Sidewalk Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Bengaluru

The ambiance of the place is very good and that alone should earn 3 stars, and the food, though while not being great, is nothing worth complaining about. So, why does this review have only 1 star? Do read on.

As I said at the start, the ambiance is very cozy. Nicely done up interiors, airy and roomy, with well laid out chairs and a very accessible buffet spread - well worth 3 stars.

It was all well and good till I actually saw the buffet spread - standard salads, 1 veg, 1 non-veg soup, 2 non-veg starters (1 chicken and 1 fish), 1 chicken curry and chicken biriyani - that is the whole non-veg spread. Dish count wise, this has to be the most stingy spread I ever had in a buffet. But, the saving grace was that the dishes taste good (though not exceptional, which I was hoping for). I was happy to see that there is a good spread of pickles nicely presented and I decided to try the fish pickle - Uh, ho - BIG mistake. There was mold inside the pickle and it tasted dusty and spoiled, ugh. So, 1 Star minus for keeping moldy food, which is a hygiene issue.

The next disappointment came when I went for desserts. Jilebi, Chocolate brownie, cut fruits and vanilla ice cream - that is it. Disappointing, and it did really let down the whole buffet. But wait, it didn't end here. There was hardly any brownies when I went to take them and the plate went empty soon and I noticed that during the whole 15 minutes I was there, no one bothered to fill the empty tray. So, there goes 1 more star.

So, what about the 2 other stars? Here is when the story really gets interesting. The whole point of going to a fine place like The Paul is to enjoy the experience and the ambiance, the presentation, the dishes, the texture, the service - every single thing adds up to the whole experience. This is where The Paul failed me miserably.

I went with a group to the buffet and the host did host another group on the day before we went there and paid extra for 2 people than the number of people who dined. Today, when the host pointed out that we overpaid yesterday and asked the management that is there a way to rectify it, the first response was there is no way they can rectify yesterday's bill. Then the host asked that since we are taking the same package today, can they adjust the extra amount in today's bill and still the answer was no. The management did point out that they have CCTV cameras covering the whole place and we did ask them to use the footage to check the number of people to determine if they have any doubt in our claim, and they responded that 'there was a lot of movement around the empty seats and because of that they can't use the footage to ascertain if our claim is genuine'.

We let it slide, even though it did leave a sour taste. When we were done with our dining, the marketing manager approached to check how was the experience and when our host related this unpleasant experience to him, he was least sympathetic and kept harping about how they cant help us. We did pose the question that if we came today to say that yesterday they did undercharge us and we are ready to pay for 2 extra plates which we had yesterday, will they charge us and they did not even answer the question - was at their evasive best.

The problem is not about money - it was not a huge amount and we were ready to let it slide, but the lack of empathy and lack of understanding what the client is aggravated about - is a BIG fail and here goes 2 more stars.

So, we came out from The Paul with our bellies full, but with a sour after taste in our mind, and decided that we will never be taking our business to them again.

So long, and thanks for all the fish - you guys failed to deliver what matters...

I recently had the unfortunate experience of dining at an overhyped restaurant buffet that left me deeply disappointed on multiple fronts. A group of 40 people, including myself, decided to visit this establishment for lunch, and it turned out to be a rather regrettable decision.

First and foremost, the food quality at this restaurant was far from impressive. Most of the items listed on the menu ran out within the first half of our meal. This left many of us struggling to find even the most basic offerings. The situation was particularly dire when it came to the non-vegetarian options. The dry chicken dish disappeared quickly, and despite our requests for a refill, none was provided. To add insult to injury, the so-called "homemade chicken curry" turned out to be more of a curry without any chicken pieces. It was disheartening to see that the restaurant was attempting to deceive its customers by throwing some potato fry into the chicken curry.

Our concerns were met with indifference and unprofessional behavior from the restaurant manager. We expected a more accommodating and courteous approach, especially given the substantial size of our group, but the staff seemed utterly disorganized and ill-prepared to handle the situation. The lack of any apology or resolution for these issues was particularly frustrating.

To make matters worse, the billing process was equally unsatisfactory. After our disappointing experience, the restaurant staff did not reappear to address our concerns or offer any form of compensation. Instead, they sent a staff member to present the bill. This demonstrated a complete lack of responsibility on their part and showed a disregard for customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, I must note that the restaurant advertised its buffet on @Swiggy @Dineout, and they accepted payments through the platform. However, when I attempted to utilize a 15% discount offered through Swiggy, they outright refused and claimed that I had to pay directly because they would have to compensate Swiggy. This inconsistency in their practices is both misleading and unfair to customers.

In light of this disappointing experience, I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone. The overhyped reputation and subpar food quality, combined with poor management and unprofessional behavior, make it a dining destination to avoid. If they intend to maintain a presence on delivery platforms like Swiggy, they should adhere to the terms and not cheat customers. Overall, our visit to this restaurant left a bitter taste in our mouths, and I regret the decision...

We went to this place for lunch on a Sunday and were impressed by the ambience and the menu. And that 1 star is for these two aspects alone. Things went downhill once we started ordering food. The onion rings reached us quite quickly but the prawns were delayed. Prawns tasted average and felt undercooked. We ordered 4 items in main course - pasta, steak, sandwich and a burger. The order was placed at 2:15 pm and nothing was served till 3 pm. We had to remind them constantly about the order. People who came in after us were served promptly and 2-3 groups of 4 or more people even finished lunch earlier than us. The bitter experience is not limited to the delay in serving the order. The steak was not delivered at all till 3:45 pm. Not even once did anyone care to apologise for the delay. Finally, we cancelled the order as it was too late to have any lunch. The less said about the sandwich and the burger, the better. The sandwich tasted horrible and it felt like eating wet cardboard. We passed on the feedback but nothing was done for it - neither did they offer to fix it or reduce the bill. Coincidentally, a function was taking place the same day and I believe the kitchen was taken up to cater to that. I don't where that leaves us patrons who come to the restaurants. It is not like we are eating for free. What was supposed to be a relaxed afternoon became a starving marathon thanks to the callous and apathetic attitude of the hotel staff. I do not recommend this place to anyone, even when they are starving. They will continue to starve...