Basil Bistro — Restaurant in Bengaluru

A classy bistro celebrating cuisines that worship Basil, Thai & Italian, is the talk of the town in HSR. On a recent visit I sampled a curated Italian feast that’s fit for, well a foodie who equally worships Italian & Thai cuisine.

What’s Italian dining without some wine, that too a delicious red wine sangria to kick start a beautiful evening of fine dining. The chopped fruits beautifully soaking & floating in a delicious glass of wine was complimented by the simplicity of the salad of capri & Washington apple salad. The salad of Capri was a classic Caprese salad with a twist of pesto tossed lettuce leaves and some juicy plump tomatoes & buffalo mozzarella. It was a perfect kickstarter to the evening that got more interesting course after course.

The Washington Apple salad was a perfectly made salad with an interesting berry dressing that made us call the chef and ask what it was.

For Antipasti we have a delicious array of dishes that did drifted away to a Mediterranean spanakopita, that had the most perfectly made phyllo pastry engulfing a cheese & spinach filling that makes any popoye jump in joy.

The chargrilled mushrooms & Babycorn was perfectly cooked & even perfectly seasoned deliciousness, that was simply superb.

The honey glazed spiced chicken & peri peri wings was so well made it just made me miss my mug of beer.

Almost brimming and grinning with spectacular food, we welcomed the cheesy pizza with so much guilt, we had to do justice to the amazing cheese pull and olive oil dripping flavourful chicken cubes on the Monza Chicken Mushroom pizza.

The pasta course provided us three delicious option, a vegetarian arabiatta penne, spaghetti bolognaise and the most delicious & creamy spinach & lamb ravioli. That was the moment of truth that this kitchen has a secret black hole that connects to the bologna region of Italy. My absolute hero was the lamb, in both the bolognaise and in the ravioli, beautiful textures, wonderfully seasoned, lamb mince. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, and generously tossed in the lamb heavy sauce. The ravioli however was just how it was supposed to be, perfect portions of lamb spinach mince inside a well cooked pasta. Though am a bin fan of ravioli simple tossed in herb butter, this creamy heavy sauce was delicious.

The arrabiata sauce was nice and tangy, not too sweet, well seasoned good well made penne, perfecto.

Someone in our table has ordered a risotto, and after a few spoons I was willing I trade my kidney for it, it has been such a long time I had such beautifully made risotto in India, leave along bangalore. That beautifully cooked, creamy arborio rice, that slight buttered garlic smoky sauce with exotic veggies, risotto heaven.

The Dessert Trilogy was sure impressive, though it was difficult to pick a winner, though we were not expected to, well pick a winner. I usually stay clear when someone says blueberry cheesecake, it’s usually dry, hard baked and salty with some store bought blueberry crush lump on top, not here @ Basil Bistro. It’s a marvel that the creamy gooey cheesecake held it’s shape, it was absolutely fabulous and am confessing that I would brace myself to HSR everyday, just to satisfy my cheesecake cravings here.

The churros, though Mexican features here was a beautifully fried with a hollow Center, and an amazing cinnamon dust, even more irresistible with the almost hot chocolate sauce, better than what you get in my favourite Mexican restaurant.

I had high expectations on the tiramisu, which lacked the classic ladies finger biscuits, and replaced it with cake, and could have been a bit more stronger on the espresso.

If you see my 5 star reviews, I would have called out specific dishes, because of which a restaurant would deserve it, but in a long time an giving 5 star to this place for an entire cuisine. Try their Italian fare and you would be transported to Italy throughout the meal. Meanwhile am planing my next visit to try their...

I’ve been in few restaurants for dates and casual lunch with friends, but this place is just off the charts. Superb ambience, with lovely music, and the occasional live music, might just get you the second date that you want to. :-p

Starting with the starters, I had things that were cheesy, to that were meaty.

Spanakopita: A mini samosa filled with cheese and corn. Every bite of it is filled with so much cheese, that will just melt in your mouth. You should try it with the sauce that they serve it with, it is not just for plating, it’s worth the try.

Rosemary Chicken with olive chutney: Soft and juicy chicken, marinated with the masala which has rosemary in it. The dish is super tasty, and the chutney served with it not only is spicy but with the tanginess with olives. A dish worth trying.

Fish souvlaki: It is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of fish and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. Do try it; you are in for a surprise, with a mouthful of flavours.

Spicy chicken filets with spicy tangy sauce: Soft, and juicy, with a tangy sauce, tangier than the olive chutney, but a great dish to cherish. You might like the chicken juicier than how they serve this dish but trust me it is worth trying; you might order it for another round.

Being an Italian and continental restaurant, it’s just not right, not ordering pizza. We ordered:

Basil zucchini pizza: Pizza filled with cheese, Zucchini, and basil, and all the flavours just building in your mouth, you will order this dish more and more.

Chicken artichoke sundried tomato pizza: If you have read it till here, you already know the dishes I’ve tried till now is tangy, well this is again the same; tangy chicken, on pizza filled with cheese is just the dish you will try again and again ;-p

Pizza is not the only continental dish here; spaghetti and Puree sauces are tastier than they sound.

Bolognaise: You might have heard spaghetti and meatballs, in movies, well I won’t say this dish has meatballs, but the sauce, lamb meat and spaghetti. Bolognese is a slowly cooked sauce, and its preparation involves several techniques, including sweating, sautéing and braising.

Chicken Hyderabadi Biryani: This is a recent addition to the menu, because of a lot of suggestion from the customers; and the dish is justice. Taste, flavours, aroma, chicken, dum, everything is just perfect.

Grilled Fish with Broccoli Purée: Almost everyone I know hates Broccoli, except those who are health conscious, but this dish will everyone to change their mind and taste of Broccoli. Grilled fish, rice and Broccoli puree, a great dish for a perfect evening.

It is a continental restaurant, the dinner/lunch/brunch is incomplete without a drink. This place is a wine restaurant, most of the cocktails prepared are wine based, so few of the drinks that you’ll see ahead are the classic wine-based cocktails

Red wine sangria and Cosmopolitan: these are the classic wine-based cocktails, and the bar tender did a very great job. Iced tea sangria: This was a great twist in the evening, Iced-tea with wine, is a great drink that goes with the almost every mentioned above.

All in all a great place to spend an evening with great taste...

A cosy space, dim lights, heartwarming ambience and you are having your favourite person in front of you to treat the best and make the one feel special. If this is something which matches your thoughts for upcoming Friday then I have a place for you to go & that's Basil Bistro at HSR.

As for ambience, the place is pretty much comfy and happening with seating arrangements hosting for 2 to 6 easily without any hustle. The staff and service are also tremendous, they make you feel special with their courtesy and prompt service.

In terms of food items, I have tried out on the Vegetarian side of their special Valentine menu. Starting with Minestrone Soup, which has got the base ingredient as tomato along with herbs and spices making it tangy and tasteful served with croutons and another one was Cream of Brocolli Almonds, going with the name itself the soup was creamy and mild which I liked here.

Then I have tried out the starters naming Hummus with Pita, which has the properly doughed Hummus prepared at the right environment being quite soft and the Pita was quite tasty as well. The other one, which got my heart here is Spanakopita, a triangle-shaped dish with crispy covering and mix of spinach, cottage cheese and onion stuffing in it served along with sour cream. I truly recommend this starter dish to try here.

Moving to the main course, I have got Paneer Makhani Pizza - Soft-base pizza with the right set of veggies and spices, Primavera Pasta - a white-sauce pasta, Exotic Vegetable Risotto - the aptly-proportioned mix of cheese and rice with exotic veggies in it, and my favourite among all, Spinach Corn Lasagne - it is the best lasagne I have eaten so far.

Coming to the loveliest part, the desserts. I have gotten Tiramisu which now I believe that it is always the delicious one whenever wherever you taste this beauty. Next, we have got Cheesecake with blueberry syrup which was quite delicious. But the one which truly gonna make your Valentine goes hmmm is the Valentine Special Dessert which has got a warm soft chocolate brownie cake with a topping of sweet cream spread on top of it with caramel-dipped popsicles along with it making it look such pretty that your heart won't allow you to even touch it but you must fight and taste the love here.

So, speaking of all, Basil Bistro is the place for you to have some special time on V-day with this special menu here especially for you only. And, to make a note, a special surprise has been planned with the candlelight dinner on Valentine Day, so book your table right away and make the one feel like a...