If one were to ask me which would
be your favourite style of cooking, the reply would be instant. I just can’t
get over grilling and reminds me of my childhood days in the Middle East when
during winters the best feeling would be light up the coals and stay around it
soaking in the beautiful aroma of chicken and mutton being barbequed. However
as time passed, this slowly faded away and in today’s fast paced world it is
quite difficult to huddle together a set of friends to plan a BBQ night.
However a few years ago, a
restaurant brought this concept on to the table top in Chennai. You could do
the grilling right on your table. I was fascinated and was a regular their
until a little later when they started to compromise on quality and hence decided
not to visit them again as they weren’t doing any justice to the concept. A
couple of imitations opened up and all failed miserably.
Coming to present times, the only
option of enjoying the passion of grilling was informing friends in advance and
doing all the prep work a day ahead so as to enjoy the moment as it comes. This
was possible only around once in a few months however it was fun. And then one
evening, while as a group of friends we were driving through city, one amongst
us spotted this new restaurant called ‘Absolute Barbecue’ which was opening up
and had the same table grill concept. He instantly told was that this was a
great eat-out in Bangalore with amazing hospitality and is a must try it once
they open.
So once they opened a visit was
instantly made. In fact the number of visits stands at three with the first
being an invitational one by the owners who hunted a couple of us through our
Zomato profiles, the second one was with family and the third again an invited
visit but this time through a food group. I’m sure this should be enough to let
you know how much I love this place. The three visits are reason enough to
ascertain that their service and hospitality are amazing irrespective of how
you visit.
Coming to their fare, Absolute
Barbecue is a foodie’s paradise. One place where their cannot be any
discrimination between the vegetarians and the meat lovers. The menu is same
throughout the week with changes only in the dessert section. Once you settle
down on your table, the dedicated waiter arrives and informs you about their
concept. The first concept is the same wherein they keep bringing the starters
to your table and you can grill them to your liking. The second concept is
where they claim to be India’s first. Yes, they have a concept called the Wish
Grill which has an exotic collection of meats and vegetables that can be paired
with regular vegetables of your choice followed by the either a combination of
rice or noodles with a sauce from a selection of five sauces. This is probably
the highlight of their offerings.
The first starters that made its
way to the table was the beautiful and succulent ‘Tangdi Kebab’ and this was
followed by a juicy ‘Mutton Sheekh’. Both these starters were served on the
plate as it would be a difficult task to do this by ourselves on the table.
This was followed by a bombardment of kebabs on skewers that we are supposed to
grill to our perfection. The skewers were of ‘Asian Chicken’, ‘Garlic Fish’, ‘Prawns’
and another variant of mutton. I loved the Asian chicken and with a dash of the
pineapple sauce that accompanies, it was just amazing. The tangdi and mutton
were the other favourites.
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| (Tangdi Chicken) |
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| (Mutton Sheekh) |
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| (Meats on the Grill) |
 |
| (Meats on the Grill) |
The vegetarian starters comprised
of ‘Grilled Paneer’, ‘Assorted vegetables’, ‘Acahri Mushrooms’, ‘Grilled
Cinnamon Pineapple’, ‘American Cheesy Potatoes’ and ‘Coconut Peanut Kebabs’.
The paneer was delicately soft and was a yum along with the coconut kebab. I
was in love with the American cheesy potatoes so much that during all visits
insisted I had atleast four servings of the same. The highlight of the entire
vegetarian fare is their grilled cinnamon pineapple. Oh my oh my, this was one
combination that I’d never tried in my life and thanks to AB (Absoulte Barbecue
as they are known), I’ve started experimenting the use of cinnamon on a lot of
my cooking. Savouring this is more of an experience rather than calling it
eating.
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| (Coconut Kebab) |
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| (American Cheesy Potatoes) |
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| (Cinnamon Glazed Pineapple) |
 |
| (Cinnamon Glazed Pineapple) |
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| (Cinnamon Glazed Pineapple) |
With so much of starters, I’m
sure most of us would be compelled to skip most of the other courses but hang
on and don’t give up on the wish grill. The wish grill consists of exotic meats
such as Rabbit, Quail, Shark, Squid along with a seafood medley and Duck. In
total they have a combination of 16 exotic meats and vegetables. Once you select
your main ingredient, the remaining procedure is quite straight forward. You
need to select your vegetable, rice/noodles, spice level, seasonings and sauce.
Once you hand over this to the grill master, they hand over a small token that
you need to give it to your waiter who will bring you the dishes once they are
ready. In the time that we waited, I had order for myself one of the best
mocktails I’d ever had in a standalone restaurant. The ‘Mango Blaster’ was
super extraordinary and can quench the thirst of anybody however mind it as it
is quite heavy on the palate. After a wait of couple of minutes, the wish grill
items begun to appear. No wonder they started to come, they were being
completely wiped off. Such was the intensity that I hardly got a chance to
click pictures.
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| (Wish Grill) |
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| (Wish Grill Tokens) |
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| (Mango Blaster) |
With the wish grill section
completed, we hardly had any space for mains. But from what I’ve heard from my
companions, they were a delectable fare as well. With around 9 veg and 5 non
veg courses including a crab gravy, a beautiful paneer and a filling kofta
gravy along with their signature dal dish. The accompaniments include Biryani,
Steamed Rice and a variety of breads.
The reason that I mostly avoided
mains was to ensure I had a feast at the desserts counter. AB’s is probably the
only restaurant to have a live cold stone ice cream counter and serving one of
the best ‘Paan Ice Cream’. The highlight of their dessert counter is the customizable
ice cream along with a hot counter that served gulab jamuns and jelabi’s during
my visits. The other desserts are the regular fare such as Chocloate Gateaux,
Mango Cheesecake and a summer pudding. Their Phirni and Moong Dal Halwa
deserves a special mention too.
 |
| (Paan Ice Cream) |
The best aspect about AB’s is
that both their service, hospitality and food is excellent and they make sure
that the customers are satisfied at all times. The waiter keeps coming to you
after every serving to check on how the food was and if they could do anything
more to better it. This is the same I’ve heard from folks who have visited
their other outlets in Bangalore and Hyderabad as well. Hope it continues as I
would love to keep coming here again and again.
They follow a system of variable
pricing depending on when you visit and if you select vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
The price per person is as follows
Rs. 555 Lunch - Veg (Mon-Sun)
Rs. 666 Lunch - Non Veg (Mon-Sun)
Rs. 585 Dinner- Veg (Mon-Tue)
Rs. 695 Dinner- Non Veg (Mon-Tue)
Rs. 695 Dinner- Veg (Wed-Sun)
Rs. 835 Dinner- Non Veg (Wed-Sun)
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