The East Coast Road is no stranger to new restaurants. With the city limits expanding, a crop of new eating spots has taken over Akkarai junction. Rumour has it that the best Andhra cuisine in the city lies hidden in the lanes of this stretch and its parallel, the OMR. But that is a conversation for another day.
More recently though, a trip down this stretch lasting 45 kilometres, has promised hungry wayfarers dishes from across the world, even a little bit of Filipino adobo on the plate.
Cappella, a fine-dining restaurant in Palomar by Crossway, does a quick lap around different continents, serving food from New Orleans, the Caribbean, Morocco, France, Italy, West Asia and even Sub-Saharan Africa.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Though opened only two months ago, this boutique hotel seems fairly busy on a weekday afternoon. Couples and families can be seen dragging their bags or children in and out of the lobby and restaurant. “It is a pitstop for those travelling down the coast. A pool and a bar (The Spotted Deer) make it conducive for a staycation too,” says Yangya Prakash Chandran, founder and CEO of the Crossway group. After a quick tour of the premises with 20 rooms and a lounge with workstations, we are lead back to Cappella where chefs can be seen frantically working the wok and wiping down plates to perfection, in their live kitchen.
When the food arrives, it becomes easy to make some declarations. Cappella’s gochujang pork and Peruvian lamb, make the place well-worth a pit stop. The pork, served with jasmine sticky rice, in-house kimchi and a side of spinach all make for a hearty meal bowl. The pork is tender with a sweet-spicy kick while the iceberg lettuce in the kimchi mix provides a bite. The Peruvian lamb, deflects from the traditional grilled and cilantro-heavy base. It is instead stir-fried here, but tastes familiar and interesting nevertheless.
Cappella at Palomar by Crossway | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The hotel’s executive chef Virgil James says that much of what he has learnt, has been through his experience working with counterparts from across the world during stints in various other restaurants. “We tried 252 items and then narrowed the menu down,” he says. The desert options are vast too. Hasnain Abbas, managing director of the property and the pastry chef behind Bakestagramz, their in-house pâtisserie, is insistent about fresh products on display every day. There are many iterations of bread including the American rye bread, focaccia and cheddar biscuits besides the usual eclairs and choux pastries.
Reviewing food is lonely business. It is intentionally so.
At Cappella though, there is never a dull moment. The chef walks in to explain a dish; Naresh, the bar manager speaks about techniques like fat-washing incorporated in his concoction called the popcorn brew; and a third person walks in with profiteroles from the bakery where all the dessert is made . One is hence left with notes that say ‘good’ next to crunchy honey chilli lotus stem and podi idli, ‘chewy’ next to the Mongolian beef, ‘no overpowering cardamom’ besides the murg malai and ‘dry tapas biscuit base but solid beef’ for the nadan beef tapas.
Nalli roganjosh | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In the midst of all this chatter, I forget to ask where the name Palomar comes from. Is its etymology from the Portuguese pigeon mountain, the fishing knot or the observatory? The only way to find out is to make the excursion back.
Cappella at Palomar by Crossway is at 4A1, East Coast Road, Akkarai, Chennai, A meal for two including alcohol costs ₹2,000.
