Monday, 29 October 2012

Dewberry's - Mylapore [Chenna]


Dewberry’s is set in such a quaint little corner of the street that it is almost impossible to come across it unless you know the place or you just stumble upon it while walking across one of the by-lanes. But that is probably best, because it helps the restaurant cater to a very niche crowd – people who enjoy Continental and Spanish food. The ambience is beautiful with both indoor and outdoor sitting available. The indoor seating has only about 20-25 chairs while the other can cater to a larger group. The outdoors which are dimly lit and cosy are in contrast to the bright hues and very bright lighting on the inside.
We started off with Cheese Garlic Bruschetta and Gamberoni. While the first delighted us to no measures with the homemade bread, crusty sides, and soft cheese; to say that the second was a disaster was an understatement. The prawns were undercooked, and to make matters worse, the chef had actually boiled the sauce instead of simmering. So what we got was black looking prawns which were burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside. We ordered pasta next (Chicken Alfredo – penne pasta in white sauce) and that kind of made us forget about every other complain we had. It was so soft, creamy, and delicious that it literally melted in your mouth. The bruschettas were priced somewhere between Rs. 135/- and Rs. 180/- while the starters around 150-250 for vegetarian and chicken, and 250-300 for sea food. All pastas were priced between Rs 190/- and Rs 260/-
For the next course, we ordered Al Capone chicken (chicken breasts in white sauce and corn, sitting over a bed of garlic potatoes) and Fish Orly sizzler. The fish in the sizzler was soft and fresh. It was accompanied by garlic rice, buttered veggies, and fries. In the chicken dish, everything was good about the food other than the chicken which had been a little overcooked thereby taking away its tenderness. All main course dishes were priced between Rs 250/- to Rs 350/-
We next proceeded to order desserts. One took us to heaven and the other dragged us down to Nether lands. The Fried Chocolate Rolls took us by surprise with the scoop of vanilla and ice cream and the uneven rolled balls. While I tried to cut into one of them, something white oozed out and I was disappointed for a second thinking that it might be more ice cream. But put it into your mouth and warm home-made white chocolate tingled your senses and transported you to another world with that spoonful of vanilla ice cream. The Red Berry Delight was another story altogether. It is supposed to be fresh fruits stuffed inside a crisp shell and smothered in strawberry chilli sauce, served with a scoop of ice cream. The crepes were huge and just the opposite of crisp and stuffed with bits of semi boiled pineapple! The strawberry chilli sauce looked majorly like fixed fruit jam and the whole plating just put you off. In fact, we couldn’t even proceed beyond a single bite! All desserts were priced at Rs 180/- Those few that were priced at Rs. 290/- claimed that the portion was good for two.
The show stopper of the evening however, had to be our drinks – the lemon and mint cooler. These are the best that we have had in the last many months, given that we eat out a lot and this is usually my staple drink! Placed in fabulous glasses, these are semi frozen liquids with just the slightest hint of salt. In short, the perfect combination of awesomeness – most of the drinks were priced at Rs 80/- to Rs 120/- a glass. They also have a variety of hot and cold beverages.  

OUR RATINGS:
Ambience: 4/5
Food: 3.5/5 (4.5 for the Bruschetta, Pasta, and Fried Chocolate but the gamberoni and Red Berry dessert was a total game spoiler)
Service: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

OUR TAKE:
Missing the lemon mint cooler or the bruschettas with home-made bread will be an absolute sin. Try out the interesting combinations in pasta with the three varieties available – spaghetti, fusili, and penne. If you are a milk chocolate lover, do not miss the Fried Chocolate.