Do you fancy eating at a restaurant with a theme straight out of the movies?Many connoisseurs consider the Rainforest Cafe to be 'the' theme restaurant, and the one that inspired the fad worldwide. Typically, at a theme restaurant the concept takes priority over everything else, influencing the architecture, food and music.  We pick some of the interesting and quirky ones in town.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar at Total Mall in Madiwala explores the jungle theme. Life-size replicas of zebras, elephants with mechanical flapping ears and other denizens of a tropical rainforest make your meal a memorable one. The bar stools come in animal shapes, complete with tails. Unfortunately, the food, which is described as Lucknawi and Peshawari, takes a backseat. Did we hear an angry roar from a hungry diner?!

Silver Metro

Seat yourself inside any of the two metro coaches in this restaurant that revolves around the theme of an underground rail system at the Total Mall in Koramangala. The placemats at Silver Metro have station names such as Indiranagar and Brigade Road. The central platform between the coaches is used to set up tables that display the lavish buffet. The food, sadly, is average.

Heera Panna

Described as an Indian lounge that serves Mughlai cuisine, the two-floor restaurant on Church Street has thrones, covered in brocade, for seats. Panna, the restaurant on the ground floor, draws inspiration from the emerald, and that explains the green interiors and the profusion of green chandeliers. Heera, the lounge section, is done in white with silver embellished walls and crystal curtains.

More Than Paranthas

Take a trip to Purani Dilli in this 7000 sq ft restaurant that is dotted with tables made of black marble with inlay work. The walls have Kutchi-mirror work. While the use of black in the upholstery is dramatic, the reds are a bit over the top. But the food, especially the kebabs and chaats, are rich and satisfying just like what the traditional chefs in purani Dilli would cook up on a cold evening.

Mocha

Mocha in Koramangala is designed to make you feel like Alice in Wonderland. The first room on the ground floor has a Victorian-Moroccan blend for a theme, with an overdose of red and gold. A throne, covered in vivid tiger stripes, gives the room a regal (garish?) air. The second room has Persian-style canopies, a green chandelier, gadda seating with golden bolsters. Tucked away is a 'love nest' in red. Right beside this is the bed-service - a floor level space that you have to crawl into! How people actually manage to eat while crouching remains a mystery that we have no intention of personally solving.

Gufha

The elevator stops at the mouth of a cave and the wait staff look like clones of Shikari Shambu. The walls of the restaurant are covered with creepers and an assortment of recorded roars, played every 10 seconds, is supposed to give you the creeps. The dim lights are a big hit with mischievous kids who launch into a game of hide and seek, but a nightmare for parents who don't know if the kids they've cornered and force-fed are their own or belong to the family at the adjoining table! Watch out for the entrees. Some of the exotic platters use sparklers as the centrepiece and leave a trail of delighted sighs.