Hop over to this new address to catch Mediterranean food in its real avatar

Hop over to this new address to catch Mediterranean food in its real avatar

If you are looking for a quick fix lunch during the weekdays, we suggest you give Fava a skip. For a meal at Fava, a new restaurant at a swanky mall is much more than a quick-bite affair.
u00a0
Fava, (a kind of broad bean used in Mediterranean cuisine) is a restaurant with a minimalist wooden d ufffdcor, the blue furnishing giving it a dash of Mediterranean feel.

The restaurant has an open deck area with wooden flooring and a bar attached to a large dining area and even a first floor section for parties and private affairs.
u00a0

The open deck is ideal for sitting out and enjoying those evening showers that make sultry Bangalore turn into a cool haven instantly.

You could also pick this area to catch some cricket action on the large flat screen TV at the amphitheatre down below. Watching the IPL just got easier. The restaurant also has French windows facing a lush garden.

The world on a platter

The highlight of ordering at Fava is of course their Dozen Mezzes (Rs 625) platter. The staff came carrying a wooden shelf like structure with 12 gleaming little bowls of heavenly dips.
u00a0
We liked the orange and cinnamon flavoured hummus, carrots pureed with almonds and paprika (a Tunisian dip called Omi Huriya), a fava bean and gorgonzola cheese hummus, walnut & goat cheese hummus (absolutely lip smacking), Babaghanoush, Tabouli: a chopped parsley, mint, garlic salad with broken bulghar wheat, Sambousek, a Middle Eastern take on the samosa filled with minced lamb and the Dolma, steamed fish flavoured with garlic and mint wrapped in vine leaves.

Every dip offered a novel taste with nuts, wheat, fresh herbs and lime coming together in an interesting smorgasbord of flavours.

Our pick: The Sambousek and the goat cheese dip. Perfect for dipping with fresh pita bread.

Still waiting for its beer and alcohol license, Fava has come up with some exotic wine-based cocktails instead.
u00a0
Our orders of a Spice Martini (Rs 300), a red wine cocktail peppered with cinammon, cardamom, cloves and star anise and the Pineapple and Sage Sangria mixed with sparkling wine (Rs 325) were whipped up without a flaw.
u00a0
The Sangria was light and fresh and the Spice Martini was heady with the warm toasted spices giving it a piquant taste.

Couscous hota hai

For the mains, our Lamb Tajine (Rs 375) arrived on a bed of couscous. We were expecting a slow cooked, bubbling meat stew to be brought to us in a traditional clay pot but it came directly on the plate.
u00a0
The lamb was tender enough to fall off the bone but somehow the taste of the apricots, which is an intrinsic part of this dish, was lost .We found the stew too salty for our taste.
u00a0
The Spanakopita Stack, spinach cooked with feta cheese and stacked between layers of thin, flaky pastry sheets and accompanied by grilled vegetables came next.
u00a0
The juices from the spinach and the saltiness of the feta had been soaked up by the pastry layers. When we mouthed a spoonful of spinach and the pastry together, it tasted divine.

The grilled white bhekti with piccada rub (a Catalan marinade made of olive oil, garlic, wine, etc.) with an olive and potato mash and romesco sauce (another Catalan sauce made with olive oil and nuts primarily) (Rs 375), was tender but not really outstanding.

The desserts at Fava however is a different story altogether. Choosing between the Turkish Baklava with fig and honey ice cream (Rs 195) and a baked walnut, honey and semolina cake with fresh fruits (Rs 160) was tough, but the cherry on the cake was the Rose of Damascus (Rs 125), a rose flavoured sorbet topped with a caramelised sugar glaze, garnished with almonds and strawberries.

The baklava was crisp, flaky and filled with a mish-mash of minced nuts, the semolina cake was rich, moist and crumbly and the sorbet was sweet, cool and refreshing without giving us a brain freeze.

Fava also has executive and quick menus for those who want to come here for a work lunch or a quick meeting.
u00a0
But we would recommend taking some time out to come here for a leisurely meal. Our only grouse, we wish the place would not be so high brow and would loosen up a bit.

After all we are talking of Mediterranean cuisine and atmosphere here, aren't we?u00a0u00a0u00a0
u00a0u00a0
At Fava, UB City, Vittal Mallya Road
Call 2211 7444
Meal for two Approx Rs 2,500