Olive Garden | Restaurant Review

Place: Olive Garden 
Location: Hitech City Main Road 
Cuisine: Indian Buffet 
Meal: Lunch (with friends)

On a Friday noon, met some friends and we decided to stop by some place near Hi-Tech City for lunch. We first walked into the new All Seasons restaurant opposite Cyber Pearl, but it was yet to open. Then we tried getting into Pizza Hut, but it was jam-packed. Finally, after about 10 minute wait, found a table at Olive Garden. We were really hungry, so seated ourselves at a table for four even before it was cleaned. This place used to be one of my favorites long ago. I loved their North-Indian dishes, especially their Malai Kofta. This time around, we decided to try their buffet on table.

They had to clean the table thrice before it was properly clean for every time they were cleaning it in a hurry. Once done, they gave us a one page menu with the buffet listing: Vegetable and Chicken Cantonese Soups, a bunch of Salads, Crispy Vegetables, Spicy Crispy Potatoes, Egg Manchuria and Chicken Tikka for starters, Paneer Methi Chaman, Mixed Veg., Aloo Baigan, Dal Tadka and Punjabi Chicken as entrees, Butter Naan, Vegetable and Murgh Dum Biryani, Curd rice, Gulab Jamoon, Fruit Salad and Vanilla Ice-cream for deserts.  We were pretty happy with what they had and asked for the soups and starters.

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It took forever for the soup to arrive, and even longer before starters were served. Bigger problem was that they were serving only one starter at a time, so I had to wait while the non-veg starters were on. The Soup was tasty and tangy, the Potatoes were crispy and very spicy, and the Crispy Vegetables were fine, but a little under cooked.

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After another ten minute wait, the main course was served. The Paneer Methi Chaman was creamy and yummy, Mixed Vegetable was average, and the Aloo Baigan was alright. The egg-plant was a little raw, but otherwise, the curry was fine. The Dal was decent, nothing great. The Butter Naan was soft and good.

As with most places serving buffet, the Biryani was horrible. It neither had taste nor flavor.

The Ice-cream and Gulab Jamoon were good. But when we asked for the Jamoon second time around, under-cooked Jamoon was served.

Overall, a decent meal for the price we paid. It doesn’t make much sense for vegetarians, but for non-veggies, it’s a great bargain. The non-veg food, as told by my friends, was very good. The idea of buffet at the table seemed innovative, but the slow service was a big let down. We were hoping for hot food to be served every time we wanted something, but on most occasions, cold food was served. Also, while we can get anything we want at our discretion at a regular buffet, here we had to wait for him to bring it out from the kitchen, which was kinda irritating.

With better service, this place could get bigger. For now, give it a shot if you are in search for a decent buffet in the Hi-Tech city area.

Food: 7.5/10
Service:6/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 950/- (Buffet: Rs. 199/- + Taxes per head)

Verdict: 7.5/10

Mozzarella | Restaurant Review

Place: Mozzarella Global Cuisine 
Location: Opp. Audi showroom, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills 
Cuisine: Buffet 
Meal: Lunch 

I’ve wanted to try this place for really long time and here I was on a Monday afternoon to try their buffet. The place was quite and had pretty good ambiance. I was courteously seated at a table for two. I expected the place to be crowded, but  it was empty but for a large family at one table.

Over the next few minutes, Tomato Dhaniya Shorba was served, and I was asked to choose my starters. Unlike other places, they did not have the starters at the buffet, but were making them to order. For veggies, they had Barbeque Vegetables and Veg. Kababs (Veg. Tikli as they mentioned it).

The soup was very very spicy and had a strong Dhaniya flavor to it. I din’t want to burn my mouth so early, do skipped it.

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The starters were pretty good. The Barbeque Vegetables were crispy and crunchy, and the Kababs were one of the best I’ve had recently. They were really well-baked, and were yummy. Had almost 10 of them!

On the buffet, they had two Italian dishes: Veg. Pasta and Stroganoff. The pasta was alright, too tomatoey, while the Stroganhoff was very creamy and yum!! Only problem though was the quantity of food in the chafing dishes; both the items were so less in quantity that I literally had to scrape them off. The Stroganhoff especially had a thick crust formed over it.

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On the North-Indian front, they had Paneer Tikka Masala, Subj Panchratan and Dal Tadka. The Paneer was kinda hard, and the gravy had a sour taste to it. While I normally don’t prefer dal’s outside, I found that their Dal was really good. The Panchratan was creamy and tasty. Butter Naan served at the table was alright.

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For Chinese, they had Hakka Noodles, Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce and Ginger Capsicum Fried Rice. The Noodles were good and The sauce was alright. The Fried rice was really hard and horrible, again, the quantity in the dish was all you see in the pic.

The best part of the buffet for me were the deserts. They had Gajar Ka Halwa, Kiwi Souffle, Chocolate Mud pie and Vanilla Ice-cream with Fried Honey Wantons. The Halwa was perfect, not so sweet, yum. The Souffle had a nice flavor to it and was very good. Wantons with Ice-cream tasted awesome. The best of the lot though was the Mud pie. It was chocolaty and heavenly. Bliss!!

Overall, apart from the yummy deserts, the rest of the food was average. Apart from the Veg dishes mentioned, there was Mutton Biryani and  two Chicken dishes. They seemed to taste good, for the few people around me were hogging on them alone. Maybe that is why, the quantity of almost all Veg dishes was minimal. The fact that I had to scrape food off the chafing dishes was a big turn off. For the price, I thought they could do much better.

Give it a try if you are bored with other places.

Food: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 320/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Jivas | Restaurant Review

Place: Jivas 
Location: Raj Bhavan Road 
Cuisine: Multicuisine Buffet 
Meal: Lunch 

After my high profiled job interview yesterday morning, I felt like eating a heavy meal. Someone recently told me about this place called ‘Nautanki Galli’ at Hitech City, so decided to give it a try. The place was great, but the buffet priced at Rs. 388/-, was full of non vegetarian food. So I decided to give this one a skip, and instead go to their sister restaurant Jivas (both owned by Ohri’s group). Picked up mom and dad on the way.

I love this place for their lavish buffet. The moment we were seated at our table, a plate of starters – veg Kababs and veg Manchuria, was served. A little later came in Noodle soup, followed by Papdi Chat. Both the Kababs and Manchuria were yummy delicious. The soup was nothing great, but again, the Chat was really good.

Once done, I started off with their Chinese food – Schezwan Noodles, Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce and American Sweet Corn Fried Rice. The Noodles was appetizing. The Rice and Hot Garlic Sauce were alright. The Rice though tasted much better with the Manchuria.

Next, the Indian food. On this day, they had Mutter Paneer, Aloo Tindoora, Baingan Masala, some Mixed Vegetable curry, and Biryani. There was a live Phulka counter, but I preferred their Butter Naan. The Naan was good, but the curry’s weren’t so great. The Paneer was not so fresh, Baingan Masala was too thin, and the other two were just alright. I don’t like their Biryani much, so I preferred to skip it. Also, I was already bursting!

Tried a little of their Besi Bele Bath. It dint taste good initially, but was actually good. I gave a skip at their Dal Makhni, Tomato Dal and Curd Rice.

Finally, plunged into their deserts section – Mango Ice-cream, Chocolate Pastry, Rasgulla and Sooji Halwa. The Rasgulla and Sooji Halwa were out of the world. I wanted to have more of them, but there was no place left in my tummy. The Pastry too was excellent.

Overall, a lavish, sumptuous meal for a very decent price. Wanted to take pictures, but was too lazy after eating so much. The ambiance was great, but the place was a little too loud for they were two big parties sitting at the adjacent tables. You get similar vegetarian buffet at Bikanervala at Banjara Hills, at a slightly higher price.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 699/- (Rs. 185 + Taxes per person)

Verdict: 8.5/10

* This restaurant is now moved to a new location and renamed as Jiva Imperia.