Burgundy’s, Chennai: A New Multi-cuisine Restaurant at Chennai

We drove into the private parking lot of Burgundy’s at a not so perfect time for lunch, at around 2:00 PM, but since Tuesday being an ‘a la carte’ day here, we realised that we were safe from missing the food. The restaurant, adding another glamorous hot-spot in the uptown MRC Nagar, is housed at the ground floor of Somerset, the Singapore based 4 star serviced apartments, which belongs to The Ascott Limited, the world’s largest Hotel Apartments group. Burgundy’s is yet another signature restaurant from celebrity Chef Willi and promoter Vipin Sachdev, whose Tuscana (Italian) and Kryptos (Greek) at KNK Road were runaway successes, when launched at least, and Tuscana is still one of the most popular in its league. The lush greenery and the well-kept lawn at the entrance are a welcome sight, especially during a hot summer day in Chennai, with a part of the outdoors reserved as children’s play area and a small but comfortably enough area designated for sit-out dining. The interior was contemporary, simple, spacious and to the point. Most of the seating is arranged alongside the windows, thus bringing in a lot of natural light and also giving the guests a view of the play-area, in case they have come with children.

We were hosted by very courteous Priyanka Dutta, Marketing Manager at Tuscana-Kryptos, who sat through the whole tasting session, and assisted all throughout by the ever-smiling Asst. Manager. Bhushan.

We started with the ‘Grilled Satays’, trying the chicken (Rs. 465), shrimp (Rs. 465), minced paneer (Rs. 390) and potato (Rs. 390) options which were accompanied by peanut sauce, rice crackers (vadams) and sticky rice. All the four ‘Satays’ were juicy, flavorful and perfectly grilled. The shrimps especially carried the full flavor of the marination, which was evident in every bite. The sticky rice blended well with the grills, the ‘vadams’ weren’t crisp enough, but the peanut sauce was delightfully light.

We moved on to the first part of the main course, which were Italian specialties Beef Bolognaise Spaghetti (Rs. 615) and Penne Pasta with Pink sauce (Rs. 430). I am not a fan of beef, but the fact that Beef Bolognaise is a popular dish at Burgundy’s made me try it. I was simply impressed. The beef almost melted in my mouth which went along well with the strong Italian herbs and spices. The penne pasta was well balanced in its flavors too. Both the penne and the spaghetti were cooked to text-book ‘al-dente’ perfection, which helped the aroma of the herbs emanate even better.

Indian was next on the table, which consisted of Paneer Tikka Makhani (Rs. 425), Dal Makhani (Rs. 195), Butter Chicken gravy (Rs. 540), Butter Naan (Rs. 130), Tandoori Roti, Veg Biryani (Rs. 525) and Mutton Biryani (Rs. 650). The Paneer Tikka gravy and Butter Chicken were face saving, with the chicken retaining its moisture and juiciness, though we felt the paneer could’ve been a tad softer. Dal Makhani didn’t meet our expectations since, it’s usually the Dal which is expected to be a ‘saviour dish’ just in case the others disappoint. It tasted more like Mixed Dal, than Makhani. The Naan was the better among the breads, which was both softer as well as crispier. While the Veg Biryani fared better with its ‘kofta’ inclusion, my verdict on the Mutton Biryani’s got is mixed. The rice carried all the aroma and was flavorsome, but the meat tasted like it came straight out of boiling water. Given the fact that I hail from the Deccan region where Biryani not just forms the most important part of our every single occasion (happy or sad), but is also a dish prepared at least once a week at home, I felt a bit let down with the way the meat tasted. Whatever be the style followed, according to me, the perfect Biryani is that where there is absolute harmony between the rice, the spices and the meat.
All’s well that ends well! Fortunately, we were able to save some space for the most awaited part of our afternoon, the dessert. When we asked Mr. Bhushan to help us choose the dessert, we were suggested the Melting Chocolate Devil’s cake and Cream Brulee (Rs. 225 each), which was my favorite choice too. The latter’s taste still lingers fresh in my mind (even after a week) with the hint of berries and crystallized sugar making me salivate even now. The Devil’s cake was soft and its chocolate taste is one of those that makes you crave for more; but the way it was described in the menu, made me expect more molten chocolate inside.

Overall, a good dining experience with novel ambience and courteous staff, regardless of whether you go with your friends, family or business associates. For me it scores an additional point since the meat served is Halal. Open from 6:30 AM till midnight.

Disclosure: This review was done upon the invitation of the restaurant.

Ratings (out of 5)

Ambience: 4.0 | Food: 3.5 | Service: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0

Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Meal for two:  ₹3000/-

Address:Burgundy’s, “Somerset”, # 94, Sathyadev Avenue, Next to Chettinad Vidyasharam School, MRC Nagar, Chennai | Telephone: +91 44 4900 1000

- Aamir Rahman