After a long while I had a pleasant, unperturbed and
sumptuous buffet experience. Tamara absolutely changed my perspective towards
this format of dining that has been much polluted in recent times by few loud
joints who try to serve everything from Mutton Roganjosh to hookah! :) Without
any hint of doubt, Tamara is the next best place to have a buffet meal at
reasonable rates in this part of the city after Barbeque Nation. This place
gives an unparallel ambiance which is better and more comfortable than the best
in the business.
The optimum fusion of urbane infrastructure with a tranquil
meditative environment sets this elegant restaurant a class apart! Dining at
this place is an experience! It surely uplifts the mood of the guests with its
amazing food, attentive service and calm atmosphere. Overall, it redefines
simplicity. The word ‘Tamara’ means spice. The valiant spices and herbs of
diverse cuisines from around the globe come home to meet at Tamara; this is
sort of a melting pot of natural color, taste and texture of cuisines which are
poles apart.
LOCATION - - - - - The place is located at first floor of
Pipal Tree Hotel which is located close to City Centre 2 mall. If you are
coming from Saltlake sector-5 then you need to cross City Centre 2 mall and go
ahead, on the left you will then find Pipal Tree (with huge glass windows) much
before you reach the Chinar Park crossing. You can park your car right in front
of the Hotel without any hassle.
AMBIANCE - - - - - Pipal Tree Hotel in itself is quite
classy and luxurious. The boutique hotel delivers class, excellent food, a
touch of tradition and great hospitality with a breath of fresh air. Tamara is
its 72-seater global cuisine restaurant; it serves Indian, Oriental, Italian, Continental
and Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of the top romantic restaurants in town (specially
if you are in for dinner). When you are here for lunch you will have a lovely
time watching the city traffic though the huge glass windows (or rather walls) while
having your food in the swanky couches. The unique dramatic ceiling décor will
surely catch your attention when you first walk into this place; the special
shamiana style fabric is gathered in billows across the ceiling within which
you will find illuminated brass bowls emerging like pleasant stars.
Stone table
tops are quite fascinating though they are actually stone-finished sunmica
pasted on wooden tables. Also to go with it, you get stonewares like heavy
stone glasses for drinking water. The lovely pristine white crockery adds to
the mood. The place has the buffet spread in a rather small section beautifully
presented, that gets cluttered when loads of people try to take their food at
the same time. The place is designed as a long alley which has got its pros and
cons. The place is not very spacious due to this elongated structure but still
the sitting area is not cramped up. The place has got loads of natural sunlight
during the day for the huge glass walls on two sides that really sets a laid
back mood which is best to enjoy a buffet lunch. The place has got a meditating
Buddha statue, set of ‘diyas’, earthen pots with spices at the entrance that is
beautifully presented and signifies the peaceful ambiance in there and exudes
warmth and romanticism.
The waiters are dressed in traditional wear that goes
so well with the ambiance and they hand you aromatic wet towels to get fresh (the
moment you settle down).
FOOD - - - - - The state-of-the-art infrastructure, gorgeous
ambiance and warm service somehow increase the appetite the moment you get
seated at this place. The buffet spread at this place is literally huge and it
is almost impractical for an individual to have all the dishes in good quantity.
I gave my best shot and tried each and every dish at this place in small
quantities :) On that day, the fuchka was not there in the starters so that was
kinda miss, but we didn’t miss it that much since the spread in itself was
enormous.
<< SOUPS >>
I tried Veg Lemon Coriander Soup and Chicken Sweet Corn Soup
to start with. The soups were rather bit too simple and soothing, but they
could have been a bit tastier.
<< STARTERS >>
In the starters I tried Lasooni Paneer Tikka, Veg Croquette,
Achari Tandoori Aloo, Bhatti ka Murgh, Masala Mutton Scotch Eggs, Murshidabadi
Chingrir Piyaji, Pan Fried Hakka Chilli Fish. I would say the Masala Mutton
Scotch Eggs looked very promising with half filling of minced mutton and
another half of boiled egg, but they were pretty dry and tasted mediocre. The
Murshidabadi Chingrir Piyaji (shrimp and minced onions fried in besan batter) was
wonderful and I tried a couple of them, it tasted great. Lasooni Paneer Tikka
and Bhatti ka Murgh (chicken tandoori) were nice and true to their names. Pan
Fried Hakka Chilli Fish was again amazing to taste, the fish in there was fresh
and well marinated. The Veg Croquette was nothing but Vegetable chop (Bengali
street-food style) with mix of veggies and ground nuts in there, tastes pretty
good.
<< SALADS >>
There were 8 kinds of salads and I tried a few, like the
Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Greek Salad, Crispy Noodle Salad, Homegrown Sprout
Salad, Dahi Wada Chaat, Egg Mayonnaise Salad, Russian chicken Salad. Among
these, I absolutely loved the Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Greek Salad, Egg
Mayonnaise Salad and Russian chicken Salad. Infact I overate the Egg Mayo Salad,
it had boiled egg whites drenched in mayo and minced veggies and tasted fresh
and heavenly. But I didn’t like the noodle salad that much, it was very dry
with no real taste.
<< MAINS >>
The main course looked mouth-watering to be very true, so I
actually tried most of them. Here I went for Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni, Aloo
Shimla Mirch, Veg Diwani Handi, Amchuri Bhindi, Dal Maharani with Indian breads,
Steamed rice, Burnt Garlic Noodles, Cottage Cheese Manchurian, Vegetables in
Thai Green curry with Herbed rice, Mutton Kosha, Kerala Egg Roast, Bhopal Murgh
Rezala, Char Siu Chilli Pork Sausages, Mixed Chilli Garlic Noodles and Grilled
Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce. Now here in these dishes, there were several star
dishes that can make you go weak at the knees :) I simply loved the Thai Green
curry with Herbed rice. I overate the Char Siu Chilli Pork Sausages, they were
prepared to perfection in lovely aromatic sauces along with bell peppers and
onion rings. Then there were Mutton Kosha and Kerala Egg Roast, both were
amazing to say the least. The Mutton Kosha goes well with steamed rice in an
unbeatable Bengali dining style! The mutton pieces were extremely well
marinated and cooked; they were spicy, so tender and juicy. The Murgh Rezala, Spinach
Ricotta Cannelloni and Aloo Shimla Mirch were all good, if not great. Both the
noodles were extremely disappointing, they lacked the flavors and were tad too
dry. While I write this review I repent not having more of that Grilled Fish in
Lemon Butter Sauce, oh it was awesome, it was divine, the fresh well marinated
fish and that lovely preparation was somewhat unbeatable! Overall the mains
will leave with super satisfied and extremely filled.
<< DESSERTS >>
The dessert counter was quite big with numerous mouth-watering
options. I tried some of them like – White Forest Pastry, Hot Gulab Jamuns, Chocolate
Tarts, 5 varieties of Ice Creams with numerous add-ons (in the Ice cream bar), Misti
Doi and Rabri Shots, Shahi Tukra & Seasonal Fresh Fruit Truffle. I just
loved the Chocolate Tarts for being so perfect and just hated the White Forest
Pastry for being so tasteless. The Gulab Jamuns were super-soft and amazing, so
was the Shahi Tukra but it was overtly sweet. The Misti Doi and Rabri Shot was
the true gastronomical wonder, it had great Misti Doi with rabri mixed inside
served in lucrative tequila shot glasses, and it was so good that I kept on
having those though my stomach was fully stuffed :) The Ice Cream bar was my
last stop for the day.
I took my time in selecting the Ice Cream flavors and
then the toppings. I went in for Chocolate and Mango flavors with toppings like
crushed Oreo biscuits, chocolate wafers, chocolate sauce, dried fruit chips, crushed
nuts, dried fruits, etc. The final outcome was just amazing! I finished that
stuff in a jiffy :)
SERVICE - - - - - The service is again very prompt, attentive
and courteous. They kept changing our soiled plates and we never had to ask
them to get those cleaned. They kept on asking me about the food and asked for
overall feedback of the place. The staffs and the in-charge were all very
polite, graceful, well informed and warm. No negatives in terms of service.
CONCLUSION - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:
Food quality: 4.2/5
Food presentation: 3.8/5
Value for money: 4.1/5
Ambiance: 4.7/5
Service: 4.5/5
The restaurant has got an enchanting aura of romance in its
beautiful ambience and scrumptious food. It is a perfect blend of modern and
traditional elements. Like the sacred and legendary Bodhi tree, this Pipal Tree
does a top notch job of providing a warm, relaxed, lovely dining experience. This
place gives you the enlightenment and soul satisfaction in this domain of
buffet meals. The diversified items on the food menu is sure to entice you, this
is kinda paradise for all the food lovers. Big thumbs up from my end :)
Cheers!
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