Caperberry, Review

Caperberry – The estate, 121 Dickenson Road, Bangalore

For the last few months, whenever I would open the Goodfood magazine, somehow the name “Caperberry” would pop out and glare at me. I always felt that the name was quite inventive yet inviting. I kept thinking that I would visit but kept postponing my plans, may be because it was new or may be because I was still not ready to meander into the domestic world of European cuisine. Finally, one fine day I made a list of go –to restaurants in town and somehow I managed to put “Caperberry” on it.

Caperberry is situated at – The estate, 121, Dickenson Road, Bangalore. The most alluring thing about this restaurant is the name. It is like unspoken promises between two lovers (In this case, the food and the foodie). Once you enter the dominion, you are ushered into beautiful, contemporary and artistically decorated interiors which boast itself hence making you believe that the ambiance will be great.

Before I comment anything on the food, I would like to talk about the service. It was impeccably flawless. The staffs were courteous and they had good knowledge about the menu. In terms of service, I give them 10/10.

Coming to the menu, I was certainly very impressed as it boasted of many things that are still quite new to the Indian taste buds and also are some techniques. For starters I opted for Potato Bravas, Squid Rings with aioli and Pan Seared Atlantic Scallops. The Bravas were fantastic and lip-smacking. It was spiced beautifully without making anything overpowering. The balance of the potatoes with the spiced tomato sauce was absolutely devouring. However, I feel sad to admit that I cannot write much beautiful things about the two other starters. The Squid rings lacked crunch and I definitely could not taste the parsley in the crumbs. It came out cold and it was soggy (to my utter disbelief). The Scallops tasted amazing yet it was deficient in seasoning.  I also believe that the scallops needs some more greens to it, may be a little more arugula would do the trick. The flavorful dishes left my taste buds tingling for more.

For mains I asked for Porcini Risotto, Meat Paella, Seafood Linguine. The porcini risotto was the best among all three. It was cooked to perfection or rather how I like it (Al dente). It was lusciously creamy with the flavour of the porcini being unforgettable. The Meat paella looked fantastic in its little paella dish. The courgettes and the peppers with the chicken and chorizo was a perfect delectable combination. However, I missed the subtle notes of saffron in the paella. I wish it was a little more pronounced as it would have made the dish perfect for me. The seafood linguine was a letdown. The pasta was not al dente, it was fully cooked and that made the linguine a little soggy and heavy with the sauce. The freshness was definitely not visible. Also, it lacked seasoning (for me).

Coming to desserts, the frangipane tart (taste wise) was definitely delicious but the tart shell was soggy and mushy. It felt like a re-heated tart rather than freshly made. However, the butterscotch ice cream was smoothly creamy with all the scotch-y flavors coming out with every spoonful. The Panna cotta was luscious and velvety but a little too profound for me. The consistency was silky and it held well. But instead of the kiwis, I would have loved to see some berries with it making it a little more desirable and attractive. Velvety 

There is one more thing that is hard to miss. The Table setting felt a little wrong. The dessert spoon and fork should be placed above the plate horizontally. However, that was not where it was placed or rather the whole dessert spoon and fork set was missing. They expected you to use the Salad knife and fork for dessert.

In a nutshell, I would say the place is worth trying and I definitely recommend the Bravas and the risotto. Please forgive me for not commenting anything on the drinks because I had ice tea and like every other good place, it was the best drink for non-alcoholics and the best palate cleanser.