I was at the Indian art cafe in Inorbit mall, Hyderabad for a quick lunch and boy was I charmed. First impressions are of a tastefully done up space that is not overly cluttered with South Indian trimmings and trinkets, the bistro uses all the space it has beautifully – tastefully done and taking full advantage of the views. Overlooking the Durgam Cheruvu lake, the bistro is located in the quieter recess of the mall ensuring a relatively non intrusive and private space.

As most south Indian restaurants go the menu is fairly compact and yet does not disappoint. The simple menu makes up for the range of items on offer – a tempting and unexpected selection with variations ranging from the classic idly and dosas to Dravidian baked risottos and Swiss appams.  A further glimpse of the menu can be caught here.

On my visit here I ordered a little cautiously and with the intention to compare. For starters I ordered the Mirapakaya Ulli Garelu (Onion and Chili fritters) and for main course it was the sponge dosa and the ‘Spinach and Young Potato Dosa’.

As the food was brought in, one thing was clear the Bistro was making a conscious attempt to steer clear from everything overtly south Indian – no traditional copper/bronze cutlery here.  The presentation was extremely refreshing and while the food screamed south Indian the presentation hinted fine dining. The presentation immediately reminded me of the ‘Twist of Taste’ series that airs on Fox History and traveler and the one particular episode where chef Vineet Bhatia cooked up some uttapam lasagna (You can see the episodes of this series here).

So the Indian Art cafe knows presentation and aesthetic, but that’s not all  - the Kitchen can cook some amazing food too .

The Mirapakaya Ulli Garelu were stellar, the batter was roughly ground with a liberal doze of spice and chilli and was cooked to perfection, this was served with the three classic chutneys of spicy ginger, garlic and coconut. One bite and I was smitten .

The sponge dosa for lack of any other appropriate description was ‘mind blasting’ to say the least. This kick ass dosa is light, fluffy and so delicately flavoured that I could have happily returned for dinner and had the same dish all over again.  (I took this to compare it with the famed Chutney’s Steam dosa, and boy oh boy is the sponge dosa a force to reckon )

The ‘Spinach and Young Potato Dosa’  was presented in  bite size pieces . This dosa too had a flavour so close to home made dosa that I had to return for more.

The only disappointment was the Sambar - insipid, watery and lacking vegetables, this accompaniment definitely lacked the punch and vibrancy that the dish could otherwise bring. It reminded me of my childhood days spend eating the food served in the Army mess, where on certain days South Indian was on the menu and the cooks would bring in their interpretation of Sambar .. watery, flavourless salty and sour fluid.

My experience here was surreal, it was beautiful to see all the south Indian ‘tiffins’ served with focus on presentation, ambiance and flavour. I cannot wait for my next visit here where I would love to try the risottos and fondue fusion items.

South Indian cuisine is beautiful and delicious and it is about time it gets to be seen as fine dining material,  and Indian Art Café seems to be heading in the right direction.

I would highly recommend this restaurant for its definite strength’s – amazingly delicious south Indian fare, contemporary ambiance, waiters with fine dining training, fusion food and refreshing presentation.

Overall rating: 4 stars
Food: 3 1/2 stars
Service: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Prices: Reasonably priced (The one starter and two main dishes cost me 300 rupees)
Noise rating: For a bistro set in a mall, Indian Art Cafe is surprisingly quite, no problems holding a conversation here.

A slide show of some of the items we tried and the bistro itself can be seen here.

(Check back again for a follow-up update)

My romance with Water Front began in 2007 when the restaurant had newly opened.Back then the decor was brilliant with the glass walls offering a great view, as we were served what could only be called phenomenal food. Adding further to the charm of this earthy toned restaurant was a live band (perched on wall) dolling out renditions of popular songs even as a larger than life aquarium formed the perfect backdrop to the bar. There were tastefully done partitions that offered each table a definate privacy.

I still remember how utterly delighted I was to visit this restaurant the first time around – the views, the ambiance, the music and the food screamed spectacular (so much so that the uber slow service was overlooked and forgiven). On my first visit we had tried vegetarian gold coins, a delicious salt and pepper prawn starter, various mock tails, biryani and dessert. In fact the initial impression was so great that despite the slow service and the exorbitant prices, I knew I would come back to this restaurant time and again.

Ever since that first visit in 2007, I have re-visited this restaurant 4 more times – the experience souring with each visit.

My most recent visit (and perhaps the final) visit to Water Front was yesterday – the city was shrouded in fog and it was a particularly beautiful day to be around the Hussain Sagar lake. The lake was filled to capacity and the fog seemed to merge the skies with the water, none of the manmade structures lining the lake were visible and an illusion of an endless horizon was a rare sight indeed.

But the charm of the restaurant was missing; the decor was lackluster with all the beautiful earthy elements taken away and the space reduced to a vast hall with plenty of tables. Usually a crowded restaurant where a reservation is needed to get the good ‘water-front’ seats we walked into an almost empty restaurant. Further, in stark contrast to my previous visits the wait staff was overtly attentive and seemed oblivious to give the few customers any privacy. The decor was uninspiring and the beautiful aquarium taken away and above all the food also failed to be the saving grace.

For drinks we ordered the Shanghai peach cocktail and the ginger and rock coke cocktail. This was followed by a Paneer Soya Chili starter ( our first choice of a broccoli starter was unavailable- but somehow magically broccoli was present in abundance in our main course). For main course we tried Thai flat noodles and a mixed vegetarian and soya side dish (cannot remember the exact names). Not only did these dishes fail to excite, the Thai course disappointed as it lacked the signature mix of clashing textures and flavours that I so love about this cuisine.

But the stellar failure was yet to come in the form of ‘Chocolate Heaven’ – the menu had us believing that this would a indulgence of passion fruit, chocolate and all things exotic but what was brought tasted more like a day old chocolate cake with a very negligible hint of fruit. This hard and stale dessert was neither smooth and silky or wonderfully gooey.

Yesterdays visit (and the ones prior) have been a testimony to the almost constant disappointment that Water Front  now seems to be -truly a shame as I had always considered this restaurant a must visit every so often (despite its flaws).

Although the waterfront still does boast one of the finest views from any of the Hyderabad- Secunderabad restaurants, I will most likely not bother with another visit.

In what was once one of the most romantic and a beautiful restaurant’s the cons far outweigh the pros. Water Front seems to fail in keeping up with its original glory squandering away all the potential and possibility it holds.

Lunch here was by chance, but boy am I glad we went. This restaurant from the Speciality group, kept scoring with its great food courses and service.

For cocktails, we tried the Hawaiian Iced tea and Sangria both well made, this was followed by the in-house recommendation of paneer rawalpindi starter which was spicy and very well done (although I would have loved if they had a little more salad to cut the spice). For the main course we tried multani paratha and tawa veg ..both phenomenal , the tawa veg used European veggies like cherry tomatoes, radish, zucchini (definitely a gamble that paid off ). For dessert we stuck to safer options of gulab jamun and makkhan icecream - nothing extraordinary, but no complaints either.

Although this time I stuck to trying out the vegetarian offerings, I have all the reason to believe that their non-vegetarian dishes would be good too.

A definite recommendation for Indian food.

Book : Isn’t it obvious by Eliyahu Goldratt

Classic Goldratt, concepts of retail inventory and supply chain based on holding high inventory are challenged in a narration involving a ‘real’ life situation. Although, the logic may not come as an eye opener for people familiar with TOC or even basic operations. The narrative does provide a ease of understanding to new readers of the concepts. A definite suggested read if you like the previous books or are just beginning to understand ‘operations’.

Sales : Samsonite Black label sale, Hyderabad

Some amazing discounts on great pieces. Sales on till 14th Feb 2010.