(3.5)
Here's a comprehensive review of the buffet scene at L14, Renaissance.
I have been eating at this place ever since it opened in September '15 and marvelling at the versatility and prolific skill of head chef Mr. Hemraj. In recent times though, the quality seems to have taken a tangible dip, which is a cause for attention, if not concern.
Coming to specifics, the first thing one notices upon entering the restaurant is the amazing view of the city lights that the tall, all-glass windows seem to provide. That is obviously the USP here. Someone from the staff will guide you to your table and if the restaurant isn't too crowded, someone will virtually be assigned as a personal server to your group.
The starters are served on the table, on my latest visit, we had Chicken with chilli and garlic, fish seekh kabab and Jalapeño cheese balls. The chicken was good, the fish kababs were decent but the cheese balls could definitely be missed.
We proceeded to try the Minestrone soup and the Chicken lemon coriander soup, but there was nothing great there.
The salad 'theatre', as they call it, which we proceeded to, was very good. I tried the chicken pepper salami dressed in balsamic vinegar, the turkey salami as it was, and the smoked salmon with a spicy garlic tinge. They were all good. Another salad option worthy of mention was the fruits and squid salad, in which the squid didn't taste too good, but the fruits were amazing and complemented it well.
I also went to the live kathi roll and pasta counter. The kathi roll was nice and well wrapped as well, though a little short on the spice quotient. I didn't try any pasta, but the counter had the typical appetising aroma of basil, asparagus and cheese!
I had the main course twice. First, I tried the noodles, fried rice, a southeast Asian style chicken that tasted somewhere between Hunan chicken and Chicken sweet and sour, Hunter style chicken, and Grilled fish in lemon butter sauce. The noodles and rice were ok, thankfully the noodles weren't thick. The Asian styled chicken that I don't remember the name of was very good and very well cooked. The Hunter style chicken got a mixed review from my group but I liked it. The fish, which is generally good here, was the worst item in the spread. I couldn't even take a second bite.
Before proceeding to the second round of mains, I visited their cheese counter to bide some time. They had a good mix of cheeses. They had Cheddar, mild cheddar, Edam, Brie and Gouda. There was an assortment of dried fruits as well, I liked prunes the best. Cheese and crackers served as a good time pass before I moved over to the second round of mains.
This time, I tried the Awadhi chicken biryani, murg lababdar and nihari gosht. The nihari was very well done, the chicken lababdar was also good, and the biryani was totally typical and by the book. Not too many complaints with this round.
There was a diverse spread of desserts as well, I enjoyed the mango panna cotta the most. The crème brulee didn't stand out though. The rabri was good. Fruits were fresh, but one occasionally could feel as if an onion knife was used to cut the fruits, totally not expected from an establishment like this.
The buffet is close to 1300 odd rupees per diner. We were five people and including mineral water bottles, the bill came to Rs. 7640/-.
With proper company, buffet dinners are generally enjoyable, but I could certainly say that they used to be way more enjoyable 2 years ago at the same place than they were on this visit.
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