We decided to go to Ocean Grill for office party. Ocean Grill was chosen despite it’s high cost because it was right next to our office (in the heart of sector V, Salt Lake) and also because we were bored going to same restaurants and wanted someplace new to visit. We lazily strolled to the restaurant situated just opposite RDB Boulevard at around 1PM.
The ambiance inside was nice with light music played. They had nice decor and lighting was good. At this lunch hour, there were one or two more groups dining and we were happy that there was no rush and crowd. We decided to go for the buffet which was priced at around Rs 651/- per head (with corporate discount).
As we took our seat, the staff gave us good attention and mentioned that the starters would be served at the table. There was something which surprised me. Nowhere in the restaurant could we locate the list of items included in the buffet. On asking the staff, we were told that they did not display the menu since it keeps on changing!! Does this mean restaurants which display buffet menus do not change their menu items? Not a very good reason to give.
The starters included both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. Starters included Baby Corn,Veg Spring Roll, item of Paneer, Bush Cheers (an item of bread with topping), fish tikka, prawn and fried chicken. The taste of the starters were good but I especially like the fried chicken. There is also complimentary cold drink included. One thing I noticed is that after the first round of starters were served, the next set took considerable time to arrive. After two rounds we could no longer wait and decided to move on to main course.
Main course included:
- Soup – Cream of Spinach Soup & Chicken lemon Coriander Soup
- Choices of salads
- Naan and Choices of Rice
- Veg Hakka Noodles
- Mixed Vegetables
- Paneer Butter Masala
- Prawn Thai Red Curry
- Spinach Wrap Fish with Mornay Sauce
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Mutton Rogan Josh
- Veg Manchurian
We were really disappointed. Here is a restaurant which is ocean themed and it does not have crabs, no salmon, no other sea food except prawns!!! Then again, aren’t prawns also served as a part of menu in almost all standard restaurant!! Beside, the taste of all the dishes was pretty standard. The biggest dislike for me were Chicken and Mutton curries. Both Chicken and Mutton were well cooked but the taste of both the curries was something which I absolutely did not like. These two dishes can definitely be improved a lot.
In desserts:
- Fruit truffle
- Strawberry Souffle
- Caramel custard
- Chocolate cake
- Gulab Jamun
The desserts were really really good. In fact, I have noticed that for most of the restaurants, the desserts section is really impressive irrespective of how their other items tasted.
Here are some things which immediately need to be taken care of by the management.
1.The staff was attentive and all smiles and they tried their best to provide good service.But compared to the number of customer, the number of staff was less which resulted in slow service.
2. There was no option of fresh lime soda in the complimentary drinks. This is standard and should be included.
3. The menu may be changed but at least the sea food flavour should be provided on all days. Afterall this is a sea food themed restaurant. Also some sort of menu should be printed and displayed.
4. And lastly, their spread should be increased. At the same cost, other restaurants provide double the number of items which Ocean Grill offers. With this number of items on offer, the price is too high.
With this choice of items and with this price tag, Ocean Grill does not seem to be an attractive option. At this price, you would get to choose lots of other good restaurants.
Cogitations of a Bengali 