Absolute BBQ, Bangalore

So buffets sell. OK, big buffet priced reasonably sell. OK, if located near some IT company, they sell well. Take all of this and add discovery channel to the buffet and it is bound to take off extremely well. BBQ Nation thrived on treats and office lunch types. Take that and pump it with steroids and you can then imagine what Absolute BBQ is all about. Located a little away from the Eco Space building that houses more than handful of employees from over 10 corporates, Absolute BBQ has hit the sweet spot and throws something extra.

Essentially, you have the grills on the table with unlimited starters, a wish grill located at one end of the restaurant which has exotic meats like Emu, Rabbit, Octopus, Quail etc and a buffet at the other end. The starters were a mixed lot. I didn't like the lamb sheekh kebab as it was too dry, I didn't like the chicken grill, but the prawns, the fish and another chicken was quite nice. The cinnamon grilled pineapple was a nice addition that I took multiple helpings of. But the waiters noticed that we did not eat some of the starters, asked us what was wrong and brought new dishes out of the menu. That was an amazing gesture. So the lamb sheekh was replaced with a super juicy and super tasty and super soft lamb, while the chicken was replaced with chicken wings. As much as we wanted to say that we didn't like the chicken wings, we didn't because we feared they will bring another dish and force feed us. One short sweet bread was amazing and we had multiple helpings, even a little bit with the dhal makhani.

Next stop, the wish grill. For this you have to go to a common grill, albeit veg and non veg separate, choose your meat, choose your sauce, your style, add rice/noodles if you want and the guy will give you a token that you place on your table. Your choice of 'wish meat' is delivered to your table. All of us like the rabbit cooked in an Indian sauce, but for the rest, the taste was very similar and I don't think emu goes well with Indian spices. I didn't like it. My friend tried a completely different variation for the rabbit meat, ignoring the chef's advice and we ended up quite liking it.

The main buffet has 4 non veg gravies, a decent mutton biriyani, a choice of veg gravies, a very good dhal makhani and the usual salads. With an overdose of spices with the starters, we were gulping down curd to cool our protesting stomachs. Beyond the cold stone ice creams, which I enjoyed because I added a lot of crunch and cake to my ice creams, the desserts were nothing to speak of. 

If you go before 7 PM, you get a complimentary beer and Rs. 180 off on your final bill which is awesome. So we paid Rs. 720 nett, which is effectively the lunch price. That way you finish early and the next round of dinner reservations at 930 don't get affected much. Service was very personal and attentive and in fact a little too attentive if you like to have your space during dinner. 

A great start to this restaurant and only time can tell if they can sustain this!!!!