Sunday, March 11, 2012

Restaurant Review: Dewberry's

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I had never heard of Dewberry's before this event. I liked the name and I was looking forward to the review. It is tucked away in a quiet street off Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai (Cathedral Road). The restaurant has outside and indoor seating, and while the outdoor seating seemed the popular choice, I was glad to be inside where the lighting was a lot better for photographs! Sans camera, I would want to sit outside for sure!

To kick things off, I ordered a blueberry smoothie, but it kinda let me down. Not a good way to start the meal huh? I couldn't taste even a hint of blueberry despite the purple color. It just tasted milky (and you KNOW how I feel about milk!), and slightly vanilla. I decided I would abandon it and move on. And then I sampled another friend's drink. It blew me away! I just HAD to have it. So I got my own salt-rimmed glass of it!
Yes that is a fresh green chilly! This drink was a twist on the regular lime juice - lime, water, sugar syrup - and the most perfectly balanced hit of fresh green chillies! So amazing... and as the dinner progressed, the drink got spicier and spicier as the chilli soaked through. It was really awesome! A must have when you visit Dewberry's!
We were joined for the evening by one of the partners at Dewberry's and we let her do all the ordering for us. Several starters, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, started appearing in quick succession. First up was a sweet bruschetta - Caramel Fruity, it was called. The idea itself sounds great to me because I love the whole sweet-salty thing (remember my bacon brownies?), but this didn't deliver for me.

I did not like the texture of the bread or the taste of the cheese. But I was glad to see some of the others enjoying it.
I loved this dish named Chippy Fungi (interesting names ;)!) - it was deep fried tortilla strips tossed with some fresh veggies and lots of button mushrooms and coated in this creamy sauce. I really enjoyed it and I would order it again!
The Prawn Gamberoni was a unanimous favorite among the meat-eaters. The prawns were cooked to perfection. Perfectly juicy, plump, not at all chewy prawns, with peppers and a tomato based sauce. Honestly, I was not a great fan of the sauce. It tasted a little ketchup-y to me, but I could not stop eating it because those prawns tasted incredible.

The other starter - Chicken Tortellini was interesting - a little chewy but I didn't mind that. Again with this dish, I didn't much care for the sauce.

Moving on, the main courses began to arrive, starting with a few sizzler plates.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, again I felt that while the paneer (pictured above) and the chicken sizzlers were well-cooked, I didn't like the sauces. I did like the accompaniments on the plates though - a garlicky rice and perfectly cooked and seasoned veggies that I couldn't stop picking at.
Two pasta dishes were served - a vegetarian option, Magic Mushroom Pasta (no not THAT magic mushroom) and a Chicken Bolognaise. I felt the bolognaise was quite flavorful but found the pasta sauce kinda runny. Tasted decent though. The mushroom pasta was just okay.
We also sampled the Grilled Fish Fillet - Vietnamese Basa grilled with an Asian tasting marinade. This was a well seasoned tasty dish, and the fish was cooked very well. The sides were the same as the ones on the sizzler plates and were good.
The only main that I totally did not get was the dish called 'Fruitlette'. It was a tortilla stuffed with peppers and paneer and grilled like a quesadilla. While the tortilla and the filling tasted fine, I did not and still don't understand the whole lot of fruits served on the side. Don't get me wrong. I like fruit. I like quesadillas. I just didn't like this concept. I felt there was no connection between the quesadilla and the fruits in terms of flavor. And I didn't like that a whole lot of fruit was wasted.

There were a lot of options for dessert and overall I wasn't too thrilled with what we tasted. I asked for something called Simply chocolate. It was okay. It tasted nice but didn't blow me away.
I was very excited about trying the fried chocolate bar and envisioned something totally decadent and oozing, but it was chewy instead of melty and not great in flavor. I wish they had used better chocolate.
Two crepe dishes were ordered - the Simple Simean (pictured above) tasted nice - thin buttery crepes with banana and chocolate and some slightly caramel-y sauce poured over the top. The sauce wasn't great (sorry!), but the crepes had a lovely texture. It came with a fruit entourage like the one on the quesadilla plate, and once again, most of the fruit was wasted.

The other crepe dish was a small pancakes filled with apples and raisins and drowned in chocolate sauce. It also usually comes with the fruit on the side, we heard, but in order to avoid more waste, we got it without the fruit. This dish was a total miss. The crepes were rubbery and almost inedible in my opinion, and the filling didn't help. Worst of all (at least for me personally), I hated tasting elaichi (cardamom) in the chocolate sauce. Didn't work for me at all!

Another strawberry shortcake inspired dish didn't do anything for me. Especially when I noticed the supermarket style cake slices on the plate. It was edible because it had stawberries and a lot of whipped cream but I wish they would use better cake!

After glancing through the menu, I was surprised how easy on the pocket Dewberry's is. Another thing that caught my eye in the menu was a quote on the first page. I loved it! (typo aside) :p
Overall, I actually enjoyed the meal despite the few big misses. The average sauces were totally overshadowed by the perfectly cooked meat and seafood, and the great sides totally compensated for the rest of the flaws.

If you are on Cathedral road and wondering where to grab a tasty bite, without blowing a hole in your pocket, this is a place worth checking out.
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23 comments:

Jill Colonna said...

Love Pavarotti's quote on the menu. As for the food you tried on the menu? WOW. Good on you, Marsha, for changing your blueberry disappointment with that chili drink. That does look and sound incredible.  What was it called? It's calling my name. So are most of the items on the menu. One of these days I need to come and taste them. You are such a temptress, my friend!

Lizzy Do said...

With your recommendations, it looks like you could have a darn good meal at this spot! And starting out with that lime cocktail would be fabulous! Hope you've had a great weekend~

theharriedcook said...

That drink was called Chilli Twist and it blew me away! I want to have one every day! You are the temptress saying you're coming here to taste all this food with me! When do you get here? I'll come pick you up from the airport... let me know :)

theharriedcook said...

That wasn't a cocktail really, but it was really delicious! And it was a nice meal... Thanks, Lizzy!

archiekc said...

Hey There, Its been long I ate out at chennai. What is the average price for two, at this place?

Erin said...

Looks like a really fun night!  Too bad it wasn't over the top amazing, but having stuff cooked well (especially shrimp) is so important!

Kitchen Belleicious said...

I want to eat here tonight and tomorrow and the next night! Great review

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your photos of the meal are amazing. It's a shame the sauces were a disappointment. You have developed a discerning palate and probably picked up on things others missed completely. Have a great evening. Blessings...Mary

theharriedcook said...

Hi... I would say the average meal for two should be around 800-1000 bucks... Thanks :)

theharriedcook said...

I know! That's the main reason I gave the place a good review - all the meat was perfectly cooked. No overcooked shrimp or chicken breast deserves a pat on the back :) Thanks for stopping by, Erin!

theharriedcook said...

LOL :) Sure thing! Let me know when you're in town and headed there & I'll join you :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Aww... Thanks, Mary! This bunch of reviewers was an experienced lot and most of us were in agreement about most things :) but personal taste and preference was the only thing that separated our opinions :) and yes, according to me, it was a shame about the sauces :) Thanks for stopping by!

Christine said...

Great review!

AlchemyInTheKitchen said...

Love the quote! I enjoyed your review. It sounds like Dewberrys heart is in the right place even if the execution lets it down a little. Sounds like it is a restaurant work a second visit

Free Spirit Eater said...

This looks like such a decadent meal. Sorry you were disappointed by your non blueberry smoothie, but the chile drink looks refreshing! Thanks for sharing your experience. Have a wonderful day! 

Mary said...

Both the mushroom dish and the prawns caught my eye. They look fantastic! What a great review. Sounds like you had fun!

The Café Sucré Farine said...

Sounds like you had fun sampling despite some of the disappointments!

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

The green chilli drink, sounds spicy yet I think my husband would love this.  Looks like overall it was a great restaurant.  I miss doing review - eating is more fun than cooking sometimes.  Or maybe all the time (for me!). ;-)

Mary said...

Overall sounds like a good place - good honest review!
Mary x

Kankana said...

Oh I am so making  a green chili cocktail. I love anything spicy. 
This is a good review and all these food is making me hungry! 

Elisaprega said...

Wow, Marsha! such a fantastic restaurant review with all the mouthwatering and delicious dishes and beautiful desserts. Love the refreshing cocktail for sure...as a matter of fact, love everything. Such a fabulous feast:DDD

Magic of Spice said...

What a great review, but sorry about so many disappointing features. I am a lover of sauces so it may not be a good fit for me overall.  Especially the fried chocolate...that should have been so fun! The drink does sound great though, and love how it gets spicier as the evening progresses :)

Savi said...

iv tried d green chilli drink too!! its simply out f d world!!!!

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