Please note: The review was anonymously done after paying for the meal.

We are at Baani square which can be called Khau Galli of Gurgaon, with a long row of restaurants, and some interesting ones at that. We have chosen to go to Coastal Reef to get our Southern fix. The place is tiny and the décor is unremarkable. Not deterred by the sofas that swallow one’s derriere, we find chairs that work and get on to the serious job of studying the menu and order our food.

As we are doing that, we are served as an amuse bouche a delicious glass of rasam. It is easily the best rasam I have had in Gurgaon, and I greedily ask for (and get) another glass of rasam.

                        Rasam

We choose Seafood Sampler (Rs 475) for our starters. It has a beautifully cooked and spicy prawn starter and similar calamari starter, a crab meat starter that is lacking the taste and the texture of crab meat, and heartbreak of a tawa fried fish which has the perfect tawa fried masala, but the substitution of the traditional kingfish with basa ruins it, and makes it a mushy mess.

                                   Seafood Sampler

After a brief pause, it is time for the mains. Chepala Pulusu (Rs 395) is an Andhra fish curry which is spicy and tangy and hence my favourite fish curry. Even though the fish used here is again basa, it is the beautiful gravy shines. Karaikudi (Chettinaad) Mutton Curry (Rs 475) is a dampener. Rather than having a full blooded gravy that this dish is famous for, here the gravy is tame.

                 Chepala Pulusu                         Karaikudi (Chettinaad) Mutton Curry

We mop these up with some great Malabar Parota (Rs 55) and Appam (Rs 45). South Indian Filter Coffee (Rs 60) is a great way of finishing a good meal here.

              Malabar Parota                                                Appam

A meal at Coastal Reef is recommended. The food here is good, and is very different from the usual restaurant Punjabi fare.

One good part about the bill is that there is no Service Charge, a rarity in current times in Gurgaon !

Ratings (Out of 5)                                         

Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 3.5 | Service: 3.5 | Value: 4.0 | Overall: 3.5

Meal for two: Rs.1100 | Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes

Address: Shop 54-55, Bani Square, South City 2, Gurgaon. Tel: 0124 4272650