Open Box - Over time

The Open Box holds a very special place in my heart, it has given me lot of pleasant memories over the last two years. It was one of the places my love took me to for one of our initial lunch dates. It was mesmerising then, cool bright interiors greeted me. They had a swing seat then which I eagerly jumped onto. It was a proud moment for him, he saw the delight and awe on my face, I could tell he was very pleased with himself!

There were so many cool things to look and explore, I was impressed with the interior designer. Very creative and out of the box concept! On weekends, it would be hard to get a table at this place unless you had booked one in advance. You would see a buzz of excitement, youngsters and elite crowd would talk animatedly, every now and then, you would see or hear people gasping in surprise at the chic and bright cutlery.

The food would blow your mind like a well planned finale, one of the coolest fusion food places in 2015. The menu holds interesting names for dishes like Corn Kaun or Meri Cheese Teri Chilli and Lab in Paris.  My favourite starter here is Hummosa! A combination of hummus and mini samosa, garnished with chopped onions, coriander and pomegranate pearls. The flavours just burst in your mouth, sweet and sour with creamy and crunchy texture. The presentation is quite unique too, see? If you happen to visit, just order it first. Club this starter with a cool cocktail like Piyakkad Nariyal (gin, tender coconut and basil and lime!) and you are sorted for 45 minutes!

During my previous visits, I had a variety of different dishes like Happy Ending Biryani (yes, I know, brilliant name) served in a cute mini pressure cooker, pizza wasn't so great, yummy dessert that I couldn't find this year. It's a challenge to play fusion with Continental and Indian food but these guys had cracked it pretty well at that time. Malpoha with orange shavings and kalakand with cream. I wish they had kept the old dishes or added new dishes with mangoes. You get decent to large portions here, so it's always good to go in a large group.

If you needed a break from eating you could also play pool, or walk around admiring posters and quirky knickknacks. This year though, you can only play pool, rest of the stuff seems to be fading away. It's a terrace restaurant, so lot of open air and light, a refreshing experience once upon a time.

My recent visit wasn't as satisfying as earlier ones though. Except for Hummosa, the food didn't have the same refreshing flavours. This time we had ordered Watermelon in a Cottage salad and Samurai Honai bass fish, quite a weird combo and taste. Watermelon with fried cottage cheese (paneer cubes) felt like rubber. And the sauce in Honai tasted like raw masalas in dal, as if the ingredients were forced together, overpowering the flavour of basa.

I couldn't see half of the cool things that they had earlier and they are also sharing a bit of space with another restaurant. I hope it was a one-off bad experience of food gone wrong because I would hate to see this place go down the dumps. I was impressed with the service though, they were quite attentive and eager to take feedback, even offered to change the food but we were quite full and didn't feel the need for it. The cost for two people would come around 1500 to 1800 including drinks, I would suggest you try this place out with your friends first. A weekend brunch works out pretty well.

Based on my recent experience I would give this place a rating of 🌶️🌶️🌶️chillis.

Located at: 4th Floor, Building 9, Halcyon Complex, St. Marks Road, Bangalore
Call: 080 49653111
Timings: 12 pm to 12 am
Alcohol: Yes
Parking: Available
Disable friendly: Yes
Pets Allowed: No
Wifi: Yes
Ideal for: Couples, colleagues and friends