Tales & Spirits is a pretty iconic restaurant on SB road, but one I've never visited. But when I got the news that they have started a branch in Balewadi and they are also gonna be serving non-veg, I got excited. The place is really pretty and has a great vibe. It's perfect to spend a whole Sunday afternoon sipping drinks, having some delicious food and chilling with your friends and family.
-Drinks: We had White and Red Wine Sangrias and they were superb. Really refreshing, fruity and perfect. Strong enough for a little high but not too strong to get you drunk out of your mind.
-Starters: We let the Captain suggest food for us and I must say he knocked it out of the park. The Roti pe Boti was the top of the bunch. Super juicy flavourful mutton on a crisp smokey mini roti. A perfect combination of spicy flavours and crispy, juicy textures.
The Ocean Crumbed Prawns were super crisp and the prawns were fresh and succulent. A really tasty dish, perfect with some drinks. The Puneri Tangdi Chicken was another hit. Spicy and flavourful chicken legs, perfectly tandoor on a base of spicy, garlicky thecha. The combination was amazing.
The Glazed Pork Ribs were nice, but I was expecting a much more intense, caramelised - smokey flavour as well as a bit more spice. The Surmai Fish Angara too was a spicy marinade and it was well cooked, but the marination just hadn't penetrated the inside of the flesh. It needed more flavour as well, as it just tasted spicy. These 2 dishes need some improvement.
-Mains: The mains were to die for. I wasn't expecting the Indian food to be this good here. I was super impressed.
-The Nalli Nihari made me go cross-eyed for a while. The mutton was just fall off the bone and super moist. The curry was just perfect. Mild but full of whole spices, rich with loads of ghee flavour. The Roti was perfect too.
-Malabar Prawn curry was another gem. Perfect coconut-based curry loaded with South Indian flavours of curry leaves, pepper and turmeric! A slight hit of spice and superb soothing flavour of coconut with fresh plump prawns. A masterpiece!
-Sali Ma Marghi: A classic Parsi chicken curry. Mild and flavourful brown curry topped with crispy potato crisps and juicy chicken served with traditional brown rice! Really soul-satisfying!
-Mutton Pot Biryani: Arrived smoking with a piece of hot charcoal with ghee on it to give a wonderful aroma! The pot is opened and the fragrance of whole spices and ghee envelops you! The biryani is really good! Mild, with just the right amount of masala loaded with ghee! The mutton is perfectly cooked, juicy, succulent and on bone, as it should be
-Desserts: If we were impressed with the food, the desserts decided to slap us silly with excellence! The desserts look so pretty! Literally like a piece of art! You don't feel like eating it and biting into that perfection!
-The Purple Ombre looked like something the Queen is served on special occasions. A multi-layered masterpiece. The base is roasted almond, Nutella and corn flakes making it crunchy. Then come layers of white chocolate citrus mousse (orange flavour), then purple sponge, followed by dark chocolate Nutella mousse, purple sponge and then white chocolate red currant mousse. Finally topped off by vanilla purple cream. There were some intricate caramel tiles everywhere in the cake and on top as well. The combination of these complex flavours is just incredible and the cake is as soft as a feather. You can't get more exquisite than this.
We also had some Rose and Nutella Macarons. Crisp and delicate with amazing flavour, quite sweet though.
Verdict - Tale's & Spirits Hunter's Bistro has become one of my favourite places near High-Street. Pretty, great music and chilled out vibe, with excellent food and service. Loved it!
-Drinks: We had White and Red Wine Sangrias and they were superb. Really refreshing, fruity and perfect. Strong enough for a little high but not too strong to get you drunk out of your mind.
-Starters: We let the Captain suggest food for us and I must say he knocked it out of the park. The Roti pe Boti was the top of the bunch. Super juicy flavourful mutton on a crisp smokey mini roti. A perfect combination of spicy flavours and crispy, juicy textures.
The Ocean Crumbed Prawns were super crisp and the prawns were fresh and succulent. A really tasty dish, perfect with some drinks. The Puneri Tangdi Chicken was another hit. Spicy and flavourful chicken legs, perfectly tandoor on a base of spicy, garlicky thecha. The combination was amazing.
The Glazed Pork Ribs were nice, but I was expecting a much more intense, caramelised - smokey flavour as well as a bit more spice. The Surmai Fish Angara too was a spicy marinade and it was well cooked, but the marination just hadn't penetrated the inside of the flesh. It needed more flavour as well, as it just tasted spicy. These 2 dishes need some improvement.
-Mains: The mains were to die for. I wasn't expecting the Indian food to be this good here. I was super impressed.
-The Nalli Nihari made me go cross-eyed for a while. The mutton was just fall off the bone and super moist. The curry was just perfect. Mild but full of whole spices, rich with loads of ghee flavour. The Roti was perfect too.
-Malabar Prawn curry was another gem. Perfect coconut-based curry loaded with South Indian flavours of curry leaves, pepper and turmeric! A slight hit of spice and superb soothing flavour of coconut with fresh plump prawns. A masterpiece!
-Sali Ma Marghi: A classic Parsi chicken curry. Mild and flavourful brown curry topped with crispy potato crisps and juicy chicken served with traditional brown rice! Really soul-satisfying!
-Mutton Pot Biryani: Arrived smoking with a piece of hot charcoal with ghee on it to give a wonderful aroma! The pot is opened and the fragrance of whole spices and ghee envelops you! The biryani is really good! Mild, with just the right amount of masala loaded with ghee! The mutton is perfectly cooked, juicy, succulent and on bone, as it should be
-Desserts: If we were impressed with the food, the desserts decided to slap us silly with excellence! The desserts look so pretty! Literally like a piece of art! You don't feel like eating it and biting into that perfection!
-The Purple Ombre looked like something the Queen is served on special occasions. A multi-layered masterpiece. The base is roasted almond, Nutella and corn flakes making it crunchy. Then come layers of white chocolate citrus mousse (orange flavour), then purple sponge, followed by dark chocolate Nutella mousse, purple sponge and then white chocolate red currant mousse. Finally topped off by vanilla purple cream. There were some intricate caramel tiles everywhere in the cake and on top as well. The combination of these complex flavours is just incredible and the cake is as soft as a feather. You can't get more exquisite than this.
We also had some Rose and Nutella Macarons. Crisp and delicate with amazing flavour, quite sweet though.
Verdict - Tale's & Spirits Hunter's Bistro has become one of my favourite places near High-Street. Pretty, great music and chilled out vibe, with excellent food and service. Loved it!