A nice looking shack, complete with wooden chairs, tables and tree barks running through, with fresh fish, lobster and prawns on display and multiple stand alone tables facing the Bay of Bengal is what you see when you enter the area of the Wharf at the GRT Temple Bay Resort in Mahabalipuram near Chennai. The view tells you that this is no ordinary place and the food later on will prove it to you.
You are served with the Beverages menu, and needless to say in a 5 star property, you have a choice of Indian and Imported Liquor. Apart from beer, all of us ordered only mocktails so I cannot comment on the Liqour. The menu strives to serve a variety of cuisines, but in a restaurant like this with shacks, they could have stuck to grilled, tandoor and the likes.
Among the meat eaters, we ordered for a Moroccan Chicken Steak which is four nice juicy chunks of chicken marinated and grilled with some kind of spicy sweet sauce. The next was the catch of the day which is the choice of fish cooked to your choice of marinade and sides and we chose the lemon honey marinade with potato wedges. You can even make your own marinade to customize it even more. In fact you have a choic of a few fish to choose from and all of them look delicious! The king prawns was made with a wierd name marinade and I chose to have it with fries and salad, while the other order was a Tandoor Chicken Steak. Except for the last order, the others were brilliant while the tandoor was average. You get about 6 pieces of King Prawns spilt open and it was totally worth it. The fish was extremely good while the Moroccan Chicken Steak was something totally new for me. Among the vegetarian dishes, the paneer grill was mentionable while the corn steak was pretty good too.
All the grills and steaks are served with yellow or black dhal and a couple of tandoor rotis, so a grill is a meal by itself and quite filling at that! The portions are not big, but the right size and with a drink and dessert, you are done.
Desserts are decent and nothing spectacular. Service is impeccable and order to table time is acceptable, considering that this is a place where you want to take your guitar and sing along with friend on the beach front or sing to your girlfriend! Women, expect your men to be in great mood what with beach side and shell fish as great aphrodisiacs! Down some alcohol and you could have a great time!
Prices are five star, and kind of justifies the kind of atmosphere and service you get there. We were a large group with almost no alcohol and therefore costs us about Rs 700 per head, but if you are a couple you could expect to pay about about Rs 3000 for two, especially if you order alcohol,lobsters and some other pricy steaks.
A great place to chill out, its even better at night and lunch is served only on weekends.
Food 7/10
Ambiance 8/10
Service 7/10
Price 7/10
The Wharf is located on the premesis of the GRT Temple Bay Hotel in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai on the East Coast Road.
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