LUPA : RESTAURANT REVIEW
3.25 STARS / 5 (Quarter of the way between Good and Excellent)
CHEF : MANU CHANDRA
BANGALORE, JAN. 2025
I dedicate this review to the memory of Mr. Suresh Hinduja - an outstanding and very generous cuisine connoisseur who helped and inspired so many people.
No other chef has ruled Bangalore's cosmopolitan dining scene in the last twenty years as conclusively as Manu Chandra has. The relaxing white-pebbled courtyard of Olive Beach still stands. Trendy, locavore Toast & Tonic perseveres, even after the ravages of the pandemic. Now Chef Manu Chandra and business partner Chetan Rampal have come up with Lupa - a modern European vision, that, going by a recent Thursday evening's full house and ambitious menu, is going to be amongst Bangalore's prime establishments. It is a grand space with a grand menu and grand prices.
Just a request to Chef Manu Chandra - Karnataka, and of course India, has magnificent fish like seer fish and pomfret, not to mention several outstanding regional varieties, so importing the same old seabass and salmon from the othe side of the globe, is a continued affront to India's glorious coastline and fisherfolk.
Lushly designed every square foot, this is a villa-style lavish space, with an attractive outdoor area that has a garden-'n'-veranda configuration, leading to an ample indoor ambience done up in luxe Mediterranean and Art Deco touches. There are four booths at the centre and a long bar to the side. Dark expanses of the high-ceilinged room are strategically lit by orange light-shades, wall-mounted red lamps and discreet lamps at the centre of each table. We were ensconced in luxurious, high-backed occasion chairs.
The restroom is likely the most impressive one in the city. The large entrance-way with polished tiles and mirrors is grandly Italianate. Art Deco finery continues inside with beautiful materials and design.
Service is good - better compared to Chandra's previous establishments. To be blunt, Chef Chandra, unlike his cuisine dedication, does not aim for service levels at the caliber of ITC Windsor or The Taj. When things get busy, service here suffers, which is not necessarily the case with the top service teams.
The menu, Euro-focused with some Middle Eastern nods, exhibits Manu Chandra's confidence and chutzpah with globe-trotting cuisine. Didn't bring reading material with you or bored with your companions ? The menu has enough tidbits to hold your attention.
Crispy Lamb & Hummus has this menu description - "Braised Lamb and Lentils stuffed in Caramel Spiced Onion Petals topped with Spicy Lamb Floss and served with Pine Nuts on a bed of Creamy Hummus and a side of Za'atar Pretzels". Eggplant Speducci is rhapsodized thus on the menu - "Eggplants when treated well have the ability to be unctuous and hugely satisfying. (No need of the reviewer) This Speducci is one such example where tender, fresh eggplant are given a robust treatment using two flavours from opposite ends of the spectrum, Miso & Chimichurri, griddle cooked, topped with crispy Wheat Bran & Almond Crumble".
Crudo, Salumi (charcuterie), extensive bespoke cocktails close to Rs.1000 each (want one with truffle and parmesan in it?), soups, pizza, hot small plates, meat section, ocean offerings and desserts round out the elaborate dossier.
Dish price often exceeds Rs.1000. A few appetizers are offered at Rs 700. Mains range from 1195 to 2600 and dessert is at Rs.695.
Chilli Crab Melt exemplified why Lupa is different - presumably a creative spin on 'Kheema Pav'. Crab lovers will not go fida over this, but you could taste the crab, blended in an intriguing mix of cheesy indulgence and chilli heat, served ' au gratin' style. 'Mini pull apart bread' turned out to be the softest, fluffiest Pav you can find in B'lore, so good my companion asked for seconds, the magic coming from how pleasurably it blended with the chilli crab melt a la pav bhaji or even vada pav.
"Sweet Atlantic U10/15 Scallops" are at least a good visual introduction to those who have not had this mostly Western seafood of plump, luscious persuasion but, alas, its size and softness (two scallops served) did not save it from the fact that it lacked both sweetness and the heady buttery blast this premium ingredient can pack.
Lobster Bisque was ordered with anticipation. Unfortunately this lacked the classic boozy touch and Western spices that sets this creamy soup apart. We tasted what was a good distillation of Konkan-style crab curry channeled into veloute but for someone with strong Mangalorean connections, this was a been-there-done-that-not-what-we're-looking-for disappointment. Halloumi Fries were filling but not delicious, served with interesting beet-truffle sauce and sweet chilli sauce neither of which tickled the tastebuds.
At this point, my companion reported doubt in being able to tackle a main course but I knew the situation was not unsalvageable so we chose to wait fifteen minutes before ordering mains of reduced size. A large party crowd and a full house meant we had trouble getting hold of waiters at this juncture (they apologized later) and it was more than half an hour before our mains arrived after ordering, in contrast to speedier delivery of the appetizers.
For mains, you can choose from chermoula cauliflower to 14 hour braised short-rib, lamb shoulder barbacoa to salmon piccata - unfortunately I can't tell you how any of this tastes. Our specific request for smaller sized mains (same price) still didn't alter the fact that my companion's seabass meuniere was pitifully meagre - I (still having capacity) could wolf it down in four bites - it had the thickness of a hammered schnitzel and I would have appreciated a thicker cut of fish to better taste the fish. More disappointing was the fact that these were not composed main course plates - a beautiful composition on a single plate is one of the hallmarks of an accomplished chef. Tuscan fried potatoes and haricot verts (former better than latter) were presented on separate plates. My chicken main course had better presentation - neatly stacked sections of handsomely roasted chicken, good but not outstanding unlike the superior chicken main course tasted in the same chef's Toast & Tonic in 2017, on a bed of creamed mushroom and leeks that tasted more like Kerala-style moilee rather than something better suited to the flavour profile of air-dried spatchcock. A nice sauceboat of truffle chicken jus was intense and satisfying - a curved accent I had been hoping for in the lobster bisque.


Desserts are also multi-faceted. An attractive selection offers Dark chocolate-'n'-burnt orange mousse with malted barley cream and pistachio gelato, PB & J - banana tahini cake with peanut cream, and Hot apple-'n'-blueberry cobbler with nutmeg-butter streusel. Strawberry Tres Leches which we ordered was a chef-grade dessert with gentle interplay of flavours. Strawberry 'three-milk' was a delicate elixir, anchoring two fused discs one atop another - a gentle mousse of vanilla, coconut and white chocolate below which was a soft vanilla cake drenched in tres leches.
The bill for seven dishes and four alcohol drinks (alcohol total Rs.1950) came up to Rs.9951 inclusive of 5 % GST and 10 % service charge (one can decline service charge if unhappy with service but we paid this without issue). 'Tis a hefty bill but is required to satisfactorily finance a luxe environment.
This, you would have surmised, is a sophisticated restaurant and showcases Chef Manu Chandra's skill with cosmopolitan ingredients. His ambition cannot be doubted, the baroque space adding to the sense of luxury. We ordered seven dishes, and would need at least seven more to get an adequate synecdoche of the kitchen's talent. But only half the ordered dishes hitting the mark means that there is certainly space to improve, along with desiring a higher, truly coddling level of service. That should not detract from the fact that this place has all the foundations of a special restaurant.
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