Eat Local: This Bistro Is Using Indian Ingredients & Serving Pretty Plates

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What Makes It Awesome?

Food is love. Ask Rohan Hastak and Gayatri Desai, owners of Ground Up - a bistro that has taken local foods to a whole new level. This charming place is in Viman Nagar is redefining eating local with its unique signature dishes. Gourmands, we bet you are going to thank us after your visit to this place.

The name of the bistro is apt - Ground Up, which means from the beginning, or from a scratch. Their USP is that they serve dishes that are made from scratch sans the use of preserved foods and ingredients. From curing their own meats to making ingredients like wraps, bread, kinds of pasta, sauces, spreads, dressings in-house, they do it all mostly using the local ingredients, many of which are lesser-known and endemic to certain regions.

It is a small space with an indoor as well as outdoor seating. The wooden flooring, bright interiors with a touch of rustic setting gives this place an old-school charm. Their menu is written on a blackboard and has a variety of yummy fusion dishes. Following the zero-waste concept by making the best out of waste. their food will surprise your palette. As for the service, it is warm and you will be explained each dish before you try.

We started with three appetising dishes as entrees - charred eggplant, potato salad, and toastada. The first dish was made of charred eggplant and bore similarities to baigan ka bharta or babaganoush. The dish was our favourite as it balanced all the flavours perfectly and was topped with cherry-tomato infused oil and sesame tahini. We had it with the jowar lavash.

Their classic potato salad was fun to eat and had two portions- the warm portion with potatoes and special Chintexel mayo and the cold side with frozen homemade strawberry vinegar, kodo millet salad, parsley, and scallion. The millets are specially sourced from Karnataka! The last appetiser was bean toastada - something that will instantly bring flavour to your palette. The dish had black ghevda beans, tomato salsa, fresco cheese.

Their specialty is bahn mi (a Vietnamese-style sandwich), which are made from scratch. We opted for the smoked tofu bahn mi which was on point. The tofu that was braised in the broth was homemade, the stuffing was juicy and balanced the texture of the dish. We opted for the vegetarian option but you will simply drool over the pork bahn mi too.

We also enjoyed a bowl of hot broth, that was made of soy milk and had Naga peppercorn oil. Wholesome and satisfying, this dish is something you can enjoy on a cold noon or evening. The dessert for the day was sourdough ice-cream and we couldn't help but indulge our sweet tooth.

If food is your passion, this place will rank high on your list. A meal for two comes up to INR 1,500. Cozy and homely, you will feel satiated after enjoying the food and also their interesting culinary escapades behind these dishes.

Pro-Tip

Please remember to wear a mask and practice social distancing if you choose to step out.