Bangalore restaurant reviews budget eating

Leanin' Tree Art Cafe

Monday, September 01, 2014Me! In words

Jayanagar, like most other places across Bangalore city seems to be sprouting new places to eat. This one is quite close to home. It has the most interesting name and that was reason enough to step in. This is a little cafe, that has a small ground floor seating with a small art studio for displays attached. There 4 tables upstairs. The entire terrace wraps around a tree, hence the name Leanin' Tree Art Cafe. 

First visit, we sat upstairs and Anoushka was quite thrilled about being up close and personal with a tree on the first floor of a restaurant. It took a good 15 minutes or so to get our menus. We asked for two starters, the names of which I forget, and an order for Anoushka, plus 2 mocktails. It took an additional 10 minutes for the staff to come back and tell us that there was no power and so more than half of the appetizers were knocked off the menu. We decided to drop appetizer there and move ahead to mains. Unfortunately, our mains took quite a while coming and that too just one at a time, with Anoushka's being the last to arrive. Quite ticked me off considering you would think its common sense to have the child's meal brought in first, especially when I mentioned so at the time of ordering. 

Anyways, all these irksome things aside, we did get our food. And here is what it was like. 

Classic Mojito - which really did not taste anything like a classic virgin mojito, but more like an overly sweet lime juice and nothing else. The Hot at Leanin' Tree - guava, tobasco, W'shire, salt and lime, red chili flakes was a valiant attempt at an interesting combination but the chilli flakes on the rim tend to burn your lips a bit not allowing you to take in the rest of the drink. 

Paradise - Mango, orange, litchi juice with strawberry crush - this is something we ordered on our second visit and was really nice and pleasant. I can definitely imagine settling down with a plate of fries and this drink in summer. Albeit mostly packaged juices put together, it was a pleasant mix. 

Nachos and Salsa - The second time round we were a bit lucky with the starters. After asking for potato skins, it took around 5 minutes for the staff to come back and say its "going to take a long time and so maybe we would like to order something else". Considering our earlier experience of slow service, we took his word and asked for nachos and salsa instead. Crisp nachos with more of your masala papad topping peppered with bits of rajma and a diced tomato-chilli bowl to mimic salsa. Decent munchies till the food came. 

Twice over, without realizing we ordered the same dish - Herb and Garlic Marinated grilled chicken with mash and veggies - pleasant white sauce with pepper, steamed veggies and some nice mash. Perfect for one person and nice, if you looking for reasonably good food of this nature that is not heavy on the wallet. 

Leanin Tree special burger - Again, great for one person. The burger patty is chicken seasoned with primarily Italian spices and then layered with the usual burger suspects. Could do with cutting down on the onion a bit. Reasonably decent for burger cravings. 

Spaghetti Bolognese - I love me a good spaghetti bolognese. This was fairly good - hot, generous chicken mince over nicely done pasta and garlic bread on the side. I liked this one.

Chicken with Chasseur Sauce Sizzler - if you are in the mood for sizzler, this one will please. Its got it all - meat, potatoes, mushroom sauce, roasted cabbage base (I love that in sizzlers) and veggies. 

Classic Fish and Chips with tartare sauce - For Anoushka this was perfect. Am guessing the fish is basa, but the coating was crisp, the fish moist and hot and the fries completing the package. All good!

Cafe Latte to round up one meal.

Leanin' Tree cafe is actually a nice hang out place if the service really really bucks up and moves quicker. Its the small things that matter, like handing you a menu in less than 5 minutes of arrival, serving a child on time, getting your food quick enough, handing you your bill in less than 15 minutes of asking (both times we walked down to pay our bill because we were tired of waiting). It does have some pleasant food and can be nice place to meet up with friends, but the slow service is a dampener. A meal for two does not cross the Rs 700 mark. 

Address: 23, Patalamma Street, Opp Pai Vista Convention Hall  Basavangudi, Bangalore 
Phone: 61344899
Cuisine: Continental 
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: street parking, may be tricky

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