07 November,2014 08:00 AM IST | | Dhara Vora
Khar's new eatery, 5 The Restaurant, needs to work out a lot of chinks with its slow service and lacklustre food
5 The Restaurant, Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Peach Cranberry Freeze, Life and style, Food
5 The Restaurant
Food: Average
Service: Snail-Slow
Ambiance: Regular
Fuss-free interiors, a pretty al fresco section and no noise at all, made us feel welcome at Khar's new eatery, 5 The Restaurant. The menu too, was simple with its mix of Italian, Mediterranean and other Continental dishes and finger food. From the bar section, we ordered a Peach Cranberry Freeze and a Kiwi Basil Martini (both Rs 395, all prices exclusive of taxes).
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
The prompt service and the tasty cocktails, which had a good balance of fruit with alcohol got us into an even better mood to place our food orders. From the appetisers section, we ordered Baked Potatoes (Rs 285) and Basil Mustard Basa (Rs 325) to get us going.
Peach Cranberry Freeze
That's when things began to go down a rabbit hole. For about 45 minutes, we had nothing on our table, and we thanked the stars above for the complementary bread basket with generous servings of butter on the side. After several reminders, the plates finally arrived, only to find out that the food had gone cold. This ruined the baked potatoes, as they weren't crisp and firm on the outside, and the filling didn't stand ground to lift the dish. The basa's subtle flavours, however, managed to save the grace to an extent.
Quickly, we ordered our mains - Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Rs 455) and Couscous with Grilled Vegetables (Rs 365). Again, this took another 45 minutes, with us having to get up from our seat and make a complaint. Sadly, the wait wasn't worth it. The tasty mushroom sauce did not vibe well with the bland couscous it was served with, while the grilled vegetables were soggy.
The chicken preparation played saviour, thanks to the generous portions of tenderly cooked bird with a delish coating of cheese. With just two tables occupied in the hotel, 5 cannot justify the delayed service. Especially, since, they had been functioning in Santacruz before. The food too had no applause-worthy offerings, except for the chicken dish. 5 needs to get their act together by ironing out its creases if it needs to break into the cut-throat competition in the Khar-Bandra neighbourhood.
