Sion Prawn Koliwada had a nice hot and crisp exterior with some juicy prawns on the inside. A little less of the batter coating and this would have been perfect. Nevertheless, I would still pair this one with a chilled beer anyday.

Farzi Style Mac and Cheese may go down well with kids at the table or those who may like cheesy fried stuff when they are nursing a drink



 The Shawarma Biryani aims to look a bit like the Shawarma rotisserie with the rice set at the bottom and vertical skewer of well cooked mutton standing tall. The presentation's pretty and the dish tastes like a nicely down pulao than a biryani. And since I love a good rice dish to wrap up an afternoon of indulgence this worked well for me.

Smoked Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes Bisi Bele Bath was perhaps the best dish as far as Sudhakar and I were concerned. I love BBB and the addition of the smoked and roasted artichokes, with the mixture, tempered curry leaves and roasted peanuts made this a fab skillet. I personally would go back just for this.

 Iyengar Bakery Style Toasties - the chicken version was brilliant as well. But by now we were stuffed to the gills and couldn't do full justice to it, as much as it deserved it.

Desserts at Farzi have always been indulged and one look at this Smoked Fresh Chenna Flavoured Shrikhand will tell you how gorgeous it was.

Farzi Sundae - Another decadent dessert in a glass bowl. Its quite a treasure hunt to dig into the various elements that make it up. Am not going to spoil it by telling you what it has. Let the guessing games begin.

The Molcajete (Mexican Mortar) has been specially sourced from Mexico. Chef Vikas has brought in quite a few of these and so a live guac is definitely what you want to start with here. This one is made with smashed fresh avocado (some even ripened in the kitchens of Sanchez), a piquant pico de gallo, charred corn and boiled black beans. Both yellow and blue corn chips are served alongside, with some sour cream. Don't hesitate to ask for more chips. In fact, just dive in a with a spoon.

Sanchez also does a simple Nachos and Salsa, which Anoushka really wanted. What made this all the more interesting was the sampler of 5 different kinds of salsa that the kitchen was currently whipping up. Each one, distinctly unique thanks to variations in combinations of tomatoes, chillies of different heat levels and spices. I loved the Habanero spiked salsa and the Mango laced on too was an absolute delight - this one combining the sweetness of ripe mango, with the heat of chilli and the piquancy of tomato.

The Mexican Ceviche - We were served a version with Red Snapper. The kitchen works with the freshest catch of the day and so do ask for what fish you are being served if you are particular. Getting yourself a good ceviche, where the flavours complement and not overwhelm is so difficult. Especially when you are working with fresh fish that has been cured in fresh lime and orange juice. The resultant cold soup is further enhanced with some fresh corn, pico di gallo, cilantro and scallions, all of which just screams out to be drunk up straight from the plate. Once you get through the solid parts of the dish, do not hesitate to drink up! This dish comes with yellow corn chips, avocado slices.

We next did a series of Taquitos - home made tortillas with a range of fillings. Each one of these has a distinctive flavour - courtesy the meats or seafood used and a mix of moles, Mexican rice and refried beans. The combinations ensure that you have quite a bit of texture going on - from smooth to crunchy to a filling with bite. The flavours build from ingredients that work magic together.

The Green Mole Chicken Taquitos with a base of Mexican Rice and refried beans, with a green mole generously spooned on top.

The Baja California Style Beer Battered Fish Taquito, with a spicy Chipotle Mayonnaise, Pico de Gallo, Chipotle Salsa and a touch of Guacamole. A lovely mouthful this one is - with a crunchy exteriors and the toppings blending well with the flaky fish on the inside.

The Poblano Chicken Mole Taquitos - Mexican Rice and refried beans form the base for the chicken. Over which is spooned the Poblano Mole. Here is a mole made of a range of chillis and spiked with chocolate. Yes! With not much experience in the Mexican food department, this came as quite the interesting tidbit for me to chew on. The heat is tempered down a bit with the chocolate, and is used in such a way as to build up a creamy texture that envelopes the chicken.

The Chorizo Molletitos - akin to a Bruschetta - this has bread, grilled with butter and topped off with a mix of refried beans, molten cheese and in-house made chorizo. Now what I remember distinctly about this chorizo is the fact that the tangy taste of preserved meat does not feature at all. In fact, what does come through is meat that has been pickled with spices that do the job of preservation, without giving off those acidic flavours generally associated with chorizo. A lovely dish this.

Now any smart chef knows that he needs to cater to the local audience to a large extent, which means improvising with some local ingredients to get people curious and to serve up something that is familiar, yet inherently from another cuisine. That is how you can best describe this dish that is made with paneer as the base and habanero chilli forming the sauce that it is draped in. Habanero, along with sauteed bellpeppers, garlic and onion.

A Mexican meal is quite synonymous with Tamales - This one you see here is the Smokey Chipotle Chicken, served with refried beans and Mexican rice on the side. While it is cooked ensconced in corn husk, it is also served in one. The taste of corn, which is the base ingredient of the Tamale comes out strong and the perfect foil is the well cooked and sauced meat on the inside. This can be quite a heavy dish so you may want to go easy on it and ensure you share.

Habanero Tequila Jumbo Prawns - Do I really need to say more? This is served with White Mexican Rice.

Another one from the main course section is the Lamb Barbacoa- Shredded and braised lamb in Guajillo chilli, also with the omnipresent Mexican rice, refried beans and corn tortillas. The slow cooking is evident in the texture of the meat and the mild heat from the chillis is very soothing... A great dish to opt for.

A complete meal is also the Alambres or Mexican Skewers with Tenderloin (you have a choice in your protein), bellpeppers, onions, tomatoes and a chipotle chili base. This grilled skewer is then placed on rice, grilled corn on the cob and  mixed green salad with a serrano vinaigrette.

Earlier in the year, my Huffpost story on Restaurant Trends to Look Out For in 2017 had experts say that small plates and portions for one are going to be on the rise. Sanchez follows this trend and offers most of its appetizers in sharing or single portions. The main courses are sumptuous meals in themselves. 

Dessert saw chocolate filled Churros come to the table. Sinfully gorgeous to look and to bite down on, the cinnamon dust is just right so as not to overwhelm or turn bitterish and the churros, crispy, giving way to soft.

The Tres Leches is another decadently sinful dessert. Eat it to really know what I am talking about. And down here you see the special that was introduced as a Valentine's Day promotion. While I have seen quite a few chocolate bombs, this one was really sweet with it opening up strategically to look like a flower.

A post shared by ruth dsouza prabhu (@bangaloresrestaurants) on Feb 13, 2017 at 8:55pm PST

As soon as you are seated, the table is set with tandoori papad, freshly sliced onion/chilli/lemon and the bar menu appears. What's even better is that the fabulous bartender, whom I hear, Farzi Cafe shares as well, who will customize a drink for you if you so wish.

 We began the Ciroc Mineral water - some premium vodka with a citrus base, which was my choice. The Siyappa which married orange juice and malted whiskey and was for the birthday man and the Chocolate Thandai for the friend at the table. Each of the drinks were very well balanced, did not water down during the course of time thanks to too much ice and carried the right level of potency. 


From here we proceeded into the more substantial starters. What is good about the menu is that there is an equal mix of vegetarian and meat based options ensuring, every from Dada to Papa to Pappu have something to order from. The Paneer Barrel Tikka is shaped like a barrel that has then been sliced. This tandoor roasted paneer is stuffed with crumbled pickled paneer stuffing that gives it a nice zing. The 'roastedness' of the paneer is what elevates it. In fact, there is an entire section of the menu dedicated to paneer - so eat your heart out!

Jau Mushroom Chakli - barley and mushroom kebabs spiced by a hand that seemed to have dipped into the spice dabba of traditional Punjabi household. Round patties fried crisp with a steaming hot filling. Be careful of burning those delicate buds - dip into the mustard and garlic dipping sauce first for a heightened taste of things.

Somewhere around this point we realized that we were already at the 75% full mark - but, when the staff sets down the Gabbar Prawns and it looks like what you see above, that fictitious tummy tucked away in the depths of those love handles springs to life! A classic representative of how the simplest of ingredients can make the biggest of impressions - yogurt-chilli marinade, tandoor roasted and then served with drizzle of mustard and prawn head oil. Do I really need to say more?




Lehsun Palak Chenna - Again, a good example of how simple dishes done well can be a triumph - the spinach garlic and split cheese dish is a reminder of home.