Restaurant Chef Pillai Brigade Road — Restaurant in Bengaluru

Restaurant detailed Review: Chef Pillai – Kerala Cuisine with a Modern Twist

Chef Pillai is a name that often comes up when discussing modern takes on authentic Kerala cuisine. With high expectations, we decided to try this restaurant on a Saturday afternoon.

Ambiance & Service:

The ambiance is posh and welcoming, offering both AC and non-AC seating areas. The seating is comfortable and spacious, making it a good choice for family gatherings or casual meet-ups. We arrived around 1:00 PM, and the place was relatively quiet, but by 2:00 PM, it became bustling. Reservations are a must for a weekend lunch. The staff deserves a special mention for their courteous and attentive service, always ensuring diners' needs are met.

The Food:

The restaurant offers a wide range of traditional Kerala dishes with a contemporary twist. Here's a breakdown of the dishes we tried, categorized by their highlights and disappointments:

Must-Try Dishes:

Chakka Mangha (Beverage): A rich, sweet blend of jackfruit and mango. It’s refreshing but quite heavy, more like a dessert drink.

Pachamanga Spiced (Beverage): A tangy, spicy raw mango drink that balances flavor perfectly.

Meen Thenga Porippu (Starter): A standout dish! Fish coated in crispy coconut crumbs with a spicy, tangy flavor profile.

Pazhampori Chaat (Starter): An innovative twist on Kerala’s classic banana fritters, combining fried banana, tangy yogurt, and crispy banana chips for a delightful mix of textures and flavors.

Pothu Dry Fry (Starter): A beef starter cooked with fried coconut and spices, delivering authentic Kerala flavors.

Malabar Nool Porotta with Fish Nirvana (Main Course): A heavenly combination. The flaky porotta paired with the creamy, coconut-infused Fish Nirvana gravy is reminiscent of Thai Red Curry but uniquely Kerala in essence.

Dishes That Missed the Mark

Quilon Fried Chicken: A major letdown. It lacked flavor, salt, and freshness, feeling like an afterthought on the menu.

Paneer Kondattam: Overly sweet and resembling a ketchup-laden paneer Manchurian.

Chicken Chintamani: While the spice mix was promising, the chicken itself wasn’t fresh, detracting from the dish.

Vegetable Stew: Bland and uninspiring, especially when paired with the nool porotta.

Beverages & Desserts

The beverages had mixed results—while some were refreshing, others were underwhelming. The Uniappam Falooda was unique but overly sweet. Desserts like Palada Cheesecake are worth a try for their novelty.

Final Verdict

Chef Pillai offers a mixed bag. While some dishes like the Fish Nirvana and Pazhampori Chaat are exceptional, others fail to meet expectations, especially given the reputation and hype. Pricing is relatively lower than similar upscale Kerala cuisine restaurants, which adds value.

Pros:

Great ambiance and seating options

Courteous staff

Innovative takes on traditional Kerala cuisine

Cons:

Inconsistency in food quality

A few disappointing dishes

Rating: 3/5 Chef Pillai is worth a visit for its signature dishes and ambiance, but it might not fully satisfy those expecting flawless execution across the menu. Perfect for an occasional fancy Kerala meal experience.

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Onasadya 2024: visited here with family for onasadya 2024. extremely disappointing experience. we left feeling so scattered and like we hadn’t eaten at all.

food was not so good, but what really shaped the experience was that the management was terrible. anyone knows that serving a leaf meal is very different from serving a la carte. a lot of planning and management goes into serving a leaf meal in an organised manner-ensuring all the dishes are served and nothing is missed, ensuring the food is all warm or hot while serving, keeping track of which items have gone out and which ones need to go next etc.- it needs a very different kind of management system compared to serving a la carte. it seemed like the managerial staff had not thought of this and the entire experience was so chaotic.

a lot of the serving staff wanted to be helpful but there was no management- they were extremely disorganised and unprepared for serving sadya. there was nobody on the floor keeping an eye and coordinating which items have gone out, guiding the waiters about which items need to go next/in accompaniment etc. so that led to the majority of the issues- for example, we would be served rice but nobody would bring any parippu/sambar etc to go with it and we had to ask multiple times to be served even for the first time, let alone seconds. certain seconds we asked for never came or would come very late after asking multiple times. some items weren’t served to us at all till we finished the meal and realised. the star of any sadya meal- the avial was only served almost at the end of the meal after asking multiple times! none of the waiters seemed to know what has already been served and what needs to be served next. everything was very haphazard without any sequence.

regarding food the flavours weren’t quite there. none of the food was hot. a couple of items with dairy like paalada and pachadi were spoiled!- seemed like it was prepared in the morning (understandable to meet such a demand) but left outside without heating/boiling through the day to ensure it doesn’t go bad.

there was no manager around to speak to and when we spoke to someone who seemed to be managing the billing he got extremely defensive and was not receptive to any feedback. the staff seemed very stressed and ill equipped to manage the situation. it is not the waiters or servers’ fault as they all were trying to be helpful but they themselves we so confused as there was no manager around and no prior planning, management or structure for them to follow.

we often have kerala leaf meals and i brought my family here to enjoy together but this is easily the worst leaf meal experience we’ve had. that too on festival day when you expect to enjoy a good meal, at a restaurant that is supposed to be of good repute.

we should’ve saved ourselves the trouble and gone to a good kerala mess instead like we usually do, which may not have the frills of a fancy restaurant like this but will serve you excellent food in an efficient and organised manner at a quarter of the cost, leaving you very content!

i wish i could get my money back, such a bad experience, avoiding this restaurant...

I used to follow Mr.suresh in social media actively on his dishes and preparations it was a long awaited visit to visit Chef pillai restaurant, from the time they opened their first-branch in Whitefield. Yesterday 11/12/2023 I had reserved my table at chef pillai restaurant at Brigade Road at 8:30 for my anniversary,to be honest I was really thrilled to visit and try out the signature dishes .But it was actually hopeless due to various factors , Such as service ,quality and price .

1:From the time we were seated it took almost nearly 30 mins for us to get the dishes ,I fact we were thinking we will cancel the order and go else where ,I believe we can stand patient in line and wait in few places such as religious places and hospitals etc where in we want to see and experience the presence of a holistic power. Certainly not in a restaurant.

2:service was pathetic. We had asked for onion slices to 3 different people ,and finally got it when we were almost done with food .didnt want to make a scene there coz it was a good and memorable day for me . The worst part was the finger bowl Almost 10-15mins waited for the finger bowl ,after asking 2 different people finally got the finger bowl ,hands were almost dried by the time .

3:food quality is never like before how it used to be ,the fish nirvana the so called signature dish ,the fish was barely cooked ,I am big fan of fish and i could not eat it ,just a partially cooked fish with coconut milk on top ,was seriously disappointed. Meat dry was another disaster felt like eating charcoal it was burned to the extend that we can’t eat .

The we tried the pani puri chat It was delicious but we ran short of buttermilk ,we asked got a straight NO from the one who served ,we asked him to charge us for it ,he was so adamant that he couldn’t, I suggest you should not serve something which you can’t properly serve a customer,better to stop .

3:lastly the price ,feel ashamed to write it here To the management of pillai restaurant,for the price you are charging us this is not the way you should treat us, Have been to many premium restaurants before ,but this was unexpected. I would not have written this review if I was happy and contented when I left the place .it was group of disappointment from all ankles. To Mr.Suresh the respectable Owner ,you have a legacy ,I don’t think it’s been carried forward in the business the way you wanted .

I will not recommend this place to anyone ,extremely disappointed.Hope this review helps people who go in with lot of expectations .many may wanted to share these ,but they won’t ,they just stop coming or recommending. I am writing this so that expecting a better change in the...