AB's - Absolute Barbecues | Velachery, Chennai — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

Absolute Barbecue, Velachery is an average dining location with limited vegetarian options. Since I personally do not consume non-veg, I will not comment on the same.

Based on my experience, I would like to rate each aspect of this restaurant.

Price: As of Nov 2019, the buffet lunch was around Rs:650 per plate for a vegetarian meal and Rs: 750 per plate for a non-vegetarian meal during the weekdays and an additional 100 INR on the weekends for both types respectively. I personally feel that this might not be worth this price range considering that there are definitely better restaurants for this asking price.

Parking: Analysing the real estate around the restaurant, I can tell that the bike parking is quiet accommodative for an average crowd but the car parking space is quiet limited (around 15 cars) in comparison to the number of people the restaurant could accommodate for the buffet ( at 12 PM - 3 PM range when there is a lot of crowd ). There is compulsory valet parking for this limited space because the inner section of the parking will be blocked by cars that are parked immediately facing the main road. However one does not need to worry too much about it.

Food: There was not a lot of variety and I would like to elaborate on each aspect briefly. I skipped the main course in favor of starters and desert this time.

Welcome Drink: There were a total of four welcome drink options a. Virgin Mojito (Muddled mint and lime chunks fused with crushed ice, topped with soda and sprite) b. Blue Angel (Lime juice and Litchi crushed mix topped with spirit and Blue Curacao): This was the one I ordered and it was decent while cold and started to taste really bad at room temperatures. The taste and aroma was dominated by the Litchi fruit. c. Ice Tea: Available in lime and peach flavour. d. Fresh lime soda / water: It is a standard drink.

Starters: As soon as we had arrived, we were served with veg starters as the welcome drink took time to come. There were the standard options like paneer, mushroom, cooked pineapple, spiced watermelon, deep fried corn kernels, some form of potato fry, french fry and some others which were not note worthy to mention.

Custom Starters (CAUTION !): As the name suggests, you can have a large number of combination of ingredients to be mixed and cooked similar to the experience we have in a typical Subway restaurant. Unless you know some of these options (I did not know some of the options and neither did the person who helped me select which is questionable ) and their combinations, it might be a very bad choice and might really make you rethink going further with your meal. Something screwed up the combination and the resulting dish was bitter to taste.

3: Deserts: There were a lot of the typical options. They had the ice creams (cold stone restaurant style), Gulab Jamun, cakes and an another 5 - 10 options which I did not take a note of).

Overall the experience was poor for the asking price of around Rs:650. The question of whether I would recommend this to my friends ? That would be a NO!!! I thank you for...

Being a vegetarian I was skeptical about going to this restaurant thinking only non-vegetarians would have much options than vegetarians. But only after going there and dining in, were my assumptions proved wrong! They had barbecued pineapple( with honey), crispy corn( a must try) , paneer capsicum tomatoes together, paneer cubes and mushrooms (though we aren’t a fan of it). Since you’d almost be full after so many starters, it’s better to walk around and see what they’ve got.

You can visit the live kitchen in the dining hall itself, and they prepare whatever dish or starter you want and they prepare it and give it according to your taste. You need to tell them how you want it to be. They’ll prepare it just the way you like! Like for example, white pasta, red pasta, gobi barbecued, all kinds of chaat (which I couldn’t try here).

The next you go around and see an array of main course dishes - plain basmati rice, dal tadka / rajma masala, noodles, aloo methi curry, veg kofta gravy(sweet), paneer butter masala, veg dum biryani, rasam, various kinds of cut fruits, and veggies salads, raita, papadam, vadaam.

Feeling so full even after just having a look at all these, when I turn around just to get more fuller with………

Desert!!!!!!!! 😋 I was astounded by the varieties of deserts they had presented. Brownies, strawberry cake 🍰, chocolate cake 🍰, butterscotch roll cake, badam phirni, fruit custard, malpua, yummy juicy hot jalebis, small gulab jamuns, moong dal halwa(I’m not a big fan it of though) , three types of ice creams, (with lots of of toppings) chocolate lollipops, plain fruit cake and many more which I couldn’t get the name. My head was already spinning before I got back to my table!!! 😂😂😂 And everything is unlimited! Just because there is so much food to try don’t take too much on your plate. Try everything little at first and then take one or more servings of whichever dish you like. That’ll help you eat mindful and not tummy fulllll!!! And will save you from not wasting food. 😇

The only thing which I didn’t approve of was the vessels they were using at the live kitchen. They were using induction stove for which they have to use nonstick kadaai and pans. We already know that it is not very good to use nonstick items, and moreover if the coating has worn out or peeled of, it is very dangerous to continue using the same. At this case, the coating had COMPLETELY GONE 👎🏻and I could see coating only on the brim of the vessel, which is not a good thing at all, and it is high time they get new vessels for the chefs. This was the only thing Which I found NOT RIGHT. Hope they do The needful. 🙏🏻

The service was very good only things since it was a Sunday, which I went on that it was super busy and crowded and people who were serving Literally going bonkers, I really pity them. They were trying to do their Best. Kudos to them and the chefs!...

Disappointing Buffet Experience - Room for Improvement

We recently visited Absolute Barbecue with high expectations, but unfortunately, our experience was underwhelming. The buffet, priced at ₹850 per plate, failed to deliver us the value for money.

While the starters were the highlight of the meal, the main course was a big letdown. Most dishes lacked substantial portions of main ingredients, with only gravy visible. The absence of chapatis and naans on the table added to the disappointment. The mutton was totally giving stale kind of smell. I took one piece and left it like that only and informed the staff too regarding the same.

The service was slow and hassle-prone. Despite requests, the staff took their own sweet time to serve, prioritizing other items over our requests. The promised prawns took an inordinate amount of time to arrive, with the staff citing preparation delays.

To make matters worse, we were celebrating a birthday, and the complimentary cake, although a nice gesture, was not even provided with a carry box. This is a basic amenity that most restaurants offer, allowing customers to take the leftover cake home. The lack of this simple consideration added to our disappointment. It will be a waste to the restaurant which can be carried by the customers.

Ambience-wise, the restaurant was average and didn't leave a very lasting impression.

To improve, I suggest:

Enhance main course offerings with more substantial portions of main ingredients. Ensure timely and attentive service, with prompt refills of essentials like chapatis and naans. Streamline the serving process to avoid delays. Provide carry boxes for complimentary cakes offered during birthday celebrations. Reassess the pricing strategy to reflect the quality and quantity of food offered.

With a few adjustments, Absolute Barbecue can elevate their buffet experience to match customer expectations. Until then, I'd caution against high hopes. Rating: 2/5 stars. I would have given 1, but due to some staffs kind gestures I would like to increase it with 1 more brownie point from my end eking it 2. Probably won’t return back after this. I had the pleasure of trying buffets at numerous places in and out chennai, but unfortunately absolute barbecue falls shorts of my expectations. Despite its promising ambience, the buffet experience was very underwhelming making it our least preferred choice among the many...