Its always nice to win something - and if you win something that two people can enjoy, then all the better. I recently won a lunch voucher for two at Fava for an answer I gave in a contest conducted by Food Lover's magazine on their FB page. A good reason to pull up Fava on my list of places to visit. So one working day afternoon, Sudhakar and I planned to meet there for lunch with little one in tow. We made it our rare dates in the middle of the week event. The coupon is to be presented before you order, which I did. I must say I found the service to be quite courteous. You don't necessarily see that when you walk into places with a coupon in hand... its strange, though I think its true. Little one was offered a cushion which she declined and got into her coloring. I asked for the non-alcoholic menu - had to go back to work and settled for an orange based drink... not sure what it was... but I know I thoroughly enjoyed it on that sultry afternoon.
The name of the drink I forget
Anoushka is still in her squid rings mode and that is what we ordered for her. As usual, she took her time with the thin and crunchy coating, while we snuck a few bites with the aioli served. Very nice, non-greasy and a good appetizer.
The crumb fried squid
Our coupon entitled us to a two course meal each and we got down to ordering. For starters, I opted for the
chicken, sundried tomatoes, basil involtini with goat cheese. Sudhakar opted for the Egyptian dukkah rub grilled cottage cheese and leek skewers. Once thing we did not anticipate is the portion of the course. You would think that they would be portioned for one considering this is a prix fixe menu. Turns out that one appetizer is good for two. The portions were large. I liked mine a lot - generally boneless chicken tends to taste very fibrous and dry. These were grilled with the juices intact and the cheese and sundried tomatoes made perfect partners to the dish. The light salad on the side made a good accompaniment.
When I am with Sudhakar I generally have this thing of always loving what he has ordered. Even if he orders for me, it always turns out that his choice for himself is better. This time too, despite it being a vegetarian dish I still liked his better. It had the spicy hit, the softness of cottage cheese, the salad, all of it... If I were to go back, I would pick this off the menu.
Chicken, Sun-dried tomatoes, basil involtini with goat cheese
A portion of pita bread was served with the starters. Little one hijacked this
Egyptian dukkah rub grilled cottage cheese and leek skewers
And then we moved onto the main courses - Sudhakar chose the grilled white basa with chermoula rub, creamy spinach, baby potatoes and tapenade. The basa is a basa and it will take on anything that you put on it. Its up to you to make that something on it taste brilliant and it did on all counts in this dish. The creamy spinach was a highlight. A satisfying treat on a working day. Where there is risotto on the menu, there it will be on my table - crabmeat, coriander and chilli risotto it was. I was surprised to see a wedge of lime on it - not sure it was decorative or meant to be squeezed in. But I did on a small portion anyways and though I love lemon, I preferred the risotto without it. The crabmeat was present and you did not have to look for it. The risotto was creamy, al dente and did not get boring as such dishes tend to get.
Grilled white basa with chermoula rub, creamy spinach, baby potatoes and tapenade
Crabmeat, coriander and chilli risotto
Though dessert was not part of the offer, we needed one to actually complete the great meal and chose the prune and vanilla creme brulee. The crust cracked just like Masterchef tells us it should. Though the vanilla part of the dessert was nice, it was the prunes, which form the base of this dessert that stole the show. A lovely dessert. Worth ordering one of each.
Prune and vanilla creme brulee
We thoroughly enjoyed this meal. The service is attentive but the food is a little slow in arriving. Would be good on a weekend, but considering these prix fixes are targeted at the working crowd, the time factor could be improved on a bit. The loo is clean. When we received the bill we were surprised to see that the dessert was not charged for - we asked about it and were told that it was on the house. I hear Fava does that pretty often. The coupon was worth Rs 1100 and we paid an additional Rs 800 or so for the squid and 2 drinks.
Address: 203, 2nd floor UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore
Phone: 22117444
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Accepts Cards: Yes
Accepts Cards: Yes
Parking: Mall Parking
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