The spanking new Aloft W Hotels serves the best Mediterranean cuisine this side of the tropics
The spanking new Aloft W Hotels serves the best Mediterranean cuisine this side of the tropics
It's not a mean task to present the cuisine of a region that stretches over 970,000 square miles and encompasses 16 nations with distinct cultural and culinary flavours. Therefore, restaurants specialising in Mediterranean cuisine don't have it easy when they formulate the menu. After all, every cranny of that vast expanse of land needs to be culinarily represented to do absolute justice to the region. 
Estia, the Med restaurant at the newly opened four-star in Whitefield, Aloft Hotels, does it with the ease with which a ballerina stands on her big toe. If the four-star tagu00a0 intimidates you, don't fret. For prices are most humble here. Of course, corporate chef Suresh Babu informed us that it's only an introductory deal. So make hay while the sun shines. And the sun does shine longer in the Med zone.
The restaurant derives its name from Hestia, the Greek goddess of hearth who's given the first serving in every Med house. In keeping with the etymology of the name, there's a cutesy fireplace that offsets the walls made of grey stones. The wooden furniture and white and blue walls give it an old worldly feel and pink carnations, native to the region, find place on the tables.u00a0
On a Saturday afternoon, the place was expectantly deserted as the nearby tech firms were closed. But the upbeat, peppy Mediterranean music, filled up the solitude. Music does stimulate your appetite.u00a0u00a0Research dubs Med cuisine as the healthiest, one that increases life expectancy and fosters a healthy body and mind. And the best part is that it's also one among the tastiest.
A mezze platter with a fineu00a0 Gazpacho, a sundried tomato paste with a rosemary leaf and dip (a popular Turkish mezze item), the ubiquitous hummus with a mint leaf and a short glass of assorted vegetables made for a fantastic start to the meal. Estia uses the famed Kalamata olives of Greece, which sits atop the dense hummus.u00a0
Watch out for the triangular pita breads that go perfectly well with the tomato mezze. To borrow a line from a popular commercial - no one can eat just one... try as you may! The Garlic Mushroom Sizzled Pork Sausages with Thyme and Parsley Leaves (R 240) was appetising enough, except that the bread was a tad too unyielding. But the Sicilian Stuffed Squid (R 240) was a cut above the rest. Steamed seafood (prawn and crab) stuffed into baby squid strips is something every sea food devotee should experience. The texture marvels you retaining the individual tastes of each of the seafood. The Ceasar Salad (R 130) was the last item on our appetiser wish list. And it didn't disappoint.
The Paella Valencia (R 450), named after the Spanish city where the dish originated, was most comforting. Chicken, seafood, sausages merged with saffron flavoured Arborio riceu00a0 to create a fabulous entr ufffde. The more well travelled between us did point out that the rice is more yellow than saffron, and therefore quite a detour from the traditional paella, but colours cease to matter once the food reaches your palette.u00a0
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The other principle dish, Linguine with Prawns (R 450) in a creamy garlic sauce was subtly flavourful and let the prawns be. There was no attempt from any of the ingredients to overpower the other, and therein lay its beauty. The inhabitants of the zone usually end their meals with a sumptuous serving of fruits. But a restaurant can't not have the usual suspects in the dessert section.
So there are Cr me Brulee (R 140), Tiramisu(R 140) and Chocolate Mousse(R 140), all of which we tasted. The Brulee, with bits of strawberry garnishing and berries was an absolute delight. The Tiramisu with chocolate antlers was faultless, but the mousse left much to be desired for. The desserts Estia needs to include in their menu pronto is the humble Turkish Baklava and the Koulourakia. Among other things, Med cuisine prevents Alzheimer's. That's good news because this was a meal we'd like to remember for a long time to come.
Where Estia, Aloft, 17th C Sadaramangala Road, Whitefield,
Call 66707777
Meal for Two R 1500
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