Avant Garde hospitality has boldly taken a step to caper into Bangalore, with contemporary European cuisine and fine dining stamped with the personalized style of Abhijit Saha, one of India’s top ten chef, writes Gloria Paul from Bangalore.
 The window of opportunity to experience masterful creativity in fine dining just got a whole lot bigger. The bar for a gourmet meal is up a notch or two and quite simply, is now in a class all its own.
Nothing simple about Caperberry, the latest restaurant in downtown Bangalore though. Here, progressive European cuisine combines the art of food presentation to Zen heights, coaxes velvet and textured tastes from quality ingredients and infuses wonderment into the evening, so that its memory lingers long and pleasant like the after taste of a fine Burgundy.
That it’s different would be passé for the uniqueness of the Caperberry experience. The ingenuity of well-known Chef Abhijit Saha who has spent 18 years of his career in some of the finest hotels and restaurants like Hotel Park in India and abroad, is one element that will sustain success. What will clinch the deal are modern versatility, acceptance of the unusual and the awareness of the Bangalorian spirit.
On entry, the Tapas Lounge offers comfort and seclusion and sets the mood for an informal time. A well-stocked bar offers exotic cocktails, single malts, beers and other liquors. More importantly, the health conscious option of wines-imported or Indian, would be another compelling reason to dine here.
Lounge music plays in the background but upfront the care and great service, a highlight of this restaurant, welcomes the mood for some authentic Tapas- the Spanish short-eats.
Some dishes on the Tapas Menu may seem unfamiliar but it is easy to understand for these are named after the ingredients they use. A cheese lover should order the cheese platter to enjoy parmesan, English cheddar, gorgonzola, combined with chevre-marinated mushrooms, mustard on melba toast, green apple and the beautiful Caperberry so known for its versatility and refreshing flavour. The platter of cold meats can be enjoyed with olives.
Interesting dips, relishes and jellies like honey chilli, Herb Aioli (egg- less mayonnaise and fresh herbs), mint, pear, apricot, mango, cauliflower, asparagus, apple, pineapple and other flavours, accompany cheese coated crumb fried golden prawns, sea food like calamari, mussels, octopus, salmon, sherry - marinated and char-grilled pepper chicken, lamb chops marinated in red wine and good tenderloin.
The vegan is not forgotten for other than the range of quality cheeses, special ingredients like figs, pine nuts, olives and almonds join vegetables like artichoke, shitake mushrooms, chickpea, asparagus and spinach.
An almost monochrome ambience in the dining area of the restaurant cleverly creates the illusion of great space. Passion for ‘good food, done better’ colours the service counter ruby red and splashes onto the crafted fare.
Informality snubs the formal flavour of both Tasting menus and the A La Carte section. Once the choice is made, ably guided by professionals like Selva, there is no time to waste for moments spent enjoying your meal melt in your mouth like their creamy and silken mousses.
 An interesting dish was the cauliflower and red bell pepper jelly, served with warm, grilled artichoke and home made Parmesan wafers. The white wine infused pear jelly with the Foie Gras underscored the quality of the duck liver.
The identifiable Spanish favorite, Paella, that uses long cooking short grained rice, was made with garlic and thyme flavored shitake mushrooms and the Chorizo (pork sausage) and chicken paella (Spanish rice dish counterpart of the Italian risotto) could have done with a bit more of paprika to suit the Indian palate.
While enjoying the main course and complementing the chef on the char-grilled prawns, Abhijit Saha said, “I want to give my guests not only good food but the best food. My creations are distinct and quality ingredients go a long way in making the dishes unforgettable. I aim to marry informal surroundings with formal and gourmet fare. My food is not snobbish but special.”
The piece de resistance, however, was certainly the chocolate and raspberry Monte Carlo. The presentation looked very much like the headgear of a geisha replete with chocolate loop and gold leaf. The proof of this pudding was very much in the eating for the quality chocolate was easy to identify. A gold teaspoon to eat it with, proved their eye for detail. Says Abhijit Saha, “We take great pains to achieve understated sophistication be it in our choice of crockery or the Riedel wine glasses we use”.
Talking about wine, their list is still in the state of infancy. We ordered a bottle of chilled Bouvet Rosé Brut which was fresh, bubbly and crisp. It sang beautifully with all the dishes we ordered, dessert not included. Kudos to Selva who handled the wine service very proficiently.
If pricing were the bottom line, then presently, they are tops as far as value for money is concerned. Consider the lunch buffet – 8 salads, 6 desserts, a pasta dish and a main course and all for only Rs. 500 plus taxes! Quite remarkable, as the quality of food remains the same as that on their a la carte menu for dinner. But cautions Chef Abhijit,' this is only an introductory offer for a short period to showcase our restaurant to shoppers and busy office-goers.'
 When asked about the clever balance of quality food and medium pricing, Shruti Shibulal, co-entrepreneur of Caperberry said, “Molecular taste is not what we are aiming for here. The variations in flavour should be interesting and delicious. We are certain that Bangalore will appreciate our efforts.”
Shruti is the young philanthropist who returned from New York a year ago after a stint with Merrill Lynch. She loves life, good food and adds fiscal knowledge to this refreshingly new venture as Abhijit’s partner. She is also visible in most corners of the restaurant, welcoming guests, chatting up with them and generally making them comfortable.
Across the board the pricing is reasonable though some may feel that the servings are just enough. Perhaps tweaking the menu, in the days to come, will further consolidate Caperberry as an Avant Garde restaurant to reckon with.
The season for Caperberry to bloom is here and if good food is their work of art then Bangalore abounds with art lovers. Like they say in Hebrew “Caperberry”- your senses will be awakened!
Here are a few of the dishes we ordered.
Gloria Paul
Gloria Paul is a Bangalore-based free lance food critic and journalist. She has written for the Hindustan Times, Times of India, Deccan Chronicle and writes for several web magazines and websites
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