Vembanad — Restaurant in Kerala

VEMBANAD BISTRO in Taj Kumarakom, I visted them on 10th May for diner with my wife and kid. The place requires reservation so please get one if you are not an inhouse guest. For dinner the place had a buffet, we were told ala cart won’t be possible, so we opted for the buffet.

The spread was not too big, but the food was nice and tasty. My review for the same is as below:

Ambiance: The place is made as a shack, so it is open on sides and faces the artificial lake created by Taj. Overall, I liked the ambiance of the place and special for dinner time they arranged a small performance of Bharatanatyam which added to the ambiance and made the experience better and more cultural.

Service: Though it was a self-serve buffet but the staff taking care of us Mr. Rajneesh was very kind and helpful. He made us comfortable and always happy to help. For the kid they didn’t charge the buffet and let us order anything we liked for her, which is as per Taj hospitality a great thing to do.

Drinks: We just had beer which was served cold and accompanied with some spicy tapioca chips.

Food: The spread had two types of soups, in starters they didn’t had anything besides bread which was bit of a letdown. The main course had a good variety for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, my favorite items were Fish Curry, Mutton Rogan josh, Appam, Baked Vegetables.

Price: The cost for our dinner along with 3 beer was 5000 INR which I feel was value for money for the service & experience I had.

Overall, I recommend the place for anyone visiting Kumarakom area, it has a very good vibe and defiantly would be a good option for...

Chef Manoj Pandey bowled us over with his heart warming hospitality and lip smacking food. We visited the restaurant for our wedding anniversary on 9th September for lunch. Chef Manoj was introduced to us by the GM of Taj resort and spa Kumarakom Mr Saneej who is a gem and a thorough professional. We interacted with chef Manoj on phone prior to our visit and he understood our needs. He curated a special lunch for the occasion . Every dish from the soup to the starters and the main course and the dessert platter too was finger licking good. Chef Manoj is passionate about food and is a perfectionist, innovative and hugely talented. For example he had made us a hara bhara kebab which was melt in the mouth and non greasy. Thanks to him we had one of our finest wedding anniversary celebrations. The ambience of the restaurant enhanced our overall experience. Thank you Manoj once again and our special thanks to all the restaurant staff who...

Do advance booking for dining. À la carte is better than buffet. I tried masala prawns, chicken biriyani, Neymeen pollichathu as Catch of the day and tender coconut souffle with tender coconut icecream-all were delicious. Chicken biriyani was flavourful, chicken was very tender and juicy. Masala prawns were crispy outside and tender inside with prefect spices. Neymeen pollichathu was my favorite among all. Tender coconut Souffle was so pure and delicate and melted in my mouth. The ambience is...