Barcelos, Kasba…the portuguese experience or something like it

Barcelos has opened up their new outlet in Acropolis Mall, Kasba . Off course a good news for us Kolkattans that after New Delhi, they’ve chosen Kolkata for their 2nd outlet in India. And I was eager to see what they’ve got. Well, “Can I have some water please ?”

How to reach and when to reach:

Its inside the new mall-baby in town Acropolis Mall, Kasba and bang on Rajdanga Road. While going from Ruby General Hospital towards Gariahat, a 3-4 minutes drive and its on your right hand side. Get in and go up to the top floor. Its just there. Its an all-day outlet. Spic and span, nicely decorated- just the way its expected. We were invited there from KFB team. Thanks Team Barcelos.

Experience:

For mocktails, we were served a molecular drinks each and for me, probably they assumed I would love the rosy flavor, and it was Hey Rosey for me. It was basically rose syrup with cardamom and rose water. As it was a molecular mocktail, hence, some fizz was mandatory and the servers tried their best to give us the experience… Doesn’t matter if I didn’t like the taste much, the presentation was fantastic.

For condiments, on table, there were 4 types of sauces. 3 types of Peri Peri (supposedly exported from south Africa)- Mild Peri, Supa Peri and Veri Peri and one Tangy Lemon Sauce.

Presumably, Barcelos had a pre-defined set menu in mind and as the menu was not presented to us beforehand, it remained a surprise element for us (at least me) throughout the meal. The starter was Chicken Espetada. In a layman’s language, it was chicken kebab hanging with green peeper and onion on two sides and great to look at. It was served with finger chips and dip as sides. It was delicious. Well, “Can I have some water please ?” Along with it, came a one veg “Arabic Mezze Platter” consists of Hummus, baba ganause, Peri Hummus , Yogurt Dip, Tabouli, Falafel, Lavash with 3 Pitas. Its safely enough for 3 persons to start with. The dips were interesting.

Well, “Can I have some water please ?” Till this point of time, we were not served water. Probably we were served the mocktail, hence, we were supposed to be satiated by it. anyway, its time for the main course now. And, for the main course, we were served Grilled Trout Fish with yoghurt dip and french fries. The fish was fresh, extremely fresh and chef was eager to offer us the freshness quotient. Such that, it smelled slightly fishy (this is in true sense and I am not joking here). Next time, anybody visits this place and orders the same, please make sure, you mention this to be full-done, else the freshness-quotient is bound to hit your senses. The marination was somewhat similar to the chicken espetada, but whatever. We were served yellow rice along with it, which was basically a tasteless pilaf and can easily be avoided.

The next dish was their signature item. The mini burger combo. It was 2 veg and 2 non-veg combo. Out of these 4, the burgers were the highlighted ones. I’ve never had black, pink or white burgers. The tastes were remarkably different. But, the chef again was extremely consistent. Such that, the fillings for the non-veg burgers were strikingly similar. Nevertheless, the dish was really good and highly recommended.

Finally, the dish of the day arrived. 1/4th chicken (grilled) with their secret marination. It was a closely guarded secret in this joint and the chicken was seriously good- juicy and tender. But one word of caution. Remember, we are used to instruct those roadside chicken fry stalls “Boss, give me breast piece and not leg….”, the pure reason being the portion size. Its the same story here. Order them specifically for a breast piece, because that piece is considerably larger than the leg piece. But again its your call, unlike the dry breast piece, leg piece is much much juicier. Hence, choice is yours. Well, “Can I have some water please ?”…. The tumblers were over and they clearly are saving water and in turn, going the “environment-friendly way”.

We were full and waiting for the dessert. But, god thought otherwise. Barcelos was taking care of our calorie counter and hence, omitted dessert for us. And we kept on waiting. After sometimes, we left and while leaving, probably the longing for desserts was evident on our faces…. They asked us for the same and being “Bhadralok”, we politely denied. Well, “Can I have some water please ?” was still the question on our minds.

Finally, I can suggest that go there. have their burger combo- its really good and chicken espatada is also pretty decent. Definitely, worth a visit.

Comments and critics welcome.

I can be reached at 9903528225/ indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com