Continental drift

A new restaurant in Koramangala serves everything from hummus to pizza to Mangalorean kori gassi. Is it all equally good? Namita Gupta finds out

The best way to get up-close and personal with food is to have the pleasure of indulging in it, so when I heard of the new 12th Main restaurant, I booked a table for two.

Tucked inside Mercure Homestead, the fine dining restaurant presents a happy picture with pleasant and calming interiors in soothing green and white, with a very contemporary twist.

I freaked at the exhaustive menu presented by chef Gaurav Shiva, who was the man behind the success of Mint at Taj West End. The choices at 12th Main are endless. The Mezze Sampler Platter had hummus, muttabel and falafel with tahina, garlic aioli, Lebanese pickles, harissa and pita coated with bran, sumac and zathar all very appetizing.

The Kori Kempu Bezule, tender morsels of chicken deep-fried, tossed with serrano chillies and curry leaves and served with garlic-scented yogurt, went well with my mango mojito.

I skipped the soup, as the mojito was a better option and jumped straight to the pasta and pizza, both which looked extremely tempting on the menu. There was spaghetti with pesto cream sauce, farfalle aglio olio e peperoncino and penne arrabiatta, but I chose to play safe and went for the tried and tested Farfalle with Chicken in Cream Sauce, which was cooked the way Italians like it al dente.

The chef recommended Pizza Margherita (tomato, cheese and basil), and so delicious was the thin crust pizza that I didn't mind tucking in heartily. This pizza is a cheese lover's delight, but a dairy overload if you aren't one.u00a0

There was also a good selection of risotto like Risotto Al' Forestiere, Risotto Al' Asparagi and Risotto Gamberetti, but I decided I had sampled plenty on the Italian side and wanted some variety.

For choice, there was mutton stew with idiappams, kori gassi or boneless morsels of chicken cooked in a traditional Mangalorean masala with kori roti, au00a0 selection of fish preparations like grilled fillet of fish and fillet mignon.

Opting for Chicken in Thai Green Curry, I enjoyed the flavours of galangal, lemongrass and coconut milk, which went well with the steamed jasmine rice. The curry was fiery, the way Thai curries are meant to be.
For dessert, I picked the 12th Main Dark Chocolate Mousse, which was made in a classic French style, hence sinfully rich.

Where: 12th Main, Mercure Homestead Residences, 12th main, 3rd block Koramangala
When: All days of the week, from 12 -3 pm and 7-12 pm
Wallet factor: Rs 1,000 for a meal for two.