Caperberry remains one of our favourite restaurants in Bangalore, especially when planning a birthday or an anniversary special.

This time around we landed up at Caperberry, but it was for no particular occasion. Both me and the better half just felt like having a good meal. Which was as good a reason I guess!

Interestingly, we spied a card on the table saying “GoodFood Day”. We had always wanted to try out the tasting menu at the restaurant and given the two carrots – GoodFood Day and a 15% discount on the bill, we quickly decided to go with it.

The menu is spread over several courses and starts with an amuse bouche, defined as a single bite sized hors d’œuvre. and ends with petit fours. And of course, there’s lots of great stuff in between. But let’s start at the beginning.

The amuse bouche is supposed to whet the appetite. And that it did. Besides, we had a very light breakfast and were quite hungry anyway. It came in a spoon, was pink in colour (cranberry?!) and looked like this.

The first dish that arrived was the nori wrapped norweigian smoked salmon, which didn’t disappoint at all. It looked and tasted delicious. The light flavour of the fish is accentuated by the bright cabbage sauce and salmon remains my favourite fish. It was topped with some caviar. It was also very well presented and the colours made for a very attractive dish. It was also over rather quickly.

This was followed by the chicken liver parfait with cherry glaze on the top. Liver is something I enjoy too much, but as a whole, this one played out quite well as it was a cornucopia of tastes, thanks to the soft cream and the brandy jelly that took the edge off the liver.

Next came an interesting dish. At least the presentation was very interesting. Corneto shaped cones filled with crabmeat. Rather delicious and we quickly made our way through these crunchy bites. I really enjoyed the buttery avocado and crabmeat combination.

After this, maybe to cool us down a bit, we were presented with a sorbet. And a non-dairy one at that, we were informed. It was a bit strange to have it in the middle of the meal, but considering that this was a “tasting” experience, we kept out minds and palates open. Nothing special about the sorbet though. By now, we were actually quite looking forward to the main course.

While the better half opted for the sous vide cooked lamb roulade (which looked pretty inviting) I asked for a fish preparation instead. What I got was a sea bass fillet, with orange sauce.

The sea bass was soft and with the sauce, a rather interesting combination. I’d still say the earlier salmon dish was what I enjoyed more. The bass I thought wasn’t as good as I remember from earlier occasions I’d ordered the same thing. The better half enjoyed the lamb though.

Though we thought we’d be clutching our stomachs by now, we weren’t actually that full. The food is flavourful, but not heavy and the portions of course are designed to ensure that you can go on for a few courses more.

The thing about the tasting menu is that like the word suggests, it’s is more of tasting and exploring food. Letting different flavours play around, burst in the mouth and also enjoy the taste afterwards. It’s not about quantity or feeling stuffed.

After the main course, we then had bite size pieces of mahon jelly, which had crunchy walnut and cheese on the top of it. It took me a while to warm up to the slightly bitterish taste, but it was okay.

Then came the icing on the cake. At least this was the part the better half was holding his breath and saving up space for. The dessert. And it was melt in your mouth tiramisu which was prepared in front of us. The base layer was topped up with mascarapone cheese, to which was added kahlua espresso. Now, it’s difficult to find fault with such a dessert!

I also had their watermelon martini that I enjoyed with the meal.

The menu said the meal was supposed to end with the petit fours, but it didn’t arrive.

Highlights
– Lots of different flavours, some new, some unusual combinations
– Good Food Day well spent!

Lowlights
– Didn’t get the 15% discount as promised! In fact, I pointed it out both on their FB page and via their website, but despite being assured they were looking into it, never got to hear of it. Would have expected better customer service from Caperberry.

– The waiter brought us the bill immediately after the dessert instead of checking if we wanted anything else. I would have loved to sip on a cup of tea after the meal. But with the hasty arrival of the cheque, I decided against it.

– They forgot the petit fours, which in the menu is after the meal.

But despite everything, overall, a satisfying experience. I would go back to Caperberry because I really like the standards of their food.

Note: The non-vegetarian tasting menu is Rs 2000. Check this link for more details.