Thulp
My experience in Thulp during an April 2011 visit, was of average quality. I have not put this up as a starred review, because those were my early days of restaurant reviewing and I didn't enter Thulp with the intention of ordering multiple food items
Excited about this interestingly named, positively reviewed joint- Cafe Thulp in 1st Block,Koramangala, we entered the filled-to-capacity place and trawled through the jazzy playfully-scripted menu . Undoubtedly, there’s chuckle-worthy wordplay to be found here! The starters promised Prawnic Healing (spicy prawn cocktail), bird on a wire (chicken satay), and bangkok dangerous (crispy beef).Having relished starters just before (the remarkable Tunday mutton kababs) ,we directly moved onto one of the mean protagonists here- The Moo- hamburger with slaw n fries. The apotheosis of this was listed as Mother of all Moos’ (2 Daddies in the making!) .We settled for the regular version with bacon and cheese (Rs.190).It was a solidly good hamburger with decent side-kicks.The meat patty, bacon and cheese all nicely conspired to create a hearty and flavourful round of chomping.Other burgers here include the ’chicken imposter’ and the ’ho chi minh pork".The Cheeseburger ("cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast" acc. to Pulp Fiction!) took about 15 minutes to arrive .Not very bad timing so we next scanned the sandwich selection.
From options like The cows came home,Rocky Balboa (steak filling), and Great balls of fire (lamb),we chose a Night at porky’s booked at Rs.190,hoping it to be quite a romp. The filling was again appetizing- sliced roast pork,sliced ham,BLT and mayo, but the hefty bread got in the way of our lusty encounter with these goodies.Taking off the numerator,dispatching it with slaw, mayo & creamy wasabi (the latter two from the thoughtfuly filled table bottles), and then devoting oneself to the denominator with fillings is not a bad idea! This order took about 25 minutes to arrive as though we’d asked for a triple order of A fish called Wanda,El pollo loco(fried chicken) & peppery Yakuza steaks! This long wait frustrated us, made us forego other food orders, & keeping books-n-games in a nook,as is done here, isn't going to make up for the long lapses in time.
The wait-staff might do a better job if their numbers increase. A man (probably the owner, forgot to ask him) moves around with an unsmiling face,arranging the seating of incoming customers, but doesn't interact much with patrons for feeback.At one point, there was a loud grating of chairs to re-arrange seating for a large party,after which the din in the compact place increased & coupled disturbingly with the noisy music being played. Sunday afternoon is arguably not the best time to visit restaurants,conversely it sure helps to assess how good a modus operandi under strain is.
Vegetarians won't be starved for choices here. Starters include spicy corn quesadillas, Vietnamese rolls and grilled eggplant,tahini & hummus with pita among others. Sandwiches have grilled cheese, grilled peppers,garlic cream cheese n other fillings, while a Chef’s salad catches attention with its tag- ’honey,I cut the mustard!". And there’s Pasta with the same saucy names- Luca Brasi goes to town,Popeye’s paramour & Gambolling gambini (penne with arrabiata sauce)
The Watering Hole & Sheikh Yerbooty - From options like Caffeine coronary, Bourne trilogy (choco-based) ,Chill maadi n Sour puss, my friend wanted to taste how the "Cucumber Got Cooler". The description specified how honey and lime were also enlisted for the makeover. However ,the drink suffered a split personality by the time of arrival and Remained Lame.’Twas a spa drink, and it was our mistake to not flag down the waiter and ask how the purported honey and lime had acquired phantom poperties like the dude himself! The ’Snickers blizzard’ here carries some positive feedback, but our decision to traverse the road less travelled didn't take us to more desirable destinations.Green mango shake (Rs.90), ordered with the hope of finding a new,one-two tart-creamy punch turned out to be regular vanilla milkshake with tart bits.This didn't have expected caliber, and neither did the straw which wasn't thick enough to suck up the concoction. A meal for two here may range from Rs .400 to Rs.800.
Ambience is casual-chic with red, white and yellow painted walls, segmented manga-animation portraits on one side, "eclectic,esoteric" frames on the other, and a red toy car suspended at the counter at the back. There Will Be prizes for guessing the unifying theme decor here!.Others' accounts will tell you that it's possible to have a unalloyed good time here but that experience eluded us. Adequate staff (lack of this has been an issue here from quite some time,despite the owner’s assurances to have it rectified), better control of ambience and sound levels, speedier delivery of dishes won't hurt this place unless it prefers to be an indisciplined cafe. Good food alone doesn't cut it and and sticking a ’Listed on Burrp’ sign at the entrance doesnt mean you can slacken on vital restaurant parameters.’Thulp’ is attracting name-based jokes of the negative kind increasingly, and unless it watches out, it may go the way of Koshy’s Jewel Box, where inadequate service soldiers on, knowing that customers will come in anyway.
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