Masaledaar Desi Rasoi - Jayanagar — Restaurant in Bengaluru

Ambience:

The interiors and ambience are very aesthetic and beautifully done. The cultural theme of the restaurant and the food blend seamlessly. The seating is comfortable. When there are more than 10 people and the tables need to be joined, ingress and egress to and from the seat is a little difficult as the space is a little tight. The restaurant does not take reservations and hence seating is on first come first serve basis. There are a lot of sizzlers in the menu but the ventilation/ exhaust fans are lacking and the place can get hazy and smoky. I am hoping that the building is compliant with fire safety norms. Overall space is small and the restaurant can get fully packed and people have to wait. There is a small hand wash / toilet area which got full and people had to wait outside for a long time to even wash their hands.

Food

Variety and creativity : 4.5/5 Taste and quantity: 4/5 Presentation: 5/5 Excellent.

Service

Speed of service was very good and excellent work by the serving staff. Adequate time to eat as well.

Service by the waiters needs to improve a lot. Dishes were delivered to the table but none of the waiters actually served us until we asked them to serve.

When we asked for finger bowls, the waiter simply asked us to use the wash room which was already over crowded and too small. We assumed that the restaurant did not provide finger bowls but saw them on the waiter's stand when we went to the washroom.

The waiters were not sure whether to give welcome drinks to all or select only a few groups of customers and give. They decided to not give our group the rose, basil flavoured welcome drink. We then saw that pink shot glasses on all tables and asked the waitress what that was so that we could order. She then shyly admitted that it was the welcome drink. Finally we all got it after asking.

Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and the food was decent too. I would give an overall...

Masaledaar, but No Masala: A Disappointing Experience

My family and I visited this North Indian and Chinese vegetarian restaurant after seeing its 4.3-star rating on Google. However, our experience did not live up to the hype, as the food turned out to be disappointingly bland.

The Food: We started with Broccoli Cream Soup, which tasted like cornflour water no salt, no spice, and utterly bland. Next, we ordered Gobi 65, only to find it soggy and flavorless, with the cauliflower barely noticeable amidst the doughy coating. Upon complaining, the staff reheated the dish and added chaat masala and pepper, but this did little to salvage it. They did replace the soup with Hot and Sour Soup, which was decent.

Our next dish, a potato-based starter, was finally somewhat enjoyable, with a reasonable balance of spices. Hoping for redemption, we ordered Aloo Paratha and Mixed Veg Paratha, requesting them to be spicier and saltier than the earlier dishes. These were the best items of the meal, but that’s not saying much given our overall disappointment.

The Service: Another concerning aspect was the speed at which the food arrived. Most dishes were served within 5 minutes of ordering, which made it obvious that everything had already been pre-prepared. This might explain the lack of freshness and flavor in the dishes. While we appreciated the effort to replace our soup and the complimentary ice cream, these gestures couldn’t make up for the underwhelming meal.

The Price: For the quality and taste, the dishes were overpriced. High prices demand flavorful and well prepared food, which this restaurant failed to deliver.

Final Thoughts: This place might suit someone who prefers extremely bland food perhaps for health reasons but it’s not for those looking for the rich, flavorful experience North Indian and Chinese cuisines...

We visited this restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. It wasn't crowded but was starting to get filled with time. We took a corner seating. It's a pure vegetarian restaurant. While they specialise in Punjabi cuisine, they have a desi menu as well as an oriental one. We had the following dishes: Palak soup - it was mild in flavour yet very tasty, topped with cream; Broccoli Soup - was mildly sweet with cream topped up; Chongqing Style Baby Corn - it was mildly sweet, well balanced the sauces and spices; Schezwan Cheese Paneer Tikka - cheese topped on schezwan marinated paneer; Chilli Paneer Sizzler - contains choice of rice or noodles, sauted veggies, dry and gravy chilli paneer served separately; Punjabi Kofta - kofta balls made of veggies and paneer and cooked in tomato gravy, along with Plain roti and plain phulka; Aloo Paratha - buttered and served with raitha and pickle. For beverages, we had pomegranate ginger spritzer, Mango Virgin Mojito and Fire & Ice Mojito. The Schezwan Cheese Paneer Tikka was a bit let down as it was a bit bland in taste for it being Schezwan flavoured. However, rest of the dishes were really good in taste. The flavours were well balanced and a treat for the taste buds. They would serve onion salad with lemon and mint chutney. Jain options ada available. Though the prices are on the higher side, the quantity was really good and worth the price. The ambience is also good. We were served by Pohar and crew, and they were very helpful in suggesting dishes as well as answering our queries. He would constantly check on us and also obliged to reduce the quantity of breads much after the order was placed. There is a lift and valet parking available. Washroom is well maintained. Overall a good place to try...