Azulia is one of my favorite eat outs in chennai. They used to have a lebanese chef and now they have a Turkish chef and authenticity is not compromised on and the tweaks are very minimal. They are careful about the choice of ingredients and source them from abroad. Chef Aetham guided us to a choice of starters and we went through all of them with ease. I love the hummus here, it is just perfect and the pita bread they serve here is not artificially puffed, but more authentic. The cold starters were quite pleasing, while the hot ones were just as good. My favorite was the star shaped spinach stuffed stuff, the cigar rolled mutton stuff and the pita with hummus and hung curd. The pizza that was served was also pretty good.
Since we were about ten of us, we got to taste quite a few dishes for main course. I believe that the grilled prawns that I was served was the best of the lot, hands down. The potato based pasta that was served with it was quite ordinary, but the prawns per se were brilliant. The lamb chops was another good stuff where it was done right, at least the two pieces that came out right, while the fish was ok. I believe the vegetarians had a good time too with their stuff, but I was too busy eating meat to notice.
The Turkish baklava was very nice, it is more oily than its Lebanese counterpart, but was very nice. The cheesecake was ok, while the chocolate lava cake was too chocolaty for me. I would stick to the baklava for dessert here. The passion fruit gellato that was served between starters and main course is worth more than a mention too.
I would leave most of my order to the waiters here. They are well trained, have Good knowledge of the menu and you can always call the chef or the manager to help with your order, I have not mentioned the names of the dishes here because I am not sure I remember them and quite certain that you will not remember them when you decide to visit Azulia. Just call the guys, tell them your choice of meat and what kind of taste you like and they will whip up some super dishes. The chef will let you sample some of the mediterranean spices and you can get something with those spices if you like.
Azulia is fine dining (read expensive) place and you have to get there with an open mind. If you are looking for tandoori chicken and dosa and expect to find similar taste, you will be disappointed. It is an experience of getting to taste foods and favors from ten different mediterranean countries and a good one at that.
Food 8.5/10
Ambiance 9/10
Service 9/10
Price 8/10
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