BENGALURU : The words ‘healthy food’ are often met with a look of pure distrust. Are we going to get a plate full of raw leafy vegetables? Will we be plugging our noses as we eat food that tilts more towards nutritious than delicious? But Santé Spa Cuisine at Indiranagar firmly turns these notions on their head with dishes that aren’t just vibrant and colourful but nourishing and wholesome too. The restaurant brings in the concept of ‘spa cuisine’ in Bengaluru and everything from its decor (soothing green walls and plants a plenty) to its dishes left us feeling rejuvenated and like we were one step closer to finally achieving our long-pending new year resolutions of leading a healthier lifestyle.
“Spa cuisine is a concept where we use non-refined grains and nothing is packaged or processed. All our dishes are balanced in terms of portions,” Pallavi Gupta, the owner, tells us as we dig into some spinach and beetroot hummus, served with a side of khakra. The dish, too pretty to eat (thanks to the bright pink and green hues), too tempting to avoid, may have been the first to arrive on the table but was the last to leave and is a definite must try.
As we go through the rest of the menu (colour-coded for easier access: Yellow for the Moringa-based dishes, green for vegan options), we decide to try their Avocado Salad (fresh, light and well-dressed enough to consider seconds) and a portion of their Crunchy Chlorophyll Dimsums on Red Curry. Considering the last time we heard that word was in high school, we wonder what it is doing on the menu here but soon learn that the basil, broccoli, baby spinach and pakchoy is what gives the dish this name.
The dimsum itself was slightly bland but the curry more than compensates for it with its creamy texture.
Sante boasts of a variety of smoothie bowls, enough to leave us deciding we’ll have to make another visit to try them all. But of the two we tried – Mango Passion Vetiver and Moringa Almond Vanilla Smoothie – the former was our favourite and felt like summer in the midst of monsoon, the peach slices adding a nice taste to the smoothie.
Moringa, Gupta tells us, also finds place on the menu in their attempt to stay as local as possible with their ingredients. Intrigued, we also try the Moringa Almond Shake, whose most redeeming factor is the lightness with which it settles in our belly. For a sweeter variant, try the strawberry soy drink and for a more fun kick, opt for the midnight dark activated charcoal lemonade. Brownie points to Sante for its banana leaf straws!
Our mains included an organic Falafel Shwarma Burger, a Farm Fresh Pizza (complete with olives, jalapenos, sundried tomatoes, et all) and Pizza Verde (topped with different greens and more on the saltier side). Despite being cautioned that the burger may be on the drier side, we found it to be quite the opposite. If given a choice, however, we wouldn’t order the pizza again, just because it seems too conventional. The menu has plenty other options that seem more interesting. Melon and Brahmi, Carbon Dimsums or The Buddha Bowl anyone? PS: You can reward yourself with a Valrhona Chocolate Pie: Decadently rich chocolate (with no added sugar) that sits on buckwheat base. Who said healthy food had to be boring? Cost for two:1,800 (approx)