The latest Lebanese joint to sprout in the city, barbeque cafeline, offers cheap food but needs to upgrade its menu, hire better cooks and improve its service
The latest Lebanese joint to sprout in the city, barbeque cafeline, offers cheap food but needs to upgrade its menu, hire better cooks and improve its service
Aundh's crowds sure seem to be getting experimental withu00a0 their palate. The crowds gathered at the tiny cafu00e9 stand testimony to the fact. At the time of our visit, there were hordes of working professionals tucking delightedly into Shawarmas and other Lebanese dishes, which use herbs to add flavour along with fresh vegetables but with sparse use of spices. However, the menu is biased towards non-vegetarians, with hardly any options for vegetarians, which is a sad state in a lot of eateries.
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Barbeque Cafeline at Aundh. pics/ Jignesh Mistry |
Ambience: The interiors are nothing to speak of and remind you of run-of-the-mill snack joints. There are three sets of tables placed in a row and there is also a glass table lining the wall with stools. Nothing to write home about. They could have been creative with the ambience, but that's the least of their worries.
We tried: The menu offers rolls, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and combo meals. However, when we visited, pizzas and combo meals were unavailable and we had to settle for the rolls. We ordered their specialty Chicken Shawarma Plate (Rs 90), a popular Lebanese fast foodu00a0 item. Traditionally, the Shawarma is made from marinated chicken skewered on big rods, roasted slowly and then placed in a pita roll with vegetables and other tangy condiments. However, at Barbeque Cafeline, the Shawarma was not placed inside a pita roll and was instead served separately with garlic sauce tossed with onions and tomatoes. It lacked salt but after we generously applied garlic sauce and salt to it, it tasted delicious.
The Barbeque Chicken Roll (Rs 50) was served with French loaf and was stuffed with medium pieces of chicken, raw cabbage, onions, tomatoes and potatoes tossed with garlic sauce. The dish was perfect except for the bony chicken pieces that were a major downer.
The Spicy Chicken with cheese (Rs 50) was nothing short of a complete disaster. It was served with a French loaf tossed with vegetables and cooked in a spicy red sauce and served with cheese. The flavour of the spicy sauce completely overpowered the taste of cheese, ruining the dish altogether.
For a change, the Mango Milk Shake (Rs 30) was refreshing and tasty, and the only saving grace.
Service: A nice and jolly young person was our attendant for the evening. He described each and every dish to us and patiently waited for our order. However, we wish there was better planning involved as we had to wait a long while for water to be served and even for the paper napkins (as someone rushed to the nearest stationary store to buy some).u00a0u00a0u00a0
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At: DP Road, near Parihar Chowk, Aundh. Open: 11 am to 10.30 pm Call: 9764358905
