Eat Unlimited!

The newly opened Barbeque Bistro offers a table-top experience of live grill to the city’s foodies

January 08, 2015 08:20 pm | Updated 08:20 pm IST - MADURAI:

Lip smacking: Barbeque unlimited. Photo: Special Arrangement

Lip smacking: Barbeque unlimited. Photo: Special Arrangement

As the blazing charcoals arrive on my table, a visible sooty tinge laces the cool air inside Barbeque Bistro, the new address in town for unlimited grilled food. Follow the chunks of chicken, fish, prawns and mutton, perfectly skewered in long iron sticks – glazed with oil and marinated in masalas. The meat gets barbequed on the live grill and I wait fighting temptations, letting it to cook just right. Little drops of the pasty masala fall into the hot coal underneath, sending up an occasional hiss accompanied by a flavoursome layer of smoke.

After a few rotations of the skewer, the chicken is roasted and ready! I take a bite and find myself munching on a spongy potli of the spicy kind. A mixed tang of coriander, garlic, chilly and pepper attack your senses. Off to the fish marinated in a paste of parsley, mint and coriander. It’s smoking hot and melts in the mouth effortlessly, leaving a faint trace of the mint. The prawns are as lively with a yellowish-orange tint caused by the fiery garlic mixture smeared on them. Though a tad rubbery in texture, they taste good.

“Try some mutton seekh,” coax the convivial staffs loading the grill with more skewers. Paneer, mushroom, potatoes and pineapple are the choices for vegetarians. “The taste of the grills can also be customized. If someone wants spicier chicken, I would apply extra masala on it,” says Chef Subodh Kuliyal, a young Uttarakhandi who has specialised in various kinds of barbeque. “I learnt it on the streets of Delhi, making kebabs in tandoori and barbeque on live grills,” he says. His experience at a famous barbeque restaurant in Chennai has helped him perfect the art. The bistro is in fact modelled after Barbeque Nation.

Interspersed with bites of tandoor-fried tangdis with barbeque sauce and deep-fried potatoes laced with Cajun sauce, I finish numerous rounds of barbequed meat on the live grill. I call it a feast! But Digvijay, the restaurant manager announces, “They are just starters! The main course is still there”. “It’s unlimited and that has worked well with our customers,” says Sabareesh, the enterprising Managing Director. “It has been a long wait for Madurai. A haven for foodies and robust non-vegetarians, the city lacked variety. The idea was to stand out among the many players in the food industry.” Just a fortnight old, the bistro is attracting large number of families and youngsters alike.

The main course is also a variety fare with an assorted menu. “We change the menu on a weekly basis. The standard items include one type of dum biryani, pulav or fried rice and fries and salads,” says Digvijay.

A Mangalorean style crab Ghasi and Garlic fish curry are the highlights for non-vegetarians while malai kofta curry and an earthy kurma are the options for vegetarians. A rich phirni, ice cream with gulab jamuns and fruits are served as desserts. The bistro also offers a range of mocktails to be had with the barbeque. A sip of a litchi or a lemon ginger mocktail can add zing to your live grill experience!

Barbeque Bistro is located on the first floor of P.K.Towers opposite the District Court and is open from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner.

The lunch and dinner buffet are priced at Rs.550 and Rs.650 exclusive of Taxes. For reservations: 7200717777

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