Imagine you are blindfolded and left on a street... You free your eyes off of the blindfold, you are hungry, you walk around and look right, left... or all around you for a place to eat and all you see are SLV's... Wondering what these are??? The places in Bangalore that serve Idli, vada, dosa etc. with sweetened sambar & chutney... they are called SLV's because they invariably are named Sri Laxmi Venkateshwara's!! 😦 Horrifying isn't it?!?? It would have been for me at least!
These serve all vegetarian food.. nothing fancy.. just the South Indian staples and a meagre attempt at some of the North Indian dishes, but no matter how many of these SLV's open you will not find an inch of space to set foot into them...!! Wonder where these people appear from!!!! So I hope I have set the context right.. I stay in a neighbourhood filled with lots of vegetarians & such SLV eateries. I do like to eat these at these places maybe once a quarter... but then, we make most of the things these people dish out at home don't we?? Don't we look to eat something new or different when we think of heading out for a meal? I do...!!! If your reading my review I think you do too :)!!..
The places to eat out in my part of town can be counted with the digits of my hand, but mind you all that I count wouldn't be a place where a family crowd can hangout. Many of these places are for a takeaway or even if they have seating you have to make do with people staring into your plate and waiting for you to vacate the table. I'm so bored of eating from here as there are no changes in their menu's.. just the thought of some of these restaurant's makes my stomach squirm!!
The restaurant scene here needs a complete makeover for sure. I'm so happy to say that Banashankari finally has a place for a family crowd to hang out in style over a good Indian/Chinese style meal with both vegetarian & non-vegetarian options and skip travelling all the way to JP Nagar/Koramangla/MG road/Indiranagar ...!! 😀
The Spice Elephant is situated on the 2nd floor of a building that houses KFC in a busy street of Banashankari stage 3, just 100 mtrs from the Kathriguppe circle. The best bit is that they have parking :D.
Visit them once & I'm sure you will keep going back for more.. They have a menu which will please all.. young or old!! Definite value for money.. !!! Their food is very rich, flavourful & lip smacking 😋. The blend of spices n cheese, cream, nuts with meat or vegetables makes you feel you are eating a meal fit for a king!! 😬 Their Indian breads are good too.
Ambience - The restaurant is tastefully done up Subtle colours & comfortable seating. The staff & service is good. Music they play is a variety of instrumental music. You will play no heed to the music because you are there to have a fun time with family & friends & most of the time your mouth will be stuffed with good food :).
Cuisine - Multi-Cuisine - Indian - Mughalai, Tandoor, Chinese, Thai
Highlight - Skillful chefs who will take your taste buds on a rollercoaster ride.
Offers - Currently 10% off on their bill for table reservations through Dineout.
My Take - The entrance is lovely...!! They have a wall with plants, though some need replacement as the summer heat has taken a toll on them. The wall inside the restaurant is hand-painted with animals & birds which represent the countries whose cuisine they serve.
The Spice Elephant is a wonderful restaurant with a very interesting menu. They have a twist to the traditional Mughlai and Tandoori cuisine.. and I'm sure their Chinese menu is one that you don't see in the umpteen Indian restaurants serving Chinese. 😬 They also have a bit of Thai cuisine.. ! Though I would prefer their Indian & Indian Chinese any day!
When I go to dine out... I prefer restaurants to set the table with cutlery that is appropriate for the food they serve. Many restaurants fail to source knifes & they serve meat or big chunks of tandoori vegetarian dishes which you are supposed to tackle with a spoon & fork!. Here I was amazed as they had knives. :).
Loads of times we are in head out for a meal with few hard core non-veggies, some eggitarians & the rest, pure vegetarians, it so happens many a times that we are lost in conversation and the staff ends up serving the wrong food to the wrong person,.. hasn't that happened to you? Wont happen here, as they have colour coded glasses for water to help the staff.
My Recommendations:
Vegetarian:
1.Paneer tikka Firdausi - fresh, tender paneer squares cooked in the tandoor with their secret spice mix.
2. Dahi ki tikki - Spiced, hung curd tikki's :P.
3. Malai maska phool - Florets of Broccoli done on the tandoor & smothered in a fresh cream sauce. Love broccoli?!? You ought to give this a try!
4. Khumbh ki churchiri - For the mushroom lovers :).
5. Jehangiri kofta - Paneer & khoya in a lip smacking sweet chutney gravy.
6. Triple wonder cottage cheese sizzler - A twist to the Chinese style of paneer dishes we are used to.. MUST TRY!!!. I asked them to serve it to me in a normal dish instead of a sizzler pan.
Non-vegetarian:
1.Ghost ki yakhni - a rich flavourful soup from the distant land of Kashmir, perfect to start off a culinary extravaganza here.
2.Lal batti macchi - A fish lover has to try this for sure.. Tender, juicy pieces of Basa cooked to perfection.
3. Amritsari tandoori kukkad - MUST TRY!!!
4. Tandoori jhinga aapki pasand - you can check with the different spice mixes they have to offer & choose :).
5. Tangri benazir - Chicken leg stuffed with minced fish & prawns.. 😀
6. Pari ki pankh - Tender chicken stuffed with minced chicken & cheese, order this first ;)!!.
7. Hot & spicy BBQ chicken - A Chinese flavoured chicken dish with a BBQ twist.. MUST TRY!!
8. Pan fried chilli fish - Loved it!!! I can never say no to this one! A well balanced dish.. not too sweet or spicy or hot!
Their butter chicken is for those who like their curry's on a tad sweeter side..
Accompaniments - Try their stuffed kulcha, very delicate & tastes wonderful. Bhakarkani kulcha too is a delight -made from a dough which has been massaged with some ghee, milk, sugar & elaichi!! Kids will gobble them up for sure! 🙂
Their biryani is good, a little on the spicier side due to the whole spice mix, but for me when they are so many other amazing dishes.. I would pass on the biryani.
Desserts -
1. Chocolate nirvana - a small glass filled with alternating layers of cake, ice-cream, cream & topped with some chocolate sauce & grated chocolate :D. I don't think you will want to share this one!! 🙂
2. Fried ice cream - Loved this. Perfect for someone who doesn't have a sweet tooth, just request them to go light on the honey drizzle :).
3. Gajar ka halwa - Do I have to say anything at all ???
Opening Hours - 12 pm - 3.30pm ; 7pm - 11pm, all week long.
For reservations - 080 41714161.
Average cost for two - 800/-rupees approx.
Address - 2nd Floor, 80 Feet Road, Near Big Bazaar, 6th Block, Kathriguppe, 3rd Stage, Banashankari, Bangalore.
