Trust the Indian magic at Global Tree Café in Bangalore

You don’t quite have to be a genius to know that of all the cuisines in India, our own works the best. And while I would have been happier if the city had more South Indian cuisines on offer, in the fine dining section that is, I am as happy to welcome another North Indian kitchen to the list of places to go.

However, when Global Tree Café announced that they were turning Indian, I was surprised. The place was tailor made to be quirky; with their occasional dance shows, jazz nights and an eclectic menu. Not that I loved everything about the menu, but it was different. The owners of course made complete sense when they said that the menu did work but it never created a sticky point. Fair enough. So now, I was going to eat Indian food at a restaurant called Global Tree — ironic, but acceptable. From a series of shorbas to starters, curries and rice and breads — the new menu is definitely worth a shot. It’s not complicated and had something for everyone, without going over the top.

Our Sakarkand Ki Tikki — sweet potato tikkis stuffed with cheese and spinach was quite nice. Served with delicious tamarind chutney, you could eat quite few of those. However, I think the tikkis needed to be browner than they were. Sweet potato often leaves an after-taste in the mouth; if you like it, you won’t notice.

The Shammi Kebabs came next — dressed quite simply. They haven’t tried to make it look like it’s out of some gourmet magazine and even so, the soft lamb mince kebabs melted in the mouth. The roughly shaped flat discs came with mint chutney but you can eat them without it. The flavours were well balanced — not too spicy — giving it a rather well-rounded taste.

That’s the thing about the food at this restaurant — it’s Indian, but it’s light. It would only happen if the chefs got together and decided to go easy on the spices and the oil. And while a large percentage of Indian population still prefers to watch a bit of the oil drip as you pick up a kebab, let it be known that kebabs are not meant to be that greasy. So top points to this shammi from me!

One more starter was pending — the Machhli Zaffrani. And I wrote it off at first bite. Not that there was anything wrong with the spices, but the fish wasn’t as fresh as I would have liked it to be; in fact, it was quite rubbery. The marinade hadn’t quite reached the centre and I couldn’t understand why ‘zaffrani’ was in the name at all, because the saffron, if there was any, didn’t do its magic.
After nibbling on some pickle and papad, munchies that come to your table no matter what, we zeroed in on the Kashmiri Mutton Curry. This mutton curry could come from any part of the country for all I could care — it was really good! As I dipped my naan into the curry, I realised I could make this my dinner at least twice a week. The flavours were mild, even though the curry was a fiery red, and the gentleness of the spices is quite commendable.

Funnily though, while I found the meat on my plate quite tender, one of us at the table found hers to be a bit tough — not the sort of slip-up I can deal with easily.

I was in no mood for dessert but couldn’t resist the Chocolate Samosa! It’s similar to the chocolate gujiya that’s made famous by another Indian restaurant that’s not far from it, but smaller and presented in a different way. Slices of honeyed bananas sat under the ‘samosa’ with a bowl of pistachio icecream on the side. Awesome. My friend got her Chocolate Silk that looked good and taste fabulous. And her dessert gave me a taste of masala chai icecream for the first time — absolutely worthy of seconds.

I think Global Tree is one of the prettiest restaurants I have seen in the city. From the art on the walls, bookshelves on one side and now, an open patio to dine at, it takes less than two minutes to fall in love with its looks. The furniture is comfortable, the staff is friendly and during the day, ample natural light lends a cheerful feeling through the place. So even if you don’t swoon over the food from day one, you’d want to come back for a second round.