Piano Restaurant — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

When we came to know that Piano Restaurant, located on the ground floor of the Savera Hotel had started a Summer Fest Buffet. With their special offer like come as 5 pay for 3 or come as 3 pay for 2 priced at Rs 1458 for lunch at Rs 1575 for dinner, available on all days except Sundays till June 2019. we just couldn't resist and made a beeline to the hotel for lunch.

Chef Jesu explained that the dishes have been chosen from all round the globe and a leisurely walk around the buffet, you would get the impression that you need to seriously think about pacing yourself so that you could enjoy the variety on display.

To quench our thirst we had the mango and pineapple mock tail followed by the Potato Leek and Chicken Soup. The starters were delivered at the table and included Sichuan Spiced Chilly Egg, Murg Malai Kabab, Tawa Grilled Murg Masala and Cajun Spiced Grilled Fish. The fish was quite thinly sliced so as to help the flavours permeate and Grilled on a Hot Plate and served. It was quite fresh and with the right amount of spice so as to tickle your taste buds. Quite an exciting fare I must admit. In between we were also served some delectable chicken and Veg momos along with a dish specially made by the Chef for us the Chilly Prawns, that took us down memory lane.They also have a wide variety of salads too.

Now you need to take a breather and have a walk around to get things settled in your stomach because they have live stations where you can order Pizzas both Veg and Non Veg on a wood fired oven. The Non Veg Pizza was a fully loaded affair with quite a lot of cheese and chicken. They also have other live counters as well like the Lassi Counter, Chaat, Mocktail and Falooda Counters. Now that you have tasted all this you need to take another break so as to leave room for the main course.

Iam a die hard Non Vegetarian so I wanted to taste only the non veg dishes. The Lucknow Murgh Biriyani was quite good and the chicken cooked to perfection with sides like the Kholapuri Ghost, Chicken in spicy Sichuan Sauce,and the Grilled Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce which again proved to be another favourite of mine.

You seriously would need another stomach to fill in the goodies from the Dessert section with their wide array of Pastries and Indian sweets. To round it all off we had a demo from Chef Anish on the making of the falooda. Would adding ice cream to the falooda negate the slimming property of the basil seeds?

With this thought in mind and a full stomach I made my way out of the buffet, a time well spent with excellent food and...

There are three observations that I would like to highlight about our experience past month or so.

On one visit, we were shocked to see a shamiana erected in one corner of the parking space of the hotel in which private catering contractors were allowed to store veggies, groceries and cook in open air for a private event that was being held in Hotel Savera. Normally guests who book a banquet hall in a hotel are required to avail of the hotel banquet food of the hotel. It was the first time we are seeing a hotel allow guests to bring in private caterers and cook on the hotel premises! It is absolutely shocking. Never expected to see this in Savera.

Lately we saw a group of 130 people reserve seats in The Piano for the lunch buffet. It is highly suggested that the hotel please ask large groups like these to book a banquet hall instead of accommodating them in the restraunt. If the hotel can’t do that then atleast close the restraunt for the rest of the public on days when you have a large booking. It is very unpleasant for the rest of the public guests when there is a large group of 100 plus people in a restraunt making noise and acting as if it’s an exclusive private space for them.

Lately we have noticed a total lack of dining etiquette by many guests at the buffet in The Piano. Perhaps, they are unaware of etiquette. Hence it is the responsibility of the restraunt manager to gently advise the guests on basic etiquette in a buffet. We have observed guests standing around continuously in the restraunt and eating and drinking as they would at a wedding. They should be instructed to be seated. The worst thing we have seen is guests standing around the welcome drink dispenser, and leaving their empty used/half empty glasses back on the dispenser table. And none of the staff advise the guests not to do this. So many times we have gone to pour ourselves a welcome drink only to find used glasses on the table. Guests are also going to the water jug stations and drinking from the jugs! Used glasses and bowls are being placed back in stations by guests without the knowledge of the staff. please alert the staff and ensure that they advise such guests on basic dining etiquette in a restraunt. This is raising serious hygine concerns among the rest of us guests and it is making the atmosphere and dining experience...

I enjoyed dining at Piano, Savera. I have always felt welcomed at the Savera properties.

The buffet spread was modest but well arranged. The seating and ambience makes you feel comfortable!

There are items in the buffet that remind you of a pitstop barbeque/ all-you-can-eat buffet along the highways of NOVA, USA. But the Indian dishes on this buffet have authenticity in flavor. The hot curry-meats were overcooked, but the ones in the cold salads were well cooked.

There is a lot of history that India owes to the chettinad (Pepper gravy). The age of discovery in Europe followed the need to find a cure to the black plague, and circumvent the monopoly of Indian spices by the arab traders. The visigoths were aware of Kerala and the eastern ghat spices from voyages of early christians like St. Thomas himself. The chettinad/ pepper curry was one of many curries, sought after (worldwide) for good health. To me, it is by far a hallmark of any item on a menu at a south indian restaurant. The chettinad gravy at this Piano was an absolute stunner, true to its cause and does taste like that of you would get in Chera Nadu. More specifically I would say that it tasted like that I had in Selvi mess, Salem.

The dessert spread was fine, but the taste did not impress as much as the lunch. Indian desserts were good but the western desserts felt a little off. I am not particularly familiar with butter cream pastries in India, I have also had a hard time getting authentic whip cream in an 'Indian foods' confectionery store. The cakes/ gateau do stand out own their own but I grew up baking Betty Crocker cakes on lazy weekends. To me this super moist cake serves as a benchmark of how a 'quick-bake' cake should taste like.

I would recommend this place to those who have a foreign friends visiting Chennai and if they ever enjoyed dining at a country club buffet.

For homegrown chefs to serve authentic meal... is a praise to the Indian culinary...