The Rogue Elephant Basavanagudi — Restaurant in Bengaluru

Very seldom one decides to travel from one end of the city to the other just to grab a bite, but very seldom one gets to experience the charm and warmth of the culinary establishment, that is The Rogue Elephant.

CLASSIC HUMMUS & PITA: Easily the smoothest hummus that I’ve had in a long time. So much so that we decided to retain it on the table after finishing the pita bread.

WINE SAUTÉED MUSHROOM ON TOAST: Cooked in a generous amount of wine, one will love this if they’re a fan of experimenting with regular ingredients. The bread was tasted perfectly and coupled really well as a crunchy element to the soft and delicate mushrooms.

TERIYAKI WINGS: This one’s going to get your hands dirty. The chicken smothered in the teriyaki sauce will definitely remind you of an old-school sports bar kind of finger food.

MANGO, AVOCADO & ALMOND SALAD: It was the perfect weekend breakfast snack that one could wish for. There was this amalgamation of ‘tarti-ness’ and creaminess in the salad because of the mango and avocado. The almond was getting the dish together beautifully with its crunchiness.

SPINACH & CHEESE TART: Served with a fresh avocado-tomato-lettuce salad and fries, this veg special hit it out of the park for all of us. I’m not a big fan of creamy tarts but this savoury delight was an exception. This dish was swiped off the plate in no time and for good reason.

SPAGHETTI WITH SUNDRIED TOMATO & CHILLI PESTO: On the first look, this pasta did overwhelm us a bit with its dark red appearance but the taste was just the opposite of its aggressive facade. The mild flavors of the sundried tomatoes mingled really well with the pesto to give a very humble and wholesome bite to the spaghetti.

SOLE FISH WITH BÉARNAISE SAUCE & BABY POTATOES: This particular dish came straight from the heart of Mr. Anand. The joy with which he described the procedure to create the perfect béarnaise sauce was almost infectious. And unsurprisingly, it led to the beautiful marriage between the grilled fish and the creamy rich derivative of the hollandaise sauce. The baby potatoes were definitely a surprise and we welcomed it with open arms as it only made the taste better. This dish is the restaurant’s special for a reason.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN WITH GREEN MANGO RELISH & HERB RICE: If there was 1 dish that could have got a bit better, it was the grilled chicken. I felt that the sauce could have penetrated a lot more into the chicken than it did. The dish was nowhere near being dismal, thanks to the flavorful herbed rice and the tangy green mango relish, but it couldn’t live up to the standards set by the other dishes.

AVOCADO, EGG WHITE & CHEESE OPEN SANDWICH: If there’s 1 thing that the chefs at The Rogue Elephant excel at, it is the usage of avocados in their dishes. This was the 3rd variant of the highly beneficial fruit that we tasted and this also had its own character. It doesn’t happen very often when a humble open sandwich with few ingredients has so many layers to offer to the diner. If you’re going for a quick bite, then don’t forget to order this one.

CARROT CAKE & ICE CREAM: The airy cake was served mildly hot with the vanilla ice-cream. I wouldn’t forget the cake for some time as the sweet element in it was just perfect, not too less and not too much. Very few eateries get a carrot cake right but you would know at the first bite that the personnel in the kitchen know their stuff when it comes to desserts.

STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA: If you’re one of those who thinks that a panna cotta needs to wobble for it to be the perfect one, then your bubble will burst by the way they serve it. This strawberry brilliance is served in a typical old school chai glass filled almost to the brim. Each bite made us crave for even more and none of us felt guilty about over-eating after relishing this masterpiece.

ESPRESSO AFFOGATO: We culminated our meal with an espresso affogato as Mr. Anand insisted on trying at least 1. Affogato literally translates to drowned and drowned was the sweet vanilla ice-cream in the bitter sea...

Bangalore Has Many Hidden Gems & I Am Happy To Have Discovered One More, The Rogue Elephant. This cafe is An Airy Green Space Canopied By A Large Tree. The Place Is More Than Just Beautiful & The Food Served Here Hits All The Right Notes.

On a sunny Bangalore afternoon, we thirsty bunch ended up here, for a round of summer quenchers and some light food.

The watermelon juice was just that, no syrups, no added sugar, beautiful sweet, and not even extra cold, in fact we had to ask for a few ice cubes.

The cold coffee here might sound very plain, but it’s better than any frappe from the chains, personally I found it a little sweet, but am sure that could be customised to one’s taste.

To kick off the meal, I started off with a soup of the day & a salad. A Bright & Beautiful Summer Salad With Buttery Avocados & Delicious Ripe Mangos With toasted almonds in a bed of Kasundi tossed iceberg lettuce, it was perfection in terms of presentation as well in terms of taste.

The soup of the day was a flavourful Asian soup, inspired by the Burmese khowsuey, a delicious broth with strong flavours of Myanmar in a mild textured soup.

The pita with hummus is something that was recommended & am glad we listened & tried them. Thin little fluffy pitas served with a textured, creamy well seasoned hummus, one of the best in Bangalore I must say.

For mains I ordered the Thai Green Curry, though I was warned that south East Asian is not their specialty and I should try their Italian fare. Being adamant I did have the Thai curry, which was good, but not very delicious as I would have expected it to be.

I sampled a bit of The Cajun Grilled Chicken & Thai Grilled Chicken from my friends. Both the dishes were great but what I loved even more were the potato salad served aside and the raw mango, papaya relish. Absolutely delightful with the mains.

Desserts were a level apart altogether, the mango Panacotta was delicious and smooth as silk, with a creamy texture.

The Caramel Top Cheesecake was simple & delicious. The homemade Carrot cake was warm & super delicious, especially with some decadent ice cream.

To end such a wonderful meal, we finished off with a coffee affagato, which is essentially an espresso shot with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. As the hot espresso shot is being turned into a less warm liquid every minute, slowly I was drinking the coffee that is dipping in its Temperature with every sip, becoming better, better, and better.

This hidden gem is a must explore if you are...

The rogue elephant is an Café that strives to serve food with the freshest of produce and seasonal ingredients. Recently visited their cafe and tried out a couple of their items. One thing I should mention before hand is that the portion size is huge and service is extraordinary!

We started off with their seasonal drink which was a strawberry smoothie. It was really fresh and tasty. They had used actual strawberries in it and I could taste the difference. We also tried the chocolate smoothie which was also nice.

They have launched a “Holiday Special Menu” for the month of December that features four dishes:

1. Wine sautéed mushrooms
2. Grapefruit and Green Apple Salad
3. Cajun spice chicken
4. White chocolate bread pudding with baileys sauce

Rogue elephant is known for their fresh salads. We tried the Greek salad topped with feta cheese which was really delicious. The veggies were crisp and really fresh. The dressing was perfect too.

The grapefruit and green apple salad was a bit too sour for our liking because grapefruit, green apple and the dressing were all sour.

We also tried half portion of the falafel with hummus and tabbouleh. The falafel was a tad dry and needed more flavour. The hummus needed a bit more tahini and lemon juice but texture was spot on. The tabbouleh was really good.

The wine sautéed mushrooms were delicious too.

My friend tried the buffalo chicken wings and Cajun fish fingers in the appetisers and he loved both. The fish fingers were fantastic.

In main course we tried half portion of alfredo fettuccine which was lip smacking. The sauce was cheesy and creamy. Pasta Susanna which was essentially farfalle tossed in walnut pesto was good too, needed a tad more salt but it was really fresh. Again the half portions here are as big as the full portions in many other places.

My friend tried the herb roast chicken in lemon butter sauce with mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies which he loved. He said that it was mind blowing, portion size was amazing and chicken was cooked to perfection.

In desserts we tried the strawberry cake which was delicious and moist. The white chocolate bread pudding with baileys sauce was nice, the baileys sauce was a bit too strong and I couldn’t taste the white chocolate though.

Overall loved the food here and it’s total value for money. If you want something fresh, organic and tasty this is the...