Who knew that a grant of land by the Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, Maharaja of Mysore to the Eurasian community would one day become a major part of one of India’s IT hub. Whitefield came into existence back in 1882 and remained pretty stagnant until the late part of 1990’s, however since then the region has grown multi-fold. The Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) area set up in Whitefield now hosts a plethora of MNC companies, bustling malls, residential areas and restaurants. The latest trend that is being set is of restaurants cum micro breweries and Windmills Craftworks has been the pioneer in Whitefield. I tried an evening out at the place and loved every bit of it, read on for a full review.
The Location
Windmills Craftworks is located in the center of the EPIP area, behind the KTPO Convention Center. The road besides L&T Infotech leads you to the building hosting the restaurant on the 5th floor.
Address: No. 331, Road 5B, EPIP Zone, Whitefield, Bangalore – 560066
Phone: 8880233322
The Hours
Windmills Craftworks is open from 12:00 PM to 11:30 PM. It is recommended to get a reservation as it can become a bit hard to find the table otherwise. Reservation is also available online on windmillscraftworks.com. Valet service is available if you don’t find a parking spot on the street.
The happy hours are all day Monday and Tuesday to Friday 12 PM to 7 PM.
The Ambiance
The restaurant and microbrewery also hosts a Jazz theater hosting performances few times a month and a design library with a selection of Art, Architecture, Design and Music books. The library runs through the walls of the place while the Jazz stage provides a nice backdrop to the seating. My son could also find some books of interest to him and couple of hours went nicely. It also has a terrace overlooking the area with a usual nice Bangalore breeze. One end of the restaurant is an open bar, which can be used anytime even if you don’t find the table for a couple of drinks.
The menu is all digital with an iPad experience connecting you to the service as and when you want. Comfortable and relaxed seating, however do not hope for much privacy in peak hours.
The Service
I loved the digital service experience, the orders can be digitally placed, while the server comes and verifies it. The menu app on the iPad is easy to browse and you can intuitively add and modify the quantity before submitting. Once the order is verified, a few of the orders came in quickly, however as it started to crowd up, they took a bit longer than expected. I’m still not complaining as the whole experience made up for the small aberrations.
The Price
Windmills Craftsworks charges optimally for the experience, a meal for two would cost about INR 2500 ($42), most of the house beer pints are priced at INR 295 ($5) + taxes and charges. I liked the happy hour concept where the beer charges are reduced by INR 100 ($1.5) for each pint.
The Food
The micro brewery and restaurant compliment each other in the richness and variety. Talking about the brewery first, it serves hand crafted beers like Indian Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, Golden Ale, Stout and Seasonal Beers. Indian Ale was the strongest of all, a nice color, texture and taste, while my favorite would be Hefeweizen a wheat beer with a unique banana and clove flavor. Choose your favorite one or just sample all. Along with the beers I tried a few basic snacks like french fries and garlic bread which were just the usual stuff.
The Restaurant serves American and Indian cuisine. In the Indian cuisine I tried Murgh Malai Kebab as an appetizer, they had a very nice marination and cooked just to melt in the mouth. They are served with some green chutney, sliced onions and lemon, absolutely delicious. The Indian main course menu can always be evaluated through the biryani preparation and it didn’t disappoint me at all. The Mutton Biryani had well cooked meat and served with some spicy curry, raita and papad. The serving size was also perfect for a couple of people.
In the American cuisine I tried honey chili potatoes and spicy chicken wings in the starters. While I wasn’t too impressed by the potatoes as they were not as chilly as I expected them to be, the spicy wings had just the right sauce and chili. They paired well with my beers and came in a fairly good serving size. Since I’m a big burger lover, I tried that too and loved the pulled meat filling inside. The meat blended well with the bun and the cut veggies and was a delight to eat.
Well unless you have a bigger party ready to share their meals, you may not be able to lay your hands on a lot of preparation, none the less, enjoy a few beers with a dish each from Indian and American or get hold of an interesting book while you sip and relax.