Lavonne Café — Restaurant in Bengaluru

Finally, after hearing much about the cakes and the place, we found ourselves at Lavonne on a Saturday afternoon, the kinds in Bangalore where spring decides to bless you with the most beautiful experience of walking on the street.

Getting there, the experience was made better when we sat in the open area, which is blocked from the street by plants on all sides, another welcome sight. Now my partner had been there before and had quite loved the experience, so obviously I knew this place has something, cz obviously she's never wrong.

And so on her recommendation, I ordered a pasta, Puttanesca, if I'm putting that right, which was basically Spaghetti loaded with olives, capers, cherry tomatoes and very generous amounts of basil tomato sauce. We also got a Veg Quiche and a Pesto Roll from their baked items on display, and I ordered a Vanilla Frappe and she got herself a Fresh Lime Soda.

The baked stuff tasted fresh and yummy, especially the Pesto Roll, for the softness of the bread. The Quiche wasn't a standout, but it wasn't bad, just a bit too peppery for my taste. The fresh Lime Soda was really refreshing and well balanced. The Vanilla Frappe was amazing - the right balance of Vanilla, sugar and coffee in my opinion - the force was strong with this one.

And finally the pasta. In that moment, at that time, that pasta was the perfect dish I needed. With the right amount of sauce, the right amount of olives(more than extra that is, cz obviously it's not like I counted), and fresh cherry tomatoes to give that fresh relief from the sauce, it was perfect. And most importantly for me, the pasta was cooked to perfection. Some places will cool it to slight gluggyness, but this my friend, is not that place. So needless to say I loved the pasta. If I really had to nitpick, I would say it was just a tad heavy on the oil. Just a tad, doesn't even matter.

The staff was courteous and fast, the setting was really nice(sitting in the open space was a good idea) and food was really good and cooked well.

Oh and just btw, the cakes are decadent. I got one for my birthday, which for reasons I shall keep to myself, I only ate 2 days after my birthday. And it was brilliant.

Must try place. I'm going back for the...

It is almost a tradition for me that I go for an indulgent breakfast for my Birthday mornings, and indulgent breakfast for me means just one thing, Eggs Benedict. I fancy this poached egg fantasy every once in a while, but Birthday Breakfasts are always special, especially when wifey decided to join me this time so the place has to be special. My pick was Lavonne Cafe in Indiranagar.

I have been a regular visitor and a fan of their coffee and eclairs since their humble beginnings in the adjacent lane.

What made me pick this specific space and outlet this year was their French Benedict, something that I haven't experienced ever, in India or outside. So after a 30 minute wait on a Sunday morning without a booking, we got seated in the airy outdoors, on a cute table for two with a marble top. First things first, I ordered my coffee and pre-booked the French Benedict. Then me and wifey took a gentle stroll and browsed the offerings on display and picked a Chicken Calzone and a for wifey

Now that they have partnered with Maverick & Farmer coffee , their coffee game is definitely up. At least that is what I experienced with that strong macchiato that I loved and the Vietnamese cold coffee that wifey indulged.

The French Benedict is nothing but a choux pastry ring stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, cheese, with a poached egg slid into the center, topped with hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with bacon bits. It was as indulgent as it could be, everything about this benedict was perfect and delicious and I am definitely coming back for more. If I had to nitpick, the bacon bits could have been a little more crispier.

The creamy chicken and flozz calzone was just right, a perfect non-heavy wonder breakfast snack.

It definitely got heavy and we had to pack the Classic Pineapple and Coconut entremet as a takeaway, that we tucked in post dinner that day as dessert.

The interiors are classy the menu is wide, and with freshly baked goods coming out of the kitchen, the menu literally triples with what is on display...

On a Sunday morning, Lavonne was just rubbing its eyes into wakefulness. Sunlight streamed through the plants along the windows and cast a lovely dappled effect on the tables. And the crowds had not yet arrived.

As a group, we were ravenous. And each one had a different order. From the Lavonne full breakfast to the masala omelette, Insalata Capresi to Avocado Toast with poached eggs, the Lavonne signature omelette to Parsi inspired tofu scramble. Washed down with rose orchard, watermelon juice, orange juice and Vietnamese iced coffee.

While the conversation flowed around how this was so different from the South Indian breakfast we were so used to, the parade began.

The Parsi inspired tofu was definitely the most visually striking dish. The finely cut and fried onions added the right notes of slight crunchiness and mixed beautifully with the scrambled tofu.

The presentation of all the dishes was top notch. And the Insalate Capresi with the big globe of cheese that oozed over the croissant was a delight to see. The sourdough foundation and the cherry tomato was amazing but to an Indian palate used to a profusion of flavours, this was a little tame.

As breakfast, we're probably partial to the familiar South Indian dishes. These are tastes that we didn't know until we were adults. So the first time we did, it was more about showing off. Even if we didn't exactly enjoy it as much as we pretended.

Over time, we've probably got to know more about the dishes and learned to enjoy them after being educated.

There's no doubt that they're far ahead in terms of plating and presentation. Indian dishes are more about full-bodied flavours than visual extravagance.

Then, there's the lovely atmosphere. Bangalore has the weather to match and the experience was another one to pack away - about leisurely Sundays and...