Bangalore restaurant reviews French

Cafe Noir

Tuesday, June 15, 2010Me! In words

The restaurants at UB City never really caught our fancy, simply because we thought that it would be too expensive. Thanks to the Bangalore's Restaurants site, we make it a regular habit to eat out and have to watch the finances involved as well. So when I read Karthik Shetty's review of Cafe Noir on Gastronomicalgspot, I was surprised that restaurants like Cafe Noir fit into our monthly scheme of things. And so we headed there one Sunday afternoon. 

The Cafe was nice and breezy. The walk in water fountain set close by kept spraying us occasionally thanks to the breeze, but this too was pleasant for me. Perhaps I am missing the sunsets on Mangalore beaches a bit too much. The view was pretty nice. The metal chairs and tables with umbrella shades too were great.

The view from my table

Now for the food. The menu had me drooling and wishing I could have one of everything. So we started off with something to cool off. A Green Apple Fizz Froz for Sudhakar and a Peach Bellini for me. Both the drinks were visual treats, with the Green Apple looking brilliant against the clear bubbly. It tasted real nice. The Peach Bellini I ordered simply because it brought to mind the Bellini at The Highland Nectar. Of course that was sparkling wine and this was Cranberry juice, peach puree, sparkling bubbly and hint of Angostura bitter. 

Green Apple Froz (Above), Peach Bellini (Below)


We then settled on the Parisian Salad, which was a mix of ham, boiled egg, cheddar, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and drizzled off with olive oil. One look at it below and you can see that it was loaded with all the of the ingredients mentioned and a whole lot of cheddar in particular. It tasted great, freshly tossed and light. Another roll of ham would have made my cup of happiness overflow though. 

The Parisian Salad

Now for main courses. I had decided on the Orsay with Panini bread at home. And that is what I ordered. What came was layers of smoked salmon, cream cheese, garlic, black pepper, lemon, herbs, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Pretty wholesome don't you think. And it was good, right down to the last crunchy bite of the panini. 

Orsay with Panini bread as served and (below) a look at the filling


Sudhakar had the Croque Monsieur. This was a prepared roasted sandwich filled with cooked ham, nutmeg, cucumbers, tomatoes, pepper and cheddar. The top had a wonderful creamy layer of white cheese sauce. The minute I saw it, I wished I had ordered it. Each bite conjured up Jerry-like dreams of being in cheese heaven. A really heavy and satisfying sandwich this...

Croque Monsieur

For Anoushka we ordered the Fish n Chips. This was a pleasant enough dish. Nothing much to talk about. Of course, she ate the chips and left the fish to us. She had found a partner in crime and was busy discovering new places around Cafe Noir to jump off or climb onto. 

Fish N Chips

And now, for dessert... Cafe Noir prides itself on its pastry/bakery chef or the Compagnon du Devoir, Bruno who makes each and every  baguette, quiche, croissant, and fine pastry as many as  2 or 3 times a day.  The pastry counter will leave you stumped for a while. You can see why from the photos below. 

The pastry and breads on display


For dessert we decided to have a Chocolate Eclair and a Mango Tier. Suffice to say that we would consider raiding the place after hours to get hold of any pastry that we could. The Chocolate Eclair had a thick chocolate sauce on top of a soft roll filled with chocolate cream atop a biscuit lined with chocolate. The Mango Tier was soft moist cake, layered with Mango, finished off with a mango topping and freshly cut fruit. 

Chocolate Eclair

Mango Tier

Cafe Noir has a nice setting. It is breezy and pleasant. Thierry, the French owner of  the Cafe Noir met with us for a while and told us of plans to introduce wines and have a menu that is a typical sit-down wine-paired French dinner. Will certainly look forward to that. The place has great space for kids to run around. Facilities are common for all restaurants and are clean. This meal came to roughly Rs 1100.

Address: Unit No 206, The Collection, UB City, No. 24, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore - 560001
Phone: 40982050
Cuisine: French
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Parking lot

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