Luxury comes with a heavy price tag, one that is well-deserved by Waterstones Bar & Grill.
The Bar & Grill which we were told is ‘relatively’ new is located inside Waterstones Hotel between The Leela and the International Airport in Sahar. The hotel has six floors, five of which have different themes like glacier, rainforest, fire, mountain and marine; named so because they follow the colours of the respective themes i.e shades of red and orange on fire floor, greens on rainforest floor etc. Waterstone Bar & Grill is located on the fifth floor i.e. marine floor which is coloured in various colours of the ocean.
The interiors have a serene look and despite being dimly lit the restaurant looks bright. It’s surrounded by
glass walls on three sides and gets good Sunlight during the day. The feature that interested me the most were the creepers hanging upside down which made the restaurant look like the Herbology class from Harry Potter and I almost felt like pulling out a screeching mandrake. My imagination came to a halt when the manager announced that the plants aren’t real but despite that they gave a sense of greenery which was soothing to eyes. The restaurant was quiet, mostly because there weren’t many people, probably because it was a weekday.
All the greenery in and around the restaurant translated in my order too as I called for a green revolution; a vodka based fruit and mint flavoured drink perfect for hot weather. The restaurant has an open kitchen which has become quite a trend now. We got ourselves a corner table and started browsing through the menu which includes a mix of Mediterranean and European dishes. With a little help from our server we ordered grilled Arabian sea prawns (Rs 600), Spanish traditional chicken aioli skewers (Rs 360) and caprese (Rs 400) for starters. Before our starters arrived we were served freshly baked bread with a pesto which is undoubtedly one of the best I’ve had. It was light and didn’t have an overpowering flavour of basil. Coming to the starters the prawns were macerated in chilli, basil and garlic and were served with orange reduction which gave them a sweet and spicy flavour. The dish was plated so well that the seafood hater who accompanied me for the dinner couldn’t resist eating it and actually loved it; now that’s some compliment. The chicken skewers were well cooked but had too much mayonnaise on them which overpowered the flavour of herbs. Our caprese had fresh and crunchy lettuce with plum tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and pine nuts and was wiped off the plate.
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| Green Revolution |
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| Grilled Prawns |
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| Spanish chicken skewers |
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| Caprese |
As we ate we realized that there’s an al fresco section which we hadn’t noticed yet and decided to take a look while our main course got ready. The outdoor section had Astroturf grass (artificial grass) and a waterfall which coupled with the cold breeze created a pleasant ambiance. There’s a small bar too where you can sit and enjoy your drink. Eating however might be a little difficult since the tables are pretty low.
While we strolled outside our main course was served; grilled catch of the day (Rs 650); the server had me at fish and then he said basa and I knew what I was going to order. My co-diner on the other hand decided to give his new found love for seafood a break and stuck to grilled pepper tian (Rs 450) and grilled tenderloin steak (600). The presentation was beautiful and portions big enough. The catch of the day or basa came with wilted spinach, butter sauce and herbed potatoes. The fish had a crispy outer layer and was paired well with the light butter sauce. The tian was stuffed with tomato ratatouille and caramelized onions and tasted quite a lot like an Indian sabzi. The dish was conveniently ignored by me since I had a lovely basa in front of me and it’ll take a truly amazing dish to make me leave my fish. The steak was medium cooked and was soft but could’ve done better with a more flavourful sauce since the béarnaise sauce served with it was a little bland.
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| Grilled tenderloin steak |
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| Grilled tian |
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| Grilled basa |
For desserts we ordered a crunchy and rich baklava (Rs 320) and hot and gooey chocolate lava cake (Rs 320). To all those who want to know a place that serves great baklava, the answer is Waterstones Bar & Grill. The lava cake had a strong Madras coffee flavour which gave it a bitter taste but the dark chocolate lover in me wasn’t complaining at all.
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| Baklava |
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| Chocolate lava cake |
We loved the food and the prompt service and would recommend the place especially when you are looking out for a quiet and private meal.
Kharcha: Rs 2500 + taxes (without alcohol)
On the burp scale: 3.5/5
The interiors have a serene look and despite being dimly lit the restaurant looks bright. It’s surrounded by glass walls on three sides and gets good Sunlight during the day. The feature that interested me the most were the creepers hanging upside down which made the restaurant look like the Herbology class from Harry Potter and I almost felt like pulling out a screeching mandrake. My imagination came to a halt when the manager announced that the plants aren’t real but despite that they gave a sense of greenery which was soothing to eyes. The restaurant was quiet, mostly because there weren’t many people, probably because it was a weekday.
Nice food presentation and lovely snaps!
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