Swiss surprise at Bandra's Out of the Blue

Have you ever sat out under the stars huddling a little in the cold and shared a large pot of fondue with your family laughing to hide your embarrassment every time the bread or fruit fell into the bowl the Swiss call lsquocaquelonrsquo If you have herersquos a chance to relive the romance And if you havenrsquot you donrsquot have to plan a trip to the Swiss Alps Head to Bandra instead where Out Of The Blue is hosting a Swiss food fest thatrsquos on till the end of the monthPotatoes Emmenthal and Baked Cheese fondue soup at Out Of The Blue BandraBut why are we so excited about another food festival Herersquos why Itrsquos a chilly by Mumbai standards weeknight when we walk in to the restaurant in the lsquofood districtrsquo of Union Park off Carter Road And therersquos hardly a table free We manage a table and quickly ask for the festival menu so that we can find out why everyone around us is fooling around with that funny looking forkChef Juliano recommends we start with the Potatoes and Emmenthal Baked Cheese Fondue Soup Rs 275 Soon a curiously shaped ceramic container with a small candle burning underneath arrives The soup is covered with the baked cheese Emmenthal mdash a Swiss lsquoDumrsquo soup we are jokingly told Itrsquos warm and heavy on the cheese Itrsquos different and innovative though not something we would give five stars toChampagne cream with luxemburgerli macaroonsThe next item on the menu does earn that distinction though The Zurich Trip Cheese Fondue Rs 610 is a gigantic bowl of melted Fontina Emmenthal and Cheddar with White Wine and Scallions We dig in our forks into the crusty breads and the assorted steamed vegetables on the side and dip in Bliss If you love your cheese this fondue is heavenThe only flip side itrsquos really heavy and unless you plan to stick around for a twohourlong meal interspersed with longish walks go easy on this one But we have no time to breathe as our Grilled salmon napped with Gremolata sauce made with lemon zest garlic and parsley served with onion rings and baby potatoes with mixed greens Rs 425 has arrived This tastes as good as it sounds The lemon zest really spices up the salmon and we love the onion rings tooThe Mixed Meat Grill Sizzler Rs 500 is no great shakes in comparison with the individual taste of the meats getting drowned in the sauces We are quite full but how can one end a Swiss meal without Swiss chocolate Enter the Black and White fondue Rs 650 a delightfully sinful pot of melted dark and white Lindt chocolate accompanied on the side by cake slices and a fruit platter The forks are busy really busy this time and thankfully not too many of those cakes escape the fork and fall into the fondueBut the piece de resistance sounds rather French though has to be the Champagne cream with Luxemburgerli Macaroons Rs 375 a wide bottomed cocktail glass filled with champagneinfused cream with three macaroons floating in it If there was no other item being served here we would return to the festival just for this dessert Of course itrsquos not all fish meat and champagne There is a lot on offer for vegetarians too such as the Charred Cooked Cottage Cheese with Creamy Jalapeno Sauce Rs 350 Stuffed Cabbage with Cottage Cheese and Fresh Herbs served with Sundried Tomato Sauce Rs 395 or the Aargustyle Fungi and Spinach Quiche Rs 245 The pricing is also eminently affordable and a really filling meal for two would still cost well under Rs 2000Service PromptAmbience Noisy and funAt Out of the Blue at Union Park off Carter Road in BandraWhen On till January 31Meal for two Rs 1500