El Pasto

Tel:

Meal for two without alcohol:

f God lives in the details, He has just taken up abode at Caperberry. The latest addition to Bangalore’s fine-dining options takes service to a new level, with champagne trolleys, table hooks for bags and impeccably trained waitstaff. This expansive space is already THE place for rubbernecking, and poses serious competition to Olive Beach. Not yet on the food front, though. Focused on Spanish flavours, both the veg and non-veg tasting menus (four courses: Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,500; six courses: Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,000) offer paellas.

But neither my chorizo-chicken concoction nor my partner’s seafood one (Rs 525, off the a la carte menu) matched the paella at Sevilla, the Spanish restaurant at Claridges, Delhi. My roasted sea bass with crabmeat salad, too, was undistinguished. And all the more disappointing because our excellent first course—foie gras and three gazpachos (cucumber-basil; grape-almond and tomato-basil; Rs 225)—had set the bar high. The meal ended well, however, with superior desserts, especially the textured apples (Rs 275). Dinner is when they pull out the stops, but lunch offers great vfm: A choice of starters and desserts, a pasta and a main course for only Rs 500. Dig in without feeling the pinch.