richness of ingredients makes it hard for one person to finish and ideally be shared with people.

Kreplach are the Israeli version of dumpling with filling of potato and meat.  But in this case, I tried the veg version that had pieces of goat cheese and thin pieces of stem.

The last of the main course, I tried the Mujaddara, that’s rice cooked with lentils and served with sautéed onions.

Desserts

After eating some amazing dishes, it was time for some amazing dessert.  This time I got to taste a completely different desert called Knafeh.

Kanafeh is a traditional Arab dessert that was made with thin noodle-like pastry, or alternatively fine semolina dough, soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with cheese.  It was also topped with some pistachio.  The taste of thin noodle with cheese was just amazing.  I am sure this pastry will become a favourite for anyone once they try it out.

Drinks

I tried one of the cocktails based on vodka and it tasted awesome. But the restaurant has a 16-page cocktail-menu listing out some of the most unique mixes.

Overall Thoughts

It was a great time visiting the restaurant over the dinner and I enjoyed the experience.  The ambiance looks great indoors and outdoors.  View of the city from the restaurant looks quite great during the day time and even better during nights.  The food served is typical Mediterranean that has its own unique flavours. It’s a great place to dine in with your loved ones, host private party, team-dinner with eminent leader from office or host a nice business dinner.

Currently the restaurant is open only during dinner.  I am sure that the demand will convince the management to open it up for lunch as well.

More Information

Address
The Den,
ITPL Main Road,
KIADB Export Promotion Industrial Area,
Whitefield, Bangalore

Contact #
080 71117234