Totally out of tune
Restaurant: Carnatic Cafe
Reviewer: Aalok Wadhwa | 10th February 2020 | Reviewer Rating (Out of 5) 2.38

The review was done anonymously after paying for the meal

I studied in Bangalore and then worked there too. And fell in love with the food there. The MTR dosas would haunt me in my foodie dreams. And I longed for that set dosae that were sold at the end of Brigade road, bisi bele bath, vangi baath and many such cheap and best snacks that one could afford as a student, anywhere in Bangalore. So when I heard rave reviews about Carnatic café’s food and found all my favourite foods in the menu, I took the next opportunity – a catching up session with a carnivore cousin who came along with a rather pained expression on her face to this restaurant at 32nd milestone.

To cut to the chase and for the readers who want the gist upfront (this is the age we live in!), the experience was bad. And as away from authentic as Bangalore is from Gurgaon – probably more. Not only was it not authentic (a forgivable sin), it wasn’t even good, the place at 1 PM was dingy and the chair gave me a saddle sore. I will spend the rest of this review waxing eloquent about how bad the food was, for those of you who will read on.

So we reach a not so welcoming restaurant with no one to greet us and take the first available table, the one next to an upset lady asking why her idli was taking so long to arrive. It was a uh-oh moment and we debated retreating to the safe heaven of Pintxo or Pot Belly next door, but machismo made us go through the experience here.

After a bit of begging and cajoling, one service staff came to take the order. Malleshwaram Dosa he happily accepts. So too Set Dosai. But his face goes stern when we order bisi bele bath and vangi bath. Tut tut, he shakes his head – today is lemon rice day. He airily dismisses our point that all the varieties of rice respectably sit on the menu and repeats – Monday means lemon rice only. So we try a different tack – could he give us akki (rice) roti? He grudgingly accepts our request and we patiently wait for some food to arrive.

Food does arrive. Malleshwaram 18th cross dosa (Rs 195) is not good. It has an OD of ghee and podi but little of anything else. Set Dosa (Rs 195) has an identity crisis and has unilaterally decided to be a set of 3 not-so-good uttappams.

  

The slightly ok-because-it-is-different dish is the Akki Roti (Rs 225) which is vaguely close to the original. We have our Filter Coffee (Rs 95) and Bitter Head coffee (Rs 95) and leave dejectedly.

 

I am sure there are many who may have had a better experience than me at Carnatic café. Well good for you – I am certainly not going back!

  

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 2.0 | Ambience: 2.0 | Service: 2.5 | Value: 3.0 | Overall: 2.5

Meal for two: Rs 1200 | Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Wheelchair friendly: No

Address: Ground 32nd Avenue/Milestone NH 8, next to Google Building, Sector 15, Gurugram, Haryana 122001. Tel: 096671 80466

 

About the Author
Aalok Wadhwa Aalok Wadhwa
Restaurant Information
Carnatic Cafe Carnatic Cafe
32nd Milestone, NH 8, Sector 15, Gurgaon
Telephone: 9667180466 view on a map
Opening Hours: 9am – 10:30pm
Cuisine: South Indian
Average Price: Rs. 500 - 600