BENGALURU : At the end of a tiring work day, if you're looking for a place to unwind, the Alfresco by Bene at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway can be an ideal place to do just that. The open-air Italian venue is a casual extension of the restaurant, Bene, which allows for informal gatherings and is a haven for those who like to socialise over a few drinks and shared plates.
For a place that flaunts of its cocktails, I first ordered a Blood and Sand Cocktail - a concoction of blood orange juice, sweet vermouth and blended scotch/ whiskey. The presentation of this was quite impressive – an orange was mounted on the 'bloody' ice frost in the glass, and the drink is sipped out of the hollow fruit. The flavour of the orange peel, adds that extra zing to the drink. While sipping on the decorated drink, I ordered some finger foods.
The feast of finger foods was initiated with the Falafel Pita, which is made of chickpeas, parsley, lemon, pita and tahini. Despite being a die-hard non-vegetarian, the freshness of the vegetables and light feel of this dish compelled me to devour a good portion of falafel pita, leaving me craving more. Soon after this, I also tried the Lamb Pita with cucumber mint and tzatziki sauce. The softness of the lamb meat perfectly blends in with the rest of the ingredients.
Next, I moved on to try out the pizzas – the Deep Dish Overload Pizza (with burrata, mozzarella, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper and onions), and the Chicken Pizza Cups (with chicken, tomato sauce, cheese and jalapenos). All the pizzas here are made on thin crusts, however, the cheese overload vegetarian pizza, thick with cheese almost made it look as though the pizza was baked on a thick base. What was interesting and delightful about this was that, even though the pizza was cheesy, it was not heavy on the stomach.
As a seafood lover, I could not miss out on the Prawns Agli-olio, this dish made with prawns, chilli flakes and parsley, was cooked with a dash of white wine. The white wine was added to dilute the rawness of the meat and the spices. However, if you are a lover of the raw taste, make sure you ask for Prawn Agli-olio without the white wine.
Ratings: 3/5
Cost for two : `2,000 (approx.)