Cafe in the park :Radha Regent Hotel

Radha Regent, earlier known as Radha Park, has been around for ages. Now I'm not that great with directions but I do know that it is located on 100 foot road (apparently this is called Jawaharlal Nehru Salai); where exactly on this road, I have no idea.

Anyway, I've been to this particular place countless number of times. Conferences, meetings, parties, or dinners with family have brought me here more often than I care to remember.

Well it just so happened that I had the chance to visit their restaurant Cafe in the Park for Sunday brunch last week; and hence the review.

We had made an appointment and we were shown our table without any delay. I found out that their tables were booked out for the day so I would suggest you call in advance and make your reservation. The restaurant tables are conveniently arranged around the buffet table, so you don't need to walk too far to get yourself another serving! (Yes, these small things matter to me).

On the whole, the ambience was good. The two-person band hired that day played mostly country and instrumental music which would have been ideal if their volume was turned a little lower. The music completely overpowered the conversation, and in retrospect I feel I should have spoken up.

Service was good, plates were cleared up, cutlery replaced, glasses refilled without too much of a wait.

The Food:

Now this was a brunch buffet, so in my opinion what should really stand out is VARIETY. And on this front, Café in the Park, delivered well above the par. There were three varieties of fruit juices served at the salad bar which was adequately stocked. One particular salad which stood out consisted of shrimp seasoned minimally (but tastefully) and was an instant favorite. The salad dishes totaled around eight in number and were well put together (or so I was told). Being more of a main course person, I did not spend too much time at the salad bar.

The main course section of the buffet was again adequately served. Apart from the expected dishes (Biryani, Curd Rice), I found a good variety of both vegetarian and non vegetarian items. In total, there would have been around 6 – 8 non vegetarian items. I enjoyed the Chicken Kabab, the sausages and the Malabar Mutton Curry. I did not care too much for the Chicken Biryani. The vegetarian dishes consisted of two paneer items, and others which included mixed veggies in Alfredo sauce which looked (and tasted) good. I enjoyed the Paneer Tikka thoroughly; the softness of the paneer, laced with rough charcoaled edges, served with green peppers and tomatoes and that characteristic tikka masala. It was definitely something! There was a section on the side where a chef would make dosas, paniyarams etc, on request.

The dessert section too showed ample variety. Fresh fruits were served at one corner, ice cream at the other corner. There were three flavours of ice cream if I remember correctly. The rest of the desserts were a mix of both Indian as well as Western dishes, such as rasgullas, Peppermint Cheesecake, Caramel Custard and other pastries and soufflés. I was impressed with the variety of course, but the dish I was most looking forward to, the Peppermint Cheesecake, fell short of my expectations. It was more like a soufflé than a cheesecake. I do not understand how people continue to get this wrong!

Side note: In my opinion, the consistency and taste of a cheesecake must be compared to the Philly’s Cheesecake at Sandy’s Chocolate Lab as the benchmark.

The price of the buffet was Rs. 525 inclusive of taxes. This puts Café in the Park of Radha Regent in the same price range as Main Street at Residency Towers.

On the whole, the brunch was a good experience, (save a few shortcomings); something that I would definitely recommend!


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Nikhil's family restaurant

Located on 2nd avenue Annanagar, Nikhil's happens to be conveniently located and it was just a matter of time before we paid them a visit.


When my brother and I first stumbled upon this place a month or so ago, it reminded me a lot of the dhabas in Punjab from my college days.  Since our first visit we have made two more trips to this place.  

Ambience: The ambience isn't something to write home about. Like i said,it's more like a dhaba than anything else (bear in mind that it is not air conditioned).


Service: The service was good, very quick and efficient. In fact, they had us fill out a feedback form after the meal!


Things to try: When you visit Nikhil's you must try their 'Special Fried Chicken'. It's simply amazing! It consists of small pieces of deep fried chicken that's crunchy on the outside, and soft and juicy on the inside - really good stuff. We also tried the chicken 65 which was good. The paranthas are excellent. Typical north Indian style aloo and paneer paranthas are available. In fact, I'm pretty impressed with the Indian breads in this place. The curries are good but not something that would set this place apart. Biryani here is not very good. The best dish on the menu in my opinion is the 'Special Fried Chicken'. Also try their grilled chicken. 


Value for money: a meal for two will probably cost you around 250 to 350. 

I was pleasantly surprised with Nikhil's both in terms of food quality and value for money. The service was also good. The ambience was not too great but hey. it's meant to be a dhaba for a budget meal and it fulfils that role perfectly! I see my brother and I visiting this place a lot more often in the near future!


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