The desire for having some interesting Vegetarians food lets me explore many new eateries in Bangalore. My search mostly ends up in some small eatery or our traditional darshini/small self-service restaurant. And most of the places only serve the standard South Indian dishes and select North Indian dishes. Recently, I visited Stegi – Modern Indian Kitchen that serves some of the best Vegetarian dishes. The Chefs are specially trained in modern molecular gastronomy techniques and they create some fantastic dishes. Let me share my experience of visiting this wonderful place.
Ambiance
The place was an amazing vibe right from its entrance. Unlike many restaurants, it’s located in a quiet homely neighborhood. So, there isn’t the typical sound from the neighboring places. There isn’t much traffic also on the outside. The entrance to the restaurant is very unique in comparison to others. They do have a beautiful indoor and outdoor section for enjoying the food. The restaurant management has taken necessary precautions to ensure the safety of guests. They do temperature checks and also have sanitizers at various places.
The seating arrangement is very cozy. Lighting and colorful decor energize anyone entering the place. I especially loved the outside section that lets one enjoyed natural air and has been designed well.
Food
This is definitely one of the highlights of this place according to me.
Drinks
Iced Tea (Peached)
The presentation of the drink is very unique. They add liquid nitrogen to make it look all smokey. A little bit of dry-ice is also added to keep the drink cool. It’s a fancy drink that I will definitely want to drink every time I visit Stegi.
Soup
Cream of Broccoli Soup, Tomato Soup
The broccoli soup was simply amazing as it was creamy and the broccoli flavor was coming very well. Tomato Soup was also good but was slightly on the spicier side.
Starters
Pani Puri, Papdi Chat, Vada Pav Chat, Paneer Tikka, Palak Papdi Chaat
Every starter has something unique about it that made them unique.
The Pani Pani had the masala put inside a puri but had the jal-jeera flavored water inside a sphere. The spherification is done with Sodium Alginate and Calcium Chloride that seals the outside, keeping its liquid in the center.
Papdi Chaat is also presented differently, as it has lumps of curds, spices on top of papdi. The taste was just amazing.
Vada Pav is one of the most common starters or evening chat. It is not the usual Vada Paav we eat outside as they don’t serve fried vada. Instead, a smoothie of the fried vada is made and served in a bowl along with mint chutney & tamarind paste. While consuming one needs to add all the items and it tastes just like any other vada pav.
The other starters like the Palak Papdi chaat and Paneer Tikka also tasted pretty good.
Rice Dishes
Spinach Rice, Mexican Rice
The Mexican rice tasted amazing as it had unique flavors coming from spices, tomatoes, olives, and other items. The dish is so irresistible that one will want to consume the entire portion. Spinach rice was slightly on the spicier side that did not allow the spinach flavor to reveal itself.
I truly enjoyed the soft Paneer along with nicely fluffed up Kulcha. The gravy used for making the dish was very good.
Mix Veg Subzi was also good and it went along well with Naan.
Desserts
Poota Futa Paan, Strawberry Sorbet
The paan dessert is one of the highlights at the restaurant and the Chef makes it live in front of guests. We can see the Chef using liquid Nitrogen, Bettle nuts, Gulkhand, and many other items while making it. The dessert tastes just like the paan that we get from local vendors.
They also have a strawberry flavored sorbet that slightly sweet but refreshing.
Overall Experience
It was a wonderful visit to a restaurant after a long time and experience having some amazing food. The place also a beautiful ambiance, various food options, and good service. All the aspects make it the best place to dine in with friends & family. The most enjoyed aspect was definitely the starters and dessert. I would love to visit this place multiple times in the future and relish good Indian food.