Chennai Restaurant Reviews

Ministry of Chutneys – Radisson Blu GRT Hotel, Chennai

Radisson GRT Hotel in Pazhavanthangal, near the Chennai Airport, used to be one of our regular spots for chilled draught beer in their bar Gallop!  It used to be one of the nicest places around in this side of the city.

This was my first visit after their renovation and I was mighty impressed!  The place looked wonderful! Without altering the main structure of the building, they seemed to have changed lot of things around it to make it look very posh!  The orientation, the entrance, everything changed for the better.  It looks new and ultra posh!

Along with a dear friend, stepped into the hotel for lunch.  I’ve been to The Great Kebab Factory a couple of times, a few years ago.  As friend was vegetarian and had some temporary restrictions to certain food ingredients, didn’t seem to make sense to go for a buffet priced over 3K per pax, primarily known for their kebabs.  

The moment we realized Ministry of Chutneys was right next to it, we decided to try.  This was one of the newer restaurants that opened here, and I had been waiting to visit it for quite some time.  This was also a buffet, but a limited spread as compared to TGKF, we were told.  It was priced at 1.5K plus taxes per head, and that sounded quite reasonable for what was offered.  It wasn’t all that ‘limited’, I thought, after taking a quick look at the counters.  Though this restaurant is one of the very unique places serving colonial Anglo Indian cuisine, we didn’t quite try that from their a la carte menu.  This post is only about their buffet spread for lunch.

Before I go into the details of what we had, I’d like to thank Chef Guru Preethi (It is a pity I didn’t catch the name rite, but that is what it ‘sounded like’, after checking a couple of times with one of the waiters).  Could be Chef Gurpreet also, not too sure!  She was so accommodative to my friend’s meal requests and made sure we were served exactly what we asked for.  From making a customized Burrata salad, to an Egg-White Omelette with extra Green Chillies, to a dry mixed-veg subzi, and a spiced buttermilk with extra chillies, everything was obliged without a slightest fuss.  She was one of the very pleasant professionals in the hospitality industry whom I have met in the recent times.

I made a couple of rounds for the starters – a lot of nice salads and dips were very tasty.  Tasted a little of Greek Salad, Heirloom carrots with fennel and walnuts, Hummus, Guacamole, roasted pineapple salad, some olives, and cheese. 

Tried a few breads, a pizza slice, sambusa, falaffel with a middle-Eastern touch.  Some nachos and salsa on the side.

Tasted their Chicken Bao, it was good with the Siracha sauce.

Proceeded to have a small portion of Chicken Biryani, a pic which I unfortunately forgot to click.  The Biryani tasted good. 

Meanwhile we happened to spot the Paneer station where a huge block of roasted paneer was placed.  Again, the chef was kind to make us a paneer roll.  Tasted wonderful.

Friend had cut fruits while I decided to gorge on the desserts!  Tasted almost everything that was there on the spread.  It was very good.  Kesar Rasagolla and Gulab Jamun were very tasty!

Ended with a Black Coffee, a fantastic strong coffee.  Loved it !  It was a fitting end to this wonderful meal.

Overall, a fantastic lunch and even wonderful company.  My friend paid for the lunch, and it was around 4K.  I’d certainly recommend this place if you’re looking for a slightly less expensive buffet without compromising on the ambience and service of a 5-Star property!

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