As we walk into Grand Entree, the newly-opened multi-cuisine restaurant at Vytilla, the elegant decor and fine ambiance are pleasing and set the mood for fine dining. While recent eateries in the city have been specialising particular cuisines, this new restaurant by the Tellicherry chain offers a wide range of cuisines from Malabari to Thai.
“Being an ardent traveller and foodie, I have always loved exploring new cuisines and experiments,” says Grand Entree’s owner, Mihraz Ebrahim. “This prompted me to curate a diverse menu.” Tellicherry has several outlets in the Gulf, and is mainly known for Middle Eastern, Turkish and north Indian cuisine. “However, I thought of introducing a multi-cuisine brand, which offers fusion food. Our restaurant currently serves continental, Chinese, Thai, middle eastern, north Indian as well as south Indian cuisines,” says Mihraz, who has been into food business for 17 years.
Well, it’s time for the culinary trip. We start off with the restaurant’s seafood fusion highlight — Kanthari fish. The pan-grilled basa fish cooked with fresh kanthari chilli and coconut milk is indeed a masterpiece. The other top pick is the Thai grilled prawns, cooked with coconut milk and rosemary. Non vegetarians who are not seafood fans may try lip-smacking chicken and beef starters, too. Some of the highlights include Vietnamese chicken roll, spicy tawa (cooked with coconut slices and dry chilli paste), stir fried chicken and Korean sesame beef.
For veggies, spinach tempura and paneer/soya kanthari are recommended. In the main course, the naadan menu includes seafood platter, fish mango curry, chuttulli meen, koonthal pepper roast and seafood bucket. Among poultry dishes, the chicken malabari and Alleppy chicken stood out as simply splendid.
Besides varieties of traditional biriyanis, kebabs and tikkas await us next. What I found interesting was the options under northeast cuisine -- chicken banjara kebab, pahadi kebab, chicken lasooni tikka and other varieties. The Southeast Asian section includes Thai steamed fish, lemongrass chicken, fish in butter garlic, minced chicken chilli basil with steam rice to name a few.
In the continental section, classic pastas and steaks are the top picks. And for the health conscious folks, the Thai mango salad is a must-try. Waldorf, Marie rose chicken and honey mint winter salads are other interesting choices.
Finally, coming to the desserts, the banana crepes are simply wholesome and yummy. However, the highlight is the Entree Special Jackfruit, which is made using ripe jackfruit, butterscotch ice cream and dry fruits. Sheer indulgence.