Hamsa — Restaurant in Zone 13 Adyar

Fine dining: where the AC is set to Antarctica, the waiters play hide-and-seek, and the only thing well done… was my patience. Attracted by moody lighting and influencer hype—should’ve just gone to Geetham or Sangeetha and eaten like royalty. Lesson learned: never trade real food for reel food.

We went for fine dining, but what we got was a luxury tax on our patience and wallets.

I planned to surprise my wife for her birthday but the one surprised was me!!

Taste: 3 out of 5 - Just Average, Folks!

Jamun: Oh, the complimentary jamun? Absolutely divine! It was like tasting a perfect jamun for the first time in decades. But, if you want more, be prepared to shell out over 400 bucks plus tax (not plain jamun but with flavors). Yeah, because that's exactly what I wanted to spend on a flavored jamun. I'd give it 10 stars out of 5 (you read it right!).

Starter Platter for 2: For a whopping 675 bucks, you get to choose three starters. What a deal! Here's what we tried:

Hara Kebab: 3 out of 5. Honestly, it was nothing special. You can get better herb-filled kebabs elsewhere.

Subziyaan Seekh Kebab: 2 out of 5. It was as exciting as a lecture on crop rotation—no flavor whatsoever.

Makkai Muthia Chaat: 1 out of 5. Avoid this like the plague. They tried something unique but ended up with a culinary catastrophe.

Wheat Lacha Paratha: 5 out of 5. This paratha was so soft, I almost cried tears of joy. It remained soft even the next day, which is either a miracle or a hint of preservatives (just kidding, I hope!). It's pricey at 145 bucks, but hey, worth it.

Leaf Enclosed Hamsa Signature Rice: 4 out of 5. The rice was perfect, but they ruined it with raw cucumber and tomato. It was like they wanted to create a fusion dish of continental + Indian but ended up confusing my taste buds. Pricey at 675 bucks, but I guess that's what you pay for experimentation.

Subz Kolhapuri: 5 out of 5. This dish was the real MVP. Rich, aromatic, and actually worth the royal ambiance they're going for. Even at 575 bucks, I was satisfied.

Service: 2.5 out of 5 - Where's the Magic?

I read all these glowing reviews about the service being out of this world. Yeah, the staff's attitude was great, but that's about it. Influencers promised “out of the world” service. Well, they weren’t wrong—we had to stare into the void, aka the waiters’ faces, just to be noticed. We spent the evening perfecting our waiter-summoning skills. Spoiler: they didn’t work. And this was with barely a handful of diners! The delay in service felt like either poor coordination or an attempt to make the place look “happening” by keeping people seated longer.

Also, I called a day before to ask about buffet and thali options. Was told buffet isn’t available (fine), but no one mentioned that thali is only served at noon or with a group of 5+. We came specifically for the thali—and had to switch to à la carte. Classic bait-and-switch?

Ambience: 2.5 out of 5 - Luxury Tax on Comfort

The AC was freezing, the lights were dim (which was probably a blessing since it hid the mold on the walls), and the chairs were so uncomfortable, it felt like they were designed by a sadist. The silver utensils were fancy (only for jamun and mains), but the IKEA glasses (Swedish royalty)?! They call it "private dining," but really, it's just a fancy way of saying you'll be yelling across the table to communicate with your partner while listening to the next table's gossip. Perfect for a birthday surprise—said...

I have always wanted to go here, and experience the private dining so I decided to surprise my husband for Valentine's. Got a table on a Sunday, it's very hard as you have only 2 slots a day, so make sure to book earlier. We could choose the menu a day prior to our visit. So we reached the place on time, and went and told about our reservation. We were escorted to the 2nd floor, the place for private dining, the moment we got out of the lift, we see two doors in silver and the manager opens it for us and we get inside the room. The room beautifully lit and smelling of fresh roses, adorned with silver artefacts and wall murals, the table with silver cutleries on a bed of roses. Absolutely awestruck by the royalty and hospitality. We sat there first just observing all the cutleries and the ambience around us. We were welcomed with a sweet, gulab jamun served in this beautiful dish. Then we started off with a chef's special soup foe the day, tomato dhaniya shorba. For the starters I chose the cheese kurkure, grilled vazhaithandu and makkai muthia chaat. Loved all of them, the cheese kurkure paired really well with a green chutney they served. For the mains, I picked a bhindi bhaaji, urlai roast, koften brindavan, palak paneer, subz dum biriyani and a mix veg raita along with cheese and olive naan and garlic naan. The mains served in little katoris were really rich in taste and looks. Very appetising. But honestly, though the items looked very less, we couldn't complete everything and had to waste a lot of it. The quantity was a lot. For the beverage we had a sambhaaram and a masala buttermilk. And to end the feast, I chose a lychee aur thande naariyal ka kheer, badam halwa and saffron kulfi. Lip smacking desserts, absolutely delicious. The flavours of each of them right on point in each of them. Everything so rich and tasty. We really had to waste a lot of food which felt very guilty, but it was worth the experience on the whole. We even had a bell to ask for more if needed. One drawback, which we felt was there was no handwash in that floor specifically for the private dining area. We had to go to the first floor to use the restroom or wash hands. I would probably like to have a hot wet towel as the guests arrive and are seated before they start with the soup, to compensate for the washing of hands. I feel that would be a nice alternative to making them go down and wash their hands, with all the royal treatment already being given, this is just another small addition. All said and done, one amazing experience on the whole and truly felt like a...

One of the worst experience we had on Dec 26th 2022(2-3 pm)extremely overrated and hyped . Well we visited Hamsa in Adyar , we were asked to wait downstairs where heavy construction was going on for solid 20 mins around 1:50 pm it was only us and no one else were waiting . We finally went to have lunch , we were given one of worst basic chairs which was covered with black cloths. Entire restaurant had different chairs but only it was us given this kind of chaos , when I enquired the same with managers his name is “”’’“Raju “‘’ ( one with black coat and spectacles) he was very very rude and sarcastic spoiled the entire vibe of eating . He made us feel as if we came to eat food for free.

Then some one came to take the order , I do not eat paneer and butter instead of working around he was blunt …..told us this is what we have … for boasting to be high end restaurant they lack people skills and communication.

Every one has different choices and making small changes can go long way along with respect and acknowledging customers food habits .

Only reason I did not walk out after all this ……as my friend was hungry and did not wish to create a scene .

If management wants proof , they can check cc TV cameras between 2pm to 3pm .

Some coconut paysam was good other than food is really bad . People need to retrained how to behave ,”””treat poeple with dignity and respect “‘“‘“‘’. Most importantly understanding customers what they eat and what they won’t be comfortable not eating .

These guys fail at multiple levels .

Note to management : you are not reachable…. Sir no point in expanding when you fail to look into what’s going on now …. Treat this as wake up call . Try and do some...