Spending a relaxing evening with friends on a rooftop restaurant is a wonderful way to enjoy the ambience of the city. And that is what I did with a group of friends. Wondering how to unwind after a day at work, we decide to visit In High Spirits, the new rooftop restaurant which has opened at SP Grand Days.
The restaurant has a chic look. The seating arrangement is not cramped so guests have their privacy. But the thing that made our jaws drop was the view. We have a 280 degree view of the city.
Seated in a corner, which gives us a view of the city sparkling with night lights, our bearer serves us a mysterious looking pink-tinted drink in a shot glass. Picking the glass, I find that it is warm. I take a tentative sip only to down the glass in a second. It is rasam. The bearer brings a basket of pepper-laced pappads next and hands us a menu.
Although there is an array of soups: mixed seafood broth (Rs. 170), lamb and potato soup (Rs. 170) and choice of clear soup (vegetables, noodles or mushroom), we decide to give it a go. We look keenly at the appetizers and salads on the menu.
Although we are tempted to order paneer pakora, which would compliment the lovely nip in the air, we finally ask for a plate of chicken spring rolls (Rs. 240).
As our bearer recommends that we try the mixed grill tandoori in high spirits (Rs. 500), we order a plate. Both the dishes come piping hot. The spring roll has a generous filling of minced chicken, thinly sliced carrots and onions. The mixed grill tandoori, which is served on a hot plate, has tender pieces of chicken tikka, seekh kebab, reshmi kebab, paneer tikka, fish tikka and tandoori shrimp. It is accompanied by a side of mint chutney and pickled salad. Our group of three find this dish rather filling.
Wondering what to have next, we take another look at the menu. The sizzlers and biriyanis sound rather promising but as we are a bit too full, we decide to give them a go.
Kerala favourites such as appam and Kerala paratha, which when paired with meen moilee or mutton kurumolagu masala will make an excellent combination, was given the thumbs down by my friends who say that they can dine on such dishes any day. We also turned our noses to North Indian dishes such as jhinga kali mirch, mutton raganjosh and kadai subzi and were not feeling adventurous enough to try the dishes such as Mysore chilli chicken and hot ‘n’ sweet brinjal, which were listed under the Anglo Indian delights side of the menu.
We finally settle for a plate of parboiled rice, cauliflower Manchurian (Rs. 250) and kung pao chicken (Rs. 360). The cauliflower was thankfully not too spicy and the chicken dish has pieces of chicken stir fried with cashewnuts.
The restaurant has a mix of Indian and Western desserts on the menu. Although some of them like the rasgulla and crème caramel sound tempting, we stoically refuse to be tempted as we are watching what is remaining of our waistlines.
In High Spirits is open daily from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The restaurant also serves alcohol.
