Soft Shell Crab, Beef Cheeks And Tiramisu: Why Alloro In Crowne Plaza is Worth The Trek

The trek to the Italian restaurant Alloro in Crowne Plaza hotel in Electronic City, might be a big one, the but the journey is worth it to sample classics from empty broths to hearty gnocchi and soft shell crab to beef cheeks.

Bollito Misto, Granchi Soft Shell and Gnocchi al Pomodoro

Reserve – The Castillo De Molina

The soft shell crabs, the fresh local produce used in the food and the hearty flavours.

It is a lovely, naturally lit up space. The space is done up with mirrors and framed photographs and as soon as you are seated, your table will be laid with homemade spiced butters and lovely basket of warm bread.

Our meal began with Zuppe — Minestrone de Verdura alla Genovese. A classic Minestrone, with little scoops of cherry tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, all floating in the soup. What gave the hearty soup that Genova touch was a dollop of pesto that had definitely been pounded in a mortar-pestle. The Bollito Misto — was a deep red broth, but with a wine base along with chunks of beef and chorizo. Next up was the traditional bread-based Panzanella Salad with a twist. The salad was presented inside a toasted, hollowed out bread shell and was light, refreshing and colourful. And don’t miss out on the Parmesan biscuits!

The Granchi Soft Shell {the Italian rendition of a soft shell crab} is placed on a bed of warm parmesan sauce that is speckled with watercress. The crab is fried crisp and makes a perfect base for the sauce that can only be described as a one way ticket to food heaven.

Our main course was the Guanciale di Manzo – Sous Vide, cooked beef cheeks in a wine reduction, paired with creamy polenta. The polenta provided a great, if rather heavy offset to the melt-in-the-mouth beef cheeks. My daughter got a Gnocchi al Pomodoro — gnocchi tossed in a basil pesto and tomato sauce with boncoccini. This was packed to the rim with flavour, thanks to the locally-grown Italian-style tomatoes and the fresh cheese.

For dessert, we tried the Apple Pie, warm with shredded apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and spot on. Then there was the classic Tiramisu, with orange segments, which added that nice citrus touch to an indulgent dessert.

Alloro is quite the gem hidden in Electronic City and deserves much more attention than it gets. The restaurant offers a separate dining area for larger groups (that you see in the image above), making it good for both parties or office breakouts.

The review first appeared on the blog Bangalore’s Restaurants. Read the full post here.