Weekend desperation in Bangalore.

We are no party animals, not even pub-crawlers or head-bangers looking out for a clamorous place. A peaceful mediocre place which serves good drink and dinner, comfortable for nattering on a Saturday evening, is just what we were looking for.

“Gaurav family restaurant” with terrace garden was recommended by one of our friends. He was quite right about catering to our expectations; it was very much what we wanted. But the waiter with a quick math in his brain said half hour wait is a must to get a table. Baffled and disappointed we thought we’ll barge into “Canton”. The response was verbatim same as what we got in Gaurav, difference being the language…he uttered the same thing in English. Frustration levels started soaring high. “Nandini” was someone else’s recommendation…that again was a dismal one for Nandini serves no drink. Finally we entered “Banjaara”, we were glad and surprised to find unoccupied tables, we settled down on one of them. “What the ?” was our response after glimpsing the menu. A place which looked like a dining hall of a north Indian wedding, with sick live music – murderous singer singing Kishore Kumar numbers, wants us to pay Rs.130 for a small drink of Royal Challenge!!! It’s a perfect place for guys having girlfriends of “areyyyyyy chalo na yaaaar, weeeekend bhaaahar khaaana kaayenge naaaa…pleaseeeeeee” sorts. Since we had ordered a beer pitcher, we requested the manager to serve the same in the next restaurant, a silent one. Thankfully he obliged. Even this one was quite crowded and clamorous, but no music (read noise). We didn’t get the “sexy place for talking da machha” feeling, we swilled the beer and quit.

None of us were pleased about the way we spent a Saturday evening…four of us decided we gotta hit our “adda”, the one and only – PARK VIEW. We drove with full throttle and got the table without a hassle, swilled more beer, had sumptuous, tasty, yummy, delicious, toothsome, palatable, delightful food. I’ve not used these adjectives because I knew them; I’ve used it because it is very much relevant for the food served in PARK VIEW. Don’t expect great ambience, mind numbing music, svelte and slender babes or free tables on weekends. In a nutshell PARK VIEW is “a decent place, serves drinks at reasonable price and the best food around”. Don’t forget to try egg biriyani and Neer dosa with chicken curry…they are my personal favorites. For the uninitiated, PARK VIEW is in Vijayanagar, very close to Vijayanagar bus terminus. And for those people who think Bangalore is just Kormangala, Ulsoor, Dommlur, Sarjapur road, BTM layout...Vijayanagar is somewhere on the otherside of Bangalore, closer to Mysore road.

Hmmm…I’m sure by this time you would feel that this is a nice try for a restaurant review…but I couldn’t help myself writing so much about PARK VIEW which mitigated our frustration to a great extent.