Brick N Bean Café Kitchen is a cutesy little eatery and even before we enter the place, its street lamp décor and bookshelf have caught our attention, and we are transported to the bylanes of Europe the moment we enter the place. Potted plants, ceramic-tiled tables, metal bistro chairs, little signboards marked with names of provinces in Italy such as Piazza Galuppi give a leisurely vibe to the cafe. The overall green colour scheme adds a distinct Mediterranean feel. The café is structured vertically which gives it a street-side feel that has been additionally accentuated with faux European white windows and wooden house doors on the adjacent walls. Creepers on one of the walls and a bookshelf on the other make the ambience even quainter.
The menu here is short and sweet- an All Day Breakfast section followed by soups, salads, appetisers and waffles for that essential sweet finish in case you’re done for the day. Otherwise one can move on to sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, pastas and so on before settling in for the main course.
We opted for the Saffron Flavoured Prawn Bisque (`395) along with Manhattan Crab Cakes (`395) and Butter Garlic Prawns (`395) from the appetisers and the food is served even before we could soak in the décor and the intriguing faux mezzanine floor. The Prawn Bisque served with a slice of bread is the smoothest seafood soup we’ve ever tasted and we polish it off till the last drop. The Manhattan Crab Cakes garnished with micro-greens are a mouthful and absolutely delicious but the quantity is a dampener- too less. This would make for a perfect pre-drinking finger food item. Pity, the café doesn’t serve any liquor yet. The Butter Garlic Prawns are served with a side of lettuce, arugula, cherry tomatoes and olives. The prawns coupled with the sauce generously poured over them is a spicy explosion in our mouth, having us reach out to water quite often.
From the mains, the Grilled Pork Chops (`575) arrive in just under 10 minutes and are flawless.The presentation and timing at the café is spot on. The meat was well-cooked and served with Ratatouille, Mashed Potato and Kalamata Olive Tapenade. They could have done without the ratatouille (French stewed vegetables) but the succulent loin cut with the glaze of the restaurant-prepared sauce was finger licking-ly good. The last item of our meal was something we knew that we’d feel guilty after ordering but couldn’t resist it.
The Brick n Bean Signature Pasta (spaghetti, bacon and mascarpone,`455) can easily be every non vegetarian’s comfort food. Creamy and indulgent, we struggled to finish this decadent dish but couldn’t stop taking bite-after-bite of it which was drizzled with large amounts of bacon. Once again, they could have easily done without the bread but with our hearts and tummies full, we had little to complain. Will we return here? Si, si! Just as one does while strolling through sidewalks and settling in for that welcoming little table and indulgent food.