Edapally is no-doubt a foodies’ hub. Besides a multitude of outlets in Lulu Mall, its neighbouring streets are crammed with eateries. Newly opened, The Charcoal Grill—located across the railway overbridge on NH66 towards Varapuzha—has something to offer to connoisseurs when it comes to a calm and hassle-free dining experience.
Replacing another grill house, the 20-cover outlet at Leebin Square has undergone an overhaul. The interiors sporting wooden furniture have been further spruced up with aquariums and the front door opening to a 3-D graffiti reading ‘FOOD’ where the letter ‘o’ is spelt with the tyres of a cycle suspended from the ceiling (previously seen in a couple of other cafés like Donut Factory).
“My familiarity with continental food during my travels as a finance manager in Kuwait was the reason why we decided to focus on the cuisine,” says Thomas Varghese, who runs the restaurant along with his son Binil Varghese.
Mix ‘n’ match
Despite having just got out of the rain, we order a sourish mixed juice. Sifting through familiar options which have words including ‘mozzarella’ and ‘Mexican’ thrown in, we decide on an Indian-style chicken wrap. You don’t need a thorough perusal to tell you that this menu is not really vegetarian-friendly. Rolled in a chapati, it’s stuffed with eggs and tender cubes of chicken. The slightly spicy aftertaste reminds us of the ‘Indian’ in the etymology.
Missing something, we look around and figure out that this local diner could do with some light-hearted music. Next, we order the Korean dish bulgogi as it’s hardly seen in Kochi’s eateries. But, marinated with a mix of Italian herbs namely thyme and oregano, the dish prepared in a tart brown sauce pays no heed to its Asian origin. The mild butter rice served alongside makes the dish more appealing.
Sizzly serving
The rain picks up again outside, as chef Faizal K A, who’s been in the industry for 10 years, brings his ‘ultimate’ chicken burger to the table. The patty-less version has chicken chunks instead, but turns out to be unimpressive with the flavours of the meat hardly coming through. Following which, we agree to the Kochi-based chef's suggestion: a sizzler.
Drowned in mushroom-butter and barbeque sauces, the platter, normally served with a choice of sides like mashed potato or fries, turns out to be quite a workout for our jaw with its chewy meat. “We’re planning to incorporate desserts into our list once the current menu gains traction,” informs Faizal, as he traces my eye moving to the large display board sans desserts.