Foodies anonymous

Sitting in the heart of the bustling Phoenix Market City and being incognito may be a tough task, but do visit this eatery to enjoy their wholesome, value-for-money meals

Foodies anonymous

From the makers of Polka Dots and Baker’s Basket, comes an offering that raises the bar. Incognito has the much-loved regulars — from cuisines that span South-East Asia, Europe and India — which are well-cooked and served in heartyu00a0portions. u00a0With its retro posters, a radio from the 50s and books that range from country-histories to dictionaries, this café helps you unwind and be yourself without being discovered.u00a0

Incognito
Food: multi-cuisineu00a0
Service: unobtrusive
Ambience: classicu00a0

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Incognito at Phoenix Market Cityu00a0

The menu begins with starters, burgers and sandwiches, goes on to a few soups and salads du jour and offers a variety for mains. There is everything from Dal Tadka to Thai Curry to steaks.

We began with a Warm Wild Mushroom Salad ('225) and what a lovely choice it turned out to be. With a blend of three types of mushrooms (shitake, button and oyster), the lovely crunch of walnuts, salad greens and colourful bell peppers this was one of the best salads we have tasted in a long, long time. Drizzled with a basic olive oil, tomato-mustard vinaigrette and topped with Parmesan, it was indeed a great bite.

Soon, our Mexican Chicken Burger (Rs 175) arrived. We begin with the sides: the fries were of good quality and perfectly crisp. The burger itself was a wholesome bite — the grilled chicken patty was succulent and the iceberg, jalapenos and dill gave it a punch.

For the mains, we tried a Grilled Sole with Tropical Salsa and Coconut Rice (Rs 285). The fish came lightly grilled in butter, coriander, lime and orange juice and went really well with the very South Indian-tasting, slightly sweet coconut rice. An unusual flavour combination at first, but unstoppable after a few spoonfuls.

We also tried a Thai Baa Mee Noodles (Rs 185) done simply in a light soy sauce with healthy shitake, broccoli, scallions and more veggies. It was beautiful in its modesty.

Finally, it was time for dessert and though we were quite full, the delicious quality of the food so far, urged on our greed. So, we decided to dig into a Chocolate Dream (Rs 145) and it turned out to be a sheer indulgence, for sure. A rich chocolate truffle gateaux with an occasional hint of blueberry (we couldn’t taste the passion fruit mentioned at all), sitting on a layer of melted chocolate sauce. Sinful.

Their service was polite and we appreciated that our server chose Hindi instead of struggling on with English. Also, Incognito does not levy very high taxes or service charges and the final amount you see on the bill is not an inflated figure.
With the world fast discovering this bistro (we saw granny-grandpas, young kids and collegians all dining in the span of a couple of hours), you may find it a challenge to remain incognito here. But, who cares about the next table when the food on your plate has your complete attention?