Irida Skky Lounge is a new restobar in town that offers ravishing dishes

Trying out food at new outlets is something people look forward to in general. The décor is fresh, as are the furniture and cutlery, and the food speaks volumes about the chef's vision. When one visits Irida Skky Lounge, it would be hard to act unimpressed, for the three-level layout of the restobar, which includes both closed and open spaces, the lights, and the view of the city from the second and top decks are rather good.

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But we were there for the food, and Head Chef Ralph Dsouza's concise menu was quite interesting indeed. Ever heard of Kale and Bok Choy Chaat? Well, this menu has it, along with a Scotch Egg of all things! Our tasting began not with the chaat but with the Avocado Roll, a dish that contained a compressed watermelon base, on top of which sits a sushi-style roll that contains avocado, prawns, and mango and is presented with mango habanero gel and microgreens.

Although the dish does look simple, when one takes a bite, a whole lot of flavours fill the mouth and leave you speechless for a second. Be it the avocado sheets, the sweet taste of the mango, or the habanero gel that adds a bit of spice, the dish is simply outstanding and also raised our expectations to very high levels.

Then we tried the Malaysian Curry Puff, which was a stark contrast to what we had earlier. This dish was mild, with a hint of salt, and the puff was flaky as well. We liked it better without the spicy chutney it was offered with, for it did not add to the experience.

As we were settling well into the dinner, the cool breeze constantly kept us company (we were seated on the second level of the restobar, which is located on the 10th floor), and Ralph brought us a white bowl with some maroon-ish food in it. The Skky High Salad, as it was called, is, in our books, the best thing the diner offers.

With as many as 10 elements in it, including salt-baked beets, oranges, goat cheese, and candied hazelnuts, the salad was as complicated as the road signs in Chennai but was all the better for it. The beets, the cheese, and the orange slices all came together beautifully, and despite us not being 'salad persons', we wanted more!

While we were still relishing the delicious salad, the chef came out with tacos. Yep, they serve tacos at the restobar and the Chicken Al Pastor that was served with chipotle slaw and avocado salsa was very tasty indeed. Vegans should try the craftily named Heart of Palm and Artichoke Ceviche that comprises Tiger's milk, Enoki crisp, and Thai chilli. We could not help but notice that each and every dish that we tried had some influence from Japan and India, and the chef proudly admitted that he had devised the dishes that way.

What is a lounge bar without cocktails? With the décor of Irida already giving us good vibes on the first of the two terraces, we decided to start with the first cocktail on the menu, the very interestingly titled ‘Tamil Giesha.’ This evening, it was a combination of gin and shoju, with curry leaf, lime, and watermelon juice. It tasted really good, as I don’t think a lot of bartenders have experimented with gin and shoju before. This made for a light, refreshing drink, very well suited to summer. Handcrafted cocktails are supposedly the specialty here at Irida, and the Tamil Giesha certainly did not disappoint us.

Next up was the interestingly titled ‘Miso Hot.’ Our maverick bartender, Kaviraj Bishwokarma, explained to us that the idea was to make a cocktail that was just like a soup, hence the name. It consisted of shitake mushrooms infused into Japanese whisky, miso and nori syrup, lime, and chilli scallion oil. The cocktail was just divine – you could taste the miso syrup, the nori, and, of course, the floating chilli scallion oil, all of which played with your taste buds. It was an explosion of flavours and easily one of the best we have tasted in this part of the world. With our expectations raised, it was time for another creation, and here we opted for a ‘Crossdresser’. This one had jalapeno-infused tequila aperol, strawberry, and lime, again making for a very tasty and refreshing summery beverage. Thoroughly recommended.

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Last one for the evening was 'XTC', which had vodka, chenin blanc, and clarified watermelon juice with lime. I found this one intriguing because, in spite of the watermelon juice, it was transparent as it was clarified, so I had my clarification! Again, the taste was quite nice and light and this is again a cocktail I would not mind repeating. Irida truly proved its claim of handcrafted fine cocktails.

INR 2,500 for two persons with alcohol. 11 am to 11 pm. At Ethiraj Salai, Egmore.