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“Popped quinoa!” An exclamation followed by a moment of silence at the table. It’s terrific how little things can bring out the child in us. One of the many stars from the menu at Seta is the ‘Red quinoa, roasted pumpkin, feta salad’ that also comes with chickpeas and mixed salad greens. It’s refreshing and delightfully textured as you munch on popped quinoa while the feta coats your tongue with its obvious bite. A must-try, among many others.
Seta is the newest addition to the list of dining spaces at The Hilton Bangalore Embassy Golflinks. Pegged as a Mediterranean-Asian restaurant, its menu isn’t strictly just those two but more about their eating habits — healthier and ingredient-focused. At the same time, it has paid attention to its cooking techniques, adding a touch of newness in subtle ways to create a rather interesting menu as a whole.
The look and feel
Seta is positioned right next to the outdoor swimming pool. It’s alfresco, giving you the best way one can eat out in Bengaluru — under the stars. It is designed in such a way that despite being open, it offers a sense of cosiness as well.
At one end of the restaurant is the open kitchen where you can stop by and watch your food being prepared, with the aromas of grilled meats and seafood wafting in slowly. In short, the whole ambience can fix your mood. The only downside is if it rains, the tables are covered with a pergola of sorts. Yet, it’s extremely romantic when the rain starts, soft drizzles making ripples in the pool as you devour the fresh-off-the-grill morsels of meat. Anything more than that and you might want to move indoors.
The restaurant uses the word ‘Eudaimonia’ quite cleverly here too, almost promising you content through its experience.
On the menu
The menu is neatly organised into sections that will not make your life simple. Do you want the ‘Yuzu koshu shrimp with shiso lime chilli buer’ or would the ‘Slow-cooked pork belly sticks, sake tobanjan glaze, cucumber green apple slaw’ be a better choice?
I’d say get them both. The crisp shrimps are delicately flavoured with the hint of Yuzu tempting your palate. Not to mention the gentle hit of chilli in the dip that’ll make you want another plate. But leave some room for the pork belly sticks. The cubes of meat are cooked to perfection and deliver a hit of tobanjan with every bite. Mixed with a mouthful of the slivers of green apple in the salad, it is quite close to perfection.
It is also here where I found the purpose of eggplant in the ‘Barbeque eggplant, shiromiso glaze, togarashi sprinkle’. The white miso glaze on the eggplant is relatively milder than other miso glazes, so you only get a gentle hint of fermented sauce, which goes really well with the eggplant. Move over, baingan ka bharta.
Moving onto something more substantial, the mains section deepens one’s conundrum. There truly is a lot you’ll want to try. The ‘Grilled king mushroom, raw mango coulis, fresh chilli and garlic’ is absolutely a must-try. It’s a flurry of all sorts of flavours — the sweet woody taste of mushrooms pitted against the gentle tartness of raw mangoes and the chillies and garlic that bring all of them together. It’s totally worth relishing.
For a much bigger experience, try the ‘Grilled lamb chop, tobanjan ponzu glaze, amazu pickled cucumber’. The sweet-hot glaze on the meat makes every bite delightful, not to mention the pickled cucumber for a much-wanted contrast of flavour. The other dish from the mains that I cannot help but recommend is the ‘Grilled sea bass, fennel salad, asparagus risotto’, and purely for its simplicity. It is wholesome and comforting; go get this when you’ve had a bad day.
The dessert section did not charm me. They came to the table dressed pretty but didn’t quite hit the spot. The Mandarin Marquise, for instance, needed some more of the orangey flavour. The ‘No bake Lotus Bisco cheesecake’, pretty as per, did not really work for me.
From the bar
The bar menu, like any hotel worth its salt, or shall I say ice, is expansive. You can sip on liqueurs or wine or decide to go all out with their range of whiskies and rums. The cocktail menu is predictable, staying closer to what’s familiar than being experimental. Try the Pornstar Martini if you’re in the mood for a cocktail. It’s got Absolut, passion fruit liqueur, and Prosecco — delicious, yes, but the whole sense of ‘forbidden’ makes it even more exciting.
Where: Seta, Hilton Bangalore, Embassy Golflinks
When: For lunch and dinner
How much: Rs 3,500 approx (for two, without alcohol)
Call: 9364005195
Photo: Hilton Bangalore Embassy Golflinks