Tales & Spirits Bistro is a wonderful place, nestled in the greenery around SB Road. Giving off comfortable vibes, T&S serves some scrumptious vegetarian fare.
Currently running a Martinis Fest, their team of creative bartenders have created a list of some unique and innovative martinis which are available all through October with a buy one get one free offer all day every day!
So when I was called over for a tasting, I was super excited.
Martinis [Rs. 299]
The Mr. Freeze had vodka, grenadine, raspberry eye balls, sweet & sour and topped with sabja or sweet basil seeds while the Cotton Candy Swirl had vodka, strawberry crush, pineapple liquid, cotton candy and lime. Loved the flavors of the freeze, especially the sabja seeds popping in your mouth however the swirl was a little too sweet for me even with the salted rim to cut through.
The Espresso had vodka, espresso and simple syrup and was my personal pick of the evening, thanks to its lovely bitter notes. The Ferrero Rocher Martini with vodka, crushed black pepper, Nutella, rice crispies and garnished with Ferrero Rocher had strong presence of alcohol but couldn’t garner the Nutella flavors. #YumYum #PersonalPick
The Porn Star Martini caught my eye thanks to its catchy name and the golden petal dust as an ingredient. Made with vodka, orange liqueur, passion fruit, lime and golden petal dust, it had some real good flavors. The Dragon Tales, likewise, had a solid taste with some nice hit of the jalapenos at the end. Made with vodka, jalapenos, dragon fruit, farm basil and lime juice, this was my second pick of the evening.
The James Bond Series 007, made with vodka, sweet & sour and garnished with green olives had a strong hit of the vodka. Now that is one martini that James Bond would certainly endorse. The T&S Dirty Martini, on the other hand, didn’t appeal to me much. A dash of olive brine to the gin and lime juice concoction brought a hint of umami to the classic martini.
Apart from the Martinis fest, T&S is also running the Gyoza Fest and we got to sample a couple of gyozas from their specially curated menu.
Farmers Snacks
The Balsamic Mushrooms Skewers [Rs. 210] had juicy, earthy mushrooms grilled to perfection and had an amazing flavor of the balsamic to go with it. Likewise, the Jalapeno & Mozzarella Cigars [Rs. 220] had a lovely crunchy fried coating and some “oohs and aahs”-inducing stretchy cheese inside. Those go best with chilled beers, IMHO.
The Shitake & Bok Choy Gyoza [Rs. 320] had a strong hit of the ginger but the Edamame Gyoza [Rs. 320] felt bland and dry. Both were served on a bed of crispy bean threads and soy.
Soup / Salad Bowl
The Wine Cheese and Popcorn Soup [Rs. 200] is one of their popular and best-selling dishes. And after tasting it, I was of the same opinion. Prepared by combining aromatic cheeses, corn puree and white madeira, and topped with spicy popcorns, this was absolutely mind-blowing. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended
The Spa Salad [Rs. 220] is a sure-shot Instagrammable dish. Mixed leaves, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, red apple, and pineapple tossed in healthy mustard, coconut oil and chili dressing and served in a scooped out pineapple, this one had some lovely flavors and tasted fresh and zingy.
T&S Fillers
The Biscuit Bhakri [Rs. 300] is a Rajasthani preparation, where crisp bhakris are topped, rather lathered with ghee, and served with potato onion subz and lasooni thecha. Strong taste of ghee was very evident on the bhakri however the subz was slightly bland. Thankfully the lasooni thecha provided the chatakk to the dish.
The Mascarpone Cream Cheese Pizza [Rs. 460] had cream cheese sauce on a tomato concasse base with marinated peppers, zucchini, farm fresh onions and garnished with paprika flakes. Loved the creamy cheese on the pizza, a different flavor for me.
The Malai Paneer Balchao [Rs. 330] was supposed to be a fiery Goan vegetarian pickle preparation with malai paneer served with buttered buns. While it had a pleasant taste to it, it was anything but fiery. In fact, I could make out a slight sweetness to the paneer.
The Thai Jungle Veg Curry [Rs. 330], served with herb pilaf rice was a stunner. It was the Amitabh Bachchan of food – average in looks but sheer brilliance in what they are supposed to do. Our collective reaction after devouring that dish – “Absolute Sukh!” which translates to “complete satisfaction and peace”. #DeliciousDelicious #HighlyRecommended
Desserts
The Citrus and Berry Parfait [Rs. 200] came with some flair and theater. Made with mandarin, white chocolate and berry parfait and covered with chocolate shell, the dessert is flambéed to melt the shell and reveal the parfait inside. Lovely crunch of the berries combined with a good hit of the flambé alcohol ensured this as the popular pick of the evening. #YumYum
The Baklava and Butterscotch [Rs. 220] at T&S is a gorgeous looking warm dessert of flaky phyllo, layered with honey bathed nuts and topped with butterscotch gelato. Unfortunately, the combination became extremely sweet and I simply couldn’t go further than a couple of bites. Also the phyllo pastry was not crunchy as expected, rather chewy.
The Martini Fest as well as the Gyoza Fest are running from Sat, 7 Oct, 2017 to Tue, 31 Oct, 2017
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