I saw a startling statistic few weeks back, the population of Bangalore has doubled in the last decade. Bengaluru is growing like a true cosmopolitan culture, with professionals coming from all part’s of India and the globe. As Bangalore looks to expand its geographic boundaries, the places which used to be solitaire during the evenings have started to bustle up. On the east side of the city, restaurants are now catering to this increasing geographic area. Te Papa is a wine and dine restaurant closer to the current boundaries and with a fancy name appealed to me a lot of times while I passed by it. This time I decided to give it a try and review my evening & dinner experience.
The Location
Te Papa is located on the terrace of a building hosting a bank on the ground floor. Its close to Hope Farm junction which leads towards two of the growing road stretches in Bengaluru, one leading to Hoskote and the other one to Chikka Tirupathi.
Address: 4th Floor, Skyline Icon Building, State Highway 35, Near Hope Farm Signal, Whitefield, Bangalore – 560066
Phone: 080 – 28451390
The Hours
The restaurant serves buffet lunch from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM while it is open for dinner from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM. It has a small basement parking in the same building or you can park on the road side. I would have loved a better parking arrangement and specially a valet service which can enhance the brand value.
The Ambiance
The restaurant has a open terrace sitting as well as a hall setup. The evening weather in Bangalore and a pleasant breeze invited me more towards the open terrace. It has nice views towards a developing Bengaluru and things generally start to look good from a upper floor. The outside sittings also gives you an ample personal space. The table setting enhances the brand through restaurant themed place mats and coasters.
The Service
While I visited on a weekday, the restaurant was not too busy and the table was waited promptly. The waiters were eager to take a feedback on a newly created menu, however the restaurant has been there for some time now. The fancy name though starts to strike you as the service is fairly ordinary and nothing exceptional. I would however not complain as they have kept the service charge to 5% as compared to most other places which have made it 10% compulsory. Just a slight more professional touch would do wonders here.
The Price
The pricing is in line with the expectations. Most of the individual items do not cross the threshold of INR 350 ($6) and a hearty meal for two can be enjoyed in about INR 1200 ($20) including taxes and charges. A domestic wine glass would set you back by about INR 250 – INR 350 ($4 – $6) + taxes while a bottle costs upward of INR 1300 ($22) + taxes.
The Food
Te Papa serves both continental and Indian dishes, there is fairly good variety for both the cuisines. The continental includes Pasta, Lasagna, Risotto, Cajun Spiced Chicken, Fish & Chips, Jerk Chicken, Nachos, Hummus, Greek Salad, Corn Chowder and more, so fair amount of cultural diversity. The Indian has the regular curries like Shahi Paneer, Pindi Chole, Lahori Murgh and Achaari Gosht with various breads.
Obviously with a big menu, I got to try only few of my favorites. I chose to order more continental dishes as I felt that would explain the overall quality being the more tricky of the two. I liked both the appearance and taste of the dishes like Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce, Spaghetti in Alfredo Sauce, Fish & Chips, Pulled Sizzler, Saffron and Lemon flavored Prawns and finally a Pann Ki Rasmalai.
Overall I felt that that Te Papa has focused on few of the right areas for its growth, at the same time they need to work a bit more to get into fine dining experience, they have the right ingredients, I hope they can give it a great finishing touch in the time to come.