Food Mood: Soho St.

Over the weekend, I was invited to be a part of a bloggers meet at Soho St. which is located in Koramangala. While I have driven past the restaurant a few times, this was the first time I would be trying out the spread there. Soho St. is a one-price format buffet that offers restaurant goers a glimpse into various cuisines from around the globe. 

Named after the famous street in London, or formerly infamous street, Soho St. has a very welcoming old-school English charm when you enter. A lot of the interior designing has gone into ensuring tables are spread out and one gets the feel of a being in an English inn of sorts. The restaurant has also provisioned for a small play area for kids, which I felt was very thoughtful. While they don’t serve liquor at the moment, I can visualize it being a fun place to catch up with friends over a few beers. The music isn’t too bad either, but they could definitely go for a more English vibe ... read Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Who.

Fancy old school light bulbs

I was overly careful not to indulge in the fairly large spread of starters lest I miss out on the main course and dessert. We began the lunch with a bowl of Chicken Lung Fung soup which was hot and felt nice going down the throat. The appetizers started off with a plate of Chicken Tangdi Kabab. Besides the very tempting presentation, the kababs had been marinated really well with the masala going right into the meat. Most of the buffets tend to under-marinate the meats leaving the insides fairly bland. But this one had an even taste right through and the meat was very tender. I hope they continue to maintain this consistency. I also tried the Adraki Fish Tikka which was well done, but the chicken was top notch. 

Chicken Tangdi Kabab

Adraki Fish Tikka

From the grill section, we had a variety of bites that included Chicken in BBQ sauce and Fish in a Roast Gravy. I rather liked this fish better than the one from the tandoor. I guess the sauce made all the difference. The vegetarians also had a fair share of dishes covering mushrooms, pineapple, soya, baby corn, eggplant and more. I did not try any of the vegetarian starters in order to leave space for the rest of the meal.

Fish in Roast Gravy

Baby Corn

The dim sums were very tempting. I sampled only the Chicken Basil dim sum and the Lamb dim sum. The latter was the more memorable of the two with the lamb being well done. The spread also offered Crab Sushi and Veg Sushi. 

Dim Sums

Crab Shushi

Before I hit the main course, I tried out two of the mocktails that were on the menu. The first was the Mango Breeze, which was quite nice. I also sampled the Mint Mystic which was a very interesting cocktail of blackcurrant with mint and sprite. It was definitely a unique taste for me. But then, I don’t have anything with black current as often as the other flavours. It was quite refreshing.

Mint Mystic

As part of the main course, I started off with the Kheema Pav. This was simply superb. The kheema was done perfectly to ensure it wasn’t too chunky or too minced up. The dish had the right amount of spice to make it one of the memorable ones from the afternoon. Do not miss out on this should you go here. Although, the air conditioning made the bread a little cold, you could request for the pav to be heated just a little bit. This was still an excellent dish.

Kheema Pav

In the first round of the main course I tried the Indian spread. I sampled the Chicken Zaica Biryani, the Butter Chicken and the Mutton Curry. While the biryani and the chicken were fair, the mutton curry stood out. I really enjoyed the taste of the gravy, which seeped into the fairly tender and juicy portions of mutton. This dish is definitely worth trying on the spread.

Next up was the pan-Asian spread. I took a portion of Vegetable Hakka Noodles, well done and soft, and some Prawn in Hunan Sauce. The Prawns were fresh and crunchy, but I was hoping the sauce would be a little spicier. What really grabbed the attention of my tastes buds was the Thai Green Curry that the chef recommended. All the ingredients were in perfect harmony giving it a super flavour. 

Grilled Fish with Lemon and Butter

The desserts on display were impressive. Soho St. has tried to be different by including a cold stone ice cream counter as part of their dessert. They had three varieties up for grabs with a variety of sauces and accompaniments that people could choose from. I also tried the jelly and the Fruit Custard which were quite alright. 

Cold Stone Ice Cream

Caramel Custard

Also available, is a cotton candy machine which more or less brought out the child in everyone. I mean literally, everyone screaming "I waaaaaaaant...."

But up next was the crowning glory of the entire meal – The Chocolate Mousse. The mousse was one of the best I’ve had in a long time. Extremely light and very consistent throughout, the chocolate mousse had a mini party in my mouth. It was definitely the most brilliant way to sign off the meal. I couldn’t control myself anymore, so I helped myself to two more of the same. I just could not get enough of that.

Chocolate Mousse

Soho St. offers a very decent spread and good food with super hits like the Kheema Pav, the Chocolate Mousse and the Tangri Kabab which leave you wanting more. The restaurant also comes with a live pasta counter and a salad bar that catches your fancy. The cuisine covers Indian, Chinese, Thai, Continental and more. I really enjoyed the ambience of the venue even though it was completely packed. You rarely saw people waiting in a line to serve themselves. The staff was courteous and fairly quick in responding. While buffets are always a very subjective experience to people, Soho St. is definitely one that I would vouch for. 

Located opposite the Forum Mall on Christ College Road, the meals at Soho St. are very competitively priced at Rs.575 from Monday to Thursday and Rs.675 on weekends.