Queens : Good food comes in small restaurants!

 Church Street is the Mecca for all foodies in Bangalore. I thought I knew Church Street almost as well as a Google map .However; I was in for a pleasant surprise when I was told about Queens, a North Indian restaurant. I had never heard of it before, let alone seeing it. Situated inconspicuously on Church Street, next to Hysteria- the music shop, Queens is easy to miss. Lin, Pri and I dropped in here one sunny afternoon for lunch and found the place teeming with people. It was peak hour and we even spotted a small queue outside the restaurant. How could I have missed this place?

We ordered Paneer Tikka and Chicken Tikka for starters and fresh lassi  as a quick - fix to quench our thirst. The lassi was a big dissapointment. It was served with ice and just didn't work for me.The paneer was fresh and spiced to perfection. The chicken was juicy and served in just the right portion size. The starters had set a good standard for the meal and we couldn’t wait to dig into the main course.

Lassi

Chicken Tikka

Being a chicken lover, I absolutely relished the Chicken Palak served with Butter Naan. I had never before had chicken with paalak, and this dish is a perfect blend of vegetarian and non- vegetarian ingredients. Pri ordered the Paneer Pasanda, her lifelong favourite and needless to say, loved it. To give the main course a sense of completeness, we ordered a rice item – Jeera rice. Served steaming hot,  this homely dish could easily serve three people.

Chicken Palak

Jeera rice

Queen’s is a really tiny place but clean and well maintained. It has a dhaba like feel to it – dim lighting, old Hindi music and a rustic décor. The dishes are priced reasonably and the bill came upto just 1200 rupees for three people.

I have had enough of North Indian cuisine before and what saddens me is that most such restaurants in the city do not offer any variations in the menu. The dishes are the same, the ingredients are also the same. A city like  Bangalore , given its metropolitan nature, could definitely do with more fusion restaurants- an Indo – Mexican restaurant maybe. Its high time we open up to some kind of experimentation with North Indian food.