KooX - Rooftop Asian Grill — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

When we had to decide a place for my 2020 birthday. We were very sure we wanted a place that was new, stylish, with a good view, good food and good spirits! Koox is located at the roof top of Novotel at chamiers! The ambience is chic, the view is breath taking, the weather was perfect. We had an excellent briefing from the staff who were taking our order, so we knew actually what we were getting on our plate. We started our evening with Goth Elixer. It is a charcoal induced tequila drink, one of my favourite. Looked dashing and had the right kick! Will god save the Queen was a very indian flavoured drink with rose petals and had a royal after taste. The starters that accompanied our spirits blew our mind. I must say the ingredients, the flavours and the styling was par excellence! Freshness of the ingredients actually was very evident in everything we had. The pondicherry rock and roll prawns was made to perfection and the prawns still had the sea smell now that is how a dish should taste! Koox crunch is Sushi that had a melting inside and crunchy outside. With sushi it is very important to have the best of fresh ingredients. A good sushi is all about fresh ingredients and this one sure was. Roasted eggplant is a dish that one would love even if you are not a eggplant fan. I had two people who do not touch eggplant fall in love with it. After a starter break it was time to get high on our spirits again! What followed next were beauties! The bubble wap is such a beautiful delicate drink, the way it looked is the way it tasted! White nature had a pure taste as per the name, looks and taste both stole my heart! With the yellow tail carpaccio we were back to some eating. The yellow tail fish is a soft silky fish that just melts in the mouth. This raw fish tasted nothing less than magic, it just melted in my mouth! The lamb chops were tender and cooked to perfection! The grilled prawns is a perfect starter for the mind-blowing cocktails! Tuna tataki is a simple japanese dish that combines delicate seared tuna in Citrus soya sauce! The marriage of subtle flavour took this dish to another level. Koox has all the ingredients for a great place for chennaites! The F and B manager Krish and the GM Supreet are on a mission and guess we have to keep our eyes and ears open to many exciting times...

The food and vibe are fine. For the price and brand name you expect the Service to be on par but it’s all over the place. Doesn’t seem to be managed well. Right from the complicated phone reservation to getting the check, the experience was not pleasant. Terrible Service.

We were waiting for long enough to know what we want to order thanks to the QR code menu, I had to flag someone for some water. As soon as I got this person the first thing I explained was there’s a serious allergy at the table and any dish that’s going to contain sesame, we need to be made aware of. I was assured of this and he proceeded to come back with water. Again we had to wait and no one was taking the order. Finally called another person and said we need to place an order. He was happy to place it for us. Things were smooth and efficiently food was allergy friendly. Since things got better we had to catch another person to place more orders. This time we could see the dish filled with the ingredient that causes the allergy. As I mentioned to the server, she promptly responded I didn’t let her know. If each time at a restaurant we have to let someone know, how is that efficient and that ruins the whole experience. As we re horrified, the manager replaced the dish. If we couldn’t see it and had eaten that food, that would’ve been worse than the service experience at Koox. We were so ready to get out of this awful place. And again the night only got more frustrating as no one came to check on us. We had to call out to them for the bill.

All this on a night when the place was not even half full, most people there for drinks and they seemed fully staffed cause the worst part was we could all of them hovering over one table while we were ready to leave. Been in chennai for Generations and have never been to such a terrible restaurant that charges so much. If they didn’t then I wouldn’t have expected the level of service. Since they do charge so much, assumed they can be a tad more professional and accommodate guests at a higher standard.

If the service doesn’t improve, the kitchen which actually does provide good food is going to be affected.

Do yourself a favor and go to any other amazing restaurants that Chennai has to offer until they improve...

I had the opportunity to taste the dishes from “Dosojin Matsuri” — The Japanese Fire Festival at Koox Rooftop Asian Grill.

The beautiful ambience of the rooftop restaurant invites you to a city view with the cold January breeze.

I started my meal with the Tumpa lotus stem, crispy lotus stem cooked with sweet and spicy sauce. The Malala chicken, a crunchy golden fried chicken tossed with dried hot Thai chilli peppers, Sichuan pepper corns and green onion.

The creamy and sweet Avocado beetroot tartare with honey dressing and hydroponic mixed herbs, completely cooled down the palette after the spicy food, prepping it for the mains.

Now for the exiting part... The dishes from the festival menu on the famous Robata Grill with the smoky flavors!

The Pork chop 🥩 was juicy and tender and the whole fish 🐟, literally fell of the bones! Both the pork and fish had a simple marination, enhancing the flavours of the meat.

The Teriyaki duck was an absolute burst of flavours with the crackle of the duck skin and the meat still soft, with the teriyaki sauce soaked in.

The chef had different appetising sauces as dips. 🍃 A Rocket leaf and jalapeño based sauce with, grapes, garlic, salt and pepper, 🧅 A Wafu onion sauce with, soy sauce, rice vinegar, roasted sesame seeds, and grated onion, 🧄 The “Minuku sauce” with roast garlic sauce with olive oil, And the Yakiniku sauce which is a mixture of savory and sweet flavors with bold sesame essence.

Their sushis are literally the best! I finished my meal with their signature Crazy 8 sushi with shrimp and the sweet and tangy grilled pineapple for dessert!

Overall it was a great journey into the world of Japanese cuisine.

Thank you team Koox and Novotel Chamiers Road for bringing to us the...