Le Vantage Cafe Bar
With new restaurant coming up every alternate days and mushrooming all across the city, each new debutant has to bring in something unique & different in the offering - ambience - location - cuisine - operational model or ALL. Hyderabad foodie world is also excited about any buzz place that comes in with a special offering. Lé Vantage Café Bar did such a perfect teaser via the pictures of the place and its ambiance which evoked lot of curiosity.
My recent review seals the deal that indeed Lé Vantage Café Bar is a easy ticket for a Hyderabadi to be transported in time to a typical European vintage home dwindled across the corner and as you step in , you are into this greenery embraced garden land and immediately feel an aura of relaxation and mood to reflect the same. Enough said, go check it out for yourself and you will go AWW for this place, the spaciousness and the rustic & vintage look it gives in every nock-n-corner
Note: This review is based on Food Tasting Invite but review and opinion stands unbiased in interest of readers.
We tried lot of mocktail options during our lunch course which came in time and also most of them visually appealed. The flavors and the freshness appealed in most of the drinks. This is evidence that the Bar captain knows his art. Many drinks filled the purpose but the stand out for me was Mango Smoothie shake. Filling, flavorful and chilling to my liking. I could go as many rounds as I can. the drinks section definitely impressed me and that increases my expectation when they get their liqour license.
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The menu was preset for the blogger's table and so they came in stead phase and pretty soon, it filled our tables with dishes all around and also filled the aroma with flavors. Peta Bread & Hummus was sufficient. Mainly I loved the way the humus was coated with sauce and also with slices of olives to get a fulfilling feeling in every bite. Bread & Bread sticks were fresh.
Onion Rings & Chicken Popcorn were crispy, aromatic and can be your finger food and vanish in a jiffy. They are such munchy crunchies. Korean Chicken Wings was the pick of the lot for me. The portion, generous sesame seeds drizzled all across and mainly that BBQ sauce beautifully coated all across the wings were superb. Can keep munching it - MUST TRY.
Chicken nuggets which came with a tagline of 48 hours chicken nuggets indicating they were marinated for 48 hours reflected in the softness of the meat and almost melt in the mouth texture. So overall I would say their starters was all around success. But one thing, I did feel was a miss was a USP starter dish that I could keep coming back only to Le Vantage. I think they need to think through it.
To differ from the typical continental and asian dry starters, we got Watermelon & Feta Cheese salad which to me was visually appealing as to any other restaurant. But the watermelon was watery which added to the deviant flavor of feta cheese. Overall flavor was there but not as I would want my salad. If they could work out the wateriness of the watermelon, this could be as refreshing it can be.
Next came in the surprise blockbuster of the lunch Italian Caprese Salad Sandwich which looked like a complete meal by itself. Freshly made veg sandwich which generous salad portion drizzled with olive oil and also some home made fresh fries. The first bite was more than enough to go gaga over its freshness and the flavor blasts in your mouth. The freshness of the veggies and the apt crunch from the bread made it one of the best sandwiches they I have had in recent times. The fresh home made fries was evident in their generous size and freshness unless the frozen ones. The star was also the salad which also was fresh, crispy and super chilled to seal the deal to be a complete dish by itself.
Veg Quesadilla was equally flavorful but I felt it didn't give me the authentic Mexican flavors mainly because of the present of kidney beans. To me Quesadilla is more about fresh veggies mainly peppers and the apt quotient of cheese and the crispiness from the tortilla and so it appealed in flavors but not on its authenticity. Mediterranean Pizza (Veg) was filling and the rustic unshaped base shape appealed to me since I hate the commercial ones which look WOW but taste pathetic. This one had the flavors burst on every bite but I felt the cheese was too strong for me and feedback was given to Chef.
Chicken Bacon Burger was the most authentic dish in the list for me. Hearty patty which looked the most authentic way you can see. Not the grilled typical cutlet patty but a hearty size and oozing cheese all around and those crispy bacon strips - OMG . The apt and crispy burger bundling the meat patty and the bacon and sealing the deal. Its messy the way I love it and Oh boy was it food coma. Do not miss this dish or else it could be a food SIN as well :)
While the dishes keep coming on a steady state and keep impressing us, one thing for missing for sure. Sea food and then came the plethora of prawn dishes and OMG the size of those jumbo prawns left me speechless. Jumbo Prawns Tempura & Grilled Jumbo Prawns both of them looked visually stunning and on first bite, both dishes impressed me. The Prawns Tempura was perfect in terms of the the fried texture and you can just keep munching them. The grilled prawns was as good as the other dish. The garlic toss with olive oil added the texture I would love on prawn dish. They were spot on.
Prawn Gamberetti pizza was spot on as well but I still cant get over their flavors and sizes of those prawns. Fish & Chips was an apt to the point dish and no non-sense about it but again I loved the fresh home cut fries. You should try them as well. Bocconcini Tomato Bruschetta was served at the last when we were super fill and so I got to just taste it was and it was flavorful but it lacked a bit of freshness that you expect in the bruschetta. Overall I would say an OK dish.
Any meal is not over without desserts and if it is, it ain't a complete meal for a foodie. Yes they do have lots of options to spoil you and luckily we got to taste all of them.
Strawberry Cheesecake was the pick of the desserts for me, mainly owing due to its richness of cheese cake with superb crust and the apt sweetness on the strawberry jam. The right amount of everything made this a perfect amalgamation of proportions and scored home run in my palate. Blueberry Cheesecake comes in next and had the same richness an smoothness in the texture of cheesecake but I loved the strawberry one any day. Tiramisu is of course non-alcoholic and so it cannot justify the authentic tiramisu feel where you get the bitterness from the dark chocolate, this was quite decent but portion size looked low for the pricing.
Banoffee Pie was apt for the palate with right amount of fresh banana slices infused in the toffee sauce and served on a good tart base. the freshness was evident and flavors were subtle. Could be the perfect choice for someone who is not so sweet tooth but still want to relish something on desserts. Walnut Brownie with espresso looked visually appealing. The brownie to me was little too hard for the gueiness I usually expect from the inner of the brownie. Could have been better and so was the quality of the ice cream served. But when you add it with freshly made aromatic espresso, the dish took definitely an elevated flavor level and if you like dark flavors like me, you will go GAGA over this.
Overall desserts that has something for everyone makes it a safe and comfortable finale section for our lunch journey. Again the same observation, nothing like THE MUST HAVE dessert in this place . I would love to see if they put a classic twist on some traditional apple pie crust or lemon meringue cake or anything and make it more appealing even if it has to be a finger bit, flavors and uniqueness would make up for the sizing.
Verdict :
Le Vantage Cafe` Bar - could easily become the talk buzz of the town for its vintage decor & ambience that suits European laid out meal experience. Just come down on a late Sunday morning and sip in your coffee and spend some quality rejuvenation for yourself or come for a healthy meal across greeneries and get a mind detox for a buzzing & hectic week ahead. I think the place would appeal for its simplicity, rustic, vintage ambiance and it just will make you unwind. The only thing I kind of see it as a way for anyone even me to make me come back is the USP in terms of food, if not many I should come back just for that 1 or 2 unique dish offerings so that's the cling you want the customer to have to make him come back for more and more. No wonder this place is going to do good but if they could look into the unique dish offerings and price it apt, they will go a long way and all the very best for that. I would definitely go back to enjoy their lunches with their vast menu. But I guess dinners also could be more romantic and private her with dim lighting which will be a whole different experience for you.
Note: This review is based on Food Tasting Invite but review and opinion stands unbiased in interest of readers.