Barbeque Nation- Vadapalani — Restaurant in Zone 10 Kodambakkam

Location: Vadapalani, Chennai Visited for: Team Lunch Cuisine: Indian Barbecue, Grills, Buffet Overall Experience: Satisfying, but some minor service issues.

Introduction

Barbeque Nation is a well-known chain offering a unique dining experience with live grills on tables and an extensive buffet. We visited the Vadapalani outlet for a team lunch, and the experience was enjoyable overall, with a few hiccups in service. Here's a detailed review of the welcome drinks, starters, main course, desserts, ambiance, and service.

Welcome Drink: Blue Mojito - A Refreshing Start

The lunch started with a refreshing Blue Mojito. It stood out as the best part of the drinks section, offering a cooling, tangy, and slightly sweet taste that was perfect for cleansing the palate before the meal. It set a positive tone for the rest of the dining experience, especially after arriving from the heat outside.

Starters: Delicious but Inconsistent Service

Items Served:

Corn Fry: Crispy, light, and flavorful, it provided a great vegetarian start. The texture was perfect, and it wasn’t overly oily.

Cheese Potato: Another good vegetarian option, the cheese potato was creamy and rich. The blend of cheese and potato was well-balanced, making it one of the favorite items in the starters.

Smoky Chicken Drumstick: Tender and well-marinated, the chicken drumsticks had a rich smoky flavor that stood out. The seasoning was perfect, offering a nice balance between spice and smokiness.

Fish: The fish was well-cooked, tender, and carried a mild smoky flavor. However, as mentioned, the quantity served initially was quite limited.

Prawn: The prawns were flavorful with a good spice blend, though, like the fish, it was served sparingly at first, and we had to ask multiple times for additional servings.

Chicken: A standard offering in barbeque grills, the chicken was well-seasoned, juicy, and cooked to perfection.

While the taste of the starters was commendable, the serving process was slow, especially for items like fish and prawns. Having to repeatedly ask for additional servings was a bit disappointing, as the service speed fell short of expectations. This impacted the otherwise seamless starter experience.

Main Course: Decent Variety but Unremarkable

The main course was a standard buffet with a variety of Indian dishes. While the focus at Barbeque Nation is typically on the starters, the main course was decent but not particularly remarkable. It served its purpose but didn’t stand out in terms of flavor or uniqueness.

Some of the notable items:

Biriyani: Mildly spiced with good flavor, but nothing extraordinary.

Curries: A variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries, which were decent but lacked the "wow" factor.

Bread and Rice Varieties: A decent selection of naan, rotis, and rice dishes, all well-prepared.

Desserts: A Sweet Ending

The dessert section offered a wide range of options, and this is where Barbeque Nation truly shines. The variety of desserts was impressive, with a mix of Indian and Western sweets. Some highlights include:

Gulab Jamun: Soft, warm, and soaked in syrup, these were the perfect sweet treat after the spicy meal.

Brownies: The brownies were rich and gooey, offering a delightful chocolate flavor.

Ice Cream and Kulfi: Barbeque Nation is famous for its live Kulfi counter, where you can get customized Kulfis with different toppings. The Kulfis were a standout.

Pastries and Cheesecakes: Light and fluffy, the Western desserts were a pleasant way to end the meal.

Overall, the dessert section was very satisfying, offering something for every kind of sweet tooth.

Ambiance: Relaxed and Comfortable

The ambiance at Barbeque Nation, Vadapalani, was one of the strong points. The restaurant was spacious, clean, and well-lit, creating a welcoming and comfortable environment for a group lunch. The live grill setup on each table adds a fun interactive element to the meal, where you can grill your own starters. The seating arrangement was spacious enough for our team, and...

Our visit to this restaurant left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, we chose a Sunday for our family luncheon party. It proved to be the worst day of the week to book a table at the restaurant – which we sadly realised only after stepping out, unsatisfied.

Even though I had done the booking a week well in advance, we had great difficulty even entering the restaurant at the time that was allotted to us - 02:00 p.m. as the rush was so heavy !! The restaurant was bursting at its seams with guests occupying all available tables. There was no one from the restaurant’s side to even help or guide us to find a table. Finally, after much scrambling and running up and down we were shown a just vacated table. It was not of our first, or second, or even the third choice of seating. But then we had no say in the matter, given the unruly crowd of overflowing guests, most of whom had no reservations yet were wandering inside the restaurant hunting for occupying seats that were about to get empty. Wonder why the restaurant does not have any proper crowd management processes or systems in place. At least some security personnel at the door would have been helpful in stopping any unauthorised entry. Guests, who made the bookings well in advance like us, were left in the lurch, to fend for ourselves.

There were guests all over our table walking here and there to grab an empty seat. It was very disturbing and rather unsettling. We went hoping to spend a leisurely, peaceful, calm and quiet afternoon. But it proved to be just the opposite – the restaurant was noisy, with the most guests talking loudly to drown the high decibel noises around the restaurant, while others were shouting loudly over each other’s voices calling the waiters, and asking for something or the other to be brought to their table. The waiters were scrambling around like headless chicken not knowing whom to serve or what ! Adding to our agony was the recorded ‘Happy Birthday’ song that was loudly, constantly and unfailingly played, with the waiters, deafeningly clapping in accompaniment, which definitely did not help our case one wee bit. Whew. The whole experience was a living nightmare.

Naturally, given the rush, the service was hurried and haphazard. We were not even served what we should have been served as per the restaurant’s serving protocol. Chicken was the meat we got the most of. We did not get any of the higher priced meat items on the menu like mutton or prawns or even fish for that matter. Maybe it is the ploy of the restaurant to serve only meats that are available cheaper more, and little or no meats, that are priced on a higher slab. There were no seconds served for any dish, thank you very much.

The live counters were all jam-packed with guests. The main course self-service dishes were all flat-out empty. We could not even sample any of the main dishes like the staple Biryani, Mutton curry and others. There were no noodles either – all gone !! We did not even get a chance to taste them. And the restaurant staff did nothing to replenish the dishes that had run out. So were all the other dessert items including the readymade ice creams too which were empty. It was complete chaos and a total and absolute mess. Mind you, we had gone there with a proper reservation and on the time we were asked to be present. And yet, most of what we got was nothing.

Adding to our misery was none of the waiters were conversant in English. They did not even understand what we were trying to tell them (or so they acted !) and they were trying their best to avoid the tables where their assistance was sought the most.

To sum up, we felt short-changed after paying a whopper of a bill. And, overall, the experience was definitely unpalatable that left a bad taste...

We visited BBQ Nation recently as a group of nine and would like to share some constructive feedback. The manager asked us multiple times if we had any suggestions — so here’s a detailed note.

To begin with, no complaints on the service, ambience, or hospitality. The staff were courteous and responsive, and the chef even sent us a special honey pineapple dish, which was a delight. Cocktails were well made and enjoyable.

However, the overall food quality and flavour have declined considerably, especially when compared to earlier BBQ Nation experiences in Chennai and Pune. It feels like the signature BBQ Nation taste has faded over the years.

Live Grill & Starters Paneer & Chicken (Grill & Main Course): Dry and hard — not just in preparation, but in ingredient quality. Definitely not something we’d eat at home.

Crispy Corn: No seasoning at all when we reordered.

Soya & Hariyali Paneer: Very dry, with no flavour absorption. Extremely underwhelming.

Broccoli: Retained the tough, chewy part of the stem — rubbery post grilling.

Cajun Spiced Potato: A shadow of its former self — now tastes like basic mayo + red chili, lacking the original BBQ Nation kick.

Prawns, Mushroom & Pineapple: These stood out as the highlights from the grill.

Kebabs & Fish (Grilled, Tawa, Coastal Curry): Consistently good across the board — flavourful and well cooked.

Live Counter Pani Puri: Average.

Dahi Puri: Just okay.

Keema Pav Bhaji: Surprisingly delicious — well-balanced masala and flavourful execution.

Soups, Salads & Main Course Soups: Quite good.

Salads: Lacked flavour and freshness.

Spinach Kofta: Hard and bland, with no texture or flavour from the gravy.

Paneer Butter Masala: Suffered from the same dry, chewy paneer issue.

Egg Curry: Nicely done.

Naan: Soft and fresh — one of the better items from the main course.

Mutton Nihari: Well-cooked and rich in flavour — a rare win in the main course.

Pasta, Noodles & Oriental Veg: Total letdown. The pasta felt watery and lacked seasoning; the oriental veg and noodles were equally unimpressive.

Biryani (Veg & Non-Veg): Extremely dry — almost like they didn’t want people to eat it.

Desserts Brownies: Dry and crumbly.

Moong Dal Halwa: Had a burnt aroma and was not enjoyable.

Kulfi: Creamy and well done — one of the few highlights.

Coconut Pastry & Barfi: Pastry was bland; barfi pieces were so tiny they broke apart when trying to pick them up.

Firni, Gulab Jamun & Moong Dal Halwa: These have been on the menu forever and desperately need a refresh.

There is so much untapped potential in the dessert section. Why not experiment with fresh, exciting options like Rabdi Jalebi, Baked Rasgulla, or Carrot Kheer? The current selection feels dated and lacks the "wow" factor that a buffet finale should deliver.

Drinks & Bar Section Cocktails: Well-prepared and enjoyable.

Bar Variety: Limited — could definitely be expanded, especially at this price point.

While BBQ Nation charges a premium compared to other BBQ buffets in Chennai, the quality and flavour no longer justify the price. The food lacked the excitement and uniqueness that once made BBQ Nation a go-to brand. Even though we ate quite a bit, it felt more like obligation than enjoyment.

Service was top-notch, and we appreciate the team’s hospitality. But unless the food quality, variety, and taste improve, it’s hard to recommend the place based on the...