As delectable recipes go, this one has three ingredients — enthused and gourmet-searching guys and 17 of the best fine dining restaurants in the city. Their determination to give the city its own restaurant week gives us the gourmet trail. Think of a place you might want to dine for a special occasion. And then let Mangal Dalal, Nachiket Shetye and Azeem Zainulbhai do the booking and provide you with an experience that is easy on the pocket too! With this borrowed and embellished concept of Citibank Restaurant Week India, the trio hope to make each day a special one. (at least for two weeks)

Back in 1992, the orginal Restaurant Week was launched in New York with great fanfare and that’s when the trio decided to bring such a concept to India. And India, with its reputation of being an eating hub lapped it up. “We usually do a three-course meal at chosen stand-alone restaurants and five star properties in the city,” explains Nachiket. Dalal adds, “It is an opportunity for those who do not get to eat in these restaurants often. It’s for lunch or dinner but people prefer dining.”

The men behind the madness
Shetye is a chef and owns 36 Oak and Barley in Mumbai, Dalal is a chef, food writer, consultant and entrepreneur, while Zainulbhai is a financial whiz. The trio has literally pledged their love for the epicurean trail with ‘The Restaurant Week.’ And what’s not to love about eating at 5-stars and standalone restaurants at the most reasonable price of Rs 750?

“Our idea was to showcase the best that a city has to offer. Initially, we started it as a hobby where we would take a week off to do the restaurant week. But it took on a life of its own,” explains Mangal and Nachiket.

Bringing it to Delhi and Bengaluru was the next step and today, the restaurant week has its own entity that cajoles foodies. “In the last round held in March 2012, 50 restaurants participated across all three cities and over 6,600 customers dined,” they add. Now the trio is taking their idea to heart and soul… “We have coordinated over 70 restaurants in three cities for the restaurant week now. In Bengaluru, we have chosen the best 17 restaurants and we’ve eaten most of what is on offer so we can vouch for it, in some cases, we’ve also tweaked it a bit,” they add.

The beauty of the week is also that the menu has three choices if not more like in the case of Café Noir, “We showcase what the restaurant is known for with four appetisers, four mains and three desserts and it’s preplated,” explains Mangal. In Bengaluru, Mangal and Nachiket have been exemplary, having done their foodie homework and tastings at various restaurants. The final list has the choicest gems from the sea of hospitality that Bengaluru has to offer. So gorge away, folks.

Our picks
Likethatonly: Indonesian Noodle Soup, Smoked Duck Bao or Soy Glazed Pork Ribs, steamed basa, with galangal, fresh chili, lemon grass, sesame oil and kaffir lime served with rice, Spicy Beef Sukiyaki and other dishes.

Blue Ginger: A Vietnamese three course with soup and a bento box of surprises like silken tofu and water chestnut cari, wok tossed fish in hot bean sauce, grilled chicken lime leaf, among other dishes.

Café Noir offers a five course that includes crab meat and guacamole mix salad or traditional French beef filet with its Bearnaise sauce or Baked Red Snapper with its Prawns Nems, and other choices.

FARE WEATHER FOR FOODIES !
Baluchi, The Lalit Ashok Bangalore
Bene, Sheraton Bangalore
Benjarong, Ulsoor Road
Blue Ginger, The Taj West End
Café Noir, UB City
Caperberry, Dickenson Road
Dakshin, ITC Windsor
Dum Pukht, ITC Windsor
Fava, UB City
Graze, Taj Vivanta, MG Road
Likethatonly, Whitefield
Mynt, The Taj West End
Olive Beach, Ashok Nagar
The Pink Poppadom, Hotel Ista
Shiro, UB City
Sunny’s, Vittal Mallya Road
Teppan, Ulsoor Road