A Bob Marley lookalike stares down from the ceiling. He has a pained expression — it’s probably the music. We are at Gusto Cafe, a new, themed restaurant in Nungambakkam. It has seven chambers, each with a dramatically different decor — there’s a stadium with stands; pharaohs stare at you from the Egyptian-themed one; bull heads and hats are the décor for the cowboy space; a massive tree wall art decorates the tree room, and, the iconic balcony makes the Romeo and Juliet-themed dining space interesting. Then, there’s a Godfather-inspired room and Whiplash, the music room.
Barring the last two, the entire space is a sheesha lounge. We seat ourselves in Whiplash, where the interiors include a guitar with coloured lights, a wall lined with cymbals, a piano, records and spray-painted speakers. For a section that’s themed around music, the selection of songs playing at the moment seems rather predictable — Bollywood hits of 2015, and Justin Bieber trying to figure out ‘What do you mean?’
The menu, however, isn’t that predictable, and you’ll find more than just sandwiches, fries and cold coffee. There are some pleasant surprises — ratatouille, beef stroganoff, steak. Our favourite is the sweet and fiery honey-coated chicken. It’s crispy and sprinkled with sesame seeds and red chilli flakes, which can bring a tear or two to the eye. The ruby-coloured cranberry lemonade is refreshing and does a good job of appeasing the on-fire taste buds.
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The mushroom-stuffed zucchini has the winning combination of mushroom and cheese, but tastes bland after the delicious chicken. It’s also as slippery as an eel, and keeps falling off the fork. Not the best choice if you’re on a date.
From where we are seated, it’s hard to tell what this place conceals within. It’s only when you walk through each room that you can see the effort that has gone into the place. If only the same effort went into their Jamaican jerk chicken, which, other than its sweet brown sauce and mouthfuls of juicy pineapple bits, is rather insipid. As we make our way through the lacklustre cream of wild mushrooms pasta (which needed to be cooked for a few minutes more), the waiter hovers around gingerly. Last order, he reminds us. It’s close to 10.30 pm.
After poring over the dessert menu, just as we finally make up our minds about what we want, he informs us that the only dessert available is brownies. Luckily, we spot a red velvet cake shake that jumps to our rescue. With chunky bits of cake and thick strawberry ice cream, it’s a sweet ending to an average meal.
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Gusto Café is located at 13/6, Jaganathan Road, Nungambakkam. A meal for two costs Rs. 1,000. Call 4264 3333.